Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t even imagine. Life is so cruel.
You sound like an amazing athlete to me - btw
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The SGrail is a really fun thing! I did it in 2023 and will do it again this year. I can highly recommend!
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You don’t necessarily have to do those long bike sessions for a good Ironman finish. You can do a good buildup with session of 3-4 hours. Longer sessions don’t bring much more training effect, but build up lots of fatigue and mental stress. It’s better to split up on a Saturday two or three sessions of the different sports (swim, bike, run with breaks in between) than doing an ultra-long one.
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I always did feel so tired doing those long bike rides every weekend and then doing a really long run the following Sunday. Weekends were so rough. But that’s what my coach gave me. But I do believe that it might actually better to do less than more due to the constant fatigue and the mental stress. I could handle it well in my 40s. Not so much in my 50s. Now looking back on what I did seems very unsustainable.
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That’s awesome! Glad to hear it. I could be tempted to do one next year. The Swiss one looks amazing too. I hope Jan keeps one in Switzerland. Even my husband who “retired” from triathlon completely after 2019 would be tempted to do one with me, especially if it’s in Switzerland.
I also sometimes split time between outdoor and Zwift. I don’t like more than an hour or 2 on Zwift. But I’m also a later riser. So if it’s getting really hot out, I’ll finish a long ride indoors in AC.
Plus the benefit of less time around cars.
I also do some of my long rides on a road bike. Maybe not optimal but I can get onto some light gravel trails that I wouldn’t do on my tri bike. This also gets me away from cars more.
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I stepped away for a few years back in 2001. It wasn’t really a decision, I just didn’t ride or run as much, and didn’t register for any races. Got back into doing a few other things that I hadn’t done in years, like skateboard slalom racing, and in 2006 felt like doing tris again.
So maybe just a little time away, and focus on other things for a bit, and see what it feels like down the road…
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I recall a few years ago a thread similar to this. Someone said ‘can you retire from a hobby?’ If you aren’t digging it and enjoying it don’t do it. Plenty of other things in your life that will keep you satisfied.
I hate to say it, but this might be it?
I’m gonna self-plagiarize myself right here
I’m fairly sure that I have a full story of the origin of My Big Quit someplace; either shared in a number of posts here on ST or elsewhere, perhaps chronicled on the blog I kept for a number of years back in the first decade of this century (I believe my final post was at the end on 2011?)
I might just have to start from scratch and retell the story, with the appropriate display of science to keep people interested
No…I have NOT experience what you have in terms of qualifying or traveling to a lot of destination races. I race local if can get a race discount and if not I do race simulations on courses I set up myself and do solo. 
I have felt burnt out, I have had a part of me feel like I’m missing out, I have lived in a rural paradises that were off the beaten path, I am a master athlete, and I know that I will not be young for ever and may have to retire some day.
So…I was a competitive running for 30+ years before training for my first triathlon. I was burnt out as a runner. I felt driven to to keep improving (or at least slow my decline) but every day was a grind. I decided to do a triathlon just because I wanted a break from the grind and felt trying something new would be low pressure and I could just enjoy it without everything having to have a purpose or focus on improvement. I found that rotating workouts between swimming, cycling, running got back that spark that had been missing for a long time. I stuck with triathlon because it made things fun again. When you stop having fun you need to change something. It doesn’t have to be retirement, but you can’t keep grinding away. Burn out is real.
Yes, I like to race but don’t do a lot of it. For many years I would choose one race a year. One marathon, one 70.3, etc. I mostly did that so that I wouldn’t spend all my vacation time on races and so I could stay on a tight budget with my racing hobby. Every time I raced it was amazing and was glad I did it. When I wasn’t racing I had something I was training for so it was okay. I am okay having the experience once and then being able to saver and remember it. It is what I have to do and I make the most of it.
I used to get burnt out after about three years in an endurance sport. I would jump in with two feet and do as much as I could then I would plateau lose interest and try something else. I now rotate my training, limit my racing, prioritize rest, take a least a full month off at the end of each season, and if I am ever not having fun make a change. I have been with Multisport for 10 years now. That is way longer than anything else I have done. It is still fun for me.
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You’re finished when you are no longer motivated by training or that thought of crossing the finish line for a six weeks in a row.
Welp…after 2 days of trying to figure out the best way to travel from rural Vermont to Marbella, I booked tickets direct from Boston to Madrid. So will be doing a long drive to Boston and then have to figure out a train or just pick up a rental car early and do the almost 6 hr drive to Marbella. My husband is like superman so he will be the hero driving us safely through the Spanish countryside. He’s done this so many times in other far away places. And this will be the last time! Or so I say…
But I still feel like it’s time to “retire” after that. And I do say retire as training for me has been a borderline obsession. The hours I have spent have been as much as having a second job. I have given it my all for most of the years. Lots of great posts and I appreciate everyones’ input on this.
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You should just do most of your outdoor riding on those amazing nearyby gravel roads. Sure, it’s not aero position, but for 3+ hr rides, it’ll be good and hard enough and you can save the aero stuff for a minority of riding, possibly on the trainer.
I’m lucky I guess in that Norcal has a lot of lovely road bike roads where I live, but I sure wouldn’t mind some good long car-free gravel options in my immediate vicinity (it’s actually not too far, but even a 40 minute drive makes it tough to gravel ride regularly as part of my regular training.)
Best thing you likely can do is to actually “retire”, cus if your mind is at the point it is, then simply do it. What that actually means can vary though from still working out when you want or completely put it all away. I think there is something to be said for just having fun / “exercise” when you want and not 100% of the time having to do it because you are “following a plan”.
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One of the best threads I’ve read here. Illuminating. Many thanks.
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Well, it sounds like you made up your mind to give it another shot. Good for you! This thread did get me thinking on how many people leave the sport “voluntarily” vs “involuntarily”. Most the guys that I’ve raced with over the years who no longer compete were forced out of the sport by injury. I consider myself lucky to still physically be able to toe the line and that helps me get through some of those mental blocks. I believe that when I retire from the sport it will be because I can no longer physically compete.
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I decided to do Marbella 70.3 worlds in Nov. I was seriously thinking of just canceling it since flying is going to be rough. Or more like the long drives to Boston and then Madrid to Marbella. Travel is rough for me. And yet I have done quite a bit of flying with a bike. But after Marbella it’s just one week at a time. I’m not signing up for any big races. But will definitely be staying very active. Just not sure what exactly that looks like and that is a bit exciting in a way.
While I’ve had injuries over the years some more serious than others, I feel lucky I can make a voluntary decision not to sign up for a big race next year.
I do have some new things that will be going on here in VT. My husband finished building a gym for me in one of our basement barns. I could do a RitFit commercial with my big rack/smith/pully machine and leg machines. And thinking xc skiing will keep us very fit this winter. So who knows what next summer will look like.
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Find a Junior High or low key high school and become a cross country coach. Great way to say active and fill your calendar with as many practices and races as you can handle!
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Everyone is a bit different. Every family and work situation different. There is no right or wrong here.
I stepped away from Triathlon essentially cold-turkey - from at least pinning a bib number on, after I crossed the Finish Line of IRONMAN Canada in 1997. My first and only child had been born a month before. I held him in my arms just past the finish line. It had been a good race - I had finished 2nd in the 35 - 39 AG. I had just received a significant promotion where I worked. But I had made the decisions that, that would be it. I could not keep everything going at the levels that I wanted it all to be at, AND train close to 20 hours/week.
Now by that point I had been competing in triathlon at a high level for 15+ years. I stepped away - but I am a life long endurance sports athlete. I kept up the running for a few more years. Ran some national level times and races for a Master’s (40+) runner. Dabbled a bit it Bike Road Racing and kept up Nordic Skiing in the winter - but there was no training plan. There was no big yearly goal. Just stay fit and healthy.
Now I’m 64 - and it’s just cycling in spring/summer/fall and nordic skiing in the winter. The goal now - staying fit and healthy and living a long healthy life!
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I love this! ^
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