How convenient is training?

The depths of the British winter seem like a bit of a distant memory to me now, and I'm happy to keep it that way. I would wake up at 6.15, in the dark of course. After a thirty minute drive, I would be at school for 7.30, ready to prepare myself for a day of teaching. At around four o'clock, I would then drive for forty-five minutes for training. By the time I had finished training, it would be usually around seven o'clock and I would begin my forty minute journey back home. Then I would cook, shower and do all the things that needed to be done to make sure I was ready for the same routine again tomorrow. Reflecting on this, I became frustrated that I drove past a track five minutes away from school, and still have a further thirty-five minutes of driving before I reached 'the' track. This was beginning to make less and less sense to me. If I was gifted enough to be a full-time athlete and warrant funding, meaning that I had an extra eight hours in my day, then sure, the extra travel time would have not been an issue. I could have been travelling to a superb facility, to receive superb coaching. However, this was my dream, not my reality. I was travelling to train with a friend, provided we both happened to arrive at the same time, at an outdoor track which was likely no warmer or lighter than the track I had driven past over half an hour earlier.

Compare this to my current situation. I travel twenty minutes to work, twenty minutes back. Living in an area of Dubai called Sports City, I'm sure it's not surprising to learn that I am close to some sports facilities which include a track and a gym. In fact, I could, or perhaps should, walk to training, given that if it wasn't for an apartment block behind mine, I would be able to see the track from my roof. I'm sticking to my reasoning that the dry, desert heat would drain me before my session. I am lucky that this is an affordable area in which to live, and I am also lucky the gym that has recently opened on the same site as the track is a brilliant facility. I am also lucky I am not a long jumper, given that the state of the art track was built without including a pit (if you're not familiar with how things are done in Dubai, this may surprise you).

My point?! 

I used to think that due to my desire to succeed and improve, I didn't care how far I would have to travel if I thought it may help me. I didn't need any down time. I didn't need things to be easy, simple or convenient. However, if like me, you aren't a full time athlete, running world class times, you will likely need to spend at least a few hours each day working to provide yourself with your basic human necessities such as shelter and food. I would suggest keeping your home, your place of work and your training venue as close together as possible. A former coach, whom I still hold in very high regard and speak with regularly (FaceTime makes the world a smaller place), described to me the location of his home, employment, track and gym. He explained how keeping them all within a five mile radius saved him time and money.

I understand it is not always possible to have things so close together, and changes don't necessarily need to take place on such a large scale. Advising readers to either hand in their letters of resignation, call a removals company or terminate a coach-athlete relationship would be ludicrous. A helpful change could be as simple as preparing and having food with you, so you don't have to go home or to a shop between work and training, thus giving you a little time to focus on another task, or to relax. It may be worth considering if there any changes you could make in order to make training more convenient. After all, if stress is multi-factorial, it could keep those cortisol levels in check!