Win Some Sweet Schwagg from RoadID, Ryders and Gu

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• I am a "do it in the morning or it's not going to happen" person. So the first thing I have done recently was start going to bed earlier to ensure I am getting enough sleep and able to wake up on time (most of the time). So we started a little challenge within the house of "no technology after 10pm". Meaning no tv, blog reading, phone usage, etc after 10pm. This may sound late already, but as someone who was going to bed at midnight on average, this was a 2 hour earlier cut-off. With this in place, I have been getting in bed around 10:30 or so and this has made a big difference.

  Through the winter months I have been just trying to get workouts in. I swim twice a week, was cycling twice a week, and running 3 times a week. And I tried to split those workouts up in such a way that one was speed/interval and the other longer low intensity. This allowed me to vary the duration of those workouts as well. So on days I needed a shorter workout I did the intensity workout and days with more time the longer workout.

  I'm just getting into the sport, so I am no hard core ironman or anything like that, but I have been seeing little improvements throughout the winter and that has been good. It is mostly what I am looking for. Unfortunately, no magic pill in my post.

• I agree with every said so far, especially putting the alarm on the other side of the room! I'm dealing with a time crunch this summer too, since I'll be studying for the bar all summer. This led to me doing some research on time saving techniques, and the biggest change for me has been less emphasis on just pounding out the miles. The best way to get a good workout done in a shorter time is to really up the intensity. I know you are not the fastest runner, and im not talking about trying to run 8 minute miles instead of 9 minute miles; Sprint workouts can be an essential part of your training. It might take some time to figure out exactly how many sprints/repeats you need to do to equal the workout of your long runs, but in terms of cardio development, research has shown that all out efforts for short times produce the same results as longer slower workouts. So remember, if you only have a short time, dont go for a 45 minute jog and call it a day. Get out there, and go as hard as you possibly can for 15 seconds, rest a minute, do it again. Shorten your sprints if you need to, but the key is maximum effort. Thanks for the contest!

• As the mother of two small girls and the head of marketing and business development for a tech company, I'm always on the go. Working 55+ hours a week and maintaining quality family time is tough enough without adding workouts on top of it.

  But working out - specifically training for triathlons - keeps me mentally grounded and eliminates much of the stress associated with the other two parts of my life. So I find the time. I usually wake at 4:30 and get 1 1/2 hours in before the girls get up. I am fortunate enough to have a gym onsite at work, so I add in another workout, if necessary, at lunch. Finally, I maximize my weekends by doing my longer workouts early in the morning. Many times, my girls don't even know I was gone.

  But there are trade-offs. I won't be able to commit to an Ironman level event for a few years, when the girls are a bit older. I recognize that I have to set limits and honestly, I'm good with that.

  Like you, I'm always looking for areas of improvements. I plan to take some of the guidance provided by one of your commenters re: preparation; that is one area in which I need to work. I should keep bags packed and ready...it might allow me to sleep until 5!

  Best of luck to you.

• Hi Carol,
  When I was working full time I had a really hard time doing workouts during the week. I tried a few times getting up early and while it was nice to get the workout out of the way, I never stuck with it. And honestly, I was not that much better after work either. When I would go straight home after work I was usually exhausted and would decide to crash rather than work out. Scott always called this the 'warp zone' and ultimately I figured out that I had to avoid going home right after work and instead run from work or stop at the pool before heading home. I ended up getting most of my hours on the weekend and would just try to do about 30-60 minutes a few days during the week. I never had the opportunity to train during lunch, so that wasn't really an option for me.

• The biggest help for me, a married father of 3, has been sticking to a well thought out training plan. With previous attempts at training for various events, I'd approach it willy nilly and I'd never have enough time or motivation to follow through. Finding a plan with a weekly training volume that matches the hours I have free has been a huge help. Finding a coach that can tailor that plan even further to my specific needs has been a tremendous help.

  Other than that, I always have a go-bag (or bags) setup and ready. My swimming gear is in one bag with a fresh towel, etc, always ready to go. I keep my cycling gear on a shelf in my garage next to my bike. My running gear is permanently attached to my ankles, so always ready to go running... though I do keep fresh workout clothes and my HR strap, etc, in my backpack if I'm going to be out and about. If I'm not running barefoot, I'll be in my FiveFingers and chances are I'll already have them on, so nothing to remember to carry there...

• - My secret to getting up early is that I put my alarm clock across the room, so I have to literally get out of bed and turn it off.

  - the night before, I pack my lunch and lay out my work clothes so I dont have to deal with it in the morning. I also set out my workout gear the night before as well, so all i have to do is toss it on and workout.

  - Lunch time, I swim, my gym is close enough to drive to and get in 1000-1500 yards before I have to get out and head to work. Since I am in the water already, i just toss on deordant and cologne. I dont shower, yes I smell like chlorine, but that smell is better then sweat.

  - When i get home, i try to workout right away, if i lay down, I might not get back up. so, get home, change, get out the door, then worry about dinner after I get home from my workout.

• Awesome giveaway. For me, getting up early to get in a workout is tough, so I have my wife help me get to bed at a decent hour and help me get up. It helps when she gets up to workout at home (like a DVD workout or something). Really helps to have company that early in the morning, even just waking up together. I feel you on having the motivation after a long day, not sure where it comes from, but good luck! :)

• The one thing that really helped me during the crux of my training was to take an extra half hour during my lunch break. My break would be an hour and a half and I would be able to get a good 30-45 minutes in the pool or on a run. To make up for it, I would work an extra hour. My day was something like 545AM - at gym for morning workout; 730AM at office; 12-130PM gym for second workout; 130-6 a work. It was tough, but it left the entire evening for me to enjoy for myself.