It can be very difficult to find time to train for an event like the Yukon 1000. Even though I've always been in search of more gainz for my guap, I realized quickly that there wasn't going to be any way to short change the hours of low intensity aerobic work that would be needed. I've usually been able to make the most out of what little time I have available. Previously holding down a full time job, updating a "fixer-upper" house, and trying to be a competitive, professional, athlete meant that I needed to rely on shorter duration workouts of a higher intensity... or so I thought (but that's a story for another day). Yukon was going to require new and different metabolic and physiological adaptations.
Which, until yesterday, I was diligently working towards... I received the unfortunate, but seemingly inevitable news that the Yukon 1000 for 2020 will not be held, rather the dates will be announced for a 2021 event.
No matter, I still have goals, so all of the mileage I put in won't go to waste. I even put in one week at 100 miles on the water. The other weeks have consistently been in the 70's and 80's. It takes up a lot of time. And, aside from paddling the Puakea Designs Kahele OC-1 instead of a SUP for most of those miles, there aren't a lot of ways to make that time go any faster.
(Note: the decision to paddle a canoe isn't for increased mileage and decreased resistance, although those are both obviously advantageous, it is due to the fact that my Yukon 1000 craft i̶s̶ was a sitting 2-person marathon canoe. The more mileage I can get sitting in the same position with that paddle, the happier my butt, hips, and hands will be when taking on the 1000)
When I was paddling a ton, I realized I was going to need help with my schedule.
After I prioritized my training sessions each day, scheduled any necessary food prep to ensure proper nutrition and recovery, and put in a morning and afternoon work block for emails and side hustles, there was no room for loading up my car, going to the grocery store, walking around, picking out all of my items, waiting in the unnecessarily long check out line, and driving in traffic back home. Same really went for the gym. When it came to stopping what I was doing, going to the gym during the right hours, sitting in traffic, and chatting it up socially with other people along the way, the whole experience was taking time away from the actual working out!
Now with the constant updates of Covid-19, I'm realizing that these same strategies I started using to free up more of my time to paddle are also helping me stay socially distant!
My Big 3 Time Savers (and as of the past 2 weeks, my social distancers):
Grocery Delivery:
I decided to try some of the boxed food delivery services that are continuously advertised to me. I went with ButcherBox for my meat and ImperfectFoods for my veggies (although Imperfect has other products, I don't order them because they all come in plastic). This is a huge time saver. Outside of it coming straight to my doorstep, I do a decent bit of food prep so meals are quick and easy. I also have a game I play a few times a week called: "Whatever the hell is in the fridge" where I look in the fridge and get very, very creative with food. This prevents food waste and doesn't require any time searching and following recipes from desperate housewives. Play yourself! Open the fridge and follow this general guideline depending on if you're doing one or two workouts that day:
Home Gym:
I saved what our two-person-gym-going household was paying for a gym membership and was able to afford a titan squat rack, rogue barbell, and weights from play it again sports in 6 months. I've since outfitted that rack with numerous accessories for much less than it cost for a monthly membership.
SUPER BIG IMPORTANT NOTE: I absolutely do not recommend this if you don't have good lifting technique. I think that you need to have a really great grasp on safety and form before you buy some heavy weights and go it alone at home. Even if you don't snag an entire home gym setup, you can easily grab something like the Crossover Symmetry system and other tools for strength, mobility, and injury prevention that you can use when you don't feel like going to the gym, when you need to fix a tweak without driving to the gym, or when you're forced by the CDC to stay away from other humans. I'll spend some time talking about some good at home workouts with or without equipment later this week!
Everything Else Delivery:
I've been using Amazon since 2005. I know, there's a little date every time I log in. Although I don't agree with everything about the capitalist powerhouse that is Amazon, I can absolutely agree that it saves time. I used to hit 3-4 stores in one day looking for a particular item, and that is a thing of the past. Not to mention I can get all of my supplements delivered on a schedule so I don't even have to think about when I'm running low. Same with dog food, cat food, gardening supplies, and anything else I can't find in the walk-in big-box stores. Now is about as good a time as any to try it free and have things sent to your house.
If you Amazon, be sure to try this plastic-free hack. I found it in my Instagram stories the other day and I tried it. I got a very generic answer and a few copy/paste statements from the customer service rep about what amazon was doing to take protecting the environment seriously. We'll see.
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