My Gym, My Community: Time for a Change?

I spent my flight home from Baltimore (great trip, btw!) catching up on all the articles I clipped from Brian's Triathlete magazine reference library we recently pitched (correction: I made him pitch). As you can see in the photo on the left, we had a few set aside as permanent reading material in the master bathroom. They dated back to 2005, which makes me laugh but really did allow me to go have my choice of articles to save to read now that I'm a more serious triathlete.

Note the words "more serious," as in "more serious than I was before." Newbies and sprint distance triathletes can definitely take away a lot of good information from the magazine on everything from sample workouts to exercise physiology. But make no mistake that the core audience is die-hard triathletes, many who do 70.3s and Ironmans.

A normal sentence in Triathlete might read, "After your morning workout, make sure to eat plenty of protein to help your body recover. That way, by the time you get to your evening set, you'll still have energy left to burn." Another favorite sentiment: "After an intense hour and a half of working out, it's good to stretch before jumping into your final run."

Hah! 1) I only have one formal workout a day, thank you very much, and 2) Who has enough time to spend hours at the gym? I'm there for 1 hr. 15 min. during the week (all my sched and gym's opening time allows) and about 2 hours when I can be on the weekends. I could go longer on the weekends but usually am happy with that amount and have stuff to do!

So I glean what I can from the magazine, and it is a good one. I got through about 10 articles on my flight home, and I walked off the plane pumped to take my training to the next level. I really hate keeping tabs on sets, so "stepping it up" for me, Sara, who has a life and doesn't want triathlon to eat up all my free time, would be to increase the time I spend at the gym. And that would mean switching gyms.

Horrors! I heart my gym. I know the people there, and they know me. By name. Sometimes we smile and nod. Sometimes we chat about an exercise class, or an injury, or a race. Regardless, they're all nice people, and it's my third community (work and friends/family being the other two). I've built up a relationship over the three years with it and the thought of letting it go troubles me. And not just b/c of the people, but the facilities. The building's old -- the locker rooms are spotless but have permanent dirt marks that don't impress -- but exercise equipment is new. The spin bikes are nicer than most gyms'. The core workout equipment is awesome. And the vibe is down-to-earth; we do not have a problem with cell phones or people who wear makeup to workout. 

If you belong to my gym, you're nice, you appreciate diversity and you're there to workout. The sense of community is a major bonus.

But the truth is, it's holding me back on my training, and every time I get a surge of energy from a Triathlete article, I struggle to fit the tips into my routine: Because of the limited lap swim time in the pool, I can't swim whenever I want. Because it only opens at 5:30 a.m., I can't tack on an extra 20 min. to add something new -- I do have to make it to work on time, after all. My evening availability is limited and doesn't allow me to commit to a workout routine, so I pretty much have to keep it to mornings.

The other gym I'm considering -- Brian's gym -- is more expensive. The people tend to be a snottier. It's all well-off white people and a ton of kids. And while there def. are some nice people there, the overall vibe isn't one I like. It would however accommodate my schedule, including swim and cycle flexibilities. That's huge when you're trying to excel at three sports while incorporating others.

Is it time to give up my gym? Brian's told me to give him the word to tack me on to his plan. It's up to me to make the call.