Schedule, lifestyle, fitness

[Len]

I've been recently laid off from my dream corporate job... Here is my question for you fractional guys. Given the "typical" fractional schedule, is there anyone here able to train for a marathon, triathlon, or race bicycles at a fairly elite amateur level? If so, how do you do it? If the typical schedule is 7 on and 7 off, do you run and ride the lifecycle at the hotel? Are there a few duty days while you are "on" that are short enough to allow for this or are you so tired from working that you have no energy left for exercise.

 

[btodd77]

Hey Len,
I have trained for a marathon while working at NJA and I know of several pilots with us who are in the elite level for triathlons and marathons. So in short the answer is yes.

In long it depends more on the individual then the job. If you want to train, you will find the time and energy.
BT

 

[xrated]

The killer is if you have a very strict daily training regime leading up to a race. (Especially the biking). The quality of stationary bikes at hotels varies greatly and I would go so far to say some are even dangerous. As far as a tri is concerned, If you end up spending most of you time flying in the north east during the winter, finding adequate pool facilities would make training for the swim pretty difficult.

If you are training for a marathon alone, you can pretty much run anywhere.

But like the other guy said, if there is a will, there is a way. May just want to plan on a top 20 finish instead of a top 5...LOL.

Now, if you need to gain weight, most hotels have decent bars with yummy bar food and the crew meals can be quite filling!

 

[Len]

Thanks guys. I'm a fairly decent road racing cyclist. I asked about the marathon and tri training because I've found the time commitment to be fairly similar. You answered my question... If you want to get the training done then you'll find a way. I'll hit the hotel lifecycle. No different then I had it other than I was able to take my bike along to some fairly cool destinations sometimes. That will be out! Not sure about the crew meals. I've seen you guys around and joked about the similarity between the size of the crew meal and the size of the waistline. Should I get hired I'm guessing I'll be packing my clif bars. Thanks again!

 

[ultrarunner]

Len, 7 on 7 off is actually a great schedule, IMO. Now, not having really done that sched, YMMV, but look at the big picture...

On your 7 days on, don't sweat the swimming and biking...just run. You can do that anywhere. If you luck out and find a pool or a good stationary bike, fine, but you'll have plenty of time on your 7 off to get in the pool, and knock out the bike workouts.

The toughest part of an ultra distance event, (besides getting to the starting line) is the last several hours of the event. Weather it be a 100k run, Ironman, etc...

Look at the ironman results..most of the finishers that are shark-bait for the cutoff times essentially walk the marathon!

Ironman training is all about being able to get off that bike and RUN 26 miles. Most folks WAY underestimate that little tid-bit!

So, in short, RUN on your 7-on. It will pay WAY more dividends than a couple of bikes or swims.

 

[gunfyter]

NJA pilot in the X ... Won (As in came in first) the Antartica Marathon. Yeah he posts here too (a lot).

Although not at NJA at the time... first military person to win the Marine Corps Marathon is an NJA Captain. Was on the cover of Runners World at the Boston Marathon with Bill Rogers and Frank Shorter. He was a legend in the San Diego running community when I lived there.

 

[ultrarunner]

.....Although not at NJA at the time... first military person to win the Marine Corps Marathon is an NJA Captain. Was on the cover of Runners World at the Boston Marathon with Bill Rogers and Frank Shorter. He was a legend in the San Diego running community when I lived there.

Farley Simon is at NJA? His win was back in '83. I was there for my first MCM. That was a special day for the MCM!

Ultra--

 

[gunfyter]

Farley Simon is at NJA? His win was back in '83. I was there for my first MCM. That was a special day for the MCM!

Ultra--

He was the first Marine. The first military person was a Navy Pilot and former base XO at NAS Cubi Point.

 

[ultrarunner]

He was the first Marine. The first military person was a Navy Pilot and former base XO at NAS Cubi Point.

Ahhh...that's right. First marine. In fact, if I recall, Simon took top honors several years ago again, although I believe he was recently retired from the corps.

I had forgotten about Cochrane....good memory!

Ultra--

 

[gunfyter]

Check out 1979. Starts with a C but not Cochrane

 

[wolfpackpilot]

The first military person was a Navy Pilot and former base XO at NAS Cubi Point.

That's no surprise, Navy guys spend their whole career running from Marines... Mostly because the marines chase them with their pants down!

 

[Bank-n-Yank]

Len,

I've had success as a Cat. 3 this year working an 8/7 schedule. CX season is here and still going strong.

Having a solid training plan is key. Use the flight rotation to rest and lot's of intervals when you're home.

Best of luck!

 

[ultrarunner]

Check out 1979. Starts with a C but not Cochrane

Of course. Phil. Forgot all about that. I was there in '79 watching my old man run that year. And we knew Phil from our own days in PNS. Had no idea he was at NJ. I'll have to send him a note. Thanks for the memory-jog!

Ultra

 

[BAT31]

Len-

I found it tough to train properly with the Flexjet schedule, granted its not as good as NJ. I actually made sure to schedule my mil leave for this summer just so I could spend most of my training days here at altitude.

On the road, I just run, which doesn't do much for my mtn biking (primary race focus), and try to stay away from the hotel bar and food.

I think the biggest factor is working to make sure you make the big race dates. Scheduling your time off is very hard at Flex. Getting home from a trip at 9 pm and trying to race the next day is tough. It takes alot of prior planning and a wife that knows how to set out your race kit.

Good luck on your racing. And like most here have said, if you want to find the time, you will. At the least, you won't turn into one of those "big boys" sitting at the computer at the FBO.

 

[Bronco Buster]

I have a friend here at Netjets that is into triathelons, and he has no prolem training. Also the company has been pretty good about giving him leaves of absence for the competitions which generally gives him three weeks off, allowing for intense training before the actual competition.

 

[BAT31]

Sounds good at NJA for that type of thing. I don't know if that would go at Flex. Convincing the Texas boys that you want a leave of absence for a bike race would probably be like talking to a brick wall, but I haven't tried it ....... so who knows.

Interestingly, I do know that our new CP had to actually write a letter to an owner and explain that even though the owner's pilots that day were obese, they probably would not drop dead in flight from a heart attack. So yes, your physical appearance does play a role on the job. The owner was actually concerned enough to take the time to contact the boss. Wow.

 

[realityman]

Len,

Glad to hear you're looking after your physical fitness as well as everything else (too many pilots obsess over checkrides, training, company policies, etc... and forget that you can be God's gift to aviation and it won't matter at all if they lose their medical).

I run marathons. Not as much as I'd like anymore due to marriage and a kid on the way, but as far as the running goes, it fits in well with the NJA lifestyle. Almost every hotel we stay at has at least a decent treadmill. Yeah, a couple have crappy treadmills, but they're few and far between. And of course, many places you can just run outside. If you're serious about your fitness, I imagine you have no problem running outside in the cold as well as the heat. Personally, I enjoy a nice quiet run on the backroads while a pleasant snow is falling.

I will repeat what others have said, if you're serious about your training, you'll find the time to train. I'm currently training for the Pittsburgh marathon. I've put together a training program I think will get me to the starting line and be able to finish in under 3 hours. On my last day of my last tour, the only time I had to run was at 0345 in the morning (needed to get an hour of running in). So guess where I was at 0345? Down in the workout room on the treadmill.

There is a caveat though. Always remember that while on the road, the job comes first. If you have a schedule where you'll need to be rested (maybe scheduled for a 14-hour day after you just flew a 14-hour day) you may have to forego the workout in order to be properly rested for your trips. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. But it doesn't happen every day, and doesn't seem to have much of an impact on my training because the rest of my training is pretty regular.

Good luck with the racing!! Oh, if you're looking for a great marathon to run sometime, try Chicago. I may be back there myself in '09. But I've already run it 6 times.

 

[gunfyter]

Len,
. If you're serious about your fitness, I imagine you have no problem running outside in the cold as well as the heat. Personally, I enjoy a nice quiet run on the backroads while a pleasant snow is falling..

How was the snow for the Antartica marathon?

 

[NJAowner]

NJA pilot in the X ... Won (As in came in first) the Antartica Marathon. Yeah he posts here too (a lot).

Diesel -- My belated congratulations!!!

Fly safe.

 

["v"]

This 7 days on followed by 7 days off schedule sounds great!

I'm thinking about getting a personal trainers certification and I'm training for a marathon in october next year. It would be great to train in the weeks off.

Anyone know of any other companies apart from NJ, CS or XO that run these schedules??

Thanks all!

V

 

["v"]

By the way -

has anyone done the portland marathon??

V

 

[realityman]

How was the snow for the Antartica marathon?

LOL!! Actually, due to a warmer than normal summer down there, maybe you should have asked me how the MUD was for the Antarctic marathon!! Absolutely amazing place to go for a nice long run in though. Never done anything like it since. 1/2 a mile straight up a glacier, twice, on that course. Real lung-buster!

V, I've run the Portland marathon (assuming you're referring to Portland, Oregon). One of the best organized races I've participated in. Mostly very nice scenery. Great support. Really neat finisher's medals, plus you get a rose, and a tree sapling to plant. Fairly flat. One challenging uphill around mile 16 as you climb about 200 feet to cross a bridge over the Willamette. Great views across the bridge. I'd love to run that one again. But if you want a real challenge, look into the Crater Lake Rim Run in Oregon, run in August. Hint for this one: do at least some training at altitude! ;-)

 

[thunderworm]

len- is your bike the p2c or the p3c both are great rides. i have trianed for 2 ironmans and 4 marathons and other bike races all while having a 8 on 9 off schedule. it is not easy and you get frusterated when you are not able to keep a training schedule. i make mine very flexable and that takes the stress off of that part. i always pack my running shoes and googles with me as there is almost always a pool nerby. although sometimes the pool at the hotels is quite small and it is ridiculous to swim in a 20yrd pool but at least i can keep the dust off. i don't even bother with the crapy stationary bike in hotels as i do not want to hurt my knees doing those. most hotels have partnerships with reasonable gyms nerby even if they don't advertise this just ask. if anything i use the work as an excuse to get some rest in and concentrate on real quality wokouts when i am at home. always great to hear form other enthusiats who fly.

 

[Len]

Thunder- I'm a cat 3 road and cyclocross racer like bank & yank. I originally asked about tri's and marathons because the time commitment is similar for training. I can break legs on the bike but can't get out of my own way running! The bike is a Soloist Carbon but I sold it when Trek gave my race team a bike deal (Madone 5.5's). Some guy in Oregon is enjoying the Soloist now.I also have a Cervelo P3SL aluminium TT bike with Blackwell Research 100s wheels which I won the GA state cat 3 TT last with year, a Gary fisher Superfly mtn bike and a Lemond Poprad 'cross bike.

Someone said something about they were glad to see someone who watched out for their fitness... I say that if I weren't so competitive I'd be fat and on the couch! I could care less about fitness, I just want to win. Thats why I was asking about the training opportunities with the typical fractional schedule. Since I've been recently laid off, I was just wondering if you could maintain a reasonable training schedule while doing the job.

I don't post very often, it was cool to see all the replies. Its nice to see other pilots are out there killin' it!

 

["v"]

yep, portland oregon is the one.

I'm really looking forward to my FIRST marathon...... yikes.

How was the weather??

V

 

[realityman]

yep, portland oregon is the one.

I'm really looking forward to my FIRST marathon...... yikes.

How was the weather??

V

The weather was actually very nice for marathon running. Cool and dry.

First marathon? Run conservatively, and train exactly like you're going to run. Should make for a good first marathon for you.

Good luck!

 

[Flex-ible]

Len-

I found it tough to train properly with the Flexjet schedule, granted its not as good as NJ. I actually made sure to schedule my mil leave for this summer just so I could spend most of my training days here at altitude.

On the road, I just run, which doesn't do much for my mtn biking (primary race focus), and try to stay away from the hotel bar and food.

I think the biggest factor is working to make sure you make the big race dates. Scheduling your time off is very hard at Flex. Getting home from a trip at 9 pm and trying to race the next day is tough. It takes alot of prior planning and a wife that knows how to set out your race kit.

Good luck on your racing. And like most here have said, if you want to find the time, you will. At the least, you won't turn into one of those "big boys" sitting at the computer at the FBO.

Flex offers "PRS days" although the rules about them are about as clear as super-secret double probation. As I understand it, if you have a wedding, graduation, or Marine Corps Marathon scheduled ask your crew scheduler in advance to mark the day(s) as off limits in PBS. As long a you don't ask too many times, you can get it.

Doesn't help with the training - but at least you will get to the start line.

(Oh, and I am a member of the Navy 3 Mile Club!)

 

[illinipilot]

I ran the Portland marathon in 2006 just after I started at NJA. It was my first and a very good experience.

IP

 

[RNObased]

I won the GA state cat 3 TT last with year, a Gary fisher Superfly mtn bike and a Lemond Poprad 'cross bike.

Someone said something about they were glad to see someone who watched out for their fitness... I say that if I weren't so competitive I'd be fat and on the couch! I could care less about fitness, I just want to win. Thats why I was asking about the training opportunities with the typical fractional schedule. Since I've been recently laid off, I was just wondering if you could maintain a reasonable training schedule while doing the job.

I don't post very often, it was cool to see all the replies. Its nice to see other pilots are out there killin' it!

As a former CAT 3 road racer and expert class mountain bike racer. (Got into road riding as a way to train for mountain bike racing).
I went and looked at my training schedule and think it would be very hard to do the training schedule I used to do flying for NJA. You could always try though.

 

[av8trinabarrel]

I was doing the Xterra thing for a few years and found that I could get my run and a pseudo swim accomplished at the hotel. Most hotels have a pretty pathetic pool. Jumping in and treading water at a medium pace for 45 minutes and then heading out to the road for 45 minutes was enough too hold me over until I got home. You may get a few funny stares from people treading water for an hour, but it gets the job done. If you are creative and motivated, you can do it.