Wondering what free time during primary looks like

[rangerfreak]

Hey y'all. I'm a current applicant in the April 8th SNA cycle waiting to hear back about board results, and am also training for a half-ironman. As part of the triathlon training I've been considering dropping some money on a more-serious road/tri bike, but I've been wondering about how much free time the average SNA has when not in training. If it would be the case that, after possibly going to OCS, I would have 0 time to be on the new bike, I'd hold off on the purchase. Is there time for SNAs to train for 70.3s? And if SNA's can't, do fully winged aviators have that kind of flexibility when not deployed?

 

[villo0692]

I finished primary like a month ago, and even though it’s hard, you can train for a half or even a full iron man. I myself was training for a 70.3 and a couple of my friends here have completed full ones. It just comes down to time management. Since you haven’t even gone to OCS, then the timeline from now to starting primary is actually quite long…I didn’t start primary until about a year and a half after commissioning, so you will have enough time from now until then to build enough of an aerobic base, so that once you are in primary and you have more demands in your time, is not going to be as daunting or detrimental in your performance if you were to miss a couple workouts

 

[Odominable]

You would absolutely have time to train for a race like that and wouldn't be the first to do so. The only real risk would be if the race itself fell on a training det or something. FloraBama (a famous bar near Pensacola) holds a pretty fun sprint tri, and there used to be a weekly club that met on PCola beach.

 

[allegroreyees]

You would absolutely have time to train for a race like that and wouldn't be the first to do so. The only real risk would be if the race itself fell on a training det or something. FloraBama (a famous bar near Pensacola) holds a pretty fun sprint tri, and there used to be a weekly club that met on PCola beach.

Tri Gulf Coast has weekly training on Pensacola Beach starting in June but it's geared more towards sprint distance. They also have an open water swim every Thursday at quietwater beach.

 

[Hair Warrior]

Buy a cheaper/used bike that you won’t feel as bad if you end up selling it.

 

[allegroreyees]

Buy a cheaper/used bike that you won’t feel as bad if you end up selling it.

+1 on buying a used bike. There was a shortage of good used bikes during covid but it seems to be better now.

Also, Specialized has 20% off bikes and 40% equipment for military if anyone needs bib shorts, bottle cages, helmet, etc.

 

[Mouselovr]

Luck and time management.
Flight school is a rollercoaster of a ~100+ hour week where you get scheduled for 2 events a day, 6 days in a row followed by a ~10 hour week because weather.

In flight school, schedules are made daily so its impossible to have a consistent routine to exercise in addition to not knowing what/where you're expected to be until ~6pm the night before every day for months on end. Is it possible to train for marathons/iron half/tris, yes.
But you have to find the time between the chaos.

Due to the initial learning curve of inconsistent schedules, I saw more people who "Primary 15ed" than "Freshman 15ed" in college

Pre/in between flight school, heck yes. Most people have more time than they know what to do with.

Also,
@villo0692 is an absolute beast of a human who defies all odds.

 

[MIDNJAC]

In flight school any active duty flying tour, schedules are made daily so its impossible to have a consistent routine

FTFY

 

[SynixMan]

Echo what others have said, you should have time to train in flight school. There will be lots of unstructured time off and then sprints like Primary Contacts where you will live at work. Once you get to the fleet, it's more 0800-1600 when not on the flight schedule (community/location dependent) so potentially less time to train during the days.

I would *not* buy a super nice bike, maybe get something used, unless you'll be able to disassemble and/or move it yourself. Government movers break shit (including my bicycles that were disassembled and in a bike box).

 

[MIDNJAC]

I would *not* buy a super nice bike, maybe get something used, unless you'll be able to disassemble and/or move it yourself. Government movers break shit (including my bicycles that were disassembled and in a bike box).

Isn't the bike how OP will execute future PCS moves? Or am I missing something?

 

[rangerfreak]

Sweet, thanks y'all. Got assigned an 11 August OCS date yesterday and sounds like I'm gonna hold off on upgrading for the time being. Good to know theres a tri community in Pensacola, but was also wondering about how safe it is to ride around Pensacola and the Florida panhandle more generally. I've heard some stories and read some stats about biker safety being atrocious in Florida. Has anyone experienced this?

 

[allegroreyees]

Sweet, thanks y'all. Got assigned an 11 August OCS date yesterday and sounds like I'm gonna hold off on upgrading for the time being. Good to know theres a tri community in Pensacola, but was also wondering about how safe it is to ride around Pensacola and the Florida panhandle more generally. I've heard some stories and read some stats about biker safety being atrocious in Florida. Has anyone experienced this?

Drivers in the Pensacola area are pretty nuts.

West Florida Wheelmen is the main cycling club in the area and Ride More has a weekly group ride. I would recommend joining them if you want to ride on the road. There is a rails to Trail path in Milton but the first part of it has a lot of stop signs and it’s only about 12 miles long.

 

[Mouselovr]

Sweet, thanks y'all. Got assigned an 11 August OCS date yesterday and sounds like I'm gonna hold off on upgrading for the time being. Good to know theres a tri community in Pensacola, but was also wondering about how safe it is to ride around Pensacola and the Florida panhandle more generally. I've heard some stories and read some stats about biker safety being atrocious in Florida. Has anyone experienced this?

Police dep told us Pensacola had one of the highest rates of biker death in the country.

Its the way the roads are structured makes it challenging for bikers to get anywhere without crossing a major highway or stroad. Sticking in your neighborhood, it would be very safe but it will get dull/repetitive quick.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Echoing what the others have said - flight school tends to be feast-or-famine schedule-wise. Fly your ass off or sitting around for weeks because of a burst of bad weather, planes broken, whatever. Lots of students can and do find time for serious athletic training but you can't count on any kind of consistent schedule. Only caveat I would add is beware of any off-hours activity with the potential for serious injury. Some Pensacola Cletus in his jacked coal-rolling Ram crowds you off the road and congrats, you're on med hold for six months.

And @SynixMan is right on...the Navy hires the lowest bidder movers and the nicer something is, the more likely they are to trash it. In theory the government will make good your damage, but in practice... Buy the nicest bike you can that you won't mind having to replace.

 

[HuggyU2]

Only caveat I would add is beware of any off-hours activity with the potential for serious injury.

...and congrats, you're on med hold for six months.

This. Fester speaks with wisdom.

You will need to decide how much personal risk you want to accept, against your goal of becoming a Naval Aviator.

Anecdotally, you are a more valuable commodity to the Service after you have wings on your chest.