Quick catch-up! Yesterday (Sunday) was supposed to be a 60 min aerobic run. I took my son along with me on his bike and we headed off on the river trail... along the Willamette River. Its a paved path that runs an approximate 10k loop... not terribly crowded and pretty well shaded. Somehow we got separated and I ran along the river in a panic adding an extra 2 miles to my total run! It was NOT fun! The idea of loosing that young man just made me sick! We found each other... he was in tears... and we continued our outing paying more attention to each other. We had some good one on one talking time... a rarity in our busy family! So the stats for the run were as follows:- Total time: 60 min
- Total distance: 8.5 miles
- Pace: 7 min/mile
- Avg HR: 148
Spending that time with Jack made me start thinking about the time commitment to train for a full Ironman. Which is where the title of this post comes from... "Juggling". I was reading a post the other day on Triscoop from Jetpack. He casually mentioned that that particular day's workout consisted of 1 hour of swimming, a 6 hour ride, and a 1 hour run. You do the math... that's 8 hours of training in one day! Seriously... part of me says, "YES! SWEET! I want that!" The other part of me says, "Holy COW... how am I going to fit that kind of training in and still be the father and husband that I want to be?!"
Again... I guess its a matter of what goals you want to set for yourself. I certainly believe that you don't have to kill yourself in order to finish an Ironman. However, I do know myself... and I won't be satisfied with just finishing. Then again... maybe its foolish to expect anything more for your first race at that distance!ANYWAY... I really do struggle with those sorts of thoughts. What's most important to me is my family and their well-being and happiness... and how I contribute to that. I do know that if I'm not pursuing something lofty... that I'm miserable... and that lofty goal is generally something physical, (I'm no brainiac!)... and that those goals or challenges keep me sane... which ultimately contributes to me being able to be a better parent/spouse! GEESH! Am I INSANE? Am I the only one out there that obsesses about these things? Doubtful... but sometimes I wonder. Anybody out there have any thoughts?
Thanks for reading!
Breathe...
6 comments:
Hey dude!
I feel your sentiments. I am only training for Olympic distances and maybe some half marathons later in the fall, nothing like an IM. I am sure that I could put in less hours each week and still finish races but I want to be faster. I also just love to train. No kids at our house makes a big difference too, but my husband has already mentioned a couple of times like he feels like he never sees me. He'll ask if he needs to go to a Master's practice to actually hang out. I feel bad but I LOVE what I am doing. He is active as well but not so much into triathlon. Cycling, running, and strength training are his things. I can't imagine balancing kids AND a spouse AND a full time job AND any other sort of obligations you may have. It is doable but I think it takes a toll.
I hear ya Rob, I look at it as a total life style change because for me it was is. Alcohol every night. Sitting on the computer gaming tell late hours of the night. Triathlon are good for us. We need goals in are lives. Doing a Full Ironman is a goal that some people would never in there right mind even consider. You are that kind athlete that has the state of mind and endurance to do great things that a lot of use will never be able to achieve at the Ironman level. You will find the time. And your family will always be there for you. Because in the end, it will be a GOAL that everyone in the your family will have sacrificed for. It's a win win situation.
You can definitely finish an IM on less training than average. I know, because I've done it. I only train about 7 months out of the year, and only 3-4 are really focused training.
I'm not recommending that plan if you want to be fast, but I train a lot less than anyone I know (for IM) and still do okay and have lots of time for family & friends 9 months out of the year. I just juggle the other months and don't get enough sleep, but I manage.
Be glad you have that dilemma. It is much better than being alone but having all the time in the world to train and recover, IMO.
You guys are GREAT! Thanks SO much for taking the time to write... it really does help me process all this stuff! You guys ROCK!
If your wife and kids are like our family, our recreation revolves around a healthy lifestyle. The kids love watching their Dad compete and we mix his events in with family vacations most of the time.
Scottie's new outlook on life and increased training has actually been a great thing for our family. He is healthier physically as well as mentally and spiritually. That is something we all benefit from.
I think I need to search out some blogs by "Tri-Widows." We can all vent about the training time to each other so you all don't have to hear it!
I can't blame Scottie for where he is at with training and the time it takes. It was my idea to run our first half-marathons and from there he was hooked. Now it is my turn to try this "Tri" thing out!
from, Scottie's wife and Tri-Widow
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