What to do when your significant other shares the same love for triathlon as you do?
You don't have to quit your job or sell your kids to make time for triathlon training and racing. You may be tempted to when your spouse hogs all of the "free" time (aka early morning/late evenings) used to train while you; care for the kids, work, go to school, keep up on chores, bills etc. There is a better way. You can have your Gatorade and drink it too.
We had our first fight. It wasn't about in-laws, money or who forgot to put laundry soap on the grocery list. Instead it was who about who was going to train on a certain day for a certain time. I remember my husband telling me awhile back that I should "get a hobby." Well honey I not only got one hobby I got three. Shortly after that he decided that he wanted to join me in this crazy tri-lifestyle. That's when we decided to seek mediation.
We sat down one night with a pen, paper, calender and a list of races that we would like to do this season. Then we broke the list of races down to one's that would be "A" races, "B" and so forth. We picked those which would require loads of training, money and babysitters. After much debate, consultation and reflective listening we had a plan in writing and on the calender. We toasted our protein shakes and our marriage was saved!
Its hard to explain to people who don't quite get our weird addiction to our sport. How do you explain to people that our date nights include dropping the kids off at grandmas and hitting the sack at 9:00. Or how about he couple who spends their anniversaries river rafting, surfing, completing marathons in far away lands and biking centuries. How romantic are we? We have shared many firsts together; 5k, marathon, triathlons, 70.3 and now we have have hopes of Boston qualifying and completing our first Ironman. However, these big aspirations will not happen unless we are on the same stroke length er...page.
Here are a few tips on keeping both you and your S.O. happy, fit and ready to race.
1. PLAN- Its easy for Type A personalities (like most triathletes are) to make a plan. You really have to map out every little detail of when, where and what workout you'll be doing. For us it was deciding when we would swim. Since we don't have a pool at our house we knew this workout would require away time. This lead me into...
2. OPTIONS- Since we started training for races that include two-a-days it was imperative that we had options to train at home while the other trained away. We have a bike trainer, treadmill, weight set, and yoga videos at home. This gave one of us the option of going for a "real" bike ride while the other got to watch Sesame Street with the kiddos while on the trainer.
3. PICK DIFFERENT RACES- Grandma and grandpa have a life too. They love our kids but may not want to spend every single Saturday watching them. So we started to stagger our races so one of us would be a spectator and parent while the other raced. I thought I'd have a difficult time being a spectator but I soon realized that watching a triathlon can be a part of training. I learned so much about the sport and was able to watch and cheer for everyone; from the first place male finisher to the first timer. You can also get inside scoop from other spectators as to "whose who" amongst the field of the super-fasts.
4. BE MULTI-TASKED-Asking a triathlete to be multi tasked is like asking a kid to be excited for Christmas. But why not put the kids in the bike trailer and head to the track? They can play in the long-jump pit while you run repeats! How is that for multi-tasking? Or, push the jog stroller up a hill while your child shouts "go mommy go!" Not only does your kid have fun but you get a killer strength building workout.
5. MAKE IT A TRIP- For my 30Th birthday I ran the Catalina Marathon with my husband and then spent the rest of the weekend with my sister and her fiance'. We went golfing, sight seeing and ate until we couldn't breathe! We've also done family trips where after a race we spend time with the kids hiking, swimming and playing at the park. This way the whole family gets a fun trip and you don't spend the time thinking about workouts your going to miss.
6. BALANCE- As obsessed as we are about training and racing we know how to keep our lives balanced. We would never miss a soccer game, dance recital or birthday to satisfy our cardio needs. There are also other things to talk about than tri-bikes, gear and nutrition. We have to put the new Triathlete/Runner magazine down and pick up Dr. Seuss sometimes.
By finding the right balance will make you a better athlete, friend and parent. It will keep you grounded, humble and eager to give it your all in everything you do. Isn't that what life's all about?
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