Travelling man...

I'm not big on business travel. I used to do it so much, the novelty wore off a long long time ago.

At one point in my career I was on the road three weeks out of every month and I did that for years. I even had one year where I flew out Monday and returned Friday and did that for over one year. Now, the only time I like to travel is if it's with my family.

Today I had to go to Ottawa for a "wine and cheese" customer presentation. Prior to getting back into triathlons three years ago, work was my number one priority and everything revolved around my work schedule. Now it's different. When my Ottawa sales rep wanted to know when I could come to Ottawa, the first thing I did was check my training schedule and picked a rest day.

In most cases, I try to schedule all my work activities around my training schedule. I now do it easily, but it didn't start out that way. I had to reprogram myself to dispel any feelings of guilt in making training my number one scheduling priority. It probably took me two years to fully make the mental transition. The only thing that can over-ride my training schedule is an important family moment.

The toughest part of training for an Ironman is figuring out how to balance family, work and training. If you don't learn how to balance it all, triathlon is a very selfish sport.

When I tell people I do Ironman Triathlons and train 20 plus hours a week, usually the first question they ask is "how does your wife or family feel about all the training you do?". When they ask that question, I interpret the implication as "your family situation doesn't sound very healthy or balanced".

My internal reaction is "who do you think you are to judge me? Why do you assume my relationships are unbalanced based on your ideal of what good relationships should look like?". At this point, I usually say something like "no, she or they don't mind at all". Then the person who asked the question typically looks at me with scepticism and pretends to listen. The "glossed over eyes" typically give them away.

Often I assure them that everything is "cool on the home front and that my relationships with my wife and kids are great and don't suffer because of my training". The reason I feel compelled to explain, is more to show them what is possible, that "you can have your cake and eat it too".

Frankly, most don't want to hear it. Especially those people that ask in a "holier than thou tone": What does your wife think?" or "I can't believe your wife allows you to train so much?", they don't ask to learn, they ask to judge. I feel sorry for them. They're ones with the imbalance.

What they're really saying is "I could never get away with training that much. My wife wouldn't allow it". Some are genuine and will say something like "I can't believe your wife lets you do it. What's your secret?". I have two answers, the short version and long version. Rarely, has anyone asked me to expand on the shorter version.

The short answer is, "I don't know, I guess I'm just lucky".

The long answer is "I selected my partner wisely, and vice-versa. My wife is secure in herself and not needy or jealous, she doesn't need me around her every moment of the day. She understands the concept of quality of time versus quantity of time. She doesn't judge our relationship using a score card. She knows that training provides me personal benefits which make me happy and in turn bring happiness into our home. She knows I'm responsible, respectful and loving. She knows I understand life is not a one way street, that I know when to hold them and know when to fold them. She knows at the end of the day, if given an important choice, between training and family and work, based on the circumstance, I'll make the right one".

Like I said "I guess I'm just lucky".

Taper Rest Day