Finding Balance in Life and Triathlon Training, Week 8 Totals, Week 9 Plan

I was able to get back on track after losing some momentum during week 7. I had a great week of workouts and the key this week was finding time during a busy schedule. My family makes some sacrifices for me to train. I do my best to train while they are sleeping, but at the end of the week there is still overlap of things that need to get done. The key is balance.  I started reading Zendurance again from the beginning after taking a break from it due to distractions with some other reading materials. One passage that I had marked the first time that stood out to me was


"With both our hears and our minds, we must remember that we have to be healthy, whole, and balanced human beings before we can be athletes."

This is a powerful statement. Really, it states the obvious that we cannot neglect our duties as human, father, husband, teacher, coach, etc. Without taking care of the other important elements in life we cannot lead a life that creates and promotes a healthy athlete. My wife does so much that we all would be lost in our family without her. I think she gets tired of talking about training and basketball, but she is always there to listen even on the days when she could care less.

This statement also reminds of a scenario this weekend. I took Addy to her gymnastics and while sitting there I pulled out my phone like every other adult. After about 5 minutes I stopped and asked, "Is what is going on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest really more important than my daughter?" I stopped, put my phone away, stood up and just watched her the rest of the time. Let me tell you I had a blast watching her bounce around trying to learn all the new techniques and doing her best to catch up with the other girls(she just started and is behind compared to the girls who have done this for a while). There is nothing more special and powerful than watching her do a move and then checking to see if I was watching and then just smiling ear to ear to know I was focused on her.

I always blog about my training, but I think it is just as important for me to show the balances in my life as well. I should be able to explain the balance in my life in the same great detail as my training. This week I plan on thinking about my life balance with each post and if I feel like I cannot discuss the other aspects of my life in the same clarity, then I know I need to realign my priorities. This is my week 9 challenge - Align my life balance and make sure the scales do not get too far out of being in sync.


Looking back at last week here is my breakdown stats

Week 8 Totals: 9 Workouts

Bike Total: 81.12 miles
Run Total: 29.06 miles
Swim Total: 3.58 miles
Total Miles: 113.76

Training Totals Weeks 1-8

Bike Total: 477.53 miles
Run Total: 163.87 miles
Swim Total: 23.73 miles
Total Miles: 665.13 miles

Here is my training plan for Week 9