Like most pros, I have a love-hate relationship with triathlon. Most of the time I absolutely love it. Sometimes though it feels a bit like a guilty pleasure. Other times it can just makes me feel guilty.
It’s true that people of all abilities and age groups sometimes allow triathlon to take over their lives at the expense of other things. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but people often bandy about the term “balanced life†without really thinking about what that actually means. They often extol the idea of the need to lead a “balanced life†with, for example, family and friends also having a role in it in order to balance it out.
But what exactly is a balanced life? What is balanced for one person is not necessarily balanced for the next. You certainly don’t want to live your life according to someone else’s perception of what “balanced†means. People have different priorities. Problems occur though when one person tries to force their “balanced life†criteria on the next person.
Let’s be honest here, often it’s like comparing apples to oranges. A “balanced life†for an age grouper training 10 hours a week is completely different for a pro like myself who usually has to put in six hours of training a day, year round, just to maintain a worldclass competitive level. It’s a lot easier to maintain the so-called elusive “balance†when you’re only training 10 hours a week instead of 35.
It seems to me that “commitment†is a double-edged sword. You don’t get to be the top of any field, athletics or otherwise, without a total commitment to what you’re doing. People usually admire commitment in others. And yet with that commitment inevitably comes guilt.
You have to give up something when you commit to being a top triathlete. Its more than just a job, it’s a life passion that infiltrates everything and everyone. You can’t do it all, or have it all. As a result, you have to prioritize what you can fit in to your week. There are only so many hours in a week. When you prioritize your week, you inevitably create disappointment, for yourself and for others. With disappointment comes guilt.
The bottom line is that, speaking personally, when you are a top triathlete you have to commit so much to the sport to be the best that you sometimes feel guilty about having to ignore other things that ordinarily would be a bigger priority in your life. But that’s one of the prices you have to pay. It doesn’t get any easier either, because it is a choice you have to constantly make, week-in and week-out.
One question that any triathlete needs to answer then, is how high a price are you willing to pay if you want to excel at the sport?
