Putting training into perspective

It being Father’s Day today, and having two boys of my own, I think it’s worth looking at putting your training in perspective sometimes.

I’ve just returned from an amazing family holiday of a few weeks in Portugal.

So pre triathlon and outside of family, my biggest love is the beach & sea. From sailing the San Fran bay with my pops as a kiddo to windsurfing the Caribbean or kitesurfing around the globe, I’ve always loved the sea. Fortunate then that my wife too loves the beach and enjoys relaxing when I’m out, in or on the water. And the boys? I physically can’t drag them from the beach at the end of a day without some form of ice cream bribery. 

But details of the family holiday aside, what I really learned was that it’s ok to take a break. 

Yes I did a few runs (in 38 degree heat at 8am!), but I didn’t use my trackers. Ok so I did once, but I was worried about getting lost. Instead, well, I kind of did get lost, but lost exploring the amazing surrounds we were based in. Up mountains. Along deserted beaches. Down dirt tracks. With some local friends. On my own. It was amazing! And I saw some pretty awesome sites too (check out he #tripals Instagram for a few pics). 

Same goes for the swimming. There were some bays a couple kilometres wide that I couldn’t just stare at and not swim. So I swam them. But for fun, not for splits. 

Also spent a lot of time in the pool with the boy (the other boy is 3 months old). It was great to see his own swimming charging forward, diving to the bottom and doing a couple of lengths front crawl. Couldn’t be more proud of him!

I also got to surf. With my friends and with my boy. Nothing can beat dropping in on a green face of a wave with my boy screaming his head off (in excitement!). Probably one of the best feelings in the world seeing the joy on his face as he turns to me and says “daddy, I surf big waves now!” (He’s four).

So my point? Unless your event is today, make sure you take some time out to enjoy all else that is going on around you. If you’re a dad and you’ve got kids, remember your real priority and spend some time with them, especially today. 

But also remember family, friends or even other pursuits that get you out of bed in the morning. It’ll help you remember what’s fun and if you’ve lost your way a little bit, I guarantee you’ll get back out there enjoying it even more when you return. 

Happy Father’s Day to all you triathlete dads. 

(Triathlon training is back to normal next week 😉