Balance

A funny in between kind of day today. A bit of an orphan day sitting wedged between the weekend and the ANZAC Day public holiday tomorrow. A day for working, but not for getting too involved in it. I must say it was kind of nice heading into the office today knowing I just needed to get through one day before I would get a little bit of rest again. They should make the working week shorter in general I think.

With the day off work tomorrow, the plan is to make the most of the extra time and head out on the bike in the morning. I haven't been riding out on the road for a little over a week, so I am really looking forward to getting for a spin. Should be another lovely morning.

Part of the reason for my lack of riding outside has been that my wife started back at work again last week. It isn't that my wife working is preventing me from doing exercise, but it does mean that I have slightly less time to get away from the house and I find there are more time efficient ways to get the exercise done.

When I was racing my wife would have simply put up with me being away while I trained. It sounds ridiculously selfish, and I guess it was, but that was what it took to race elite. I would train and she would do everything. It is the dark little truth at the centre of any elite sports person's story, but the fact is that for somebody to get to the top they have made a path over the sacrifices of others. Whether it be parent's, partners or other family members, the fact is that for a sports person to train enough to reach the top of their sport there simply isn't enough time for them to fully function as a proper human, something has to give. Often that something is things like working full time which means an athlete needs financial support from parents and others. Often that sacrifice is given very willingly, the reward is seeing a loved one succeed makes it worth it. However, sometimes the sacrifice can lead to resentment, which is a fine line that athletes need to warily tread.

For our family the sacrifice took the form of me not helping around the house much and my wife having no time for exercise of her own. I worked and trained, my wife carried the household that was it. Very 1950s of us I know, but it was how it was.

However, the days when I could ask her to make that sort of sacrifice are behind us. Asking her to give up her morning so that I could exercise was selfish at the best of times, but elite sport is selfish by its nature. Now that I am not racing I no longer have that excuse, as flimsy as it was, and so heading out for a couple of hours in the morning for a ride is a bridge too far.

These days the focus is on trying to achieve a balance of exercise (and household responsibilities) for the two of us. Giving my wife as much opportunity for exercise as myself. Some mornings that might mean I jump on the Kickr or go for a short jog so that she has time to head to the pool, or I stay home so that she can ride. If am honest we are still figuring it out.

However, it is figuring that I am more than happy to do. She gave up a lot over the years and so working for some balance now is the least I can be doing.