Triathlon and Significant Others

I am back from my trip.....and I certainly was active whilst away. Not active in the sense that I actually completed all of my necessary training for the week. But I did visit every museum I neglected to see when I actually lived in DC. I sacrificed hours of training time so that I could spend time with my DH and see the sites and enjoy what little time I had outside of work with him.

I'm starting to notice that the downside of my "new" hobby is that it really does consume my life. It's what I talk about when people ask me what I'm up to, it's what I'm thinking about when I'm all zoned out and my hubby asks what's bugging me, and it's what I want to be doing when I'm sitting at my desk at work waiting to leave. I'd even tell my cat about it if I knew he would understand. Yet the funniest thing is happening.....nobody seems to care anymore! In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say my husband is pretty damn over the entire triathlon thing. I was fortunate last season, as he was gone in training for most of it and he never had to sit around in an empty house while I was away every evening and weekend. But now he is here. He is bored, And there's this.....tension.....involving my triathlon. He rolls his eyes at the mention of Half Ironman, which he thinks is excessive. He tells me not to hurt myself when I mention a long run. He really wants to be supportive, but I can't help but wonder if he's not a tad bit resentful of how much time this takes away from our time together?

I guess I see it this way. In order to be a perfect couple, there has to be a balance. Each one of us has to be personally fulfilled so that we can be a better partner for the other. I need a release so that I don't come home from a rough day at work and rip his balls off. So that I don't grab a carton of Ginger cats from Trader Joes and eat it in one sitting. (Yes, I have tried) Triathlon has been just the cure for these evils, and although it does consume my time, at least it makes me more tolerable to be around when I actually AM around. And it's not like I am training for IM right now or even have an interest in it. I have a very demanding full time job and a demanding husband.....IM would ruin both of those, I suspect.

Just had to vent. We're ramping up even more in our training, with the long bike rides creeping into the 3-hour range, and the long runs approaching 1.5 hours. These both have to happen on the weekends....OUR time....and I'm hoping that we can find a way to make it all work out.

If only I could get him to take swim lessons.....then he'd join me, I suspect. He's obsessed with mountain biking now and is on a couch-to-5K plan to get him up to a 5K run. Sounds like an Xterra athlete in the making, right? Gotta teach him to swim first and then I'm in the clear!!!