A tri-tweeter of mine recently posted this pic and I'm sure I'm not the only one who sniggered in agreement. The tweeter in question is a fellow GB age-grouper, George * who is training 15-20 hours a week whilst working full-time and having no shred of a social life. Sound familiar?
George* recently went on a date, it went brilliantly but ended too quickly. 'I have to get up early', George* said. The girl rolled her eyes disappointed, George* was using that age-old excuse and was not interested. But no, he really DOES need to get home, check training plan, write out session plan on small scrap of paper, add todays feedback to training plan, put a lycra wash on, lay out lycra for the next day as well as sports drink and bars and other gubbins, set the alarm for 5am, eat porridge, then cycle 40k before a shower, change, second breakfast, pack 2 lunches, shove ironed work clothes into backpack along with the evenings swim stuff, commute and be ready for a 10 hour day at work starting at 9am. Its a genuine reason! But for anyone not obsessed with this sport, this reason doesn't wash.
Speaking to fellow Tri friends of mine, it is obvious that following a training plan and keeping your other half happy is sometimes challenging. Military organisation and planning, compromising social plans like a treaty and inevitably getting training done early doors and 'out the way' in order to have quality time. It is very easy for training to fill a whole weekend, especially when you love it, but spending all day in Lycra and sweating is not everyone's idea of a brilliant Saturday.
I am one of the lucky ones to have managed to bag a sporty one. The Frenchman in question was sourced on the internet and when I saw a profile picture of him on a nice Bianchi, I saw strong potential (amongst many other reasons!). Road racer turned triathlete (potentially something to do with me?) we train together 5-6 days a week; I coach his swimming, he coaches my cycling and chatter keeps us going on those long aerobic runs which we both find a bit boring. I am very thankful I have someone to share my 6am porridge with, a wheel to ride on when I need a little break and most importantly for shared enthusiasm, support, fun (and sports washes).
My advice to George* the age grouper and anyone else who's sport takes over their life and threatens new relationships is to seek a partner who partakes in or at least gets your sporty commitment. It's no surprise that there is a high rate of blossoming relationships and even marriages within members of my Tri club, so pay that £20 joining fee and get along to pace a sporty fitty/ ride on their wheel/ share a post-race beer with.
* not real name
