Juggling Family and Triathlon

by Harold Wilson

I took a course in Motor Learning as part of my undergrad. On the first day of class, the professor gave us a proposal. We could skip the first test if we were able to juggle two tennis balls with one hand for 20 consecutive catches. I sat in the back of the class with a sly smile. I knew how to juggle. Out of 60-something students only about five of us attempted this feat. I was the only person who skipped the first test.

If you are married with kids and racing long distance triathlon, you need to learn how to juggle at least two objects with one hand.

You might be thinking, “Why not juggle with two hands?” Well because, until the National Committee on Genetic Coding and Ethics allows cloning, there is only one of you.

Tennis balls would be too easy in this case. We need bowling pins, and you need to make each pin rotate end over end with each toss. Also, the number of pins you are flipping will represent the number of aspects to your life. One pin for family, one pin for career, one pin for triathlon, etc…

The size and weight of the pins are not uniform. The largest and heaviest pin is the highest prior aspect of your life, and the aspects get progressively lighter and smaller. The smallest pin is the easiest to juggle and the least important priority.

Here’s how to juggle with these set parameters:

You must focus on the largest pin. This pin represents your family and has to be highest priority. The rotation speed of this pin is dependent upon the number of activities. If you have a spouse with a career or kids involved in sports, it’s flipping end over end several times with each toss. Never lose sight of this pin.
Take a break from your lower priority pins. Toss your lighter pins as high as possible to enable a few cycles of juggling with only your larger pins. Take a vacation from work or do a block of light unstructured training with no racing.
Expect the unexpected. At any given time, a bowling pin may catch fire for a few rotations or a big gust of wind may come through and blow all your pins off course. Cars break down and kids break bones. You need to be able to make adjustments in order to keep your bowling pins in flight.

The truth is that if your family knows that you love them more than you love triathlon, they will go out of their way to foster your passion for training and racing. You just need to learn how to juggle well.

Harold is the Fitness Director at Impact Performance & Fitness and resides in Dallas, Texas. He has a B.S. in Kinesiology and is currently working towards his Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Coach Harold has credentials from USAT, USAC, NASM, NSCA, and several years’ experience coaching endurance athletes.