SAUs are red lining
The spousal support bus wheels are showing wear as the miles increase.
My wonderful wife has been very supportive up until last week, but back to back long rides on the weekend are taking its toll on the family life. I'm trying to mitigate the time away from family by starting at 5am and back no later than 11am. I've been praising the EN program vs other training programs and how it could so much worse. Her response was " that’s like saying bullets don't hurt people, it’s the hole that does all the damage." I guess that's the price you pay for having an intelligent wife.
We need to create a thread for spouses to jump on so we all can survive the last 40 days without gutting the training plan.
I know the standard suck-ups: flowers, spa day, yard work..... but any suggestion would be appreciated.
Comments
This is tough. I try to make sure I make myself available for what she wants me to do on the weekends before/after the long rides. E.G....we have 5 kids, so they drive her crazy. So, I suggest she go out and shop/groceries/run/go to movies with her friends, etc., so that she gets some time away from the nut-house. Honestly, long rides/runs are an opportunity for me to do a lot of "alone time", thinking, planning, not listening to children, etc....she may need some "alone time" too.
If you have little ones, she may prefer family activities that include her.
All of this can be hard to do after a long ride/run, but it's the price you have to pay...
If it's the TIME that is the most bothersome to her, then you have to repay the time...however she wants it. If it's the money, then....
This has worked fairly well for me, but I've only done one full IM. I can definitely feel some tension at times, and I try to act before that gets legs......
I also agree that the wife needs some "alone" time to match all the alone time I get while training. Some weekends I will go off on an adventure with my 2 year old to give my wife a break. I take him to the zoo, or the natural history museum.
Another thing I have done is try to incorporate training into a family activity such as lets do a beach day, and I will duck out for a long run while the kid is napping. Or lets have a picnic up in the mountains, and I will meet them there on my bike.
One scheduling alternative is to move the long run to Sunday and put that ABP ride on Thursday morning and cap it at about 90 minutes. So while Saturday's talks, so that you can be up at five and be home by 730 the latest. Let me know how you want to proceed.
Bryan...I did not notice that this was a micro thread...sorry. JL
Getting up early and doing what you doing is leaving you spent for the day it shows and she knows, ask my wife as I did the dance too.
Saturday is training day Sunday is family day, if she isn't happy with that then you need a reevaluation of your racing life..... IMHO
@ all Thank you for the great advice. I've implemented a few of your ideas and tensions have eased.
@ Coach revamping scheduling for IMLP intermediate
Monday - Active recovery swim
Tuesday - Bike & Swim
Wednesday- Run & Bike
Thursday - ABP bike
Friday - Swim
Saturday - Long Bike
Sunday- Long Run