"If Life Is A Balancing Act, Why Am I So Darn Clumsy?'

That's the title of a book written by a friend of mine, Dick Biggs, a motivational speaker. Since many athletes have begun venturing into multi-sport events it's important to talk about balance. As I have stated before everything in your life affects your training. In addition to the physical and mental stresses of training we have to add the additional stress of family and work.

If you have small children many times they are involved in activities of their own that require your time and attention. If you have a stressful job or have to drive in rush hour traffic this is additional mental and physical stress.

When you have too much stress in your life it can contribute to physical and mental fatigue. Your body doesn't distinguish between fatigue caused by your job or family and fatigue caused by training, all it knows is fatigue.

In a previous post I talked about setting identifiable, quantifiable and attainable goals. In order to do this you need a plan that not only includes your time commitment for training but also your time for work, family and yes, even relaxation and recovery. In our drive to be our "best" we sometimes do what is "worst" for us. Without the proper balance of all the stressors in our life eventually something has to give, and usually that is an injury or chronic fatigue.

All the athletes that I coach are required to monitor their Morning Resting Pulse (MRP)  each moring before they get out of bed. This is the best and only true way to measure your fatigue level and how your body is adjusting to the training load your are experiencing.

There is a story that goes around the Internet about putting rocks in a jar. Starting with big rocks, adding smaller and smaller rocks, then finally adding sand until the jar is "full". The moral of the story is that you have to take care of the "big rocks" in your life first, otherwise you won't be able to get them in later. You have to identify what those big rocks are. It might be family and children, or it could be work. Since few of us have the luxury of having a sponsor for our athletic ventures our training usually becomes the "sand" we add at the end that has to fit in and around all the other "rocks" in our lives.

So look closely at the stressors in your life and find the balance you need to be your best at all of your ventures including your training. Without sounding like I am soliciting business, this is where a coach can help to be sure that the training time you do have is used to the maximum benefit without overtraining. I have stated before that "under-resting" is the same as "overtraining".

See you at the races.....
Coach Will

As a sidebar to the story about the rocks, after everything has been added and the jar appears to be full, you can still add liquid to the jar. The moral being there is always room for a beer!!!!