Everyone knows the importance of creating balance in their balance, none more so than the endurance athlete. It’s vital to create and sustain a happy medium between work, hobby, family, relaxation, and sport. Becoming too narrowly focused on one aspect necessarily means that others will be left wanting. To be a happy triathlete, I’ve found that I can’t focus solely on sport, to the detriment of those other aspects that create a well-rounded life. While I love thinking about wattage, heart rate, race courses, competition, and training benchmarks, it makes me a terrible wife, friend and employee to focus solely on these things. So, as I strive to take my triathlon career further, I’ve also been working hard on not neglecting healthy relationships in both life and work.
One of my healthiest relationships is with beer. I’ve spent many hours seeking out unique brews, revisiting favorites like long-lost friends, and analyzing new beers with like-minded folks in dark bars. This may seem at-odds with an aspiring professional triathlete, but focusing time and energy into this pursuit is just as gratifying as a great training day, and goes far to create some much-needed balance in my life. Last night, for example, I spent a fabulous few hours at a great local gastropub trying new beer, talking with their beer sommelier about the new taps he is bringing in next week, and catching up with great friends. Sure I didn’t wake up early and train this morning, but in seeking balance, sometimes on side of the seesaw must give a little for the other to rise.
Also seeking balance, I made sure to start the day with a delicious berry Pur Pak smoothie to get some much-needed vitamins and electrolytes into the system to balance out the malts and hops! Mornings never felt so good before!
For more about my beer drinking and training:
Blog: tricraftbeer.tumblr.com
Twitter: @tricraftbeer