Family Matters

I have a family.  In fact, as I begin to write this post my 20-month old son Liam is practicing his climbing techniques on anything that has steps, rungs, or hand holds.  My wife is at work and she is pregnant with our second child due in November.  I love the wonderful benefits that come along with having a family.  Watching Liam grow is always an adventure as he explores and discovers what works and what doesn't-what is right and what is wrong.
I can also safely say I am an endurance athlete and I try to train like one.  As many people who train with families at home know there is a mighty word that rings like a bell in the night.  A word so important the repercussions are epic (okay, that may have been dramatic) the word is- Balance.
Balance is something that is so hard to find when the world spins about you like a tilt-a-whirl careening out of control at a carnival.  Trying to find time to spend time with the family, get all my work done, and train to the level that will allow me not just to finish but perform at a satisfactory level.
Many of my endurance brethren would agree that many times being able to rain means getting up a redonkulous hours of the morning when those single athletes are still nestled in their cozy little beds getting their 8 hours of sleep dreaming about the awesome workout they plan on having when they are fully awake.
I am not complaining, no, we family supporting endurance athletes, we actually consider ourselves a finer breed of warrior.  We live on 6 hours of sleep (if we are lucky) we move while the world sleeps.  Coffee, Ensure, and Gels are the staples in our diet because without them we would never get moving.  We wear our families as a badge of honor.  Not only are we able to train for races that defy the limitations of the human body but we are champions for our families as well.
I am not going to say it is not difficult, because it is.  Sometimes we have to make sacrifices somewhere.  More often that not I choose to sacrifice training.
When my life ends, I want there to be three truths about me: 1. My life reflected a love for God 2. I was an awesome Husband(see #1) 3. I was a great Dad (see #1).  All the physical accomplishments in the world cannot hold a candle to those 3 truths. 
I'll continue to train and race because they have become a fun motivational factor in my life.  But my greatest reward is coming through the door after a heart wrenching workout and seeing my little guy come running in with a smile on his face because he is happy to see his daddy.