Realizing a Dream and Maintaining a Balance

As I've set my next goal as the St. George Ironman, I clearly have to make sure that I'm doing it for the right reasons.  My last blog helps me to remember the importance of doing an ironman in my life.  It's something that has been a goal of mine for many years.  However, my first goal is my wife and family.  Doing an ironman can not get in the way of that.  I was reminded of that fact this morning.  I had set my alarm for 6am so I could get some bike time in.  My wife had a bad night's sleep and therefore so did I.  First of all, I reset my alarm and ended up waking up before it went off at 6:40am.  I didn't read the newspaper (something I always do), and I managed to get in 35 minutes on the bike before taking a quick shower and getting to work on time.  As I drove in, I thought about what this meant.  It became very clear to me.  Again, my first goal is my family.  They come first.  As much as I love triathlon, I love my family more.  However, reading the newspaper has to get pushed way down my list, possibly off of it.  I can think of other things I do that I can reprioritize.  I've already decided to take an extra day off of work from January through April.  I truly believe that these adjustments will allow me to realize my dream while maintaining the balance that is rapidly becoming the most important thing to me.  I am also very comfortable with the reality that I will now pick family time and issues over training without any question or disappointment.  At the end of the day, it's a matter of priority.  And I know what mine are.  By the way, when I got home, my family was out getting dinner and shopping.  I managed another 55 minutes on bike.  I can do this.