While sitting alone the other evening watching one of my favorite flicks (well, not really alone?my triathlete was crashed on the couch next to me drooling on his shirt), it hit me how life with an Ironman reads a lot like some of my favorite movie scripts.
I thought I'd pass along a few of my favorites since I find laughter to be a great way to deal with training season stress. I'm thinking you might need to lighten things up right about now, too.
Read, enjoy, and let me hear some of yours in the comments section at the end of the article.
1) Movie: Annie Hall
Scene: Split-screen of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton sitting in analysis with their respective therapists.
Each therapist asks: "So how often do you make love?"
Woody Allen: "Hardly ever, only three times a week."
Diane Keaton: "All the time, about three times a week."
Remember the conversation where Woody and Diane are in therapy, discussing the frequency of their intimate times together?
Just swap out "make love" with the word "train" and you've got an uncanny parallel in front of you. Think about it: how many weeks do you fret that you only got in 10 hours of training while your partner feels like you are NEVER around? Similar to that disconnect in Annie Hall, right? A classic in my book.
More: Finding Time to Train for an Ironman
2) Movie: Cool Hand Luke
Line: "What we've got here is failure to communicate."
While you don't risk getting clubbed by a miserable, masochistic prison boss, ongoing screw-ups in communication can lead to ugly battles with your mate. Luckily, in our household, there is plenty of dialogue. Just this morning my triathlete said to me, "I'm letting you know that my main swim set today is going to be 3000 yards with the main set of 2 x (10x50 fast plus 100 kick) with 20-second rest intervals between each 50."
It's a good effort, but frankly "I'll be home by 7 o'clock for dinner" is all I need here.
More: Relationship Advice for Triathletes
3) Movie: Moonstruck
Line: "Snap out of it!"
Your in-house support crew has spent weeks eating meals alone, stepping over your nasty training duds, and paying off credit card bills from the local bike shop. Out of the blue, you walk into the family room and announce, "Geez, I hope I'm ready for the race this weekend."
We resist the urge to smack you upside the head (figuratively speaking, of course) and, instead calmly guide you back on track. This conversation always seems to show up right about the time you begin your taper and panic about getting out of shape. Thankfully, we are usually armed and ready for this one.
