About 5 days into our relationship Ryan shared his dream and goal to become a professional triathlete while doing some motivational speaking on the side. When he told me what he wanted to accomplish, at that moment I thought that was a big order to fill.

I have witnessed his efforts of training on almost a daily basis. I have seen him make changes in his training to improve. I have seen his gains. I have not only witnessed him race in World Championships in Switzerland, but I have also experienced for myself the gift of speaking he has. All of which have been wonderful experiences. I am not naïve, I know that becoming a professional triathlete is still a big order to fill. However, now I see how dedicated he is and how much he desires to make this happen. That is what makes me know this is a bit more realistic than I understood 5 days into our relationship. Now here it is a year of dating later and almost 5 months of marriage later. His dream and goal has now become our dream and goal.

Supporting Ryan in this goal comes in a lot of different ways. Our meals are thought out. Making sure we get enough nutrients and good fats. They are also planned according to how much time we have in the evenings because of our workouts. Planning around our workout schedule is a whole different deal. If making plans we have to see what day of the week it is and how long the workout is verses another day of the week. Although these things are not big deals to handle it still takes thought and effort to do so.

A couple months back Ryan brought up the idea of getting him a coach. As soon as he said it I said I thought that was a good idea. You only can be as good as you can be by yourself. With someone else who is more knowledgeable you can learn, gain and get better. I felt Ryan had done everything in his power and what he knew to do. To me this was a no brainer and I supported him in this choice.

Now here is the big one that I am in the midst of trying to do to support Ryan. Ryan gets up at 4:15 in the morning to get his workout number 1 in before work. I usually will get up one or two times a week at that time, but I typically will sleep in until about 5. Then, we would make it to bed at about 9-9:30. That most often leaves Ryan with less than 7 hours of sleep. Which is just not enough for him to rest and recovery after two workouts and a working day! He made the comment of really needing to be in bed earlier. However, I am usually not ready to lie down before then because I get to sleep a little later than he does.

I thought about it for a bit. I decided: For Ryan to be successful at reaching his goal of becoming a professional triathlete he has to get his workouts in. For him to get his workouts in he needs to be rested and recovered. Which means he needs his sleep! I would rather not still be up while he goes to sleep, not to mention I would wake him when I came to bed and he would wake me when he gets up early which means interrupted sleep. Why don’t I just get up the same time he does! I can do the things in the morning that I typically do in the evening.  And we could still go to bed together. What a great solution!

I am a morning person, however 4:15 is still in the middle of the night for me! Monday and Tuesday I woke up at 4:15 and today a little later since I workout in the afternoon rather than morning. Yesterday, I was …what I like to call severely dragging. BUT I have been ready to go to bed earlier for sure! Although this change is a bit tough right now to make I know it will be the best for us. It will help us to reach the goal of Ryan becoming a pro triathlete!

So my question to you is what are you willing to do to support your spouse in their goals?