“ All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher.”
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You’re a nutter when you’re poor and an eccentric when you’re loaded,
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@hillwall – First of all, I am not an endurance athlete by any stretch of the imagination.
So, please read the following in the context of me not trying to tell you how to be one.
In the ‘normal’ world, your list of achievements would stun the average person.
Which should put the ‘I am not strong willed’ statement into some kind of context.
As you certainly have demonstrated more will power than 99% of the UK, including me.
Pop Quiz – How many people in the UK will have done more vs. the 60m population?
Which leads me to the part of your posts that I do know a little something about.
Would your PBs also be from a time before you had children?
If so, I think you need to reset your targets / expectations to incorporate life as a father.
Rather than see helping our wife with the children as getting in the way of training.
I’d suggest you work out how much time you want / need to spend with your family.
Then pick events / training levels that fit around them, not the other way around.
This is a very personal balancing act and everyone has their own / different balance.
My children were pre-school when I started triathlon, which made things easier for me.
I used to do almost all my training before they woke up, or after they went to sleep.
I settled on middle distance events, as peak training (for me) was a 4-hour bike ride.
I could do this early on a Sunday morning and then go out for Sunday lunch with my family.
This was the right balance for me and, as I said, other people will have a different view.
I list one of my greatest personal achievements as reading ‘Harry Potter’ to my children. 
As there is only a, relatively, small time window when they want a story read by their dad.
My eldest daughter actually decided that time had come before we reached the last two books.
(Which, in fairness, is understandable, as the last books were HUGE!)
But, in the end, I read Deathly Hallows four times a day at the weekend to my youngest.
(As we just couldn’t get through the book fast enough only reading it at bed times.)
I have no regrets and wouldn’t trade that time for better / fastest / longer sporting achievements.
Both my daughters are now in Uni, but the balancing act continues.
(As yesterday included 4.5 hours of driving to do a double pick up.)
Which is why it has taken me a few days to type this reply up. 
I’ll end by saying I admire the training that many people on here do and their willpower.
It does inspire me to do more, but not necessarily the same amount.
Having said that, I’m about to go for a long over-due early morning run.
And my wife and children will still be asleep when I get home.
So, just like old times, except I am older, heavier and slower! 
Good luck in whatever you do going forward, take care, Paul. 
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That’s lovely.
(complete sincerity)
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Excellent post
Class post that.
Enjoyed that. Thank you