A real balancing act: This dad is juggling family, multiple sports and medical school

Tyler Cole doesn't have much downtime.

Most mornings, long before many are even out of bed,he's in the pool at the Aquarena in St. John's, working on his strokes. Then Cole dries off and makes his way up to the gym for some weight training before taking a quick shower.

When that is done, he packs up his workout gear in one bag, grabs a second bag he uses for school, and heads across Prince Philip Drivefor Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine.

Cole had already completed an undergraduate engineering degree and a master's degree when herealized he still had two years of eligibility in which he could compete in the Atlantic University Sports (AUS) conference.

"I only used three years during my undergrad," Cole said. "[Coach] Art Meaney tried to get me join the cross-country team. He convinced my wife and she convinced me."

Despite more than a decade away from the team, Meaney desperately wanted him back, and was willing to make him team captain to get him.

"I said, 'Listen, Tyler, you ran well for us some time ago. We'd love to have you. You have experience, you have leadership qualities,'" said Meaney.

'I wanted to give back'

That is how Cole, 33, becamethe oldest athlete competing in the AUS, a career that soon comes to a close.

Prior to moving back to Newfoundland and Labrador, the Marystown man served in theRoyal Canadian Navy for more than seven years.

"I wanted to give back to my country," he said. "I was looking for different types of opportunities for work and it seemed like a really exciting job."

Thanks to the Military Medical Training Program, Cole is able to take a break from the navy to become a doctor. He intends to return when he graduates.

Not easy to balance

But being a full-time med student and athlete takes up a lot of time. Cole relies heavily on his wife to help with time management to study, train and spend timewith their three-year-old son.

"It's not easy to balance it," he said.

"It's my wife who helps me immensely. Without Karen, it's not possible. "

The Memorial Sea-Hawks cross-country team completed its final race of the seasonat the end of October, with Cole finishing 21st in the 10-kilometre race, in a time of 34:26.

But even with the season done, he's not one to sit idle. On top of his family life, his schooling and the cross-country team, Cole is also one of the best triathletes in Atlantic Canada.

In 2018 he won the Humber Valley Triathlon in Pasadena, the St. John's Triathlon and the Trilobster Atlantic Championships in P.E.I.

"I had a good season this year," he said.

"I was fortunate to go away to the race in P.E.I. and I was also very fortunate to win. It was really exciting."

Cole jokes that he did take two days off after winning the Charlottetown race but was back in the swing of things at the end of August for the Paradise Triathlon, where he finished second.

He said he is exercising his body for the benefit of his brain.

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"It's good for mental well-being and physical fitness," he said.

"The more I train, the sharper my mind is to study."

Cole's schedule will be a little lighter in 2019 withhis Sea-Hawks career coming to a close, but he's not worried about how he will fill that time.

There are still plentyof races to run and a lot of triathlons to be completed.

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