Fun, Fast, ... or both?

The debate raging in my mind lately is what I want to do with this triathlon hobby i've got going long term... cause it's just not going to be possible to continue to balance life with the current course/speed as I achieve my non-athletic goals. I don't want to stop, and I don't want to give up significant amounts of time in my results, so there's a challenge here worthy of a solution.

Ultimately, I think where I'm going to land is somewhere between go like hell and go like hell with the limited training budget I've allowed myself :) The slippery part of the equation for me is balancing competitiveness and fun... in my experience, if you're not careful they can be mutually exclusive.

Let's face it - I'm a competitive guy. I like competing. It's fun. I enjoy being challenged... and as long as I've put in all the effort I have to give, the outcome is all good. So, it's a bit tougher for me to not train with that in mind. Training with the race day in mind really helps me create intensity and that sense of urgency I need to push myself. Does that go away if I'm not shooting at as high of a target?

Finding the balance in being competitive yet still having a lot of fun on a more limited training budget... don't know when I'll have need to cross that bridge, but I can see it off in the horizon!