My Man is Half Iron
One of many incredible things about my husband is the way that he motivates me to move.
There are mountain peaks on several continents that I probably wouldn’t have seen the top of if it were not for him. There was a marathon that I would have (sensibly) only run half of, had he not said ‘let’s just do the full’. A few times I even got in a whitewater kayak and crashed down some class three rapids. And there have been about a thousand incidents like this morning, where we walk the mile and a half to work instead of drive.
Yesterday he motivated me to run nearly 7 miles, or about 3 more than normal these days.
While I was running he was swimming 1.2 miles. And biking 56 miles. And running 13.1 miles.
Just as Tate motivates me to move more, he might say that I remind him to take his time and build up to things. For example, he told me a year or two ago that he wanted to complete an ironman by the time he turned 40. I said ‘great, sure, sounds good, why don’t you start with some smaller triathalons, build up to a half ironman, and culminate with a full ironman’. He skipped the Sprint and Olympic distances but at least he decided a half would be a good starting place.
Tate and our friend Will competed in the Monticello Man Half Ironman event. They were smiling first thing but they were both little nervous!
I brought books and magazines to keep me occupied but the morning flew by and I had a great time watching all the competitors, seeing Tate come in and out of the transitions, and going for a few runs myself.
Tate made great time out of the water and in no time he was starting his 56 miles on the bike.
Sadly yet impressively, he got a flat around mile 20 and had to change it out. He only had a wimpy little pump and rode the final 36 miles with very low pressure in his tire!
I started the run with him but honestly I could barely keep up! I’d already covered about 3.5 miles on my own and he was going fast! Still it was fun to catch up with him mid-event and hear how he was feeling. After nearly two miles I headed back to the finish for a picnic lunch and eagerly anticipated seeing him round the last corner.
It didn’t take long!
Talk about a strong finish, his feet aren’t even touching the ground!
He was wiped last night but had no problem walking several blocks to go out to dinner and today he says his IT bands (legs and hips basically) are feeling a little overworked, otherwise he’s feeling good.
So proud.
So impressed.
So motivated to move.
