I left this one for last because I think it is the most important part. The choice to start on this journey was mine, and mine alone. That being said, none of this would be possible without the love, support, and sacrifice of others. As a disclaimer, I will be listing some examples of the types of support that I have received along the way, but I'm sure that I will miss many examples and and people that have helped.
For starters, the biggest support for me is my wife. She loves me no matter how many miles I run or how many laps I swim, and to me, that is the most important part. When I have a bad day (or week, or month) of training or eating, she lets be vent and put it all in perspective. She is also living the journey with me. We try to eat well together, and when we can, we work out together. When we can't work out together, she helps greatly by working around my training schedule when possible. I can't even count the number of days that she walks in the door from work and I run out the door (literally). She encourages me, she pushes me, and she reminds me how well I am doing. It is safe to say that with out her, none of this would have happened or been possible.
I can safely divide people in my life into 3 separate groups. The first group of people just flat out do not care about what I am doing. I don't mean this in a bad way, they are actually indifferent. The second group of people try to drag me down by making negative comments or worse, trying to one up me in conversation. Maybe it is out of jealousy, or maybe they have some sort of prejudice against what I am doing, I don't really know and I really try not to care. Luckily for me, I do not have many of these people in my life. The third group of people are the best for me as they take a genuine interest in what I am doing and provide words of encouragement. Although I do enjoy hearing from people how good I look, or how proud of me they are, what really motivates me are when someone asks about what I am doing. I think it is safe to say that talking about my training, races, and goals is the biggest external motivator that I have. I think talking about it for me kind of works like writing a word over and over again to try to learn to spell it correctly. Each time I talk about it I get to realize how far I have come, and refocus on where I am headed.
The next group of people that help support me are those in my life who are runners (and now bicyclists and swimmers) that I can talk to about my training. Like so many things in life, I have learned that the only way to appreciate what training for a race entails is to actually do it. I have a co-worker that is a runner. Every time he runs a race, I get a text shortly afterwords about how he did and how he feels. I send him a text every time I reach a new milestone or set a new PR (personal record). My wife, and a couple of coworkers, were swimmers in middle school or high school, and I have gotten a lot of insight and encouragement from them. It works like a support group for me, like runners anonymous or swimmers anonymous.
The last type of support for I will talk about here are those people who help me out directly. A couple of years ago I did a 5K for Patrick's 30th Birthday. I set it up on Facebook and over 30 people ran or walked a 5K that week with me. If that wasn't support enough, my sister-in-law, Jessica, and her fiance, Ben, actually came over to my house and ran with me. Last fall, when I ran my first 2 half marathons, I had my own support team those days. For the Quad Cities Half Marathon, my mother-in-law, Mary, drove me to the race and met me throughout at a few locations. My brother-in-law, Mike, did the same for the Des Moines Half Marathon just 3 weeks later. My wife ran the 5 mile Turkey Trot with me on Thanksgiving Day in pouring rain.
Surrounding myself with the right people has been key in this process. Not every day is exciting as a race day and not every run, swim, or bike ride sets a new PR. On those days with 30 mph winds, rain, and cold, it is that support system that helps to keep me going.
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