Triathlon may be an individual sport, but Jason and I are learning to approach triathlons--and all of our goals in life--as a team. From training and meal prepping to cleaning and chores, communication is key to ensuring that our training integrates with our lives, instead of being another stressor.
We've realized that leaving straight from a stressful workday to train together is not always the ideal recipe for sweet conversations. In other words, our training "dates" are NOT a suitable substitute for quality time together.
Yet through these arguments and bumps along the way we have learned how to communicate, motivate each other and overcome obstacles not only in training, but in our daily lives. From sharing the laundry loads, to swapping pet carriers back and forth on cross-training hikes with our three bunnies (yes, bunnies), we have learned how to divide and conquer, while ensuring that we are still having fun.
No doubt IRONMAN training will be a new journey for us with many new lessons. In the past, 90 percent of our training has been together. With more at stake, and a more intense training load, we have reluctantly agreed that we won't always be able to wait on each other to train. But as the satisfaction sets in at the end of each workout, we are reminded why we love each other and this crazy lifestyle.
An IRONMAN wedding sounded so absurd at first, but in retrospect it seems perfectly indicative of our relationship. Jason and I will spend the next 30 weeks working together and pounding the pavement to get to the "altar." On October 9 we will cross the IRONMAN Louisville finish line--not just a test we completed in a single day, but a five-year journey we've taken together. And we will celebrate that journey with our family, closest friends and thousands of people who just get us. I simply could not imagine a better venue.
For Jason and me, the finish line is just the beginning.
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