Being an endurance athlete is not easy but it can be made easier by surrounding yourself with a great group of cheerleaders.
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Awesome post today. My personal array of cheerleaders has changed over the years that I’ve been training. Before I started running, I was a regular at the gym – using the elliptical or going to spin classes 5 days a week most weeks. My partner is a stay at home mom (SAHM) and it was very hard on her for me to be gone for work and also be gone for exercise. Our compromise was that with the exception of 1 weekend workout, I only worked out during what should have been sleep time. I continued that pattern once I started running and still try although we have become more flexible and it’s easier for me to take some bike rides in the evening. At the same time my immediate and extended family are fantastic at cheering for me at my half-marathons and very supportive of my posts and discussions of training (my 3 siblings are a professional golfer, triathlete, and long distance cyclist respectively).
But for many years any workouts that I did while visiting my in-laws have been baffling to them. Why would I go run or walk? Why wasn’t I just hanging out with the family on a visit? Why did I care? When would I be back? They considered my going out to exercise rude. In the past few years my workouts have gone from confusing or rude to an accepted but strange habit. This year I told my partner that I had a 3 mile run scheduled for Christmas day. She said do it early. I said ok. But when I woke up it was <30 degrees (in Texas). So I waited and waited accepting that it might not happen. When it started to snow, I jumped up and went and got dressed. Every person in the family was totally excited for me. They said, “You’re going to run in the snow! Have fun!” I pondered as I ran the evolution of a set of cheerleaders who went from not understanding my effort to a group who were excited for my opportunity to run in the snow.