Training with friends

Glenn and Derek at the end of a run

One of the things I love about this sport is the amount of time it allows me to spend with my friends. I get to spend big blocks of time talking family, sport, religion,  etc. It's an easy way to forge a strong bond. Another part of it I enjoy is watching my friends work towards and endurance sport goal. They all do it differently. They do it in a way that best meets the needs of their talents. I have three friends that are racing Ironman Arizona on November 22nd. They have all trained very well. They all have different goals. They are all excited. My friend Glenn Strebe it doing his 4th Ironman. We did our first one together at IM Coeur d'Alene in 2005. I've seen his training for the his 3 and I think this is his best block yet. It hasn't come without some challenges. He had a torn achilles during the training. This has severely hampered his run training. It did get him on the bike a lot more and he has had a TON of success with that. I look for him to have his best IM yet. My buddy Kevin Dessart is an Ironman veteran. He been the first place age grouper twice at IM Arizona with multiple IM Hawaii finishes. He's had some challenges with a new job and 3 young kids in activities. At the end of the day, this guy is a mental rock and look for him to do some damage. He and I trained a lot over the summer and he pushed me to a higher level. Finally, my friend Derek Kirkham is racing his 2nd Ironman. He's a complete stud on the bike and his run has turned into an equally powerful weapon. He is one who is capable of even more than he thinks. He's pretty much the leanest man alive. My point with this is that I've been able to train with these guys over the years and recent months. I've seen their goals of the past and the future and feel lucky to share in it with them. In the process, I've been able to get to know these and many others I never would have if not for the common bond of endurance sports.

How this all started (and where it's taken me) Part 2

I wrote about my start in endurance sports here in a post a couple of months ago. I wanted to write about where this has taken me. What this passion has done for me has had many positive benefits. The obvious are the physical benefits I enjoy. I always feel good. I never get sick. I don't have any aches, pains, etc. that accumulate when one is unhealthy. This lifestyle has been a good example for my kids. They all want to "be like Daddy" and are all active in sports. They run, swim and my oldest bikes. I think it's set a good foundation for their future. This has taken me to a new confidence level. I mentioned in my previous post that I had a parent who consistently told me that I wasn't good at things. Well, the result of this was a lack self esteem that pretty much stayed with me until I started with the endurance sports lifestyle. Not long after I started doing these sports, I started accomplishing things that very few people do. It was probably in the late 90's, early 2000's or so when I started to see some success in the endurance sports world.  I started to develop a self confidence that carried over to my professional life. I don't think it's any coincidence that I started to achieve high levels of success in my job right after achieving high levels of success in sport. This made me a better husband, father and friend because I was reaching goals on a consistent basis. I just felt better about myself. It helped me realized that my lack of self esteem was given to me by someone else. It took 30+ years but I had finally realized that self esteem needs to come from within and I'd let this mean person dictate how I felt about myself. Every day, A new level of success was being reached whether in sports, work or life in general. As a result of all of this, my life today has balance. I don't miss my kids events. I never call into work sick. I spend time with my friends. I train. All of these things are important to me within the balance of my family life. The sport aspect is the outlet that keeps me mentally fresh from the things we all deal with that can knock us down. It's my tool that allows me to get back up.