I’ve written a lot on my blog about my running. My goals, my dreams, and my experiences through training. However; it’s truly only a small part of my life. Even when it comes to running.
You see, for longer than I have been a runner I have been the girlfriend/fiance/wife to a very competitive runner. My husband started running in college. His first marathon was a 3:50 and he has since worked his time down to a 2:27. He’s done the majority of it on his own and is now working with a coach to help him reach his ultimate dream – the olympic trials.
Saturday morning I moved around my run so that I could help my husband on his last hard training run before Boston. It brought back a lot of memories and got me thinking about my life as his wife. When you are married to someone that has a big dream (no matter what it is) there are always going to be sacrifices; however, to see him succeed has always been worth it.
There are tough times when you are with someone who is really focus on a dream, but there are also some things I really love.
Constant Motivation
My husband sure didn’t pick the easy path when he chose to go down the path of becoming a physician and trying to qualify for the olympic trials. No dream is ever easy right?
Seeing my husband get up super early, no matter what his schedule is, work long hours and still get in crazy miles and tough workouts is so motivating. When I just want to pull the covers back over my head I am reminded of how hard he works and so many days that is all the motivation I need to get up and get my workout done.
Seeing Him Reach Goals
I love hitting my goals, and I absolutely love seeing my husband hit his as well. I have been at so many finish lines cheering my husband on. Even on the days where he didn’t do quite as well as he wanted, I loved seeing him working hard and continue dreaming.
Those wonderful days when he hits his goal, like his 2:29 in Kiawah and 2:27 in Chicago are so wonderful and I love celebrating all his hard work.
Learning to Support
It has taught me the true meaning of supporting one another. Even though we are both runners, we’ve always worked hard to be able to work together and support each other goals. I do this usually by bringing him water on runs, meeting him at different areas on his run, and even biking along side him on his really tough tempos.
He does the same for me – helping to pace me on my tempo days or days where I just need some extra help. He usually starts a lot of his runs with me to help me get into it and always makes sure I am relaxing on my easy days.
Support is such an important part of a marriage, and in our case our running lives as well.
Tough Love
My husband and I have both had to be the “tough love” for each other over the years. If we see each other going down a path that we shouldn’t, over training, pushing ourselves too hard, or countless other things we are there to tell the truth.
I have seen my husband run through countless setbacks, deal with serious injury, and come out on the other side. However, if you’ve ever seen a competitive runner when they are injured it isn’t pretty. Sometimes I have to be the voice of reason even when he doesn’t understand. It’s important but it’s what helps us get through the hardest days.
Mutual Understanding
As a runner myself, it is much easier to understand what my husband is going for. I know how much a race means to him and I truly see the work he puts into it day and in and day out. I understand why he has to go to bed early on a Friday night to get in his long run on Saturday. I know why we have to eat bland foods the weak before a big race so that he (or both of us) can avoid stomach issues.
Not everyone is going to understand it, and some days you may get frustrated but at the end of the day we have a very mutual understanding of what we are each going through.
There are days it gets hard. Days sometimes you wonder what it’s like to get up on a Saturday and just be lazy. However, knowing how passionate he is about his dreams and goals is enough to supporting him day in and day out.
Running is a wonderful thing, it’s something that is so important to the both of us, but we each couldn’t be as successful without the other.
Looking forward to what this crazy running future of ours holds!
Do you run with your significant others?
Do you find it hard to explain to others about your passion for running?