Ode to a Training Partner

This article is dedicated to my training partner.  Since I became a cyclist in 2002, I've been through several.  I used to train with a local shop.  Some of the guys were real laid back, you know the weekend warrior type. 

While others were the real uber uptight, I'm fitter than you, living on daddy's trust fund college types.  I realized I didn't fit in with either.  I just trained on my own and quit mountain bike racing a year later, I discovered I liked being on my road bike a whole lot more.

I start racing road bikes.  My new training partner was a 40 year old Army Ranger with anger control issues.  I watched him pull a Bjarne Riis style Frisbee toss of a $2000.00 road bike because he did not like getting beat up a hill. 

So I quickly started ducking rides, and he got recalled back to active duty.  To make this situation even more weird he was my boss.

Eventually I moved to Georgia due to a job transfer.  My schedule was hectic, long hours and never knowing which office I was going to be at led me to start missing workouts.  Not to mention Georgia has the strangest weather I've ever seen.  All of that together equals my bike collecting dust in my garage.

Last year, a severe case of pneumonia wrecked half of my year.  But it was being sick for so long that gave me the spark I needed.  I was ready to get back into shape and start racing again.  But fate again intervened.  My wife took a job working 60 hours a week.  She was lucky to even get a day off.  I made the best of it training inside. 

I suppose I should mention I was in charge of our daughter who at this point was a year and half old.  So my training options were very much limited.  I would spend Saturday mornings chasing her around the house and watching Spongebob.  While she took naps, I would hit the bike trainer or treadmill, sometimes both. 

One day, we were at a local bike shop and I found a bike trailer.  Later that same day I was hitting the garage sale circuit.  I was not about to hook a trailer to my race bike and the bike I had on my trainer was not safe enough to ride anywhere. 

I found an old steel framed Columbia for $10.00.  It was a little small but it would do the trick. 

Our first few rides were a little strange. I found myself riding the brakes a lot.  My daughter fought going into the trailer, but once we got going she enjoyed it.  After we found a safe route , I put together a 25 mile loop.  The loop consists of seven hills at various points, and they are all short and steep.  I turned it into kind of and interval ride.  We put some serious miles on that old steel bike.

I was getting back into shape, but something was still missing.  I was running, and biking but I was still missing something, competing.  While looking for races that would work with my wife's day off the only thing I could find were running events.  I was pretty sure I could run a 5k with no problem.

I entered my first 5k in May 2008.  It was in downtown Atlanta with approximately 10,000 other runners.  I was immediately hooked.  The atmosphere was exciting and laid back at the same time.  Everybody was there running for the same cause.  I finished  that 5k in 26 minutes and change.  I was disappointed with my time, however, given the amount of attention I put into running, I knew I was capable of better.

So then I met my new training partner, Morgan.  She is a wild girl, loves being outside, loves to run.  She's is just an all around fun person to be around.  We started running together a couple of days a week.  This led to longer runs and more of them. We now run five days a week.

Let me tell you a little more about Morgan.  She can be loud and feisty at times, but most of the time she is as nice and pleasant as can be.  She is a person of few words, her encouragement is usually along the lines of "faster", or "is that all"?  She is ready to run at any time though.  You just say the word, and it is go time.

Morgan is the best training partner I've ever had.  She has helped me to two podiums, two medals and two other top 10 finishes so far in 2009. She ran with me just last week to a fifth place finish. She is dedicated, no matter the weather or time of day she is ready to go. 

All of this and she can't read or spell.  She can, however, count to 10 and knows all of her colors and is a huge fan of Dr. Seuss books. 

You see, Morgan is only two, but she is the best source of inspiration I've ever been around.  She laughs and giggles and points out things while we are running together.  I'm running, she's just along for the ride.  But I hope that she will follow my example and be an active person. 

I also hope that be seeing my compete that she will learn sportsmanship.  I would also hope she learns from me that winning isn't everything.  Sometimes just making it to the finish is it's own victory.  I hope that one day we will finish a marathon together someday.