The couple who tris together, stays together

After being my triathlon lackey for 3 events, Mike joined me

Today is my 18^th wedding anniversary!  I am so happy to be married to a fellow multi-sport enthusiast.  While my husband and I only recently discovered triathlons, we’ve always enjoyed exercising and doing sport adventures together.

The earliest activities I remember us doing together ranged from mild fun, adventure and then there was the golf phase.  The golf phase began with just having fun with miniature golf, graduating to a par 3 golf course, and then taking some lessons and seeing if we wanted to take it seriously.  The problem with golf, however, was that it took a long time and really wasn’t great exercise.

We’ve bungee jumped, snorkeled, and parasailed.  I decided to be the photographer for his surfing and kite surfing adventures.  While they looked like fun and I was tempted, somehow I didn’t envision myself actually having fun doing them.  We’ve made a pact to downhill ski every year of our adult life for as long as we can.  God willing, we hope to be doing this well into our 80s and perhaps beyond.

One of the great things about us being addicted to exercise is that when we are on vacation and the weather is crappy, we are quite content to make it a gym day.

Bicycling is one sport that wasn’t a fly by the night adventure for us, but something we both really took to and have grown in our seriousness.  You can tell in the progression my birthday presents:  1997 – Specialized Hybrid;  2008 – Raleigh Road Bike; 2012 – Specialized Amira Elite Road Bike.  It’s no surprise that in 2007, his birthday present was a Felt Road Bike.  My own bike envy took over so that a year later, I was in new wheels.  It’s also no surprise that he now has bike envy!  I wonder what a future present holds for him?!

I had the first inspiration to do triathlons.  Like me, Mike couldn’t swim seriously.  I think it’s safe to say that if I hadn’t learned, we probably wouldn’t be doing triathlons today.  Once Mike saw I could do it, he decided to give swimming a try so he could give it a tri.  Now, one of our favorite couple activities is to go out for open water swims together.

All married couples find there way into domestic chore harmony based on their strengths or their least dislikes.  He takes the garbage to the dump and I do the laundry.  Deviations to that routine have resulted in a smelly car and shrunken blouses.  And, for everything else there is outsourcing!  I’ve always enjoyed getting out and helping my husband with the lawn, but cleaning toilets I’ll leave to house cleaner! 

Mike is the household bike mechanic

In the world of triathlons, it’s no different.  Mike is our household bike mechanic based on his high school days working in a bike shop.  He insures our tires are pumped up, that computers are properly installed and working, and switches my pedals as I need to.  About once a month, there is some new box that magically appears at our doorstop from Bike Nashbar.  I insure that our wetsuits are clean and properly stored and magically I pull out extra goggles, swim caps and ear plugs when they are most needed.

Mike is out for a ride around the national forest trail as I write this.  I have of course told him that my injury should not stop both of us.  The vow of “in sickness and in health” for us means we encourage each other to follow a healthy lifestyle.  And my injury just means “you go ride and run for the both of us!”