An Athlete's Household

As I was putting together our photo collage, it became apparent that most of 2011 was about training, races, athletic teams, events and marathons so I felt the need to explain ourselves, and to respond to the comments of “you guys are crazy”! What motivates us to get up at 4:30am during the winter when it’s dark and below freezing, and head to the YMCA? Why would we spend 4 hours on Saturday training on Pike’s Peak at 10-14,000 feet where just breathing can be a challenge? What would possess us to spend a perfectly good Sunday on a bike for 6 hours in the heat, until our fanny begs for mercy? Why would we drink 3 liters of Mountain Dew in one night? Training, racing and events somehow have become a centerpiece in our lives, for a different reason for each of us.


Michele: There is no better Sunday morning than getting up early on a cold winter morning, bantering back and forth with Steve about who is lazier, putting on layers of clothes and waiting until the last minute to tell Tracker we’re going to do the Incline or he’ll be yipping and spinning in circles until we’re ready. We drive to the base of Pike’s Peak talking about how many layers of what we brought we should wear or discard and playfully argue about who’s knows best the perfect timing to turn on our Garmins. We park and open the door and Tracker bursts out of the car like a rocket. The most beautiful days are when we’ve had a light snow, and the sky is clear and blue and it’s so quiet you can hear your feet crunching the snow. We get to the base of the Incline, start our Garmins and one step at a time, climb the almost 2000 ft in / 1 mile and reach the top of the Incline where quite often there are at least a few total strangers cheering you on during those last brutal steps. We reach the top to find Tracker has made new friends and begged treats and water off them. We head another mile up the trail to No Name Creek. This is where the snow gets deep and is as beautiful a spot as I’ve ever seen. It’s time to turn around and the competition begins. We make our down Barr Trail, navigating the roots, rocks, and icy spots. The ones who falls the most loses! We arrive at the car about 2.5 hours later, sometimes with bruises and blood, but happy as if we had good sense. We crank up the heater before the sweat freezes and Tracker curls up in the back. We end the workout with a trip to Adam’s Mountain Café for Huevos Ranchero and lattes. By the time we reach home, we’re happy, relaxed and spent and it’s time for a nap. Just being out there on days like that is one reason I train. I put on my running shoes and get outside even when my brain is focused on how nice it will feel to sleep another hour, because I know when I finish my run I will feel so much better than I would have if I’d have slept instead. And I race because no matter how hard it gets, no matter how hot it is, how much it hurts, I will know I will have crossed the finish line with a feeling of pride and accomplishment. My favorite mantra when training and racing is “Pain is temporary and pride is permanent”; when it hurts and I want nothing more than to quit and stop the hurt, I keep going knowing that I will carry the pride with me forever. No matter how fast (or slow) I was I know I pushed myself and did something I didn’t think I could do. Because I love that feeling of crossing a finish line, totally spent, totally wiped, knowing that it was all me. No one did it for me. I do it because I love the people I’ve met and the sense of community built while training. Cycling with a group of friends makes for great conversation, encouragement, and laugh out loud funny stories. I do it because I love the routine built around training – knowing that when I get to the Y at 5am, I will see familiar faces and we will smile and razz each other if a workout was missed. And I keep doing it because I am constantly inspired by others and I want a little bit of that what they’ve got.

Dylan: I do my own kind of marathon. I’ve played video games for 26.1 hours straight! There is no pain involved, I don’t have to recover, and it’s 26.1 hours of intense fun. I think it’s really stupid to go out a run 26.1 miles or ride a bike for 6 hours. Why would anyone want to do that?

Steve: I just celebrated 10 years living with MS and I swim, bike and run because I can. Probably the worse aspect of having MS is never knowing what the next day, month or year will bring. MS is an incurable and completely unpredictable disease and I know that someday I may not be able to run. I know others with MS who are wheelchair bound; I swim and bike and run for them. I have made many life adjustments to deal with MS but the biggest has been committing to continue to push myself physically to see what I can accomplish. I train and race because even though I am getting older I know I can still be faster. I know I can train a little smarter and still improve. It isn’t easy with all the demons in my head telling me that I am too old, too weak to improve. But each year I fight off those demons and continue to train and race smarter than the last year. I train for the challenge of being the fastest and strongest me. I am my biggest competitor.

Connor: I exercise and do sports because it is fun to be on a team and hang out with my friends and I like pushing myself. I wanted to do the Pike’s Peak Ascent because it would be a new challenge. I liked training for it with my dad. I felt good about beating my goal time which made the training worth it. I recently started getting up at 4:30am to work out with friends to get in shape for swim season.

“You don’t get what you wish for; you get what you work for” is often heard around our house and it’s a philosophy we believe in and make every attempt to live by. Maybe we are crazy as accused, and we won’t disagree when you call us obsessed, but for us, it’s a way a life that we love!

"Athletes just do it - they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first."

Author Unknown