Training partners
By Alison Colavecchia
7.2.02 (www.slowtwitch.com)

Training Partners

I find it hard to explain to people not in my boat how training partners become part of the fabric of the journey toward one’s first Ironman. I come up short trying to convey the sense of connectedness that can come with mile after mile of training together—how you can come to quietly understand and recognize subtle shifts in each other’s pace, posture and effort. How their words of encouragement and wisdom can be with you even when the workouts are long over.

If you are lucky (and I have been) your training partners take up a special place of honour. We let them see us and they accept us at some of our weakest and strongest moments. They bear witness to our work ethic and understand intimately what it takes for us to achieve our goals—not only the big ones but also what it takes to remain active day after day, year after year. They silently accept wearing a multitude of hats including those of coach, mentor, friend and therapist all for payment in sweat. They listen and work hard at not trying to fix our problems. They sense our pain on the hard days and celebrate our joys on the good days. They know the road we have travelled in ways that few others may fully appreciate. Sometimes it feels as though they carry us. Sometimes we carry them.

Sometimes they are funny, inspiring, sarcastic, even frustrating. When they experience rumbles about their sense of themselves (as we all do), I try never to resist the urge to remind them that they are great. That in my eyes, they are heroic and inspiring for I know that they will get up when they are down, overcome whatever obstacles lay before them. I know this because I have seen it. I have witnessed their effort in the face of fatigue, in the face of their own voices that tell them to go home. I have watched them forge on in the face of disappointment, personal setbacks and injuries. I have watched them head out the door in the cold, in the heat, in the snow and in the rain. I have observed first hand their perseverance and discipline when others would have long been home, long stopped showing up.

Some days our paces are in tandem. Other days I know that they are thinking I am too fast or too slow. I am so thankful that they stay with me anyway. I imagine that now and again they must want me to stop talking or maybe wish I had something more inspirational to say. Yet I know that on other days they seem to appreciate my different perspective on an issue or dilemma, or are simply reassured that what I have to say is nothing that they have not already thought of. Lots of times I know we welcome the comfortable silences that envelop us as we make our way through the miles.

I imagine that there are days when they dread my call but take it anyway. I bet that now and again they hope I will sleep in and forget that we have a date. I am so very grateful that they come anyway.

Thanks Carrie. Thanks Tom. Thanks for the listening, for the quiet, the effort and the laughter. For waking up when you would rather have been sleeping and for all the "let’s go a little furthers" that you have put up with. Thanks for your patience while waiting for me while I got my gear, finished getting the kids organized, or while I had to detour into the bushes! Most of all though thank you for your companionship along the road, mile after mile, week after week, year after year.

Still Tri’n