My Ironman Family

The day of a triathlon you are on your own, but the road to get there is one filled with the influences of others.  This is my triathlon family.  Each person is equally as important as the other and together they make up the team that gets me to race day.

First I have my coach, Paul Johnston.  Paul and I have been together for 7 years - from my first try-a-tri to my Iroman and of course, he will be travelling to Texas with me in May, 2012.  Our relationship has not been without its bumps - I have a tendency to try to accomodate everyone's schedule but my own and this leads to serious complications when Paul has spent time and effort to set up a schedule for me.  It has taken me a long time to learn to be selfish when it comes to my training and if you want to do well and achieve your goals, you do have to be selfish, at least for a while. 

Three weeks before Ironman Lake Placid 2009 I tore muscles in my left calf and thought my dreams of an ironman were over.  Paul did not give up on me.  He met me at the pool most every morning and worked with me to keep me strong without stressing the leg.  When we had our coach/athlete meeting a few days before the race, I sat on the couch in front of Paul fighting back tears because I was so sure there was no way I could do the race.  Paul calmly told me that I could.  Every picture of me on race day I had a huge smile on my face because Paul was right.  After crossing the finish line and being congratulated by my family and Sue Typert and her family, the first person I looked for was Paul.

Over the years, our relationship has evolved and I know that when that day comes that I am no longer doing triathlons that Paul and I will still be friends.  When I lost my beloved brother Kevin, the pain of losing him was almost more than I could bear and each day is still a struggle.  Paul got cried on alot over the last two years  - I think that is why he wears a waterproof vest.  He and Patty made the trip to Brigden to attend my brother's funeral and that in itself meant so much to me.  For the past year while I have struggled to come to terms with losing Kevin, Paul has stood by and pushed when I needed it and stepped back when I was at the breaking point.  I don't imagine I would have enjoyed the sport or stayed in it as long without Paul.

Next is my nutritionist and friend, Christine Charest-Monty.  I have known Christine as long as I have known Paul - they kind of go hand in hand.  I went to see Christine about my nutrition in March 2009 before my Ironman.  I thought I was fairly savy about my nutrition until Christine told me I was starving myself.  Being an ironman herself, she knows what an endurance athlete needs.  5 months later I was eating enough for a family of 5 (or so I thought) and was 43 lbs lighter.  In addition to her wealth of knowledge about nutrition, Christine is an amazing friend and she really cares about people.

Also I count as part of my team, Dr. Jason Taylor, my chiropractor.  I swear - from this man's hands to god.  The year before I started see Jason, I had spent a fortune on physiotherapy for the arthritis in my left hip.  The pain had gotten so bad, I had no running on my schedule.  Jason treated me 2 times a week for a month and that was the end of the hip pain.  I still see Jason once a week for "maintenance".

My massage therapist is Chris Agaton and I see him as well once a month for maintenance.  Chris has thumbs of steel and I swear sometimes after a deep tissue massage that I feel worse leaving his office than I did when I went in but he keeps me limber and knot-free.

I also consider those people that I train with to be part of my ironman family because on those long hot rides in the summer, they are the ones that keep you motivated.  My friend, Susan Typert, is the best person in the world to train with.  She keeps me laughing all the time and never lets me give up.  Although I could not talk her into doing Ironman Texas with me, she will be there to cheer me on. 

Perhaps the most important person of my ironman team is my husband Glen.  No one ever sees Glen until race day because he is at home taking care of Tavis and Ethan.  On race day, he stays until the last member of Iron Motivation or the DRTC has crossed the finished line and takes the most amazing photographs.  He then makes up disks of the photos and distributes them.  More often than not, I don't buy the finisher's photograph because Glen has taken better photos.
 
Without Glen manning the home front, I would never be able to do triathlons.   Some Saturdays I am out the door by 6:00 for my long rides and he and kids don't see me again until late afternoon.  He does the laundry, cleans the house, and feeds the kids all so that I can have the time to train.  He puts my bike and trainer into the van every Wednesday night and Saturday morning and then takes them out when I get home.  He knows of Paul's evil plan to try and kill me at spin class and that I am so wiped out when I get home.  He knows how much doing triathlons means to me and he is incredibly supportive.  He is an amazing person and I know how fortunate I am to have him.

Well that is my team.  Without anyone of them, I would not be able to do triathlons and on race day, I might be alone out there in The Midlands in 38 degree heat in Texas but my team is with me always encouraging me every step of the way.