Shout outs for supportive SO's

Atlantia - 2007-09-21 11:03 PM First off, I'd like to say that I did use the search function before starting this thread. Second, I just read the thread on Dating a Triathlete, and I felt the need to give a big shout out to my awesome husband, and feel that those of us blessed enough to have supportive SO's should give them their credit here. My husband doesn't train. He used to play tennis, but now he plays XBox. That being said, here are some of the ways he supports me so well: 8. Always washes my training clothes just the right way. 7. Brings the camera to every race, and runs all over creation during the race to get good shots. 6. Helps me run my ice baths. 5. Always has a cold bottle of water in the fridge for me. 4. Seems to have some kind of sixth sense as to whether I'm craving lasagna or spaghetti after a run. 3. When I don't feel like running, he has been known to physically pull me up off the couch and dress me. 2. Stands out in the rain to get a GPS signal for the Garmin while I get dressed. and perhaps the biggest one of all: 1. He has narcolepsy (that disorder that makes it almost impossible to wake up and stay awake) yet he still gets up at the crack of dawn and goes to my races. And stays awake during them. I love you honey! Tell us all about the special jockstrapper in your life.

  I love your post.  My SO is the female version of yours.  Especially number 3, sometimes that is where I need the most help.  She doesn't always make it to all the races but when the big ones come around she gets more excited than me! 

My husband is an awesome tri-sherpa. He's starting to work out, but no real goal aside from being healthy.

1) Manages my water bottles so that they are always clean and at least one is cold at all times
2) Always at my tris (usually begs off of running races), even though he just gets to see me at transitions and the finish.
3) Cooks when I'm training and knows the basic needs of recovery meals
4) Listens to me drone on and on about training, racing, nutrition, and usually doesn't have the eye-glaze.
5) Wakes up at 5am with me to hit the gym because he knows it helps me improve.

 He's awesome! (I think I might buy him some sort of handheld gaming device for Christmas so he has something to do between my appearances at races) And your's sounds great too!

First of all, Thanks Atlantia for starting this thread, a great idea!

My wife has been extremely supportive over my 3 yr tri career:

1. She always comes to my races no matter how long (HIM and IMs) and cheers the whole time
2. She misses me but doesn't complain one iota about me being gone for 3-6 hours almost every Saturday and many Sunday mornings
3. She doesn't mind me spending money on the sport although I'm always trying to find ways to spend less. 
4. She's come on 2 "destination" races with me this year: Alcatraz and Timberman, and honestly had a pretty good time.
5. As another poster mentioned, she always asks about my training and truely listens at least 50% of the time when I babble on and on about every minute detail.

But most of all, as an athlete herself, she just plain "gets it".  She might not understand my desire to go long, but she understands the benefits of being fit. She is my tailwind and I couldn't do all this without her.   I love you with every muscle fiber of my body, Sarah!

-David 

you guys are making me feel so deprived! WAaaaaah!

wow, I don't know where to start. Those of you that have met my husband know what a true gem he is. Here's a few things that come to mind:

1. cooks for me

2. packs lunch for me

3. does laundry and knows exactly how to take care of tri clothes.

4. encourages me to buy more gear

5. volunteers at every race and has been doing so for many years.

6. cheers for me AND my friends.

7. rides his bike with me now

8. takes care of my bike, wetsuit, and anything else that needs attention.

9. he's good to my parents as well.

10. would sell a kidney to buy me a new bike, see # 4

11.  will drive both ways for a race so I can snooze. 

I have no idea how I got so lucky. We were married at 19/20 and are coming up on our 24th anniversary. It just keeps getting better

**edit to add**

almost forgot....  he gave me the shirt off his back when I finished Mooseman earlier this year.  I was freezing and he was wearing fleece.  I crossed the finish line and took it right off his back. 

Wow.  The wife.

Let's see.

• Chauffeur - if the drives are long, she drives there while I get to relax and stretch out in the passenger seat.  Also allows me to not stress out about driving, finding parking place, blah, blah, blah.  That, in and of itself is a relief, but that is not all.
• Coach - where to start.  First off, she really is my swim coach!  Before January of last year, I couldn't make it from one end of the pool to the other without swallowing half of it.  I'm now in a master's class doing 2500 yds per class!  And even though she doesn't run, she really is quite good and analyzing my run.  Early on she picked up on a lope I had started to do to try to lengthen my stride.  So without her, I wouldn't do nearly as well.
• Cheerleader - She has been to every tri and only missed two running races (she had to work both times).  I can only imagine how boring it can be to only see me for just a few fleeting moments in transition.  But just hearing her voice, sometimes in the throngs of hundreds and thousands, has got to be the best ever!
• Counselor - after my first tri I was down.  I did, what I felt, was horrible.  She lifted me up, emotionally, because of all the things above and more.

I can't imagine this year without her.  And now, she may even start to do Aquathon's with me (can't run, ruined knees) which is just fine with me.  Heck she even talked about doing a relay!

It's evident from everyone's post how much of a difference a supportive SO can make.  In many ways, it's hard to imagine not having her support and trying to do it (impossible!).  Count us all very, very fortunate.

1. my wife attends almost all of my race events and cheers me on
2. she suggest and sometimes arranges advanced recon of the courses (often including biking the actual course together)
3. when we have a race away from home, she packs our favorite coffee, drip filters, and cream so we have good coffee the morning of a race
4. she takes great race photos (she knows how to handle a 70-200IS zoom lens!)
5. she arranges for post race massages
6. she gave me the green light to buy whatever bike and wheelset I wanted (P3C and Zipp 999s of course) for my b-day this summer, 2 months in advance of my first IM distance race.
7. she does all the long training rides with me including 5 centuries this summer plus the AIDS ride (545+ miles + camping) even after she had a nasty downhill spill on a century 2 weeks before
8. she puts up with me only wearing workout and athletic clothes every day
9. she understands how tired I can get from all my workouts and my need for adequate rest, recovery, and sleep
10. we used to be big foodies and winos, but modified our diets to consist of low fat, lean meat, and complex carbs at home and when eating out

Great Topic Atlantia 

BF just bought me a brand new set of Mavic wheels for my second tri season, AND he fitted my bike out for me!  Now that's Love!

 He's also a cyclist.  He got me into cycling initially but I prefer triathlon to Cycling alone.  ^_^ 

5: He drafts off me and coaches me when I'm trying to time trial on Fridays.  His comments about him being worried about in Lycra while riding behind me are a welcome distraction. 

4: He is always listening and supportative about my "crazy ideas" to do noosa one day

3: He's very forthcoming with the leg massages after a hard ride! 

2: He makes a great packhorse/photographer/cheerleader/food bringer at my events

1: He showers me with kisses and hugs after the event even though I stink of whatever the hell was in the water...

:D 

My wife (Benton4) is also my primary training partner and that is wonderful. She is injured right now and it makes me sad that she can't train as much as I know she wants to...some of the things that show me how cool she is....

 - Assembled my new Litespeed so I could see pictures of it (I was in Iraq at the time.) with little to no knowledge of how bikes work. I "chatted" her way through it with the help of Yahoo! messenger and a digital camera. ("So the little screw thing needs to turn which way to make the chain shift up better?"

 - Is brave enough to be the stoker on our tandem when I get the crazy idea of trying to beat our previous land speed records.

 - Thinks it is cool in the winter to include the bikes/trainers as part of the livingroom furniture.

 - Thinks it will be fun to swim with the jellyfish when there are purple flags flying at the beach.

And the list goes on....

Michael

My wife is an absolute peach as well.

1.  She never complains about the time I spend training.
2.  She'll go out of her way to cook a special meal if I even so much as drop a hint.
3.  She never gripes about the money I spend  on equipment.
4.  She has stood out there as much as possible while I completed 3 Ironman races, even though it is very difficult for her to do so.  She has endured rain and cold, heat and humidity, but she was there for all my finishes, including shuffling across the finish line with me in my second Ironman.

What makes it even more incredible is that she has done all that while battling Multiple Sclerosis for the past 20+ years.  She is the one who should be called "Ironman"!