Am I the luckiest woman alive, or...

[Veronica]

married to a nut?

Thom gave up running when he got out of the Marines, in 1990! Back in October he decided he was going to start running with me once a week. I HATE him, I seriously hate him. When we run, it's either a fast tempo or intervals, both of which really suck. But it's like it's not any work at all for him. He's already running sub 8 minute miles when he runs on his own, and he's only been doing it since October. It's not fair. I don't care that he's only going out for three miles. I'm still envious and still struggling to get under 10 minutes consistently. And he talks me through every single run. I am often a whiny witch out there and he just keeps pushing me. It's kinda cool. And this week we're upping our runs to twice a week.

This morning while I was with my trainer he did the No Slackers Spinerval video. When I got home he announced that this needed to become my new favorite video that it would really help me get a faster bike split.. I hate No Slackers. I'd much rather do Uphill Grind or Mental Toughness because I'm really good at just show up and suffer. Just let me grind through it... Well, it was kind of an old DVD and I guess a little scratched, so he's ordered me a new replacement video - Dropping the Hammer. Aren't I lucky?

Really I am thrilled that he is so supportive of my endeavors to get faster this year. Really, I am.

Happy Valentine's Day!


Veronica

[spokewench]

He's being wonderfully supportive. You are lucky!

[Bike Chick]

You are lucky, as am I, to have such a supportive partner and to be able to have your life partner as your training partner but sometimes it's a double-edged sword.

[Mr. Bloom]

I think you're saying..."why do we hate doing the things that make us better?"

I think it sounds cool to have an unpaid trainer pushing you

[Susan]

When I took up running, my husband didn't want to try it. I had to talk him into it for 2 month.
When he finally came with me, he ran the whole 3 k that I had been struggling with for 2 month in the first try, and when he had finished, turned around and picked me up somewhere in the middle and finished again...

He's been pushing me ever since and I think I wouldn't even have tried biking without him being so supportive. On our stair and hill runs, when I want to stop, he is pushing me litterally - one hand on my back and pushing us BOTH up that hill. And I hate him and love him for that at the same time

Happy Valentine's Day to you too

[Crankin]

I generally only hate my husband when he does things more easily than me, especially when I am struggling.
That's why I love x country skiing! I am still a *little* bit better than him.

[7rider]

I generally only hate my husband when he does things more easily than me, especially when I am struggling.

Story of my life!
DH didn't ski (well, other than once, 20 years prior) before we started going out. I've skied for 10 years. Now, he can ski circles around me.
DH didn't mountain bike (other than as a kid...riding his bikes in the woods around his childhood home) before we met, either. I gave him a mtb as a wedding gift. He blows my doors off in the woods, too.
We were vacationing on the St. Lawrence River a few years back. Someone had a windsurfer. He hopped on it and started zig-zagging all over the bay like a pro. Never was on one before.
Sometimes I just want to kick raw, natural talent.
I'm trying to get him to take up running with me. Maybe, after I re-read this, I should not!

Veronica...It's great he's pushing you. DH gave up on that with me, as I tend to bite his head off if he tries too much! Well, he will ask me after a commute, "So...did you push yourself today?" I have friends who can push me, give me advice, tell me to do this-or-that. But from him, it's verboten.

[SheFly]

In answer to your original question - yes, to both . And I am right there with you. There are days when I hate him for pushing me so hard, but it all pays off in the end.

We are the lucky ones, my friend.

SheFly

[lawnchick22]

My BF got me into cycling less than two years ago. I love it. I've even decided (after 36+ years of playing) to give up softball....that's major for me. Been playing since I was like 9 years old. Road cycling has so many benefits..for health both mental and physical..just clears the mind and keeps me fit.
We have the great privilege to ride during lunch at least 2x per week (our work week is only 4 days)...yesterday I dropped him on one hill...man that felt good. And he's no slouch, ex-racer, still can kick tail...

He's pushed me from the start and I am all the more strong for it. Love hills, love long rides....

[Veronica]

Yes I am lucky!

We did our 3 mile run today - tempo run. I had an average pace of 10:15. That's down from 11:00 when we started. My last half mile split was an 8:58 pace though.

What I like is how he reminds me of stuff I've read about running form as we're running. I tend to sort of lean way forward which really impedes my breathing. "Straighten up, let your foot just fall, use your core, don't power up the hill this time around."

I really don't mind that he's so much faster than me. We're built very differently, beyond the obvious differences. He's got much more of a runner's build than I will ever have. And I'm thrilled for him that he can run three miles as fast he did when in the Marines. Being as fit at 45 as you were at 25 is pretty cool!

Veronica

[Crankin]

Yea, I really don't like being reminded that I suck... and I admit it. And while I do appreciate the pushing at times, what I appreciate more is that cycling is something we do together all of the time, and that is very unlike what I see in other couples, where the guy (usually) is the one out riding and the woman is home. Although, last year when I was running, DH tried to do my little 3 mile run with me. Of course, he went out at a fast speed, fell behind, and then couldn't walk for 2 weeks . Seriously, I do better with a stranger coaching me. Not because my DH is mean, quite the contrary, but because I know he is stronger, more coordinated, and generally he excels at everything he does.
I did give it back to him when we were trying to learn Spanish last year, though; definitely found his weak spot!

[redrhodie]

I suspect both lucky and married to a nut are true.

[Bike Chick]

Seriously, I do better with a stranger coaching me. Not because my DH is mean, quite the contrary, but because I know he is stronger, more coordinated, and generally he excels at everything he does.

Why is that? It's the same with us and it doesn't matter if it's golf, running, cycling or bowling. I will take criticism and instruction from someone else much better than DH. He is better and stronger than me in most things and knows what he is talking about but it just doesn't sit well when he corrects what I am doing. We used to play a lot of golf. One day I was having a particularly bad round and he continually tried to offer his assistance. I finally blew up and told him to worry about his golf game and I would worry about mine. I paid for lessons after that, he quit offering advice and we enjoyed our time on the golf course much better.

[Crankin]

Bike Chick, I know for me, it has to do with a lifetime of being the "last picked" for sports and growing up in a family that was afraid of anything that required the least little bit of risk. So, while my mom was athletic, given the constraints of when she was raised, it wasn't developed. I inherited her endurance capacity, though. My dad is totally uncoordinated and never did any sports. I have poor eye hand coordination and spatial skills, so the things that I do, are a real accomplishment for me. I have probably "over-achieved" given my deficits, but inside I still feel like a loser... there are a couple of things in cycling that are extremely hard for me (descending) and no matter how much DH coaches me, I freeze. I just get completely jealous and mad at myself for not pushing through. While I have much more discipline, i.e. I do a winter training program, I do some kind of exercise 6 days a week, and I do lots of different activities, DH generally does very little except cycling and x country skiing. And it took until this year for him to actually like the skiing. He stays active by doing a lot of outdoors work around the house and he is very strong. He gets on the bike in March, and is able to ramp up as quickly as me, with less training over the winter.
The best example I can give is that DH doesn't get why I can't remember what to do while descending. I say, I remember, I can parrot it back to him, but I can't do it. It's not natural, I feel like I am going to fall over. He finally understood how I feel when i tried to explain how to conjugate a verb in Spanish and how to use the different conjugations. He could parrot it back, but when it came to him actually using the information in a sentence, he couldn't.
So, while it was fine for me to coach him through the core work in our winter training a couple of years ago, I paid for a personal trainer a few years ago, when I wanted to work on the same things.