Over the next 4 years I got over my initiation to his crazy Ironman obsession and have attended a number of them with various family members and friends supporting John.
But the event itself is only the tip of the iceberg. It is the culmination of hours of training, and I mean HOURS of training. Poor John has had to balance the demands of work, travel, family commitments, training and most importantly of all, keeping a very demanding partner happy lol.
If I’m honest I struggled with the hours he spent training for and doing events. I saw it as his real passion and I actually became unreasonably jealous of his commitment to his sport. I made it difficult for him to fit his training into our time together and placed unrealistic expectations on him as a partner. Luckily I got over myself and instead of putting up barriers I saw his passion for Ironman as the positive it has been for John, not only physically but for his mental well-being as well. I take an active interest in his training regime and I even ride my bike beside him when he does his training runs, but only if it’s no longer than two hours. We even trained together completing laps around the Island when on our hired mountain bikes when in Rarotonga.
The age old saying “if you can’t beat them you may as well join them” came to mind for a fleeting nano second and has never returned. John often jokes about buying me an entry for Ironman for Christmas, but in reality he knows I’m quite happy watching from my fold out chair with a chilly bin full of food and cold beers.
As John gets ready to head off to Ultraman Australia this week [by time of publishing John is already in Noosa – Ed], I don’t have the same level of anxiety as I did last year. He has trained hard and listens to his body more now than he has in the past. I still can’t bring myself to go and watch him put his body through the demands of this epic event, but I will be following his progress closely on-line. I’m so proud of what John has and continues to achieve with his sport. He is the most selfless person I know, putting himself out there to raise money for the Fallen Soldiers Trust.
All the best honey from your number one fan. Well your mum probably takes that title so make that your number two fan, not just an Ironman Widow, but also an Ultraman Widow x.