Iron Pol

I like to think I'm committed. Others might say I should BE committed. I'll leave it to your imagination what they actually mean by that. And most triathletes have a high level of dedication to the sport. Even so, it is easy to be (constantly) amazed at the committment shown by others.

Yesterday was one of those times. I showed my committment by flexing my schedule around so I could fit in two workouts while meeting the scheduling needs of my wife. By turning those workouts into a modified brick, I could complete a long swim and a "sorta" long run.

Due to the conditions, I decided to complete my run on the track at the gym where I swim. When I was about six miles into the run, I saw frequent reader (and occassional commenter) John K along with his wife. While John hit the free weights, his wife joined me on the track to walk. Or so I thought.

After warming up, she started jogging, maintaining a pace fast enough that I was able to run with her without feeling "slowed down." Now, having a woman run on the track isn't amazing. And having a woman run at a pace comparable to mine is in no way remarkable (remember, I was crushed in a half-marathon by a woman who was five months pregnant at the time).

What is remarkable is that prior to coming to workout, she had to drop off her baby at the nursery. Her eight week old baby. As a guy, I must admit I can't truly relate to having a baby. But I'm guessing that eight weeks after squeezing anything the size of a bowling ball from my body, I wouldn't be running. Much less running four miles in 35 minutes.

As we ran, she commented that John's goal is to beat her time from last year's Bellin 10K run. When we finished, I pointed out that all he would have to do to beat her time is follow her. She's on track to beat her own time, eight weeks after having a baby. Since she has nearly that amount of time until the actual race, I'm betting she beats her time from last year. In fact, I just might bet on her to beat John.

There are a lot of "tri moms" out there. After seeing the committment of one new mom, my hat is off to all of you, today. Because my dedication is easy compared to what it must take to get back in the water, on the bike, and on the track so soon after having a baby.

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