For half of our married life, Laura and I have shared the thrill of racing together as a duathlon team - "RunForYourWife", with me running, and Laura biking. Later this month, will mark our 13th consecutive time (every one since it started!) in the Tinley Park Duathlon. Well, this year, to mark our 25th wedding anniversary, we commemorated our "team" with uniforms. We exercise and train and compete for our health, recreation and camaraderie with our friends. Yet, the one hour or so we spend togetehr on this race course every year: 2 mile run, 11 mile bike, and 2 mile run, is a highlight of our summer, a celebration of our shared passions for running and biking, and a linchpin of our relationship.
At our age, our days of coed-team podium finishes may be behind us, but when the love of your life is waiting in transition, you give it your all, let your partner take the next shift, and rest while you catch your breath (kind of like raising kids!). When your teammate is your soulmate, it's not just one heart powering your legs, but two hearts, beating as one.
So, win/place/show, or back of the pack; record time - or worst time on the clock; running or walking; sitting on bike saddles drinking from Profile bottles, or sitting on a porch swing drinking lemonade; Laura and I are in this "race" together, preparing, enduring, bearing the sting of the other's pain and basking in the warmth of the other's joy; together at the start 25 years ago, and until the finish , God willing, another 25 years or more. I love you.
