Michael & Liz are Bloggable

Today I had to run 20 miles for my training, you can read about it on my running blog. But what I am posting here about has more to do with this blog than that one. It is the amazingness that is Liz. That's not a word, as the red squiggly lines are telling me, but it should be, and Webster should use her face as the definition.

20 miles is not an easy run for anyone. 20 miles is not an easy bike ride for anyone either. Today during my run, Liz strapped on a backpack and rode our bike along with me as I did my 20 miles. I say "our" because, she rides it more than I do. At one point she joked and said "you know, you should really get a bike." There are so many reasons why having her there is helpful, that it is the downright truth that I could not have finished the run without her.

First of all, in her backpack was several Gatorades and a bunch of energy gels for me to use while I run. Every few miles she would break away, and set up a mini water station for me as I ran by. She'd hold out my Gatorade and then hand me some gel to fuel up. After a few swigs and some light stretching, I'd take off, she'd pack up our stuff and head back down the trail after me. That help during a 20 mile run is immeasurable. Why couldn't I have finished the run without her? It is a well known fact that your body needs some sort of replacement for your fluids and energy. I am no science guy, but I've been told that your "wall" that you hit is at about 8 miles without any kind of sustanance. After 8 miles, your muscles start to get fatigued from nothing else other than the lack of nurishment. Of course you can keep going but it's nowhere near as easy. Without her by my side on the run, I am 100% certain I would not have been able to run the 20 miles. I'm convinced of it.

A 20 mile bike ride is not easy, especially when you are biking at the speed of 10 minutes per mile. That's crazy slow for a biker and adds to the difficulty level. She didn't complain about it for one second. There were times when I would say "how are you?" and she would say "my butt hurts from this seat, but other than that, i'm good". She kept trucking along without a complaint. That's amazing to me. Even when I started walking at the end, she got off her bike (see... now I say "her" =P ) and walked along with me. If there was a hill, she'd ride to the top and wait for me with Gatorade in hand. So awesome.

Anyone who has run with me, knows I'm a talker. I won't talk your ear off and I hope it's not obnoxious to those I have run with, but I don't necessarily enjoy completely silent runs. Whether it is to chat about our childhood bike experiences or just to talk about how I'm doing with my heart rate and how my legs feel, it is so wonderful to have her there to just chat with. That's 3 hours of bonding and probably more talking than any date we've ever had.

The constant moral support is immensely helpful. When I started walking at mile 17 and negotiating when I was going to run and when I was going to walk, she gave me challenges like "I'm sure you can make it to that street up there". But it's not only during the difficult stretches but also during the good stretches. Saying things like "you don't look tired, how do your legs feel?" It's just nice to have her there for reinforcement.

We went to something at church last weekend called "Married Life Live", where they talk about things you can do to strengthen your marriage. The message was basically, what can you do to nurture the relationship and the romance by listening to your partners needs and reacting to it without being asked. There are tons of things that can apply to that message, but as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing more nurturing than the support she showed me today. She knows these runs are heavy on my mind and nerve-racking to tackle and did everything she could to help me out. I didn't beg her to come with me, she did it because she knew I needed it.

Today, Liz is the one who's bloggable.