The joy of sharing your passions
Gosh, I absolutely loved reading Kristina‘s Ironman Coeur d’Alene recaps (swim & bike/run). And really, reading about her training up to the big event. She had such a strong mental stance in training and at the race. You can just tell by reading her recaps how the positive talk and logic she spoke to herself during the race really helped her (as well as all the physical training, too, hee hee). Congrats, Kristina!
One of the things I read in her recap got me thinking about another topic. She mentioned that her parents came to spectate (awesome!) and how it was such a new experience for them – their first triathlon ever! So she got to tell them all about fun triathlon things like body marking, the costs of some of the bikes, what transition area is, and so on. And they had a great time!
That experience reminded me of when my family came to spectate our Half Ironman Relay last year, and what fun it was to have the same conversations. I mean, we put so much time and effort in to our hobbies, it’s nice when someone is genuinely interested, and you get to talk about something you actually know about!
I remember my dad being über impressed by it all, but especially that Andrew swam 1.2 miles. He actually congratulated Andrew and shook his hand. Geesh, I don’t think my dad has ever done that after I’ve run anything. Better take up swimming. Ha! Just kidding.
That was such a joyous day to me. It was cool enough that I was doing the relay event with my two (not then, but they are now!) brother-in-laws, but to have our families there supporting us made it much more special to me. And it was fun to share the knowledge and tidbits I’ve picked up about the sport (ha, mostly running, of course) with people who were truly interested!
When was the last time you got to share something you were passionate about with a genuinely interested audience? What was the topic?
Themocracy
Aww that story about your dad shaking Andrews hand is so sweet. Maybe your dad needs to run a marathon- then hed shake your hand? 🙂
My parents weren’t musicians but always came to my concerts in middle school-post college. My Daad seemed kinda pissed that I didn’t do college marching band. He always enjoyed coming to the football games and seeing the band. I was all “but I can sit with you and watch the game and drink beer with you since I’m not in the marching band!!”
Ha ha. I think I need to do something different than run… or maybe he’ll think all the biking we do is cool 😉
I think watching the game sounds more fun, too! LOL!
My parents came to my 2nd marathon and followed me all over the city with my son and husband. I don’t think they truly “got” the meaning of a marathon until they did that. It was once of my most favorite days ever!!
That is so fun! And I bet you got a huge boost each time you saw them!
The first time I ran the Chicago Marathon, my mom was so into it! She came with my sister and family and was at the finish line. She got to brag to everyone that I ran the marathon. This time, she’s a little less enthusiastic. I’m not sure if it is because I was so disappointed and broken after that race. I told her this was my chance to redeem myself. I don’t know if she’ll be there this time or not.
Are you secretly hoping she does come?
Very cool! My dad likes to come to all our races. My mom did too…until she started signing up for the races too!!!
Thanks for the shout-out. I do think that luck often plays a role in races too!
It’s fun to hear how parents react to different events/races. The entire “Ironman experience” is kind of over-the-top, but I think it made everything even THAT much more exciting for my parents.
And, as far as sharing passions, I think that it’s amazing that you and your dad get to race together!
Finally, I can’t wait for you to convert to triathlon (hee hee)!
Luck with weather, and other things, sure, but your training got you most of the way there!
You’re right that it being so over the top makes it very exciting!
I do need to do a tri one of these days! What happened to my goal of swimming more this summer?! Oops!
I love when my family comes to see me race. Best was when my folks and Bobbi all came last year to spectate FVM. Nothin’ better then your family cheering you on!
My parents and I share some interests – music and volleyball – so it wasn’t hard to get them to come to my volleyball games (in fact, my mom continued to go to games even after I quit the team) or most of my band concerts. But they knew nothing about soccer, so it meant a lot when they came to those games. (I was very involved in a lot in high school, plus both of my parents worked and had their own hobbies, so I never expected them to come to EVERYTHING.) When I started running, they were very much “we don’t get it” so when they came to spectate the marathon, that meant a lot. My middle-older bro and sis-in-law, also not runners, also came to spectate, and that meant a lot.