What it Takes to be an Ironman

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The last post was about Ryan finishing his first full Ironman event! So today I thought I would tell you what it takes to be an Ironman. As far as the couple or family dynamic.

Not only does this kind of training take dedication from the athlete but also from their wife and/or family. I wanted to share how we used the 5 love languages or how they were effected through these 9 months of training. Keep in mind I am also in the midst of marathon training right now as well!

Words of Affirmations

• Encourage one another when we discuss how our workouts are going.
• I wrote a note to Ryan before his race telling him how excited I was to watch him race. I also told him how I knew he had trained for this race and was ready to do it.
• After the race I placed a congratulations card on his pillow telling him how proud I was of him.

Physical Touch

• This much train sometimes calls for massages. And not all of these are soft, romantic, enjoyable massages. Ryan occasionally puts his knee into my glute while I squirm around until I just can’t take it any more.
• If you can imagine after a 6 hour bike ride or a three hour run one or both of us might be exhausted. Sometimes intimate time has to be put off or be planned for before those long workouts.

Receiving Gifts

• I have to admit neither of our primary love languages are gifts and we have a tight budget so this love language often gets over looked.

Quality Time

• Sometimes we get long easy rides or runs in together. This doesn’t happen much because of our different paces, but we do enjoy it greatly when it does. Time to talk and dream about life together… for hours! haha.
• With the aforementioned 6 hour rides or 3 hour runs it takes up a lot of time. Which means we have to be intentional about making time for us.
• We always eat dinner together! Even if one of us doesn’t feel like eating and only wants chocolate milk after an evening workout. This allows us to catch up on our day and spend time together.

Acts of Service

• When one is busy training the other takes care of things. Cooking, washing clothes, etc.
• Throughout training I have ran several errands to go get nutrition for Ryan or picking him up from a flat.
• This weekend Ryan will be there cheering me on as I race!

Supporting each other using the 5 love languages helps us to keep our marriage in check. We know if we are loving each other in the way they like to be loved we each will have a full tank even when things are a bit busy!

Until Next Time – Truly Love,

Cassie