Becoming a Sherpa Once Again

With the deadline fast approaching (read: rate increase ), I knew I had to negotiate. I had to sit the wife down and get her to come to the table to agree upon a fall marathon schedule. This wouldn't be easy, but I knew that it would be resolved more quickly than our national debt crisis.

Since her spring marathon, she has tip toed in and around running a fall marathon. That tip toeing is very similar to her training program where it has seemingly been more of a stutter step than full throttle. With her, it is just best to let her go and not pressure her, but we could ill afford more time. I wasn't going to pay anymore than the $90 fee that was already being assessed to run the Detroit Free Press Marathon.

After what seemed like a scattershot training plan to date, she ran/walked a 12 miler over this past weekend with one of her fellow training partners at Kensington Metropark and I knew it was time to make my move.

Let's be honest here, and say that I needed an answer as much as she probably did. After being probed by Martians and being a sherpa for the wife at the Country Music Marathon this spring, I hadn't achieved any of the goals that I had set for myself at the beginning of the year. Then a funny thing happened, over some beers.

Yup, good ole cowboy pops/oat sodas at Dragonmead one evening, and an encounter with a running mate. What resulted was me toeing the line of a local 5k a few weeks back. Surprisingly, without any speedwork, I ran my fastest 5k in several years, and the wheels started turning. I knew in the back of my mind that the wife would eventually want and need me to be her sherpa for a fall marathon, and if I was going to run the marathon with her, why not turn my attention to running "fast"? Why not return to doing some 5 and 10k's by doing some speedwork but still keeping the miles up in prep for the marathon and the 3rd Annual Lose the Turkey Fat Ass?

That was my ticket and platform I would stand on. In return for being a sherpa once again, I could run some 5 and 10k's along with putting on my annual fat ass race. I really did enjoy the opportunity to run a marathon with my wife, and a chance to do it in our hometown would be even cooler. There wasn't much deliberation as she quickly agreed to the terms and stated that even though her two running partners may be running the race as well that, I knew what she needed during a marathon. I know when to run ahead, fetch drinks/fuel, and when to let her be with her thoughts. Apparently with me being sherpa there would be little chance that as she put it, "would step off the course, and go home with one of my friends".

So there it is, a mutual agreement that benefits both parties and is in the best interest of both parties. Politicians, you could learn from this.