“As a typical male I only took up running just to impress a girl!
When I first met my wife I was playing rugby and she was one of these crazy people that did triathlon. Honestly, I couldn’t believe people got up at 5am just to exercise. Whilst early on in our relationship she was training for a marathon and I had started joining her on a few smaller runs. I still can’t quite figure out how she did it but she convinced me, actually maybe more like tricked me, in to continuing the training and doing the local marathon with her.
Again as a typical male I thought ‘yeah why not, I can run like 10kms so I should be sweet!’. Man, how wrong I was. It came to marathon day and after the first 15km of the race my wife left me in her dust, probably wearing a cheeky grin, all whilst I was spat out the back just trying to survive. I should have known hahaha. I managed to finish just on 4hours and absolutely hated it BUT funnily enough loved it at the same time.
Through that single event and the fact that I had well and truly been beaten – yes now I think about it I was definitely tricked – I thought it was time to give running a better crack. With some decent training I went back the following year and knocked 30min off my time and I still continue to improve even now. I am genuinely and pleasantly surprised to say that now I am one of these crazy people that get up early to exercise. I love to run and over the last few years it is has become part of my overall triathlon-half ironman obsession.
Keeping fit and exercising is a huge part of my life now, and well hey, there are still opportunities for some friendly competition between my wife and I.”
Matt @mattyparkinson
(New Plymouth)
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