Old Friends and IronMen

Three of my old friends from the Rolling Hills High School swim team drove into Boulder last week for the Ironman competition. They have all parlayed their swimming and water polo background into other athletic accomplishments over the past two decades, though work and family make training for an Ironman a rare and costly occurrence. I watched their results on the "Athlete Tracker" all day on Sunday - and I do mean all day since the race took them between 11 and 14 hours - with my heart in my throat for their safety and well-being. A 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run over hills in summer heat would be death-defying if I were to attempt such a thing. But they survived to tell the tale and were even showered, dressed, and mobile yesterday when I met two of them for lunch in Boulder with the kids in tow.

What a blessing to re-connect with people who supported you through the intense emotions and stressful growing-up times of high school and college. When Mark teased Kevin, his responding "easy now" took me right back to game night twenty-plus years ago. Apparently Dave's memorable "under- promise and over-deliver" mentality was also still intact. Their interest in sports, history and politics remains the same and I was also grateful that we could still talk about those issues without getting into arguments- either with each other or with the surrounding Boulderites.

That bond formed of sports long ago made me think hard about Aden, William and Daniel's involvement in athletics. They are not yet focused in on one or two specific endeavors, but they will be soon. Aden is looking at swimming and water polo and William and Daniel are still young enough to do five or six activities throughout the year, but we'll have to narrow down soon, if only for my sanity. And when they do, it doesn't really matter how good they are, how high they rise, how much they win. Kevin, Mark and I were not state champion swimmers or Olympic water polo players, but the bond of practice and competition created friendships strong enough to last nearly three decades, and the love of fitness sank deep enough to push us towards Ironman races, hiking Pikes Peak, and the desire to teach our kids to swim, run, play and get strong. What a gift to remember this and to show my kids that at the heart of athletics what matters is not success but health, and healthy relationships.