Friends, Support, Encouragement and Fun

Most people would say friendships are an important part of life. I disagree with this statement. I believe friendships are an essential part of life. I don't see how anyone can function without a strong support system of friends. My wife and I are blessed in the friendship category. Just the other day, we were marveling over the fact that we have so many close friends. I would like to take this moment to thank all of our friends for their support, encouragement and fun you bring to our lives. I hope that we return to you the quality of friendship that you share with us.

I would compare friends to the relationship a woman has with shoes. You can never have too many shoes and you need to have particular shoes available for each occasion. Some shoes will work for multiple occasions, but seldom does a shoe fit for all occasions.

I have some friends that play golf, some that like to hunt, some that are in to cycling and some that are in to Triathlons. I have friends that like fine wine and some that prefer a cold brewski. I have friends that get emotional and friends that don't. Depending on my mood, I may choose to call on different friend today than I did yesterday. However, don't assume that because I have a lot of friends that I take them for granted. Nothing could be further from the truth. I cherish every one of my friendships and I don't toss around the word "Friend" loosely. I don't spend time with people I don't trust or that I just don't like.

It's not surprising that I spend most of my time with friends that are in to cycling and Triathlons. It only makes sense that I spend most of my time with friends that enjoy the same things I enjoy. Over the years, I have traveled the world and made a lot of friends. I have been told I make friends easily. Out of all of my friends, over the years, I have found that cyclist and triathletes make the best of friends.

These people are amazing! There is something noble about a person who can share the fun of riding your bike like a kid again and suffer with you for hours when you decide to push your body to the limits and still give you a smile. It is hard to hide your true personality when you are drenched in sweat on a hundred degree day climbing a huge mountain in a strong headwind.

Several of us headed over to the Mighty Mite Triathlon in Forrest City, Arkansas last weekend. One of my great friends, Brent, rode with my wife and I. We were staying with a friend, David, whose parents lived nearby. David is a one of kind guy. David is in his early fifties and has been doing triathlons for twenty-three years. He is full of knowledge and will bend over backwards to help a friend improve. Our club refers to him as "The Jedi Master". We are all his loyal subjects that aspire to use the force as he has learned to use it over the years.

Brent is one of my closest friends. He is one of those shoes that works for many occasions. It is not very often that we go an entire day without speaking to each other. We balance each other out in several areas. Brent is doing a similar weight loss program. We have been an encouragement for each other through this process. I attribute a lot of my success to him.

Brent and I have an addiction to competition. To say we are competitive with each other would be a huge understatement. Weight loss, golf, cycling and triathlons, to name a few, hold a high level of competition for us. Triathlons win the prize for the most competitive event.

I met Brent while visiting a church with some relatives. We quickly figured out that we were doing the same triathlons. An immediate friendship was born. We have been competing against each other in triathlons for a couple of years now. Brent has always had the edge on me. He usually kicks my butt by five minutes or more. That is a severe butt kicking when you are talking about a race that last less than an hour and a half.

For the first time in two years, I had him nervous. I had lost twenty pounds since our last Tri and I was fast. I had gotten the better of him on a couple of rides recently, and I could see the concern on his face. As of today, I have lost twenty-four pounds in five weeks. I have a lot of friends to thank for their encouragement.

We arrived at the race site a bit over two hours early. There were two transition areas, thirteen miles apart, getting there early was a must. This race has a beginners division for people who have done three or less races. I like to walk around the transition area and see if any newbies need any help. I was having a great conversation with a guy who was doing his first Tri. A guy with a deep voice walks up behind me and ask if he could rack his bike by mine. I turn around and I am looking at the guy's chest. His name is Dave and he is six feet ten inches tall. This was his first triathlon and he was a bit nervous. I saw him after the race and he was out of his mind with joy. He was now hooked on triathlons and couldn't wait to find anther one to do. This is another example of the great people that are surrounding this sport.

Brent and I have a habit of talking trash before an event, and man was I pouring it on. I was very confident in my weight loss. Brent was not talking much trash, which is completely out of character for him. The weight loss had him nervous.

Brent is a great swimmer and was in the first wave. I started in the second wave that was five minutes back. The gun sounded and they were off. I watched Brent get off to a strong start. I knew I would lose a couple of minutes to him on the swim, so I had to prepare to hammer the bike and the run portion.

I had a good swim and jumped on my bike. I felt like a rocket coming out of the gate. This was a hilly course and would give me an advantage. I have never rolled through a bike course as easily as I did this day. I pushed myself hard, but it felt almost effortless. I racked my bike and started the run. It was hilly and it was hot. Brent is a good runner, so I had to continue to push. About a mile into the run, the Jedi Master passes me. He started five minutes behind me and is not a very good swimmer. Needless to say, he can hurt you on the bike and run.

The course had a very sick sense of humour. At the two and half mile mark, you have to run past the finish line and make a loop. I can't explain to you how hard it is to see the finish line and not be able to stop. I made the turn and thought I was going to throw up. I had never pushed my body and mind this hard. I knew Brent was already at the finish line counting down the clock to see If I come in more than five minutes after his time. I gave it my all and pushed hard to the finish. My lovely wife was waiting for me. Brent was right behind her shaking his head. He was sure I had beaten him by close to two minutes. I waited for the official time, and sure enough, I had beaten him by one minute and forty-five seconds. I had my first victory!

Brent and I bet steak dinners on the races. Coming into this race, I owed him two dinners. I now owe him one, and I plan to get that one back at the Lake Degray Tri festival in August. Brent was very happy for me, but very upset that he had lost. He hates losing! Naturally, I started talking trash. Its was payback time for two years of defeats.

Monday morning I made a trip to the local Flower shop. I picked out several black balloons, a smiley face, Get Well, and Thanks for you support balloon. I had them tied to a stuffed duck and delivered to Brent's office. On the card, I said "Sorry for your loss, but I plan to give you another one soon".

How does anyone make it in life without good friends?