This post is dedicated to my mother-in-law.  She is one of my biggest blog supporters (and a primo athletic supporter)!  She sends me email comments every few posts and only has nice things to say!  Carolyn, thanks for being a great mother-in-law and Happy Birthday!

In addition to my mother-in-law,  I’m fortunate to have a slew of  athletic supporter.  I think Brad coined the phrase back in my Team in Training days.  I think the question was “Brad, do you run?”  to which Brad replied “No, I’m just Keli’s athletic supporter”.   To me it’s funny because it sounds like he’s a jockstrap – so I guess that’s the joke.

Having good athletic supporters is helpful for those of us who like to train for things.  We need people to ask how we’re doing and how our training is going.  We need friends who offer to ride their bike during our long run to keep us company or man a water stop at mile 15 of a 22 mile training run.  We need family members to listen to us discuss track workouts and pretend they find it interesting.  Instead of just nuts.

I like to think of myself as a great athletic supporter.   I love to talk to my friends (and complete strangers) about their athletic endeavors.  It’s motivating for me and provides inspiration.

Running a race?  Tell me about your training and what your longest run will be.  Riding a century?  I want to hear how you manage 6 hours in the saddle.   Thinking about entering a Tri?  I will convince you that you NEED to do it.   Waffling on whether you can really run that hill?  I will have you convinced you can dance up it.

So be thankful for your athletic crew.  And in turn, be a good athletic supporter.  We all need someone to hold us up sometimes.

Now go run!

Keli