The Brotherhood

I feel like I am forming some seriously deep brotherly bonds with my workout buddies.

Take Scott for instance. We run 20+ miles together every week. Most of that is at a pace that allows us to have a conversation. We talk about work, family, religion, politics, philosophy and how lucky we are to get to watch the sun rise over White Rock. Over the months I have gotten to know Scott really well. For instance, Scott is a little OCD and a month ago I messed up the timing on the GPS watch and it showed an slower pace than we were really doing. This killed Scott because we were really pushing it that day. I have learned to not tell him our avg pace until the end of the run now and make damn sure it is accurate so it is a source of motivation not anguish. It takes a while to understand your running partner this well, but once you do, it is so easy to really help each other reach the next gear.

My son Blake has really gotten into P90X and yoga. It has reignited my love for push ups and pull ups. I love doing Chest and Back with him. I have also been going to Hot Yoga with him about once a week. He really loves it and that makes me feel good that I have been able to share these two things that are really helping him. He went from a little pudgy at the beginning of the summer to darn near ripped and in the best shape ever now. I think that working out together has strengthened our relationship and he is as much a source of motivation for me as I am for him.

My oldest friend Dan just started P90X this week. I got to do his first three workouts with him. It was a blast watching him really push it on Plyometrics. He has jumped all the way into the deep end on nutrition and working out. He is starting where I was a year ago. I expect to see huge results and really look forward to being by his side over the next year as he "Brings It!"

Running with Sheri is really fun for me. She is actually pretty fast and has great endurance. She has some funny quirks when running, like wanting to be on the edge of the road/trail, going nuts when I am a 1/2 step ahead and not wanting to talk much. That said, when we get in stride with each other on a long run, I can just feel us getting closer without saying a word. Don't ask me to explain it, but it definitely happens. My favorite part is when she goes to high five me after a nice run.

My buddy Pete is "the man." Two years ago, he was totally out of shape and started running and working out. It was seeing him all leaned up that made me want to get after it. He also got me back into running and we did a 1/2 marathon last year. I have known Pete for 15 years now and know we are friends for life. We have not been working out together lately, but I have a feeling it is about to start back up now that he is doing P90X.

Anyhow, you get the point. These are my brothers (and sista). We sweat, bleed, laugh, and cry together. We push each other and help each other find peace.

If you are on a fitness journey, make sure you have your posse with you. It is the brotherhood that will get you through the tough days and celebrate your successes.