exactly. my ex who was very active ran (barely) sub 15 and I ran (barely) sub 14, but he preferred biking to running so I think he could have been faster. Still, we'd on occasion run together (same running club) after we broke up
Oh gosh, the former NFL guy was a rock for the widowed former pro cyclist 14 years his junior. I'm sure he's never fantasized about trading in for a newer model, it's not like he doesn't have the money, status, or physique to accomplish that. This is so Boulder, now we just need that Matt Fox polyamory troll to defend it.
Kristen Solomon reluctantly joined her husband, Ariel Solomon, on bike rides and ski adventures for years around their home in Boulder, Colo. She says she was thrilled when he found a workout wife to substitute for her. Kate Ligler, 40, is a strength coach who started training the couple in 2019. A former professional cyclist, she hit it off with Mr. Solomon, 54, a former NFL player. They cycle or skate ski together once a week. Mr. Solomon is a novice cyclist and says Ms. Ligler doesn’t go easy on him. “The power of a workout husband is that there is no bulls—t relationship stuff,” she says. When Ms. Ligler’s partner died in January 2020, she says Mr. Solomon helped her get through the grieving process and get back in shape. “He’d drag me on rides and I’d make him suffer every time,” she says. “That’s exactly what I needed and he understood.”
A married person with an exclusive non-spouse training partner of the opposite sex sounds weird and combustible. A spark could ignite at any time and your lives change in a moment of passion that built up over months or years.
I get the impression the people in the story are in open marriages/relationships with athletic activity at the core of the arrangement. Friends with benefits nursing each others shin splints. The following paragraph was particularly telling:
They have since competed in multiple endurance events. “When you suffer through something together, you have a bond,” Ms. Thornton says.
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Definitely. Regardless of her relationship status, if she's routinely vulnerable with you and you are a steady good influence for her (and vice versa) then when she hits a rough patch for a month or two (work, relationship, family, whatever) and your time together is an escape from that and you're both fit and get along well one or both of you could easily start blurring lines. Even if you're just thinking about it, you're taking away from a focus on your significant other and supporting her within your relationship.
I won't be alone with another woman I know outside of work,
there's no possible upside that's worth any potential downside for my own relationship and personal happiness. I know guys who fail to draw that line and either there's the strong appearance of cheating on their significant others or they actually do cheat in the fullest sense. The sole context of a larger training group could be a possible exception, as that's more analogous to a workplace setting. It's not like there's a widespread shortage of male training partners. I'm biased because I don't see anything interesting in going on runs with any woman other than my wife.
This is super weird, and somehow this woman's alleged boyfriend is being portrayed as having signed off on being cucked:
Perry Major and Braelin Thornton are constantly mistaken for a romantic couple. They met in 2021 at an endurance event. Mr. Major thought she was a competitor’s wife. “I’d just finished, and here is this woman all made up and wearing a finisher’s hat,” he says. “She finished nine hours earlier.”
Ms. Thornton mentioned she was training for the 2022 Lake Placid, N.Y., Ironman and challenged him to sign up. Mr. Major, 54, is divorced and lives in Greenville, S.C., where he works in real estate. Ms. Thornton, 38 and the owner of a financial firm, is also divorced and lives in Saratoga, N.Y.
They struck up a long-distance training relationship, talking on the phone while on eight-hour indoor-bike rides. Mr. Major finished the Ironman and said he knew they had a special friendship when she completed the race and waited over an hour for him to finish.
They have since competed in multiple endurance events. “When you suffer through something together, you have a bond,” Ms. Thornton says.
Her current boyfriend will soon meet Mr. Major in person for the first time on a training vacation with Ms. Thornton. “I told my boyfriend that having Perry in my life is nonnegotiable for me,” she says.
Dude is not your family, by blood or by marriage, but you met him at a race so that's some great bond? Does she have daddy issues? It's not like they can physically train together regularly, so at least there's no regular opportunity for her to jump in the sack with him when she's annoyed with her boyfriend.
I got that vibe too. The WSJ also mentions their occupations, but that's irrelevant.
I’ve seen this story play out in real life for a buddy of mine. Ended up with him getting blown by his workout spouse and he lost his wife, kids and house.
Definitely. Regardless of her relationship status, if she's routinely vulnerable with you and you are a steady good influence for her (and vice versa) then when she hits a rough patch for a month or two (work, relationship, family, whatever) and your time together is an escape from that and you're both fit and get along well one or both of you could easily start blurring lines. Even if you're just thinking about it, you're taking away from a focus on your significant other and supporting her within your relationship.
I won't be alone with another woman I know outside of work,
there's no possible upside that's worth any potential downside for my own relationship and personal happiness. I know guys who fail to draw that line and either there's the strong appearance of cheating on their significant others or they actually do cheat in the fullest sense. The sole context of a larger training group could be a possible exception, as that's more analogous to a workplace setting. It's not like there's a widespread shortage of male training partners. I'm biased because I don't see anything interesting in going on runs with any woman other than my wife.
Is that you, Mike Huckabee?
Mike Huckabee or Mike Pence? 'Tis a fair cop, it certainly looks like an odd, church-y sort of sentiment on the surface. I might have made a similar crack in my single days. Though when I look back at my single days, hanging out one-on-one with women whom I was not dating and would not date never did me any good. My wife was burned pretty bad on several levels (emotional, financial, health) by infidelity prior to us meeting, in my situation I just haven't seen a good reason to risk her questioning my motives. Not when I have plenty of guys I could hang out or run with outside of work. Maybe that bums out hardcore feminists, too bad.