Are You Living It?

I just got back from a Labor Day Weekend Barbecue. It was hosted by a fellow triathlete friend of mine, and his invitation promised his “world famous” barbecued chicken. I arrived late to find Durango’s finest multi-sport athletes collecting on a back patio under a makeshift awning created from ski poles, bungee cords, and a large tarp. This was a rare Durango day of rain from sunrise to sunset. Regardless, the spirits were high. It’s not often that we all get together to commiserate like this. We know each other mostly from 6am swim practices or Wednesday evening track workouts. These events are usually a combination of training workouts and what passes as the “social life” of triathletes. We catch up with each other’s lives in one moment, and then try to bust each other’s balls the next moment. It’s a very Spartan existence, but one we all enjoy somehow. Tonight, we relaxed and shared a great meal and conversation about our seasons thus far.

In the small, but burgeoning triathlon community in Durango, we are managing to send six athletes to Hawaii for either the IronMan or Exterra World Championships. I made it a point to watch my fellow masochists and how they conducting themselves this evening. We were all asked to bring our own beverages and a dish to complete the meal. Looking over the spread, it was unlike anything I’d seen during my upbringing in the midwest. No macaroni salad or potato salad or anything involving mayonnaise. Lots of greens…spinach, broccoli, etc. I brought my infamous salsa…we’ll all feel it in the morning! Healthy food all the way around. A few of the participants were having a beer or two, but no more than that. I guess the best word to describe this gathering was discipline. We ate and drank very responsibly and with a lot of forethought. The shining moment came when one of the wives presented a gorgeous peach pie. I could see everyone looking at it and considering the cost:benefit ratio. More than a few of my comrades stated, “I’ll just swim extra hard tomorrow morning”. I managed to resist, but I did enjoy the moment. Where else on a patio barbecue in the US on Labor Day weekend would people be making qualifying statements about why they deserve a piece of pie?? Only in Durango!! Somehow, I derived extreme pleasure from this observance. My own family was back in Ohio having their annual Labor Day soup party. Lot’s of food and beer and dessert, but I can’t imagine anyone making an excuse about how they would work off a piece of pie the next morning. I’m a long way from Ohio, and I miss my family immensely. However, I’m also extremely grateful for the makeshift family I’ve made in Durango. They are the company I keep now, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world.