It is a given that Mario Andretti has his pit crew, Bill Clinton had his cabinet, Wilt Chamberlain had 1,000 plus girlfriends, and, I, have Team Miller. Without this support team, I would never be able to take on the challenge of training for an Ironman.
It all starts with my soulmate. Imagine reading this advertisement for the position:
Incredibly good looking guy for his age (what guy doesn’t think that way about himself) looking for a soulmate. He is financially secure, has a great job, and resides in Yorba Linda, CA. He rises every morning, rain or shine, at 3:30 AM to train. You will not see him from 2 to 8 hours depending on his daily training schedule. He eats constantly and likes to think he eats somewhat healthy foods. He takes vitamins, voodoo supplements to keep colds away, and has huge canisters of powder all over the kitchen for his fluid fuel used for his workouts. He is extremely quiet around the house after 8 PM as that is almost always his bedtime. Parties like a rock star until 10 PM on the weekends and has been known to fall asleep in the middle of a conversation at a party.
What women out there wouldn’t sign up quickly for this amazing life partner? Well, enter my wife Dawn, a highly successful school administrator. She has become Team Miller Captain. She is the most supportive and understanding wife an Ironman triathlete could ever hope to find. She rarely complains about the training, takes care of me emotionally and physically and come race day, she is my biggest cheerleader for all 13 ½ hours. How lucky am I to have found her?
Training for an IM is something I could never have attempted while trying to raise my family. Sorry guys with young families but there is no sport more selfish than this one when it comes to training time. So I waited until my kids were grown to even attempt this. But, I am blessed with an incredible immediate family that motivates me out of bed every morning when the alarm goes off. My daughter, Linsey, and son in law Manny are the oldest. Linsey is a successful special education high school teacher and Manny is just a month away from his MBA from USC and has a terrific management position in pharmaceutical sales. Linsey has completed 2 marathons (I know to make her dad proud) and together they offer encouragement and support in everything I do. Their biggest accomplishment as a couple to date was providing me with the most adorable and precious granddaughter a “papa’ could ever ask for. Her picture is with me always on every ride tucked into my bento box and when I hit one of those bad patches on my bike, I open up my box and I see Makenzie and everything bad, turns good.
Next in age is my son Adam. Adam is a recent law school graduate and is working in Costa Mesa for a prestigious law firm as an associate. As a former high school and collegiate runner, he is my role model when it comes to that sport. Someday, I’d like the pleasure of crossing a finish line with him just like we did when he ran his first 5K.
Ali is my youngest daughter and she has a half marathon under her belt. A sophomore at CSU- Fullerton, she helps keep her mother occupied so that my time away training doesn’t seem so outrageous. As a psychology major, she also analyzes me constantly and now that she is studying abnormal behavior has me pegged for at least three of the more extreme illnesses.
Last, but not least is Grams, my mom. She has been my biggest supporter all my life and has stopped looking at me with those strange facial contortions when she hears about my latest venture. She instilled the quest for excellence in everything I do and a sense of pride and accomplishment that has centered me all my life. Now, at age 85, she supports me at events whenever the date doesn’t interfere with her busy social calendar.
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So if becoming an Ironman is on your list of things to do… my first piece of advice; either become single or surround yourself with a pit crew just like I have described in Team Miller.
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