Kim completed her first Ultraman this past November.

Mike and Kim Rouse are two unforgettable individuals. Each of their athletic resumes is insanely impressive, while the merging of the two is downright intimidating. The couple makes two of the nicest, most caring and most humble people you’ll ever meet -- but put a starting line in front of them and you’d better get out of the way. They are beyond mentally tough, possessing an amazing ability to dig past the point of exhaustion into an unfathomable nirvana most of us can’t understand.

You might think that the marriage of two such intense endurance athletes would be too much. However, Mike and Kim look at their similarities as a blessing since they truly understand each other’s constant drive. With Mike and Kim, no explanation is needed; each is allowed to run, bike and swim to his or her heart’s content while the other silently understands.

Mike and Kim fittingly met through running. In the early '90s, Mike was manager of a running store in Texas and Kim was a recently-hired flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. While in Dallas for six weeks of job training, Kim’s friend introduced her to Mike to ensure that she had a running group to train with … and the rest is history. They’ve been married 12 years this September.

Both Mike and Kim have a unique athletic background. Mike was a skilled golfer in high school and college and played the pro circuit for a short while until he veered away from golf and got into tennis, where he also excelled. It wasn’t until age 33 that Mike started running. He entered shorter races (5-10Ks) where he was in the back of the pack. Not used to this spot, he decided to give distance running a try. When Mike found that he could run about the same pace per mile in a marathon as he could in the shorter races, the seed was planted and his passion for going long began to grow. After conquering the marathon, Mike moved up in distance and completed his first 50-mile ultra marathon in 1990. The following year, he ran his first 100-miler and loved every second of it. In total, Mike has completed 200+ marathons (he stopped keeping count), 45 50-milers, 17 100-milers, and four 24-hour races.

Kim was a competitive downhill skier in high school and college, where she started running during the off-season to stay in good ski shape. Kim was inspired by the first-ever women’s marathon in the 1984 Olympics, and her own rise to stardom quickly followed. Kim did her first marathon in 1985 where she ran a 3:16:00 and fell in love with the challenge. In 1986 Kim got a coach, and in 1988 she qualified for the Olympic trials with a time of 2:42:00. Kim continued racing as an elite runner in the years that followed; however, a series of stress fractures caused her to miss the 1992 trials. Despite lowering her training mileage, Kim won the 1995 Carlsbad Marathon in 2:55:00. Still, she wasn’t able to log as many miles as she needed to be competitive, so she hung up her marathon shoes and retreated to cross country.

Mike and Kim’s paths merged just as Mike was getting into ultra-running and Kim was backing off from the marathon. It was perfect timing – each of their turning points equaled the ideal running partner for the other. Although Mike couldn’t hang with the speedy male runners, his undying endurance pace translated to a respectable female’s pace. making him one of the few people fast enough to partner with Kim.

The husband and wife endurance duo continues to train together.

Since getting into triathlon, they have veered away from training together as much as before. Mike continues to go long and steady, while Kim races the clock. Nevertheless, their respect and admiration for the other is commendable.

“Kimmie is the toughest son-of-a-gun you’ll ever meet. Her mental toughness is beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” Mike said. “In 2005, she qualified for the Hawaii Ironman. She’d never done the distance before and was scared to death, but she set a goal for herself and trained hard for the event. Two weeks prior, she fell while on a training ride and broke her collar bone. Most people would have given up, but not Kimmie. Tough as nails, she finished the Ironman, suffering through 140.6 miles of pain.”

Kim has a deep appreciation for Mike’s ability to stay true to himself.

“Mikey has an ultra-mentality," she said. "He’s passionate about going long, and he truly enjoys it -- I admire that about him. He’ll say he’s not competitive, but he challenges himself within himself. For Mikey, it goes beyond staying fit and racing. He only pursues things that he loves. If he didn’t enjoy pushing himself, he wouldn’t do it. Mikey knows himself enough to be able to find his passion and chase it. That’s a neat trait to have.”

Despite their athletic similarities and drive to succeed, Kim maintains that they are actually very different people.

“There is a common misconception that we are a lot alike,” she said. “We are both nuts, but we know that. Beyond the nutty part, we are very different. Mikey is very outgoing and social; he’s the life of the party. I’m more on the quiet side. I like to sing, paint and retreat into my world of the arts. We are a ying and yang team—Mike pushes me into the social life when I need it, while I pull Mikey back when he needs to relax.”

One thing is for sure: Both Mike and Kim are stubborn, and if they set a goal, you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll achieve it. They embrace and understand the other’s desire to achieve, and they never have to ask for permission to go on a run.

Weekly Speed Workout 03.03.2010

SWIM: This workout is a butt kicker! I know because I attempted it this morning. One thing is for sure: This workout reveals your weakness (if there is any). In swimming, it is common to consider your base pace to be the pace you can hold for 10x100s or 5x200s. However, attempting to hold this base pace for anything beyond 200 reveals whether this is your true base, or just a base you aspire to reach. In my case, it is a base I aspire to reach because I was quickly dropped during the 300’s. My recommendation for this workout is to be realistic and plan for endurance.

TOTAL YARDAGE = 4,000

• Warm-up = 400
  • 4x50 kick
  • 2 x 100, alternate drill / free each lap
• Workout: 2-sets of the following = 3,400
  • 5x100’s base plus 5 (medium)
  • 3 x 300’s on base (strong and steady)
  • 3x100’s on base plus 10 (fast)
• Cool-down = 200 easy swim

Michele Wallace is a contributor to San Diego News Room’s endurance sports section.  Michele has been a competitive runner since she was eight. She was the California state cross-country champion in 1992 at Escondido High School. Michele attended the University of San Diego where she placed top three in the West Coast Conference championship from 1993 – 1996. After college, Michele began competing in triathlons in 1999 and continues to focus on triathlons and duathlons. Michele is also a full-time working mom.

                                        

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Unbelievable couple -- could certainly teach us some things about marriage!

www.ashortguidetoahappymarriage.com

sharongilo , March 07, 2010

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