Sunday, September 30, 2007

T - 335 days!!

I can't believe it.....I officially registered for IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2008!!! Thanks to my amazing sister, who let me put it on her credit card until I raise all the money!!! Ok, so things going through my head at this moment:

1. I'm going to yack.
2. I need a new bike...scratch that, WANT a new bike.
3. How many gels and clif bars will it take to get me to August 31 2008??
4. I am going to need all my friends and family's support for the next 335...no 336 days (including post race "take care of Robyn" day)
5. As scared as I am....I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!

I just want to thank everyone who is going to donate money to the cause, as well as all the support I know will be there from friends and family. So....stayed tuned over the next year or so to keep up with my training!!! Thanks again everyone!!!!

~Robyn~

Friday, September 28, 2007

Please help :)

Ok, apparently I'm getting desperate. An email I sent to family and friends. Help if you can!!

An Ironman race is described as long, grueling, difficult, the hardest thing you will ever do…It should be considering it is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run, continuously. After my first triathlon, I was hooked.
I’ve gone through every step most triathletes go through, including the desire to compete in longer distance races. This brings me to the reason for this letter. I have been thinking about competing in an Ironman race for several months, but I realize it is a large commitment. Not only physically and mentally, but financially as well. I am finishing up my final year of graduate school and do not have a “real job” as of yet. An Ironman entry fee is probably the most expensive of endurance races: $475. The reaction I always get when I tell someone this is, “You have to pay that much to go through pain for 17 hours!?” Well, yes. An athlete has up to 18 hours to complete the race. Think about how many aid stations, police officers, and paper cups are needed to last that long? The general rule applies here: the longer the race, the more expensive the entry fee.
My desire is to compete in Ironman Louisville on August 31, 2008. I have never wanted to work so hard for something before. Training for triathlons is the hardest, but one of the most fulfilling athletic achievements I have come by. So I am asking, will you please help me reach this challenging, gratifying, and most courageous athletic aspiration? Any amount, whether it is monetary or simply prayer, I will greatly appreciate. Thank you so much for your time and I will keep you updated on my Ironman status.

All the love and thanks in the world,
~Robyn~

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Ironman Woes (and I'm not even signed up yet!)


Basically.....$$$$$$$. Or lack thereof. I really really want to do IM Louisville next year ('08) because I think I'm in a great place in my life training wise. However, that entry fee is killing me right now. Not to mention, wanting a new bike for it. Ok, I can wait on the bike. But I'll need that entry fee asap, before spots fill up. Which reminds me, I need to check again today to see. Might already be filled up! I hope not. Still holds out hope for me.


So, if anyone wants to contribute to the "Robyn wants to race for 16 hours in Louisville in 2008 so she can refer to herself as an ironman" fund....you let me know...... :)

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Rock my world!

Totally got rocked last night at my first group ride with these FAST guys. I know Matt thru church, and he invited me out to ride with his Tuesday night group. He rode with me for a while, and I was thinking "I hope I'm not holding him back".

Turns out, I kind of was.

We rode a few miles to this loop, called the "Big House" loop, and were holding about an 18-19mph pace. Not bad. I felt really good considering I hadn't been on my bike since Halfmax. Well, that didn't last long!! We get to the "Big House" loop and its about a 2 mile loops, in somewhat of a rectangle layout. A brutal uphill, flat, downhill, flat. Well, I guess the uphill wasn't that bad, but I definitely did not look forward to any hills after Innsbrook. The first loop, Matt stuck with me to make sure I had the route down (not that it mattered, it all looked the same thru my blurriness due to a practically maxed out HR).

Then he said "Ok I'm going to take off with these guys, I'll be back to get you".

He takes off going like 100mph, or about 32mph, but whatever.... I never saw those guys again. I got dropped so fast, it was ridiculous. And whats frustrating, is I was holding about 20-22mph (minus the uphill)!!! I hung back with another newbie for the night and we were hammering away. We did several loops (like I said, I couldn't tell one part of the course from the other) and finally it was getting pretty dark.

The guy I was riding with said "well, they probably left us, let's start back". This dude acted like he knew where he was going, I certainly did not. We exit the subdivision one way, and he stops and says "you know, I don't know how to get back going this way. Let's go back thru the subdivision and go out the other way." NEAT.

So we head back into the subdivision and met up with Matt. I knew he wouldn't have left me! I rode back with him and we chatted about tri's and what not. We parted a few miles from my apartment so he could go back to his house and drink beer...*ahem* excuse me! I mean re-hydrate as they like to call it.... I was definitely invited, but I was so hungry and just wanted to go home and collapse!

I learned SOOOOOOOO much on this ride. Most importantly, I learned how to hurt. Granted, I have a long ways to go, but since I'm used to riding by myself, I don't realize when I'm slowing down because I'm hurting. There were several points during the ride where I just wanted to lolligag around 15mph, but I kept hammering. Disregard the fact I was anaerobic for a straight hour and wanted to yack....

I will definitely get faster by riding with these guys. Did I mention many of them are CAT 3 and 4 cyclists?!?!?! I can't wait till next Tuesday so I can get dropped again! But hopefully not until at least half way thru the first lap!!!

Thanks Matt!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

So sleeeeeeepy

I really don't know why, but I'm SUPER tired all the time. Like, way more than usual. The last few mornings, I've woken up from about a 6.5-7 hour sleep, standard for me, and I feel like I haven't slept a wink! I was training way more than I am now a few weeks ago and I wasn't this tired then! It's really putting a strain on my already unmotivated self....any thoughts/comments/suggestions/concerns???

Monday, September 24, 2007

The Weekend



First off, Friday was Junior's birthday! He's the big 1!! I got him a cake and he loved it. It was from Three Dog Bakery in Collierville. That place smelled delish even though it probably tasted like dog food. I took him to Petsmart to get a new toy (or two) and then we played at the park...so spoiled!

Saturday morning was a 4:15am wakeup call. My first long run with Memphis in Motion. It was different than I thought it would be. Not in a bad way...just different. We just ran around for the first hour, because you have the choice of coming at 5 or 6. We went back and picked up the people that came at 6, and total there were probably about 25-30 people running. SO much better than running by myself. Plus, with the run/walk technique Mark uses, my body wasn't trashed after 5 or 6 miles. I couldn't find my garmin that morning (I have since located it) so I didn't know how far we had been. I asked a guy when I was about to go back to the car, and he said we had gone 13.5. I felt really good for just running a half marathon!! One guy and I ran back to the cars, the rest of the group had longer runs to do. All in all, it was a 16 mile morning. Needless to say, I went back to the apartment, showered, and crashed for 3 hours. It was a lazy and unproductive day...

Yesterday started out with volunteering in the nursery at 8am service at church, then I went to 9:30 service...went home for a quick nap (those kids always wear me out!) because I had to be back at church at 12:45 for my soccer teams pictures. They were so funny! All the boys had their hair slicked down and combed...which is funny because not 45 minutes later, they'd be sweaty messes during our soccer game! Well, we got killed 13-3, but I think they had a 12 yr old on their team, because she alone scored 11 of their goals!! Mind you, I have a team of all 4 yr olds...my boys were scared of her. Anyway, they had fun, which is what's important.

Run group tonight. Just got the email of the workout...something about form drills...hmm...I really wish I would have joined this group BEFORE this past tri season!!! Just wait till next year...... mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I'm not sure that was necessary...

Thursday, September 20, 2007

A list of things I've decided in the last 12 hours:

1. I am obsessed with Pumpkin spice lattes...delish, but bad for the wallet.
2. I am going to be good next year, like an actual real triathlete.
3. I really really want to race again, and soon. The marathon can't come soon enough...although I think I want to do another tri....
4. I am not patient.
5. I really miss my girls in KC, especially after reading Dawn's recap this morning.

6. Apparently, I look like a dominatrix in my wetsuit photo.....
7. I think more people need to read AND respond to my blog so I know people are reading it.
8. I LOVE FOOD. Wait, this defintiely isn't something I've just discovered....
9. Road rash does not go away quickly.
10. (Within the last few seconds) I really need to stop writing and get to work....

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

And it continues...

First workouts post-major race SUCK. Usually, I take off like a week, and by a week, I mean two or three. Mostly because I'm just physically and mentally exhausted and I just really don't feel like getting up early to train, or when I come home I just crash. BUT seeing as how I have a marathon in T - 10 weeks, the training must go on......

So yesterday, I started with Memphis in Motion

It was HARD. I've never felt so much like crap during a run and I looked kind of pathetic. The way this group trains is a run/walk style where you walk once you reach an anaerobic heart rate. I think I was anaerobic from the time I woke up yesterday morning. These older women were calling out their heart rates "148"........"143".......and then there's the young chipper Robyn..... "178".....Neat. I blame it on the race....yeah that's it! That was frustrating. We only went like 3.8 miles, including warmup. Definitely frustrating. I'm going again tomorrow evening and I'm looking forward to meeting new people. To be continued.....................

Monday, September 17, 2007

"I could never do that!" - Robyn, about two years ago watching a half ironman race

But....I did do it. I never thought I would EVER do a race like this. I did...and I LIKED IT. Granted, if you would have asked me at about mile 10 of the run what I felt like, I would have said "KILL ME NOW". But looking back, I would do it all over again tomorrow. Today even. So, here is my race recap (minus the times since they are not on the website yet).

Halfmax National Championships - September 15, 2007
Total time - 6:57:20

Well, it was a balmy 50 degrees when we woke up. Not to mention Court and I woke up at 3:30, instead of 4:15 like we set our alarms for. Oh well, pretty standard on race day. We got ready, ate a bagel, and loaded up the 'stang to drive to the race. We get there, get out and take our bikes to transition, get marked, and realize just how cold it is! Our feet were FREEZING. So we sat back in the car for about 10 minutes to warm up. We then realized we should probably get ready. We got marked and set up our transition. After lubing up, we got into our wetsuits and headed down to the beach.

SWIM - 1.2 miles - 29:35
My swim went way better than expected! It was about 27 min. I was worried I would have a horrible swim because after I rounded the last turn and started heading back to the beach, I was following one group only to realize they had started swimming further and further off course! I looked over and all the other swimmers were about 50 yards to the left of me! I started swimming towards them once again and finally reached the beach. I was thinking "man Court is probably on her 2nd loop of the bike course by now" and I heard them say "Courtney Crutcher of Defined Fitness comes out of the water!" I was right behind her! This pumped me up, knowing I had to have a good swim. Sure enough, I looked at my watch and it was around 27 minutes! Yeah! Good start! The transition is about 8 miles away from the beach (not really, but its a good distance!) so I slowly ran up the grass while trying to de-wetsuit. I make it to transition and Courtney realized I was right there! I think that made her a little mad....haha. Love you Court! I had a really good T-1 (2:08) and I was off to the bike course.

BIKE - 56 miles - 3:36:53
Take a look at the freakin hills on this course:





Well...From running up the hill to transition, then jumping on my bike, and finally starting out on those brutal hills, my heart rate was about 180. When my heart rate jacks up, I get dizzy. The first few hills are just straight up and down. I was going up the hills about 4-5mph. Barely fast enough to NOT fall over! At mile 5 I was going up one of the worst hills and I must have leaned too far to the left, because my front wheel turns to the left and I go flying off the left side of the road. No big deal, I unclipped before I had the chance to fall. I got back on the road and walked up the rest of the way. I get to the top and realize there is a small downhill, a short flat followed by a big downhill with another hill to climb after that. I thought "ok I'll coast down the short hill, clip in and then crank down the big downhill so I can climb again". Perfect plan! Flawless! NOT. My tri shoes have an adaptor which makes them difficult to clip in and out. I start coasting and cannot clip in! I realize I HAVE to clip in soon or I'm going to end up walking up the next hill too! I shove my foot down into my pedal with such force, that when my foot slipped off the pedal, it sent all my body weight flying foward, over my handle bars and onto the pavement! MY FIRST MAJOR CRASH!!! In a race of all places!!!! My bike went flying to the side of the road and I bounced on the ground 3 times. How do I know it was three times? I could see the wet marks on the pavement from just getting out of the lake!!! My immediate thought: I'M DONE. GET ME OFF THIS COURSE. Then about .5 seconds later, I thought "what the heck am I saying?? I would never quite unless I'm mangled so badly I can't walk". So I hop on my bike, as another racer screams "Oh my gosh are you ok?!?!" I said "yeah I'm fine" and I'm on my way again. Nothing else too serious happened, but here are major things by the mile:

Mile 5 - crash
Mile 12 - I feel like I have grass stuck in between two of my toes on my right foot....ANNOYING.
Mile 18 - My toes start to go numb....neat.
Mile 20 - I notice a llama farm to my right...awesome!
Mile 39 - LONGEST MILE OF MY LIFE for no particular reason. I felt like it was 8 miles in 1!
Mile 40 - My watch beeps to remind me to take a gel. I reach back in my pocket only to realize I have none left! I must have lost one during my crash! I think I'm going to die, realizing I still have nearly an hour on the bike left. Alas, an aid station appears!!! I'm thanking God for this one....
Mile 42 - I see the llama farm again, only to realize they are actually goats....not llamas. Sad.
Mile 52 - I realize how close I am to getting off the bike, and I almost cry with joy. Then, I arrive...

Transition 2 (2:52) was definitely interesting. I hear Moto and Ashley yelling for me as I come in, and I'm just so happy to be off the bike! I think I go down the wrong row, so I keep going, turn up the next row, only to realize I was in the right row to begin with! I racked my bike from that side, then had to run around to the other side again to get to my stuff! I had no fine motor skills because it was so cold on the bike, and my hands were frozen. Moto said "we should have left your run stuff in a trail because you were throwing everything everywhere and ended up running around all over the place anyway!" I couldn't grab on to anything because my fingers were frozen! Finally, I got all my stuff together and was off for the longest run I've ever done!


RUN - 13.1 miles - 2:45:50
The first mile I felt great! Until I saw a sign that said "mile 7". I freaked out (stupid me didn't realize that the run was two loops) so I asked some dude that passed me "is this really mile 7??" He goes "yep" and keeps running. Shortly after, I see a sign for "mile 1" and start to relax. Then the hills came.....and came.....and came..... This run course was freaking BRUTAL. When I saw Dawn for the first time on the run (she was ahead of me obviously) she yelled "this course blows!!!" which just made me laugh and keep going. I saw Courtney too, and she looked strong! Gave me some motivation. When I was heading back to turn around to do the course again, all these people who were going out for their 2nd loop said "OH! You're almost done, keep going!" To which I yelled..."yeah and I have another loop!" Most of them said "oh, my bad" and kept running. I find this humerous now, however at the time I want to slide tackle them even though I was on pavement... When I came out to turn around for my 2nd loop, I saw Megan, Chad, and their dad! They were cheering for me and that REALLY motivated me! I think I ran the next 2 miles without walking at all. Until I got to the brutal hills. I ran as much as I could, down the hills and flats, and walked up most of the hills. They were too steep for my tired legs to run up! Finally I see mile 11, and I think "wow, this is officially the furthest I've ever run". I ran with a few middle aged men for a while, and we chatted a bit, they were hilarious! I ran ahead to mile 12, and I saw Moto run up to me! She ran with me for about a half mile which was VERY helpful and I finally saw cars and people! I was almost there! I saw the finish line and as I entered the chute, I told one of the volunteers "gee thanks for leaving the finish line up for me!" He said "oh no problem!" I made the turn thru the "cattle herder" and I like to call it, and ran thru the finish! I DID IT.

Something I never dreamed of doing, I completed a half ironman!!!! I was hurting, but I finished!!!! My teammates were there to congratulate me and so was Megan and her brother and dad. I was so happy to be done! My legs were spent, my road rash was burning, but I didn't care. I just realized that I went 70.3 miles, and I get to add another sticker to my car! I was so happy to join my teammates at the finish, I just smiled.

The awards ceremony was great. I ended up in 5th place, which qualified me for world championships! I just like to be able to say that, because everyone knows I can't afford to go! Holland? That would be sweet...but alas...I'm a poor college student. Courtney ended up 4th right ahead of me, and everyone had great races! We all went back to the hotel, chowed down on pizza and cupcakes and celebrated Dawn's birthday, with some very weird people and situations all night long! hahaha. Overall, it was an amazing weekend and I've already started planning my next half, as well as future planning for a FULL IRONMAN! IM Louisville 2009? Who's up for it????

Oh yeah, marathon training continues tomorrow...am I crazy?!?!?!


****Special thanks to all my girls that were cheering me on and competing with me: Courtney, Dawn, Julie, Michele, and Ashley!