THANK YOUS!!!!!

Anyone that's ever gotten involved in this sport knows that the amount of time, energy, and resources required can oftentimes be overwhelming. This is a choice that we make... based off of whatever need we may have. There is a desire in all of us... on whatever level to, compete... to push ourselves... to overcome obstacles and be challenged in a very specific way. I can only truly speak for myself... but before I found triathlon... I was lost for about 10 years. I just kind of floundered around out there... being a husband and father and employee as best as I knew how. You would think that that would be enough. Aren't we told that our greatest purpose in life is to be a good spouse, parent, friend, citizen, patriot, etc.? While all that may be true... for me personally there was always a gap... there was something missing and triathlon filled it. I remember being a very young boy and watching my dad work his ass off and thinking,"Where's the freakin ADVENTURE? There's GOT to be more to it than THIS.". That thought as a little guy has really dictated a lot of the paths that I've chosen... right or wrong. Here's the point... my family came with me on this triathlon thing... not really by choice... I just kinda started and there they were. There hasn't been a single moment where my family hasn't completely supported me in this sport. Does that mean that they never said, "God... 8 hours? I wish you didn't have to be gone all day." Hellz no! They're human. I didn't really WANT to be away from them for 8 hours on the weekends either! They might not fully understand it... but they recognize that this is part of what makes Rob/Husband/Daddy tick... and they love me for it... and in turn... I love them back... and ultimately... this sport, or rather the journey that navigates through this sport... makes ME a better human being

So... from the top to the bottom of my heart... thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to my amazing family! Kathryn, Jack, Lila, Tom, and Aggie... I love you.

Then there's Liz. If you've read this blog... you know who Liz is. For you first-timers... Liz has been, is, and will be my coach. Although, it could be argued that she's much more than that. She is my friend and confidant. She is my psychologist and drill instructor. She is... well... Liz is Liz. I have cursed her in the past... particularly during races. "That f'ing B**** did NOT prepare me for this!!!!" Yeah... remember that? I certainly do. The thing is... she DID prepare me for everything you could possibly think of. I'm not sure that I can say much more than that... sometimes the extent to which one is grateful... just can't be properly expressed.

Liz? Thank you SO much!

Hmmmm... there are so many people that I want to thank... but then everyone would get PISSED b/c I'm not getting to my race report. I DO have to thank Sally... thank you Sally... I love you!

Thank you for taking the time to read. Thank you for all the kind support and well-wishes. Thank you for coming with me. I hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole. Stay tuned... the pole is clear... people like the loooooooong version.

Breathe...

In case you're wondering...

yeah... I finished! YAY me! YAY Rob! I'm finally back home and soaking up the family and readjusting to "normal" life. Don't worry... all of the boring, long-winded, details WILL be forthcoming... I just need a few more days for processing.

OH! I need your opinion... take the poll that I put up on the right! Basically... I need to know if you all want the long, drawn-out, multiple DAY version of my race report... or if you'd rather that I get to the point and cover it in one post... your vote COUNTS... so do it!

Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole! Thanks for visiting and taking the time to read!

Breathe...

#1055

There's nothing left to do. Tonight I let go. Tomorrow... the only thing to do... is race... and that sounds like BLISS to me.

Thank you for your support and kind word of encouragement... I can't express how much they mean to me. See you after the race.

Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole.

Breathe...

I'm Official!

Yup. All checked in and numbered and labeled etc. YAY me!

Woke up this morning to BEAUTIFUL weather! Crystal clear skies with a few puffy/fluffy clouds... you know the type of day... it smiles at you and you simply smile back! Erich, Aggie and I jumped out of the rack, grabbed some grub, and headed out to get our swim in. On the way... we bombarded our coach with random nonsequiturs via text. Yeah. Good times. Our goal was to ensure that we were at the forefront of her mind AND that she got absolutely NO work done. Mission accomplished.

We arrived at the Gatorade swim to find the wind whipping over the water and creating quite a bit of chaos. Seriously big swells. The good news is that the water temp was an incredibly comfortable 63 degrees! Yeah... seriously. I didn't even use a swim cap.... ME! The skinny candy-ass that can't stand the cold! We put in around 700 meters... total. Just to get a feel for the water. No significant issues and we held around an extremely comfortable pace both out and back... good stuff.

We hung out for a while and then it was time to check in. I ran into Carol! Have I told you about Carol? Well... CAROL is single-handedly responsible for getting me back in the pool after my shoulder dislocation! That girl is neato! She happens to be racing as well and I'm positive she's going to kill it! Anyways... check in went off without a hitch and here I am... holding my bag... my eyes all big... and I'm just giddy. I'm can't hardly contain myself... like I'm standing there at the timing chip checker inner thingy and I'm doin the "I Gotta Go Potty Dance"... and here's all these other people... and I'm like, "Jesus dude! This is freakin AWESOME! We're RACIN on Sunday WOO WHOO!!!", all smiley and rookie... and not in the least bit cool. Eh. I just can't help myself.

Fast forward... or I'll never get to bed! Drove the course, quick bike ride, quick run off the bike, dinner, Colleen and Stephanie showed up at the house and there ya have it!

So... me and my carb-filled belly are now heading to bed. Tomorrow's agenda consists of... sitting on my ass with my feet up! Yup. Exciting stuff. My sole job tomorrow is to rest, eat, pee, eat, rest... not necessarily in that order... but you get the idea. Bryan is showing up at the house tomorrow as is Stephanie's husband to complete the crew! Aggie will also have a playmate tomorrow! Colleen's puppy Piper is coming up and Aggie is beside herself with excitement!

Ok... off to bed! Thanks for taking the time to read. Hope you're all happy healthy and whole and....

Breathe...

We Have Arrived!!!

Uh huh. Its real. I'm here. WOW!

Ok... so Aggie and I piled into the car and started our drive up to Coeur D'Alene at 9 am this morning. We hooked up with Erich in Mosier, OR (which is actually where my wedding was held... at a little bed n breakfast... in a cherry orchard... with 200 of our closest friends... wine and beer were consumed in massive quantities... boy was THAT a long time ago!). You guys know Erich right? He's a young dork... but we love him. Anywho. The remainder of the drive was spent listening to music and podcasts, talking with a close friend that is ALMOST as excited as I am about the race... mmm hmmm... and sending random obnoxious texts to my beloved Coach Liz!

We arrived at our rental house around 6 ish and unloaded our copious amounts of crap. After that we cruised down to the race site, (about a mile away), found some grub, walked the race site, dipped our feet in the water, and went to the G store! See? Exciting huh? Aren't you GLAD to hear all of this?

I'm a little giddy at the moment. Difficult to contain myself actually. Its been SUCH a long road for me... and now I'm here... I'm really here. WHEW! Man. Robby tired. Robby need sleepy. Robby might need medicine to go sleepy.

Thanks for taking the time to read! Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole! If you're racing this weekend too... no matter what the distance... dig in... get ready... oooooooohhhhhh yeah.

Stay tuned ok? More tomorrow!

Breathe...

6 Days out...

and I'm still here!  Sorry I've been so absent.  To tell the truth... I've been completely uninspired to write... anything.  Or at least anything that's worthy of putting in a post.  Sometimes... certain things are best kept to oneself... or a very select few individuals.  No offense... but you wouldn't want the boring details anyway.

Where's my head?  I'm calm.  I'm quiet.  I'm ready.  

There's more... but that's it for now.  I'll be doing a post a day running up to the race... stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!  I hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole.  If you get the chance... make a dance mix on your iPod... then dance your fanny off in the kitchen.

Breathe...