^{FRIENDS RACING:}

Hello Family & Friends,
 
Thank you to everyone for your kind e-mails and support.  Sunday's race was so incredible! 

PRE-RACE DAY

DOORS OPEN FOR IRONPRAYER AND TROY RUNS A 5K

We arrive in Coeur d'Alene & head straight for the registration tent.  We hope to post some IRONPRAYER fliers around the "Athlete Village".  As soon as I get my silver wrist band on (it's a temporary piece of jewelry every competitor wears that gets me into all the activities... including the big race), I look for the person in charge.  I introduce myself to Shelly and tell her about IRONPRAYER.  After putting on this event at IM Hawaii and IM Canada, I'm expecting this to be difficult.  I'm pleasantly surprised to find Shelley's completely open to us posting fliers and even our huge banner right there in the Athlete Village...thanks God!! 

While Troy and I are hanging out we see there is a 5K for athletes, spectators and kids.  I challenge Troy to race it. He agrees on one condition...it has to count as a "Soares Cup" race.  (Ok, so what's the "Soares Cup" you wonder?  This season, Troy and I have been going back and forth in how we place at the races we do together.  It became a competitive thing(=  We wanted to find out who was placing better so we came up with a points system based on our age groups: 1 point for 10th place, 2 points for ninth, and so on, with 10 points for 1st place.  Coming to IM Coeur d'Alene, we noticed that I was currently 1 point ahead!)  So I tell Troy that he is on...knowing it should be challenging to get top 10.  The racers are off!  It's a 2 loop race.  As they run back from the first loop, I see that some of the competitors (one a pro) are wearing wrist bands...how can they be racing a 5K only 2 days from their IM race...crazy!!  Here comes Troy...great he's in 12th with a girl just ahead of him...I got him(=  He heads out on the 2nd loop, I tell him it's going to be close.  I anxiously await his return.  Here he comes!  He's 11th, but he's the 10th male!  The girl's going to beat him!  I shake Troy's hand and congratulate him on earning a point.  We're tied now!

IRONPRAYER

It's two days before the race and IRONPRAYER is about to start.  Troy and I realize that many are probably confused, looking for the IRONPRAYER at the "Athlete Village".  Troy races down there to try and round up the lost.  Simultaneously, the worship band from Lake City Community Church starts grooving.  Tod Hornby, the Worship Leader, and his crew sound great.  We're rocking away and praising the Lord.  I introduce Mike Rima, one of Lake City's pastors, and he tells us about Paul's statement in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day".  He follows with a story about a girl attempting the swim from Catalina Island to the mainland.  In thick fog, she final looses hope and quits.  Discovering soon after that she was only 1/2 mi from shore!  For swimmers, the Catalina swim is a very meaningful feat.  For triathletes, this Ironman is very meaningful.  Our walk with God is very meaningful.  He encourages us to persevere on Sunday, reminding us that, like our walk with God, we must continue to forge ahead in our race. 

Meanwhile, Troy's at the Athlete Village trying to direct people to  IRONPRAYER while Dave Scott's speaking on stage. He has a captive audience.  "Last question", he announces, and Troy thinks to ask, "um, would you mind announcing the IronPrayer?"  But he resists until Dave's fully done... and then grabs the mic, announcing the correct location.

Troy arrives with some folks.  Heather Gollinick, last year's champion, is wrapping up her talk, recounting a recent recovery from a crash that could have been so much worse. Troy retold the story from CalforniaMan where he, Paul Cousineau, and David Ridder won in memory of Alan Liu (I'll have his picture on my bike tomorrow).  Another gentlemen shared the sacrifices he had to make to get here...time away from family and friends.  These were all Christ inspired stories...God giving each of them the strength to endure pain, loss, and separation.  And there were many more stories like that out there. 

RACE DAY

I get out of the water and head up to the transition area where volunteers help tear off my wetsuit…one of the perks of doing an Ironman.  I run through the changing tent and get help putting on my gear and then run off to my bike.  I jump on and head out for the first loop.  I feel great and watch my average hover over 19mph for the first loop.  I keep looking to the label I put on my front water bottle of Psalm 37:23..."If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand."  I hold firm to His promise that I won't fall.  I see Mom, Dad, Hilde and Troy as I start the 2nd loop…I smile and they cheer.  I'm confident I can keep up the pace on this next loop.  Soon I realize that I'm getting tired,  feeling like I am hitting a ceiling and unable to push any harder. 

Along the way, there are 2 bad crashes.  One is in town and I see two cyclists down...apparently a head on collision.  One cyclist took a turn too fast, drifting into the oncoming lane.  Apparently Ryan, from "The Bachelorette", is on the scene to help (he's doing IM Hawaii in the fall).  The second is out on the back side of the ride on a tight turn...two cyclists hurt.  The ambulance is now gone with the injured...focus, focus.  This time around I battle some headwinds, a tired bottom, and a full tummy.  I opt not to take one of 3 extra bottles of fuel at mile 60 because I knew my stomach couldn't hold that much and I didn't want to lug it around on the bike.  I watch my average slowly drop below 19mph…oh boy, am I going to make my goal of 6 hours? A guy bikes by and asks me, "Is the mantra on your bike bottle helping?"  I say, "yes", weakly and probably unconvincingly, realizing that I haven't been using the Lord's strength enough.  I read the verse again and my attention focused on the part "for the Lord upholds him with His hand."  I begin to cry because I realize that the Lord is holding me up and giving me the energy to keep going.  I tell the Lord that I will be content if I don’t make my goal and ask Him to help me through.  The miles melt away and I find myself approaching town…yeah!!  I look at the time…oh my gosh, I'm going to be close to 6hrs…wooo-whooo…THANK YOU LORD!!

  I pull in at 6:01:46…YES!  I get off the bike and hobble to the changing tent…I'm thinking the run will be tough but I'm glad the bike is over. 

I head out for the first mile and feel great!  I run a sub 8min first mile…whoa…slow down Robin, you only have to run 9min pace.  As I head out for the first of 2 loops, I get the chance to see what the pros are doing.  Heather Gollnick, a fellow Christian triathlete is chasing the leader and looks strong.  The pros make it look so easy on the run.  I haven't quite followed the nutrition plan today.  I ended up not drinking 1-1/3 bottles on the bike and I am not drinking much of the small flasks on my fuel belt mainly because the flavor is too strong.  I start drinking Gatorade and water and my tummy is happy for now.  I head out to mile 6 and feel a bathroom break coming…oh no, will this race be like last year?  Will my stomach hang in there? 

After the potty break, I feel great again…whew!!  I see Troy on the way back from the first loop and he tells me I'm in the top 50 women…wow, thanks God!!  The first loop goes by pretty fast and I'm right on pace.  I'm constantly passing men and every once in a while I pass a woman in my age group…things are falling into place. Mom, Dad and Hilde cheer loud as I go by and I give the thumbs up.  As I head out for the second loop I decide to take a few pretzels…my stomach says "I'm hungry!!!".  At the same time I feel my energy die out and I start walking.  I'm about to bonk (run out of energy).  I remember I'm not taking in enough calories.  I grab 2 more big handfuls of pretzels and enjoy the carbs and salt.  Within a few minutes I'm running again and feeling more energized.  I find myself passing more women.  As I'm heading back into town I see a girl in my age group ahead of me that passed me on the bike.  I see Troy and point her out…it's mile 24 and I'm chasing her down.  I put on a surge to pass my competitor and about a 1/2 mile later pay for it.  I'm just trying to maintain the pace but feel more and more tired…I'm hoping to go under 4hours for the marathon.  I make it to Sherman Way and see the finish 5 blocks down….Go!!! I told Troy that I wanted him to finish with me and see him waiting for me.  I grab his hand and we head off to the finish line…it's a 4:00:09 marathon…perfect!

   We cross the finish line together hands held high and heads facing the sky to show that the credit goes to Christ…the total time is 11:15:56…about 55 minutes faster than my first Ironman…God is Good!!  I fall into Troy's arms and we celebrate a great race!!!