FX Multisport Coaches Find Balance is Best

    This summer, Coach Robyn & her husband Stephen were interviewed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Both Robyn & Stephen are training for Ironman Florida 2016. Stephen works full time as a Sales Representative for NovoNordisk & Robyn works part time as a nurse. They have 2 daughters, one in college & the other in middle school. 
     A recent move to the country & purchase of a farm, keeps them extra busy. Trying to find time to train for Ironman, training FX Multisport athletes for their races, along with caring for their farm animals (3 horses, 3 donkeys, 3 dogs, 10 chickens, a cat named Stella) keeps the Wilhams very busy. Stephen also coaches the Collegedale Adventist Middle School girl's varsity volleyball team.
    Despite the hectic chaos this year has brought, Team FX Multisport Athletes performed extremely well at Ironman Chattanooga. 19 of the 20 coached athletes crossed the finish line on the hottest IMCHOO day in history the link "recent news"

Recent News

Tamara's Inspiring Journey to Ironman Chattanooga

This year I have had the privilege to work with a wonderful friend and athlete.

East Ridge Bicycle Triathlon Team

Her name is Tamara and her story is extraordinary. On September 25 2016, she will celebrate the journey at Ironman Chattanooga with a 2.4 mile swim in the Tennessee River, bike 116 miles in the Chattanooga Valley & run a full marathon while her city of friends cheer her name. My heart overflows with joy to be part of her journey. Getting to the starting line of an Ironman triathlon, is no easy task for anyone. There is suffering & difficulties along the way. Many people do not make it to race day. It takes deep passion & commitment to keep pushing when the body & mind want to quit. Heart & soul will carry you through when you want something bad enough. Below is Tamara's story. She is a member of East Ridge Bicycles Triathlon Team. What she doesn't mention is that earlier this summer, she battled serious injury and training took a back seat as she focused on healing so that she could be healthy for race day. Her mental strength is inspirational.

Tamara's story, told by Tamara:

September marks an anniversary for me that many people don’t know about. I will be 41 this Friday and looking forward to participating in my first IM. I wanted to share how I began my IM journey.

My journey actually started in September 2005, when I had a mental breakdown which finally led to my diagnosis of Bipolar disorder. Immediately, my wonderful husband sought treatment for me and during many years of therapy and medicine, I am who I am today. I admit this has been a long and difficulty journey but I am so thankful for a supportive husband, family, friends and the Lord. I would not be where I am today without His and their amazing, unconditional love. After being diagnosed, my therapist encouraged me to begin an exercise program.

I began running in 2006 hoping to release enough endorphins to be somewhat stable. I continued until 2007 where I began to be discouraged so I quit. In 2010, I learned of a program called Run For God by Mitchell Hollis. This is when I became literally crazy. I began running 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, Half Marathons, Split Marathon, Marathons, and Ragnar. During these many years, I have struggled with many injuries. It was in 2014 that I sustained a left calf injury that led to PT. The Physical therapist recommended I find a new hobby. One day I went to pick up my medication from my pharmacist, who is also a very good friend, She asked, “I have you ever done a Triathlon.” I said, no. She said, “Chattanooga is hosting a Half Ironman.” At that moment I told her I would check into. You guessed it, I began the Crazy world of Triathlons in 2015.

I participated in a Sprint Triathlon in April, Half IM in May and many Olympic Triathlons that following season. In September 2015, I signed up for Chattanooga Full IM.

My journey began in 2005 with mental healing but I can say that my true journey began the day I signed up for IM. I have struggled mentally and physically for many years but the JOY that comes from meeting new people, learning and listening to others stories of how they became an Ironman, the opportunity to encourage others is why I can say I am thankful that God has given me the mental and physical ability to hopefully on September 25, 2016, I will here my name Tamara Edwards you are an IronMan.

My Ironman journey isn’t just about the mental and physical aspect but the spiritual, too. I give praise to the Lord who gives me strength and endurance each day. This IM journey wouldn’t have been possible without knowing and trusting in him. On race day, I will mark upon my heart this verse, “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust in Him, and He will.” Psalm 37:5

Special Thank you to so many people, I hope that sharing my IM story others will find the strength to go beyond and mental and physical restrictions to becoming an Ironman. Ironman isn’t just a race it is a life of experiences.

Tamara

Please Cheer extra loud when you see Tamara on the course next week!!

Overcoming Injury & Persevering in the Spirit of Ironman Triathlon

As a coach and athlete, there are a lot of people who have come cross my path over the years. For some, it's been to help them accomplish something they have always dreamt of doing but never thought truly possible. For others, it's because they want to gain strength, speed & power to shave minutes off their finish times. Every single one of us has a story to tell. Each athlete is different, overcomes different challenges and fights different struggles.

With Ironman Chattanooga looming just days away, sharing some of my athletes stories (with their permission) will hopefully inspire someone out there who may be fighting a physical battle or emotional struggle. I am beaming with pride that Team FX Multipart athletes have fought hard this season to make it to the Ironman starting line. It is no easy task to get here.

This is the story of LoriLyn Hicks and this is an amazing story of comeback. We've worked through some challenges in training and she has done the work.

Written by LoriLyn Hicks

My first Ironman in 2014 was Texas. Everything was going well, and I was feeling confident. Mile 30 of the bike, I reached out to grab the water bottle from the volunteer, and knocked it out of her hand. Without thinking, I twisted back to save it, and felt this sharp shift in my back. Not good, I thought. It wasn't exactly painful, so I kept going. Coming into transition, my hip and back ached, I couldn't catch my breath, and something just felt wrong. At the medical tent past run special needs, I stopped to get checked out. The medic did a quick check and told me either I walked the rest of the way, or I dropped out of the race. I walked.

After a short recovery, I started training for IMFL that same year. During a run, my foot fell asleep. I went to my PT, who discovered I had displaced my SI joint, and dislocated a rib. Therapy began, and I trained through it. I had a great race in Florida, and was looking forward to starting Placid training. I caught a cold, and was in bed a couple days. I almost couldn't get out of bed my back hurt so bad. Still, I trained for another two months, but then became afraid of the pain and discomfort and went to a chiropractor in February of '15. My hip was still dislocated, my back had an eight degree misalignment, herniated L4, bulging 2 and 3, and my muscles and nerves tested at a stress level of 1200% The doctors had no idea how I was walking, the damage was equivalent to being T boned at 40 miles an hour. We also found birth defects, my L5 disc was encased between fused vertebrae, I had spina bifida in my L5 vertebrae, and sacralization of the spine. I've been through a lot in my life, but the day the doctor told me that my racing career may be over, and that even with treatment, I had to accept there was a chance I'd wind up in a wheelchair permanently, I was stunned. I was in treatment five times a week, we couldn't risk surgery with me only having four discs. I was placed on bed rest for a few weeks.

In July, I had a major setback, and found myself in a wheelchair to be able to go out of the house. I was so scared I wouldn't get out of it. The day I got engaged, you don't see it, but the wheelchair is just off to the side. Things got better then worse, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to walk down the aisle. I kept working at my therapy and treatment, and not only did I walk down the aisle, I got to dance with my wonderful husband.

I refused to give up, I refused to believe I wouldn't get back to Ironman. In January I was cleared to train for the Half in Chattanooga. I promised myself that if I could get to the starting line, I would make it to the finish. Which I did! I was now a full year ahead of schedule progress wise.

Soon after, new X-rays were done to see how I had progressed. My back was healthy again, my only discomfort coming from the rebuilding of my abused back muscles. I was allowed to train for the Full. My life is different now, I have to consider my back in everything I do, and have to be ready to pull the plug on training at any time. In some ways I feel like it has made me a stronger athlete, and I know my body better now than I ever did. I'm under a constant series of system checks, analyzing every movement and pain. This past Sunday, the wheelchair I dreaded so much was used as a prop in a church presentation. I went and stood next to it after the service, reflecting on how far I've come in the last 19 months.

Soon the starting line of Chattanooga will call me. And for the first time, I have no real plan other than to listen to my body. The discipline I have learned will help me greatly once I am fully healed and can begin to push myself again. But for now, I am grateful to have the chance to participate in the sport I love, and the support of the people around me who keep me going when I feel I can't. I have learned that we are capable of far more than we think we are, if we are willing to believe in the possibility of what can be.
LoriLynn Hicks

See you at the finish line LoriLyn! You are an inspiration!
Coach Robyn

2016 Ironman Vineman Race Report

     Congratulations Lindsey for completing her 2nd Ironman triathlon at Ironman Vineman in Windsor California on June 30 2016. Lindsey worked hard, training for this race, regaining her fitness after suffering a leg fracture earlier in the year.
     We diligently worked out a plan to get her running the distances she needed, without further injury. It was pure joy working with Lindsey as an athlete, she never missed a workout & always had a smile on her face. We are very proud of her and her accomplishment.
     Ironman racing can be a fickled beast. Even if you come into the race in tip top shape, there are things out of your control, that wreak havoc on your race plans. Weather, road conditions, water conditions, and sometimes other racers can crack your day. The goal for the day is to be as prepared as possible to handle whatever the universe throws at you on race day.
   Lindsey did exactly that! 

With grace & style, she tackled Vineman by the horns & smiled her way 

to the finish line! 

Here is her race report

.

Race Report: Written By Lindsey Kenny

   Vineman was a point to point race which meant we had to drive all over creation, without cell phone service (the horror!) to set up our stuff. The swim was in a very small town called Guernville which had very limited parking so traffic was a nightmare race morning. So if you know anyone else doing this race make sure to tell them to allow twice the time they think its going to take to get there. It was VERY cold race morning, which seems to be the case in almost every IM event i've done. So i skipped the swim warm up and just hopped around and loosened my shoulders instead. There was pea gravel everywhere which made running as a warm up in flip flops or barefoot impossible. And again it was very crowded. The water temperature felt great compared to the air. So I knew when I got in my body would respond well despite not warming up. And it did. The swim was very shallow. About 4-7 feet deep in most places. However there were significant portions of the swim that were about a foot deep. I tried to swim/doggy paddle thru these instead of walking because walking on pea gravel is no fun barefoot. There was also a lot of seaweed and fog covering the river which made seeing anything almost impossible. I had to stand up and lift my goggles off my eyes just to get a sense of where I actually was in the river. The swim course when around several curves despite what the map looked like, so that made it hard to tell where you were going as well. The river was very narrow and all the athletes were very close and smashed together through the whole course. Which actually wasn't that bad because if you didn't know where you were going you just knew you were in the middle of a "school of athletes" and just swam onward. My swim time was 1:20. My watch said I went 5000yds. So apparently I look the long curves of the river. Nice. Oh well. It was a relatively easy swim despite being unable to sight and crowded. And it was my favorite part of the race. 

       I went through T1 quickly after grabbing my bag and heading up to the changing tent area. I opted not to take the time to change despite it being wet and cold bc I thought it would take too long and being cold would prob keep my HR down. Which worked out well. The mount line for the bike was in the middle of  a small, steep hill so I just walked my bike to the top of the hill and mounted there. Most people did the same. 

      The bike course was absolutely beautiful. But that did not make up for the un forgiving roads and multiple steep hills. My watch said 4660' of elevation gain. IM said it would be 3600'. IM are liars. These hills were awful. Super hard to get momentum on and they were plagued with many giant potholes, rough spots, large gashes, and other hidden objects. The worst part as that a lot of these rough spots were hidden by the shade of trees and were completely impossible to see. You just had to hold tight to your handle bars and pray you didn't hit one each time. Many people hit them and flipped off their bikes. At one point when I thought I was in the clear cruising in the aero bars I hit an invisible hole and was airlift/ejected out of my aero bars, and then luckily landed back in them. Whoooo. By the end of the bike I had a horrible migraine from holding on to the handle bars so tightly. It was like trying to mountain bike on my tri bike, in the aero bars. YIKES, OUCH, PAIN! The course was a lollipop stick with 2 loops of a lollipop. At mile 50 when we got to 2nd loop I wanted to cry and quit. I thought there was no way I could take another 62 miles of this. I was already in significant pain. Oh and I forgot to mention the giant freakin hill you have to go over twice in addition to all the other little hills. The giant freakin hill ranged in grade probably from about 12-15% at times. Most people walked up it the second loop but I was determined to ride to the top both times. And I did. But my HR went to 170 BPM. So much for not going over 155 BPM! HA.  Luckily I was able to tell myself to shut up and keep going if only for the bragging rights and finishers jacket. By mile 112 I was so over the bike I didn't care if I ever saw it again. I usually love riding my bike and have never come off of it so tired and beat to heck. 

     T2 I changed shorts to feel semi-clean again. Slapped vaseline under my armpits that were chaffed from my wetsuit. Put on my shoes and headed out. 

      The run was 3 loops with several rolling hills, both long and short. Usually during an ironman the run is the worst part because you are so tired and close to the finish, but I think I actually preferred it over the bike on this course (I know you are SOO surprised based on my description of the bike course lol). I tried my best to keep my HR under 140 BPM for the first 3 miles and then I was feeling "good" so I kept my HR under 155 BPM for the rest of the run. By feeling good I mean that I had a severe migraine but I knew this was from my death grip on my handle bars so I ignored it. Also my stomach was very angry and sloshing. I will be switching Nutrition companies after this race I believe. Same thing happened after my first IM, but worse this time. I kept taking in Base salt and gatorade to try to dissolve my belly of fluid. By mile 8 it worked! Yay for the little things. I abandoned my original nutrition plan, like I did during my first IM, and just went with what my body felt like it needed. And what it needed was a sip of gatorade and a sip of water at every aid station as long as Cliff blocks as needed through out. First 2 loops of the run went well.

 By the 3rd loop I was in severe pain in my legs, which was expected. At this point I would normally just push through, but since I knew I wasn't PR'ing anything today I just decided to take my time and walk a little bit to see if Jake could catch up with me and we could finish together and have a cute finishers photo. This gave me time to cheer on my fellow Betty's, chat with other athletes, and take in the moment. I ran/shuffled through the last 2 miles to the finish. The finish line energy was amazing as always and I was SO happy to be done. 

    I will never do this race again. EVER.
  

 The end. 

All photos: credit to Lindsey Kenny

Chattanoooga Waterfront Tri Recap

 Written by : Seth Ruhling

When we think of the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon, we often think of two things: 1. The heat.  2. Local Race (AKA: Time to show off what we can do). Number one did not disappoint, it was a brutally hot and humid day making for tough racing conditions.  However, the latter point makes the first seem like a minor detail.  And, it was proven by the athlete turnout: 1,000+ competitors.

FX Multisport

had a strong contingent of athletes competing on Sunday as well.  Some athletes were using this as a litmus test with bigger goals of Ironmans and 70.3s approaching in the next few months, while others were eying this as a key race of the season.   Each athlete did an incredible job fighting the heat and making the FX family proud.  Congrats to all!

Here are the FX Multisport Finishers:

James Delong                    2:34:36

Jenny Delong :                  2:53:10

Robert Starnes                 4:38:30

Nathalie Wodzenski       3:05:09

Seth Ruhling                     2:04:45

Greg McKinney                2:38:28

Connie Petty                     2:57:16

Jack McClarty                   2:58:16

Brian Lockhart                3:15:04

  CHOOBS TRAINING CAMP

The Ironman Chattanooga Training Camp June 10-12 Brought to You By TCG & FX Multisport

An excellent time was had by all. It was hot, temps in the 100's but everyone got in some QT on the course!

Camp Recap written by Lindsey Kenny

                      
Day 1 - We all met at the YMCA downtown Chattanooga to check in, get our wrist bands, and of course a cool t-shirt you can rock later on to prove you survived the weekend. I've frequently been to Chattanooga, but for out of towners meeting downtown at the YMCA gave athletes a chance to scope out where the hotels and eateries are that they may want to use come race weekend. Race weekend is stressful enough with out having to constantly use your iPhone to check for places to eat or find directions to different race check-ins/outs. Coaches Robyn and Brian also included places to eat in the camp itinerary packet, which was helpful. 

Day 2 - Chattanooga River Rats 2.4 or 4.5 mile race and Run Course - This was a great opportunity to get out on the swim course in a well supported environment. A representative from the River Rats told me they had 33 kayaks and paddle boards, 2 jet skis, and a boat out on course for support as needed. I felt like this swim was a lot less stressful than other open water swims Ive done for two reasons. One, everyone was well spaced out and calm. I never felt like someone was going to swim over me and I had plenty of space to find myself and my pace in the river. Two, there was plenty of friendly kayak support out on the river to help provide rest breaks or encouragement as needed. I also found it encouraging that there were so many spectators at the swim exit to cheer you on that last little bit! 

          I have swam 2.4 miles in the river here on 2 different occasions prior to this, so I kinda knew what to expect. The first time was last year at Coach Robyn's Ironman Chattanooga camp, which was a HUGE life saver Sunday morning of the race! Normally before swim starts I get nervous, and I had never swam 2.4 miles in a river before.  This was also my first try at the Ironman distance. Prior to doing this camp last year I knew I could do the bike and the run. I also knew I could swim 2.4 miles, in a pool. But the thought of getting in the Tennessee River and just hauling my butt downstream seemed terrifying. Coach Robyn was a very calming presence to me during this swim, and i'm sure many other athletes felt the same way I did. I remembered her saying, "Relax and just enjoy the view around you. Its a beautiful course!". I felt like Coach Brian and Coach Robyn provided this same feeling prior to the 2.4 mile swim at this camp. Honestly, the best thing that prepared me for Ironman Chattanooga was the opportunity to swim the course with confidence. It saved me a lot anxiety race day and I was able to start the race calm and confident. 

           Saturday morning the swim started at 7:45 AM and I finished in 1:10. The main thing I learned from this swim is that I need to work on my sighting!! I ended up swimming almost 4800 yards instead of 4400 yards, yikes! After the swim the group wasn't scheduled to meet back at the park until 10:00 AM, which gave me about an hour of down time. The Coolidge Park Outdoor Center which hosted the swim race had Subway, other snacks, and clean bathrooms to change into after the swim. I also discovered they had a shower which was really nice to be able to rinse off all the river water since I wasn't going to be back to the apartment until after the run that day. After changing and eating I headed to a cute little coffee shop right across from the Outdoor Center. I grabbed a muffin and a cup of coffee and relaxed until 10:00. From 10:00 till noon we met at a Pavilion in the park to discuss both the bike course, run course, as well as what to expect on race day. A representative from the Chattanooga Tri Club gave us a lot of great info on things to watch out for on course such as specific railroad tracks where people frequently dropped bottles on race day, when to expect a sharp left turn at the bottom of a downhill on the bike course (if you are riding the course and going too fast because you don't know about it... your in trouble!), and how to handle the infamous Barton Avenue on the run course. Coach Brian also gave us some great info on Ucan and Base Performance products as well as samples we could take to try out during the camp. Oh and they had cake - which I steered clear of because me, cake, 95+ temps, and running do not go together! 

           At noon we split into pace groups and ran 8 miles of the very well marked run course. The 8 IMPORTANT miles that is (not that they aren't all important!). By important miles I mean the miles with the hills. The rest of the course is basically just a flat road out of town, and then you turn and run back into town along the River Walk (also flat). Chattanooga's run course is a 13.1 mile loop which you run twice. If you wanted to run the entire 13 miles the coaches said you could, but due to the heat most everyone opted to run the "8 important miles". Besides, everyone knows what a flat road looks like! haha

          After the run the group broke up and we didn't meet again until dinner at the Terminal Brewhouse downtown. The coaches wrapped up the day and then we spent the rest of the evening socializing. It was a great opportunity to talk with the other athletes with out panting and sweating in the heat. Many of the athletes had traveled from all over to attend the camp. One of the girls even came from Canada! Now that is dedication! It was a nice end to a day of hard work in the sun. 

Day 3 - The Chattanooga Bike Course - We all were scheduled to meet again at 7:00 AM to get ready to ride, with a roll out time of 8:00 AM. Coach Brian led a morning prayer for those that wanted to arrive earlier at 6:45. Both coaches again gave a re-cap of the course and answered any questions. Coach Robyn then split us up into different pace groups and we were on our way. I ended up getting a flat tire about 4 miles into the ride (still don't know why!), so myself and two other riders pulled over and attempted to fix it. Unfortunately I had new aero wheels and my local bike shop had put a valve extender on the valve instead of using a tube with a longer valve (WHY?!).  So, I of course had no idea how to work the valve extension to let the rest of the air out of my tube. Lucky for me East Ridge Bicycles was out providing support for campers as needed. Garth from East Ridge was there with everything we needed in less than 5 minutes! He then proceeded to change my tire and I was back out on the course 5 minutes after his arrival, go East Ridge!! The rest of the ride went smoothly. I hadn't ridden the course since September and I had forgotten how scenic and beautiful this course is! I believe there is about 4400' of elevation gain on the entire 116 mile course, so it's hilly. A lot of rollers in the first stretch, followed by some false flats, great downhills (Hog Jowl Rd is SO FUN!), and a slow/long climb out of Chickamauga and back into town. The 60 miles we road had about 2200' of elevation gain. The course is basically like a lollipop, so if you were going to complete the whole thing (which was an option if you chose to do it, but it was only supported for the 60 miles of the camp) you would just do the loop twice and then ride the "lollipop stick" back into town, And DONE, 116 miles! The coaches had 2 SAG stops for cold water out on the course which was so refreshing on a hot day and it gave you a minute to re-group if needed. After the ride some of the athletes chose to run a few miles off the bike. I forgot my running shoes (whoopsie!), so I just headed home. 

All in all this was a great weekend! Plenty of time to digest all the info that was provided as well getting to see all the 3 courses. I'm not even doing Ironman Chattanooga this year and I came back because I had enjoyed this camp so much last year and also I was in need of a big training weekend for Ironman Vineman. Coach Brian and Coach Robyn both said that despite the camp being over, both of them would be available as resources for any questions athletes thought of after the camp. Which to me is great! Because doesn't everyone always think of something they would like to ask later on....