Triathlon Racing

When Running Sucks

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:27:05 -0600

For my workout today I had a run planned. I enjoyed getting out into the sun and running with my boy, Heath Ryder. It is always a joy to go running with him.

But today in particular I was reminded how out of shape I really am. I mean I am really out of shape. My hope is that I might rebuild some base fitness relatively quickly. Ironman St. George is in 392 days and I am really excited about racing in it. I am not going to push myself. That much I know. And I need to be really certain that I do not come down too hard on myself, because these past two years have been very rough on me already.

Instead of training and racing I was working, trying to hold a failing business together and trying to make my payments. The US Financial crisis was horrible on my wife and I. So there is good reason why I am out of shape. It is not laziness. It is because I was being responsible.

Steady and continual workouts wins the game. No worries :-).

When People Crap on Your Day

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 17:32:30 -0600

I was having a fine day. I was in a good mood and then all of a sudden I received a series of phone calls that changed the mood from good to glum. The problem is that the people who called me did not do this to me, I did it to myself.

Sure the people that called me set out in a very aggressive fashion towards me. In fact these people did not even care about me. I can think all I want that I deserve to be treated with respect. Here is the problem; when people do not see or understand that I deserve to be treated with respect, love and gentleness, how do I determine in my mind that they do not has the luxury of treating me badly.

The thing is when people are aggressive towards you, you react. You get mad or hurt or discussed, etc. The point being you get emotional. For me today I got tremendously discouraged. I would say depressed would be a good descriptive word. I had convinced myself, based upon what these people thought, that I was not worthy of feeling loved, and positive, and cared for. I turned a series of phone calls into a catastrophe. I told myself that my well being was disturbed.

This being week one and the week centered on benevolence, I surely need to protect my self-esteem. I need to be resolute in my determination that no matter what anybody says or thinks or feels about me that I know who I am and that I continue to reaffirm my quality character and know that I am safe, worthy of love and gentleness, and have been sent to earth by God to live a happy vibrant life.

Good Workouts Today and the Epiphany

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 21:24:19 -0600

Well considering how out of shape I am I had a good workout today. I swam and ran. Both were short workouts. But, I wasn’t feeling like myself today.

I am working on a 52 week course with my Bishop. Well, it is a 13 week course that I am doing four times. I am in week one and the topic for this week is benevolence. Well I figure what a great time to discuss or focus on benevolence. I was running along and found myself loathing how out of shape I allowed myself to get. Then I remembered, this is a week of benevolence. For me this includes self-acceptance.

This does not mean that I have to be okay with my out-of-shape body. But what it does mean is that I should focus on my self-image in the loving manner that God would. The rest of my run, though it was misery, I felt my mind focused on my end goal and how I now have the opportunity to remake my body in a fashion exactly as I want it to look.

What a great opportunity.

Ironman St. George!!!

Sun, 5 Apr 2009 17:18:55 -0600

The past couple years has been very rough. I have been dealing with financial turmoil and the single most unstable market I have ever seen. Having been involved in an industry that has been shaken to its knees I have been brought to the brink of financial ruin and back.

I have learned a tremendous deal from having to live through such an ordeal. I feel I have an understanding of what people felt as they went through the great depression. The good news is that my business is running better and I have survived.

I am feeling so much better that I have registered for Ironman St. George. This is the inaugural event and an event that I do not want to miss out on.

In dealing with such turmoil I have managed to put on about 50 pounds. i have started attempting to lose the weight. I am about ready to quit drinking diet coke. Anyhow, I am making plans and getting things moving again.

Lessons From Suffering

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:22:40 -0600

Many things I have learned in my lifetime I have learned from my depression. Though my depression is under control never constantly haunting my life, I still have much to learn from it.

Funny, once I was cursed by my depression. It hunted me down in every turn of life by day, and haunted my every night. Today, my depression is under control but from time to time it rears back up, and I find myself dealing with pain and a bit of suffering.

Over the past month my depression has crept slowly back. Almost as if it was hunting my spirit down. It crept up ever so quietly, as if it were on the prowl.

Fire Your Imagination & Excite Your Heart

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 11:40:03 -0600

As many may know already, I love to read. I do not read fiction. The make believe imaginings of authors has never allured nor engrossed myself to the page. However, true stories of human sacrifice, human challenges, human kindness, and human triumphs draws my curiosity. The imaginations of man that draw new ways of thinking, new paradigms, and new ideas and concepts that shape, challenge and change human nature, these I find fascinating.

It may be short-minded, in part, but I find most fiction a waste of my time and a squandering of my resources. My wife, to the contrary, almost wholly reads fiction, finding the escape an enjoyable respite from the droning day-to-day activities. For this cause, I understand why many read fiction. I draw the distinctive contrast between these points of view to make a point.

In my reading this morning, I came across an excerpt from yesterday’s General Conference. You may be wondering what General Conference and reading has to do with racing. Well, I came across the following excerpt:

“I urge you to examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you want to be. Create inspiring, righteous and noble goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them.” Elder Joseph B Wirthlin, 31 Mar 07 General Conference, Priesthood Session

This excerpt stood out to me, as if the words were written exclusively for me. It is gems like these that draws to me to non-fiction reading. When I read, I always read with the intent of learning something new. In this instance, I realized something was missing in my mind. Just as fiction draws some for one reason and non-fiction draws another for contrary reasons, so to are we all motivated and driven by differing stations in life and differing motivators.

In the months and years leading to Ironman Florida, I had the vision of the race emblazoned in my imagination. When I needed motivation and direction, I merely had to dive into my mind’s eye and envision myself racing. I could feel the feeling of becoming an Ironman. I could see the race and the entire story (at the time, a temporary fiction of sorts) of the race and accomplishments as I had played them out in my mind time and again. The vision would become motivation enough to continue training, to continue working through the pains and struggles.

In the end, the race was one of the pinnacle experiences of my life. The race created a paradigm shift in my life’s outlook. Working for somebody suddenly became impossible. I quit my job and opened my own mortgage company with fervent anxiety and excitement. I began to see myself as having more potential in life. I began seeing my life as one of accomplishments not previously seen. I began seeing my life as being uniquely qualified to inspire and be inspired. Strangely, however, I also found myself drifting from the rigors of training.

On the one hand, I have some injuries to tend to. On the other, had the vision of becoming an Ironman played out and ended? When I read Elder Wirthlin’s words this morning, I realized that what is now needed is to reevaluate where I am today and where I want to take my racing. This excites me, because I am given the opportunity to re-envision an entirely new script, establish new challenging goals, re-ignite my minds imagination, and excite the insight of journey in my heart.

There are a lot of parallels between the Church and endurance sports. One parallel can be drawn between the man of 86 six years in the 2006 Ironman World Championship Finisher, to the Prophet of 97 years, President Gordon B Hinckley, steward and tireless leader, demonstrating how healthy living breads vitality and passion for life. Another parallel can be illustrated between the teaching and disciplines required to be a Latter-day Saint or Ironman. For example, dedication, sacrifice, enduring through suffering and pain, stalwartness, courage and an eye single to God are qualities of both.

What wonderful lessons racing can teach. From bridging the rigors of the physically demanding realm of extreme racing, to the soul fulfilling of Christ’s message and plan for human kind, to the self discovery and introspection involved in long distance endurance racing.

Erasing Pressure, Tension, and Stress

Wed, 8 Nov 2006 20:54:39 -0700

I am going to leave the details about race day for when I get back home. I feel like this entry needs to be given ample time to write and develop. But I would like to share with you some very special moments of the day before Ironman Florida.

I woke up and the day seemed like any other day, at least at first. Soon the realization hit me that my race was the next day. I began thinking about the swim. I had swam in salt water before and I had experience with a beach start. But I have never experienced a mass start of 2,200 people, with a beach start, into the Gulf of Mexico, against the surf and with a broken collarbone! At this moment the swim was my biggest concern.

My family and I went out for breakfast. While at breakfast my coach called me to see how I was doing. I shared with him my concern about the swim. He told me to eat my breakfast, check my bike and bags into transition, and call him later to workout the last details about my race plan.

Time had gotten away from me because I found myself sitting in the van, outside Wal-Mart, just after dinner when Heath called me again. He asked me how I was doing. I said that I was still nervous. He reminded me about how, when I started this journey four years ago, I got on my bike and rode 2 miles down the Provo River Trail, turned around and came home. How when I completed this four mile ride I was so exhausted I had to come home and take a nap.

This image hit me hard. I had been contemplating completing my first Ironman. When this mental image surfaced a flood of feelings and emotions surfaced with it. It was as if I had realized for the first time how far I had come. I became so overcome by the Spirit of the Lord I began sobbing. I must have sobbed for 30 minutes. The pressure, the tension and the stressing all seemed to be erased by this Spirit filled event.

The rest of the evening I kept thinking about this experience and experienced periods of sobbing out of happiness. Before I went to bed I had my family, my nephew, father-in law and brother-in-law all join me in a prayer. I cannot remember all that I prayed for. But I do remember the main thing I prayed for. I asked Heavenly Father to help keep my mind stronger than my body.

Rob Schopke, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

Sat, 4 Nov 2006 21:02:17 -0700

Today I became an Ironman! I completed the 2.4 mile swim in extremely rough water in 1:25:25. I completed the 112 mile bike in a good 15 mph wind in 6:14:58. I completed the marathon in 5:12:59. My overall time was 13:21:42. I am very happy with this time for my first Ironman.

After four years of preparation I am officially an Ironman. I will write more about this another day as I am now focusing on my families vacation in Disney World.

3 Days Remain - Sharks or Dolphins?

Wed, 1 Nov 2006 20:31:12 -0700

The day was such a beautiful day. To think that such a day exists in November is unthinkable. It was sunny and 80 degrees. Life in Panama City Beach seems to move at a slower pace than at home. At least for me. I have been relaxing and getting a good feel for the venue. I checked into the race today and picked up my athlete race packet. It is official I am athlete 773. In Ironman your race number becomes your identity.

I reassembled my bike today. It always brings a bit of peace of mind when you get your bike out of its bike box and put it back together. Shipping your bike always leaves it susceptible to damage from baggage handlers. But, all is well and nothing was damaged.

After we got my bike put together Kole, my nephew, and I went down to the swim start. I was going to go for a practice swim in the Gulf. I was putting on my wetsuit when I looked into the water. I saw two dorsal fins break the surface of the water. One followed by another. I saw the dorsal fins and the backs of what ever they were. It was as if they had surfaced and then dove back into the water. They did this three times and then disappeared. I yelled to Kole to look out into the water. But he looked too late.

I believe it was a dolphin dorsal fins. Kole had asked me if I was still going to swim. I was determined to not let the fear I was feeling stop me from getting my swim in. So I set out into the Gulf for my swim. As you can see from the picture there were not many people in the water; and as you swim in the ocean you can only see about ten feet in any direction. So there I was, in the Gulf of Mexico, by my self, after seeing two dorsal fins. You can imagine what was going through my mind. I kept having images of a shark attack. I don’t have to tell you how scary it was. But I went for my swim and made it out of the water to tell of it.

3 Days Remain - What a Beautiful Morning

Wed, 1 Nov 2006 05:25:57 -0700

I wanted to share a couple pictures I took of the beach this morning. When I woke up, it was a beautiful 60 degrees. The waves were quietly lapping up against the shore. The air was still. It truly is paradise.

As I was sitting on my hotel balcony, there was a man walking on the beach collecting sea shells. Five pelicans flew by, skimming the water with their immense wingspan. They were gliding across the surf in immaculate formation, greeting this beautiful God-given day. Gulls flew in their playful manner. Everything else was still except the pulse of the Gulf beating against the shore.

In three days, this quite tranquil beach will be abuzz! 2500 athletes and thousands of spectators will line the beach. The energy of anticipation will fill the brisk morning air, becoming so thick, every breath will be filled with anticipation. The quiet peace will be filled with the chatter of the athletes. At last, the day of celebration will be with us.