Robyn's Journey

Hi, my name is Robyn Green and I am a 46 year old mum of 3. I live in Ferntree Gully and work as a nurse at Knox Private Hospital. I had a crazy idea in my head that for my 40th birthday I was going to do a ½ Ironman. I come from a recreational running background but hadn’t been swimming since I was a kid and that only included doing bombs in the pool, diving to the bottom to collect sinky toys or making whirlpools. The last time I had ever been on a bike was when I received one from ‘Santa’ at Christmas as a 7 year old and promptly swapped it for a black and white TV with the neighbour. I then purchased a bike on ebay to start riding, in order to fulfil my dream, only to find out after my purchase, that there are sizes of bikes and the tall I had purchased, was a little too big for my 160cm body…I know, rookie mistake! So as you can see, not a lot of hidden talent to tap into, but anyway, I pressed on. I decided to join the local triathlon club, Knox Tri Club, where I hoped I was going to learn to swim and ride. The club was amazing for their coaching, friendship and support and I am proud to say I am still a member today, having made some lifelong friends and learnt some skills along the way. One of the clubs sponsors was Rowville Sports, now known as Rise Health Group, and this is where I first met Stuart, Leigh, Nick, Stacey and a number of the other physio’s who helped keep my body in check while I worked towards my goal. I spent 7 months learning to swim at Knox Leisure Works on a Tuesday and Thursday morning at 5.30am, had bike riding training on a Tuesday evening where I learnt not only sizing of bikes but that bikes had gears, and how to use them and went out on early morning (4am!) rides on the weekend to make sure I was back in time for kids sports. Then there was run training which started with Stacey taking us for a 30 minute pilates session prior to our run training. This was the first time I had met my glutes and it has been a love/hate relationship ever since!!

I was lucky enough to successfully complete my ½ Ironman at Shepparton, as I swam 1.9km through Lake Kiala, where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face for muddy brown water, rode the back streets of Shepparton for 90km and then ran around the local streets for 21km!! As I crossed the finish line I swore I would never, ever do a triathlon again as it was such a long distance and such a stupid idea!!! Fast forward a few years, as Mike Reilly yelled at me…..”You are an Ironman” as I crossed the line late into the night on the 21st March, 2015 at St Kilda, having just completed the Melbourne Ironman, double the distance of the ½, you can see that thought didn’t last long. Leigh Iacovangelo and his team has kept me moving forward throughout this whole journey to help me meet my goals. Many an evening has been spent with me in the furthest room away from the general public as I swear, cry, yell and scream through dry needling in my achilles, glutes, hamstrings and pretty much anywhere else you can put needles in the lower ½ of your body!! I then sheepishly slink up reception, apologising for my outcries, to which the girls always smile and say..”I heard nothing”, and make my next appointment.

But there was still one dream left to go…..could I be lucky enough to represent my country???? The World Triathlon race was coming to the Gold Coast in September 2018, in both Sprint (short and fast) and Olympic Distance. Qualifying races started in October, 2017 in Yarrawonga and were spread all throughout the country over the summer. I spent 4 months travelling with my partner Dave, from Sydney, to Adelaide to Canberra and back home, calling in favours from friends to baby sit the kids while we travelled and raced. In between trips I was at the physio where Leigh would work his magic, releasing my hamstring and glute tightness. Long story short…..I made the sprint team!!!!!!! Not bad for a mum of 46 who, when she told her kids she was trying out, got told by her 16 year old son….. “As if you will make the team Mum”. The child will be kissing my green and gold butt, don’t worry!!!

As I write this email, I have 10 minutes to go before I head down to Humphries Way to see Leigh for the last time before I race. I can’t thank Leigh, and his team enough for all the help, support, spikey balls, resistance bands, glute bridges, clams, heel raises etc. etc. that has got me through to this point. I am forever grateful!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me on September 13th……..

Robyn