Living Life to the Full: My Ironman Journey

On March 26th 2010, I had unplanned open heart surgery to fix multiple holes in my heart that had gone undetected for 41 years. I was born with a severe congenital heart defect and was told that I needed surgery to prevent my heart failing. The right side of my heart was severely enlarged and doctors told me without the surgery, my days would be numbered. I had no idea, I had such a defect, I was a triathlete and had been competitively racing triathlons for almost 7 years – what now?

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Chrissie Wellington "Tweeted" my story

Yesterday, Chrissie Tweeted :

"Love hearing about everyday people doing extraordinary things. Ellen, you are an inspiration! www.ellenliveslifetothefull.com "

Very very cool - thank you Chrissie hits to my website rocketed!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Feature in Cleveland Clinic Heart blog

Hi everyone, please take a moment to look at the latest Blog from the Cleveland Clinic

This is a great new blog called the Beating Edge....aimed towards Cardiac patients and medical professions

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Customer Reviews on Amazon

Hi everyone, thank you so much for taking the time to write a review of my book on Amazon, I'm delighted to tell you that I am the number one rated book in Triathlon's currently! Fantastic!

Please write a customer review if you haven't already done so ! Thanks

Friday, June 10, 2011

The Inaugural Ironheart Classic Race - May 21st 2011

Congratulations to Dave (President of Ironheart Racing) - for a terrific first Ironheart Race last month in Washington. Don and I participated just 6 days after the Cleveland marathon...(ouch said our legs!). We had a blast! It was a great event, perfect weather, lots of fun and a few beers afterwards. Check out the Ironheart Racing Website and if you are interested in joining the team let me know !

www.ironheartracing.comwww.ironheartracing,com

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Map My Run - I'm featured in this month's newsletter!

If you don't already use MapMyRun then I would highly recommend it! or at least check out this months newsletter and specific feature "Athlete's We Love"....also a link to my blog, very cool indeed !

http://www.mapmyrun.com/story/3066/?utm_source=run_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=user_ellen&utm_campaign=2011_june_newsletter

www.ellenliveslifetothefull.com

Author Page on Amazon!

Now I really feel as if I'm an Author! Check out my new Author page to my book Living Life to the Full on Amazon. Also added the extended video of the Cleveland local TV interviews here.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0054G112G

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Ironheart Racing: My Triathlon Team

I want to introduce you to my Triathlon Team : Ironheart Racing.

http://ironheartracing.com/featured-athlete/

We are athletes with Congenital Heart Defects - yes you read it correctly, we have over 150 members and all of us are connected in some way to congenital heart disorders. But we don't let that stop us! Many of us have had open heart surgery and return to competition just months later.

Ellen Charnley featured in 3/GO Magazine !

For those of you who have not yet heard there is a new Triathlon Magazine out called 3/Go Magazine - what a cool title! It's a punchy mag hitting the right topics and providing something that's missing from other Triathlon magazines that are out there. The articles are original (no more "beat the heat" articles thank goodness!) and poignant. I love it! This is the second magazine from Movepress and June 7th they will launch their second edition (June/July). Check out their website and sign up!!
www.3gomagazine.com

Book Signings - Cleveland May 12th and 13th 2011

What fun the book signings are - a great way for me to share my story and meet some incredible people. This was especially true in Cleveland when I return in May to promote my book, do some media interviews (see separate post on this!) meet with my doctors and of course run a marathon (see separate post).

Cleveland Marathon May 2011 - returning to competition!

So, sure I did a marathon during Ironman Arizona (www.ellenliveslifetothefull.com) but I'd never run a marathon before that. My time for the marathon during the Ironman was 4 hours and 57 minutes. So I was excited to return to Cleveland and race my first ever stand alone marathon on Sunday 15th May 2011. The weather was great for runners but terrible (cold and rainy) for spectators, still that didn't stop me from realizing more of my dreams and goals. I predicted on lcal TV that I would run the marathon in approximately 4 hours....and my official finish time was 4:00 ! (too bad there wasn't a prize for the best prediction).

Amazon Rankings!

I've been learning about how Amazon ranks their books. It turns out that I'm not the only author who scans the Amazon rankings each day and experiences that thrill as I watch my rankings increase! At one point recently (29th May!), by book "Living Life to the Full: My Ironman Journey" was ranked number 1 by Amazon's in their "Hot New Releases in Triathlons" - I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that!....so to answer the question that many of you have asked recently, the answer is "YES!" my book sales are awesome! My husband (Don) was so impressed that he quickly saved a screen shot of the #1 ranking, so one day when you make it big, we'll remember where it all started! LOL!

Welcome to my Blog !

Www.ellenliveslifetothefull.com

I'm new at this ! but I've taken the technological plunge and started to write a blog. What fun!

My blog is about me. My journey from Open Heart-Surgery to competing in an Ironman Triathlon in less than 8 months.

My story begins with my bizarre symptoms which puzzled my doctors, the dramatic diagnosis and immediate requirement for open heart surgery. Then came the painful and slow recovery and the longing to return to my triathlon passion. My determination and will power to succeed against all the odds and realize my dream: To become an Ironman.

My Story

On March 26^th 2010, I had unplanned open heart surgery to fix multiple holes in my heart that had gone undetected for 41 years. I was born with a severe congenital heart defect and was told that I needed surgery to prevent my heart failing. The right side of my heart was severely enlarged and doctors told me without the surgery, my days would be numbered. I had no idea, I had such a defect, I was a triathlete and had been competitively racing triathlons for almost 7 years – what now?

The days and weeks following my surgery were miserable. Even walking slowly up and down the hospital ward was difficult. My doctors were encouraging though and my surgeon was confident I would be up and running again soon enough. Of course I had signed up for my first Ironman distance race (Arizona) in November 2009 and did not anticipate having to deal with open heart surgery at the beginning of my training plan! By May, I was back on my bike in earnest and was even able to begin some easy swimming and jogging. My doctors were amazed but were also concerned that I may have been pushing myself too hard. I still had my Ironman goal for 2010 and I was determined to at least try and get to the starting line.

In September 2010, my doctor did a thorough medical evaluation and was sufficiently pleased with the results to allow me to compete in the race. She did place some restrictions on my training and my racing however but concluded that I made a tremendous recovery and my heart was now functioning far better than it ever had been.

I began writing a journal in the spring about my experiences and then continued on throughout my recovery and training periods. My journal became more of a memoir and soon I was encouraged by friends to contact a publisher to discuss publishing my memoir. I was skeptical that anyone would be interested in reading about my life and experience but nevertheless agreed to send in the memoir once I had completed it. The publisher asked me how the book would end and when he could receive the manuscript. I replied that the end of the book would be when I crossed the finish line at Ironman Arizona, when I finally become an “Ironman”. On November 21^st, 2010, almost 8 months to the day since my surgery, I crossed that finish line in my first ever Ironman in a time of 12 hours and 37 minutes, and I have never felt so alive.

My book will is called “Living Life to the Full…My Ironman Journey” and is available through my website

www.ellenliveslifetothefull.com . I'm hoping to raise awareness for Adult Congenital Heart disorders and provide inspiration to those needing it. It is possible to swim, bike, run and compete again after open heart surgery, follow your dreams but listen to your heart!

Also visit my facebook page and click on "like" : www.facebook.com/ellenliveslifetothefull