What a year it was!!

Well,  you won't believe this but I lost my log on details to my Blog!  Hence my radio silence for 6 months....yes, unacceptable I know but if you add that to moving house AGAIN! (3rd time in 18 months thanks to my husband!) and training and racing for another Ironman  - then maybe I'll be forgiven right ??

So....where do I begin....?

How about when Don came home from work just a few months ago and said - "honey let's move up to the city , I've been offered a chance to go back and work for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Company as General Manager of the SF property".....I blinked and thought about it for a few minutes....leaving Carmel after only 6 months,  moving house again....ugh....and leaving the most beautiful place on earth....not sure....then I saw the joy in his face and I told him "you got me at honey".   Only snag was , had to race an Ironman on November 18th and he was scheduled to begin work on November 1st!  Nothing like adding a few extra challenges into the mix!

Onto Ironman Arizona 2012...what a week that was! Just to recap,  18 months ago, my good friend Dave Watkins called me and said "Elle do you fancy doing another Ironman?".....to which I replied...."no"....(quickly)....he then said "well what about if it was for something bigger then just us?  what about if we got others to join us and we made a documentary movie about us, inspiring others along the way and raising funds for heart disease prevention?"....to that I said "ok I'm in...you got me at heart disease prevention"....so what a year it has been.  Not only did we need to get some others to join us but we also needed to quickly learn how to become film makers!  Sure why not add that to our day jobs :-))

Filming started November 2011 and so far we have filmed from Seattle to Carmel, from Honolulu to New Hampshire and lots of places inbetween.  We have captured 8 crazy stories  - what it takes to train for an Ironman , while holding down a job, raising a family and being a life long cardiac patient.  It has been an emotional rollercoaster, with more downs than ups if I'm honest but the journey we have taken has been worthwhile and our goal is to rock the world when we finally release this documentary movie....(Donald claims we will be going to the Oscars no less!).

As for race week itself....well....it was simply unbelieveable, words don't do it justice so please check out our photos on our facebook site.ref=hlhttps://www.facebook.com/HeartFlatlinetoFinishline?ref=hl  

As for me,  it was one tough day....not helped by the fact I was de-railed 48 hours before the start by pretty bad food poisoning.  My body was utterly depleated and I had almost 13 hours of stomach cramps and pain to deal with in addition to the physical ordeal of racing an Ironman....well nothing like making it even harder for a better story right?!!  But I'm thankful that I was able to compete and even finish which was quite something ....and was totally beyond my comprehension at 7am on race day.    

So what's next....well we have over 250 hours of footage to review (makes for very entertaining evenings in our household I can tell you!) and the huge task of raising enough funds to be able to move into post production (any donations welcome!! - please visit http://flatlinetofinishline.com/donate/ to learn how you can help us).  Our ultimate goal is to raise fund to help screen kids for heart defects, plain and simple....with these screening, we save lives. 

Here's to 2013 !!!  LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL!

Training in California!

There is no question that triathlon training in California is as near perfect as it can possibly be.  Rolling hills, flat straight aways for interval work, ocean swims (brrrr!) and warm but not too hot conditions....wow, how lucky am I to now live in one of the best places in the world .....certainly easy to Live Life To the Fullest here !

This week marks the start of my official Ironman Arizona training program....only 20 weeks to go! Yikes...seems like a long way away but it will be here before you know it.  I'm excited to be training and racing with fellow Ironheart Racing Team members   . 

I'm also excited to report that we have reached our first fund raising goal of $20,000  - this is for the initial funding required to complete the filming of my documentary "Heart: Flatline To Finish Line"

If you haven't already seen our trailer for the documentary please take a look and also visit our fund-raising site...every penny will count as we scrape together the funds needed to complete the documentary, produce and edit it and then distribute it.  We hope to change the way the world views cardiac issues , we hope to help detect, prevent and cure them....because Cardiac disease takes more lives than all forms of cancer, respiratory disease, diabetes and accidents combined.

Thank you for your support, Happy July 4th to everyone and remember to Live every second of every day to the fullest!

The wait is over!!  So much buzz and excitement today as we launch the official websites for our documentary movie.
Heart: Flatline to Finish Line

Please visit the site, donate and spread the word! 

THANK YOU!

The wait is ALMOST over....the best announcement of all announcements will be tomorrow....you will not want to miss this!  :-))

Well shame on me....I have to confess, it's been 6 weeks since my last posting which is just not good enough!  I wish I was more technologically savvy but alas...I'm struggle to keep up I really do.

Anyway,  guess what !  We've been in beautiful Carmel, CA for over two weeks now.  We are loving it!  It is one of the most gorgeous parts of the US that I have ever seen.  Biking and running have been a real treat...few potholes,  bike lanes and on the whole, drivers that don't see riders as the 'enemy'....ahhhh....bliss.

Soon I'll be announcing everything about our upcoming documentary movie ....watch this space and remember to LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL !

March Maddness in Chicago

I'm not talking about Basketball (coz I'm British and not really into all that!) but what's mad is the crazy weather we are having in Chicago!  It's been in the 70's all week and tomorrow marks my first outdoor ride in Chicago for 2012.....BRING IT ON!!   May the rain hold off until I'm done riding....pretty please  :-))

Definitely going to be LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL tomorrow!   Long may this Spring weather continue!

January brings the snow.....

Makes your feet and fingers glow,
February's, Ice and Sleet, freeze the toes right off my feet!.....well that just about sums it up for the last two months in Chicago!......oh hang on, I did manage to LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL in Venezuela with Don......!

We just got back from a truly memorable trip hiking and biking in the Andes...it was such an amazing experience and I would recommend Venezuela to anyone wishing to experience life to its fullest.  Seeing folk do just that with only a few chickens and a cow simply puts everything else into perspective.....

For some photos check out my Facebook page  (more to follow I promise)

Happy New Year, 2012 here we come!

Well 2011 was a great year and a little less dramatic than 2010 thats for sure....!

We sadly left Vegas and our beautiful home to follow our hearts and live life to the full in Chicago. What a fun city it is, we've already met some great friends and experienced some fun times. Who knows how long we will be here but one thing is certain wherever and whenever our next journey is we will continue to LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL !!

I plan to make 2O12 count....whatever challenges lie confront me, whatever setbacks hit me, i will rise above them all however hard. Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it, dream big and live those dreams always. Don't wait until tomorrow as tomorrow may never come, live today and live it to the fullest.

Happy new year everyone!
Ellen x