Living Life to the Full: My Ironman Journey: December 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

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!

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