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?

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Some photos from the Chicago Triathlon

Hi everyone,
Here are some photos from the Chicago Triathlon a few weeks ago - enjoy!
Only 2 weeks to go before the Chicago Marathon, my training is going well, but my performance is very affected by the weather - if it's hot and humid there will be no "Charnley World Records" (for those of you who don't know what that is then you clearly need to read my book:-))

LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL: MY IRONMAN JOURNEY

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Chicago Triathlon - what a blast

So on Sunday, I did my first Olympic Distance Triathlon in years....wow what fun that was! And the great thing was that it was over pretty quickly so I only pushed that pain barrier for 2.hours and 42 mins!
I had a great race, finished 6th out of 100+ in my age group and 36th woman overall - out of 950+ !!

I am clearly getting faster with this mended heart and living proof that (1) You should live your life to the fullest and (2) you can return to competition following a major set back...no worries! :-))

Friday, August 19, 2011

Hip Hip Hooray! Chicago Marathon here I come!

I'm in! Just received my confirmation that on Oct 9th I'll be one of thousands who will run the Chicago Marathon....my second marathon in 2011....here's hoping to a fun, safe and successful race!.....as I continue to LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Chicago Triathlon - Here I come

An Olympic Distance??!!! Well, I haven't done one of those for a number of years but I am planning to give it a go at the end of the month. The Chicago Triathlon is the largest Olympic Distance triathlon in the US (I think - don't quote me!). The last Olympic distance I did was in 2006 at the ITU World Age Group Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. I had the honor of representing Bermuda (then my country of residence) in the 35-39 women's world age group race. I had a broken foot at the time but didn't know until I had it diagnosed a few weeks later, but boy was it painful to run that 10k! I even mentioned that in my Book - Living Life to the full

So - fast forward 5 years to now - and I'm doing another Olympic Distance!....so used to doing Half Ironmans and now Ironmans and marathons - I know I'll be in for a shock when I realize and fast and furious the race is and how going fast really hurts!!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Exciting Times as a Motivational Speaker!!

Thanks to MGM's employee magazine which is distributed to 6000 colleagues, I made headline news today! Check out this great article - what a terrific time I had sharing my Living Life to the Full Story !

I'm excited for the future as I connect with more organizations and share my story.....

http://momentum.mgmresorts.com/?p=11679

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Las Vegas again!

What a fantastic day in Vegas yesterday! I hope to get photos to post soon but in the meantime just a quick note to say the folks at both Southern Wines and Spirits and New York New York, totally ROCK! Had a great time sharing my story and signing books at two great company events! Hope to see you all soon and remember to keep Living Life to the Full !

Friday, July 29, 2011

Ironman Wisconsin, Training Camp and IMAZ 2012

I'm currently in Madison, WI.

Think this is the first time I've ever been to WI....very pretty, but hot and hilly today!
I',m riding with some triathletes from Endurance Nation (over 100 of us) this weekend as part of a training camp and it's fun! Today we rode the course...and I'll say it again....HOT AND HILLY!

Kind of glad I'm not signed up for this Ironman frankly!

Looks like I will be doing IMAZ again though in 2012, along with some other IRONHEART RACING team members - what a great story that will be...so much so that I heard there will be a documentary film made about us....how cool will that be! Definitely still Living 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