I have started a new blog page. Follow this link to get all the exciting new adventures of Nels. Actually, they might not be exciting, but they are new.
www.augusta4heart.blogspot.com
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Race
Augusta was amazing! Denise, my bike, and I left early Friday morning in Shrek to make the trek to Georgia. We stayed with Tim Tillery, his awesome daughter Jaedyn, and his equally amazing parents on Friday night in Peachtree City. As you can see on the slide show, Jaedyn was nice enough to give up her bed which enabled me to sleep better than any princess!
On Saturday we took the three hour drive from Peachtree to Augusta. I took my bike in to get some last minute repairs and we checked in to the hotel.
I wasn't nervous about the race at all until the rules meeting. There I learned that the water was going to be a balmy 69 degrees. To me, the person who's lips turn blue when I see a cold picture, that's freezing. Another thing that brought butterflies to my stomach was being around all of these dedicated athletes. A race like this was something that most people spent a minimum of 16 weeks training for.
I was able to put aside some of the butterflies and do my carbo-loading at the Mellow Mushroom (which was amazing)!
I slept like a rock on Saturday night also, unlike most people I talked to. I now know the reason for that. Unlike most people I had talked to, I hadn't experienced the pain of a 70.3 yet.
We got to the race on Sunday morning, got my transition area prepared and got me to the starting line. Now I know what cows feel like as they're being taken to slaughter. Everybody groups up in their heat and are slowly hurded to the starting line. The only thing missing were the prods.
Getting in that cold water was a little bit brutal because we had to get in an then wait for them to tell us to start. I was shaking; a little from the cold and a little from the adrenaline... and we were off.
The first 200 meters was the hardest part of the swim because there are bodies swimming over bodies. A little pandamonium. There was a guy who freaked out right in front of me and had to get help from the kayaks, which made me a little edgy. There was also seaweed that kept getting wrapped around my arms and body. Thanks to the current, I was able to complete the swim in under 40 minutes. I wasn't exactly swimming in a straight line, however, and probably added quite a bit of distance to the swim.
As you can see in the pictures, I was one of the slowest ones in the swim which made it easier to find my bike. The bike portion of the trip was going very well. There were a couple of huge hills. On one of the hills, I started to grumble to myself and then passed a para-athlete at the top and remembered how lucky I was just to have working legs.
With 5 miles left in the bike portion, my back tire blew. I had never changed a flat before, but I had watched a Youtube video on how to. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention well enough and it took me almost 30 min. to figure it out. I ended up finishing the bike portion in around 3 hours 15.
As I started the run, I felt like I needed to make up time for the flat tire. About halfway throught the run, I didn't care about time anymore. I didn't properly hydrate during the race, so my kidneys started to ache as the run went on. At about mile nine I hit an invisible wall and it took all my effort to continue running. I made it through the last 4 miles and finished the race. It was a pretty amazing feeling to cross that finish line. My final time was 5:55:48.
An even more amazing feeling, however, was seeing everyone come together and invest over 2000 dollars into child saving research for the Children's Heart Foundation.
I had an amazing time and I hope all of you did too!
Please stay tuned. I'm not done yet!
On Saturday we took the three hour drive from Peachtree to Augusta. I took my bike in to get some last minute repairs and we checked in to the hotel.
I wasn't nervous about the race at all until the rules meeting. There I learned that the water was going to be a balmy 69 degrees. To me, the person who's lips turn blue when I see a cold picture, that's freezing. Another thing that brought butterflies to my stomach was being around all of these dedicated athletes. A race like this was something that most people spent a minimum of 16 weeks training for.
I was able to put aside some of the butterflies and do my carbo-loading at the Mellow Mushroom (which was amazing)!
I slept like a rock on Saturday night also, unlike most people I talked to. I now know the reason for that. Unlike most people I had talked to, I hadn't experienced the pain of a 70.3 yet.
We got to the race on Sunday morning, got my transition area prepared and got me to the starting line. Now I know what cows feel like as they're being taken to slaughter. Everybody groups up in their heat and are slowly hurded to the starting line. The only thing missing were the prods.
Getting in that cold water was a little bit brutal because we had to get in an then wait for them to tell us to start. I was shaking; a little from the cold and a little from the adrenaline... and we were off.
The first 200 meters was the hardest part of the swim because there are bodies swimming over bodies. A little pandamonium. There was a guy who freaked out right in front of me and had to get help from the kayaks, which made me a little edgy. There was also seaweed that kept getting wrapped around my arms and body. Thanks to the current, I was able to complete the swim in under 40 minutes. I wasn't exactly swimming in a straight line, however, and probably added quite a bit of distance to the swim.
As you can see in the pictures, I was one of the slowest ones in the swim which made it easier to find my bike. The bike portion of the trip was going very well. There were a couple of huge hills. On one of the hills, I started to grumble to myself and then passed a para-athlete at the top and remembered how lucky I was just to have working legs.
With 5 miles left in the bike portion, my back tire blew. I had never changed a flat before, but I had watched a Youtube video on how to. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention well enough and it took me almost 30 min. to figure it out. I ended up finishing the bike portion in around 3 hours 15.
As I started the run, I felt like I needed to make up time for the flat tire. About halfway throught the run, I didn't care about time anymore. I didn't properly hydrate during the race, so my kidneys started to ache as the run went on. At about mile nine I hit an invisible wall and it took all my effort to continue running. I made it through the last 4 miles and finished the race. It was a pretty amazing feeling to cross that finish line. My final time was 5:55:48.
An even more amazing feeling, however, was seeing everyone come together and invest over 2000 dollars into child saving research for the Children's Heart Foundation.
I had an amazing time and I hope all of you did too!
Please stay tuned. I'm not done yet!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Good Stuff
This is probably my last entry before the race because I'm headed out in the morning.
On Monday of this week I decided I would squeeze in one more open water swim in the Gulf. The sun was out and the wind was calm, but when I got in the water the current was going directly into me. It felt similar to running the wrong way on an escalator. I know that I could have turned around and gone the other way, but then I would have had to end with the current against me. So I trudged ahead. After a couple hundred yards my arm petted something that I wouldn't recommend petting. A jellyfish. Those that know me well know I can have a temper from time to time, but you can't take your anger out on a jellyfish. I wasn't going to let that little blob of snot get the best of me, so I got out of the water and jumped on the bike.
While I was on the bike, storm clouds came out of nowhere and I started getting pelted with rain.
When I got back to Shrek (my van) I was frustrated and ready to get home. The drawbridge came up as I was leaving Longboat Key. This pause gave me the chance to stop and look around.
Even though it was raining the sun was clearly visible setting into the Gulf. Right off the bridge were three dolphin playing in the current.
I don't want to get to deep or sentimental, but I thought this was a good comparison to the preparation for Augusta. Sometimes I got caught up in the training or raising money, but when I stop for a second I am able to see the huge hearts of the people that are giving and the amazing miracles that these gifts have the potential to produce. Doing this has reminded me that there are a lot of amazing people out there.
On Monday of this week I decided I would squeeze in one more open water swim in the Gulf. The sun was out and the wind was calm, but when I got in the water the current was going directly into me. It felt similar to running the wrong way on an escalator. I know that I could have turned around and gone the other way, but then I would have had to end with the current against me. So I trudged ahead. After a couple hundred yards my arm petted something that I wouldn't recommend petting. A jellyfish. Those that know me well know I can have a temper from time to time, but you can't take your anger out on a jellyfish. I wasn't going to let that little blob of snot get the best of me, so I got out of the water and jumped on the bike.
While I was on the bike, storm clouds came out of nowhere and I started getting pelted with rain.
When I got back to Shrek (my van) I was frustrated and ready to get home. The drawbridge came up as I was leaving Longboat Key. This pause gave me the chance to stop and look around.
Even though it was raining the sun was clearly visible setting into the Gulf. Right off the bridge were three dolphin playing in the current.
I don't want to get to deep or sentimental, but I thought this was a good comparison to the preparation for Augusta. Sometimes I got caught up in the training or raising money, but when I stop for a second I am able to see the huge hearts of the people that are giving and the amazing miracles that these gifts have the potential to produce. Doing this has reminded me that there are a lot of amazing people out there.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Think Happy Thoughts
We are only a week and a half out now. I've started to taper. I'm scaling down the workouts and doing things that will be less likely to injure me. I also do this so my muscles have a chance to get full recovery. So far the only thing besides minor aches and pains I've delt with is the loss of two toe nails that I had grown fond of the last 26 years. They will be missed. This is a common occurance among runners. We might be in great shape, but most of us have some gnarly feet.
This next week is all about visualization. I'm trying to visualize my swim, bike, and run all going smoothly. It's unfortunate that whenever I visualize myself on the swim it's with "Finding Nemo" arm floaties.
This next week is all about visualization. I'm trying to visualize my swim, bike, and run all going smoothly. It's unfortunate that whenever I visualize myself on the swim it's with "Finding Nemo" arm floaties.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Shana Summers
Shana Summers has been a huge inspiration to me while preparing for Augusta. Her great attitude and great sense of humor during near death situations has left me with a different outlook on life. My favorite quote from her is, “Life is short so don’t go crazy over stupid stuff-it’s not worth it.”
Shana played div. 1 soccer and then tackled biking. It’s amazing she reached the level she did with her heart, lung, and liver conditions. It’s actually amazing when anyone reaches that level.
Shana had holes in her heart including a huge Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). She had a closure device put in for the ASD which then had to be removed because part of the device was sticking into her aortic valve causing atrial erosion. The atrial septum was patched with a Gortex patch. Post open heart surgery Shana tore her pec because her sternum is non-union wired together. Eventually, after all the other hoopla is finished, she will have to have her chest plated and screwed back together.
After the ASD was patched, doctors found that Shana had another CHD, a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). There was also a genetic condition of the liver and lungs present that was not allowing oxygenated blood to be used. She had AVMs in her liver which were creating “dilitations” in her lungs allowing blood to flow through her lungs without being oxygenated. An Arterio- Venous Malformation (AVM) is (the way I understand it) an area of no capillaries and capillaries are what help us use our blood.
Currently Shana is taking a Chemo drug (Avastin) to help repair lung function. The drug has caused her to lose 14 lbs off of her already small frame. Her liver is much better, but her lungs are worse. After these problems are taken care of she will have to have an ablation for an arrhythmia (fast or irregular heartbeat) the ASD repair caused to get her heartbeat back to normal.
She is still taking things out one at a time. She’s a fighter and she’s working her way up the ladder!
Shana played div. 1 soccer and then tackled biking. It’s amazing she reached the level she did with her heart, lung, and liver conditions. It’s actually amazing when anyone reaches that level.
Shana had holes in her heart including a huge Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). She had a closure device put in for the ASD which then had to be removed because part of the device was sticking into her aortic valve causing atrial erosion. The atrial septum was patched with a Gortex patch. Post open heart surgery Shana tore her pec because her sternum is non-union wired together. Eventually, after all the other hoopla is finished, she will have to have her chest plated and screwed back together.
After the ASD was patched, doctors found that Shana had another CHD, a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). There was also a genetic condition of the liver and lungs present that was not allowing oxygenated blood to be used. She had AVMs in her liver which were creating “dilitations” in her lungs allowing blood to flow through her lungs without being oxygenated. An Arterio- Venous Malformation (AVM) is (the way I understand it) an area of no capillaries and capillaries are what help us use our blood.
Currently Shana is taking a Chemo drug (Avastin) to help repair lung function. The drug has caused her to lose 14 lbs off of her already small frame. Her liver is much better, but her lungs are worse. After these problems are taken care of she will have to have an ablation for an arrhythmia (fast or irregular heartbeat) the ASD repair caused to get her heartbeat back to normal.
She is still taking things out one at a time. She’s a fighter and she’s working her way up the ladder!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Unsinkable Ships Sink
Yesterday I was biking at an amazing clip. I had various "Rocky" songs going through my head and some "ACDC". No one was going to touch me. I could feel my blood pumping and my "Quadzillas" firing. The wind was blowing straight into me, but I was taking it out like a gladiator. Then, out of nowhere, three guys in their forties passed me. One only had one leg. Humbled again. It amazes me every time I see an athlete like this, because they train that much harder to compete with an athlete with no disadvantages.
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