New Blog

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

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!

A Nice Little Augusta Slideshow

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.

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.

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!

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.

CHD awareness video by Lauren a CHD survivor

CHD Awareness Montage #2

This is what this is all for!

source:
www.laurensheart.blogspot.com

Grind Match

Saturday I spent way too much time thinking about if I was prepared for Augusta. I tried to think in wrestling what I would do if I was worried about an opponent. The answer being that I would train in a way that insured me that I was mentally tougher than him. The physical and skill aspects can be overcome with a tough mind. In wrestling, every once in a while, we do a thing called a grind match. In a grind match you find someone of similar skill level and wrestle untill someone reaches a breaking point. Yesterday, I did a "grind match" with the water, bike, and pavement. I didn't break.
I tackled my opponent. I swam a 2000m open water swim in the Gulf of Mexico. I followed it up with a 56 mile bike ride around Anna Maria Island, across Longboat Key, into Sarasota and then back. It ended with a slightly longer than 13 mile run.
I broke no records by completing it in 6:39:00, but won the mental battle with myself. I'm not sure if this is smart training, but the grind match is over. I'm mentally prepared and I broke the water and pavement, not myself!

It's crunch time!

I just realized that we are only 24 days out! I'm feeling very good on the running portion. I've gotten to the point that I can maintain around 7:30 for 13 miles. I guess the key is to be able to do that after swimming and biking. Next week will be my last week of intense training and then I will start to taper down a little.
I have also added a teammate, or as it is labeled on firstgiving "training buddy". She is in a competition that makes Augusta look like child's play and she's kickin' butt and takin' names! Her story is truly inspirational and makes me think twice about complaining!

Chicks dig scars

Here's a couple pictures of me shortly after surgery at about 3 years of age. As you can see, you can't keep the kid down long. I'm not necessarily a standout, however, when it comes to CHD kids. Most of these little guys and gals are amazingly resilient and have courage like that of a soldier.

Not quite a shark, more like a wet cat

Dictionary.com defines the verb "to swim" as "to move, glide, or go smoothly over a surface." I'm glad the definition gives us options because the only thing I'm doing is moving, and it's not necessarily forward.
I feel that I've come a long way in the last couple weeks. I'm no longer breathing when my head is submerged, but wait until I remove it from the water.
I started doing workouts with the Sarasota Sharks. If you know me well, then you know that I'm not patient with things I'm not good at. My patience has been tested because when working out with the Sharks I'm the one that's easy to spot thrashing in the back.
The people in the group are very nice and put up with the novice, but their words of encouragement usually go something like, "At least you'll be able to catch people on the run." A little side note: they've never seen me run.

My Story

Not long ago was the first time that I sat down and asked detailed questions to my mom about what happened to me as a little kid. As I talk about the details of what happened in 1982 and on, keep in mind that my parents were 26 year old and first time parents.
I was born on October 2, 1982, as a healthy baby weighing in at a whopping 8lbs and 1oz.
My parents had procrastinated a little, like most of us do, on finding a regular pediatrician for me. When I went in for a regular check-up at six weeks, my parents chose a nice, Philippine doctor by the name of Dr. Virgilio Pilapil. He happened to be a pediatric cardiologist. He heard a heart murmur while doing the check-up but said that nothing was wrong and that heart murmurs were very common.
Everything was normal for the next 2 years of my life. I learned to crawl, walk, run and go in the toilet. All the normal stuff you do by two years of age, I had done. There were no symptoms that anything was wrong.
In November I had tagged along with my mom for Gretchen’s, my then two month old sister, check-up with Dr. Pilapil. Dr. Pilapil wanted to listen to my heart while I was there. He heard something that didn’t sound quite right to him. He went ahead and did an EKG and then told my mom that she should take me to the cardiologist at one of the hospitals in Springfield. My mom in the confusion went to the wrong hospital at first.
At the right hospital they did an ultrasound, where they found a hole in my heart.
I had a couple monthly check-ups and then was scheduled to have a catheterization in February. After the catheterization my parents were told that I needed surgery, but that they didn’t know the extent of my problem. The doctors in Springfield made contact with the doctor’s at Chicago Children’s Hospital. I still had no outward physical symptoms. Since I was not considered an emergency, my scheduled surgery was in July. My parents had to wait five agonizing months until there 2 year old would have surgery.
I went in for my monthly check-ups in Springfield, which happened to be a teaching hospital. All the interns liked listening to my heart because it was so unique. They would all ask my parents the same questions. Does he have any bluing of the fingertips or the lips? Is he lackadaisical? Does he run out of breath easily? My parents would answer the same to all these questions. No.
After the 5 painstaking months were over July 7th had arrived. I had to undergo some testing and my parents took two days of classes to prepare them for my surgery. They were told what I would look like and what to generally expect after my surgery. They were given presentations by nurses and doctors and shown a kid recently out of surgery.
When going into surgery the doctors thought I had partial anomalous pulmonary venous return with ASD, but didn’t know the extent. They would find out when they cut me open. I was taken in at 5:30 a.m. They put me on a heart and lung machine. After the first half hour of surgery the my parents were told one pulmonary vein was going in wrong, the next half hour 2, the next half hour 3. I had 3 out of 4 pulmonary veins going in the wrong way with the hole ( Atrial Septal Defect) thankfully draining blood to the other side of my heart. My heart was roughly four times the size it was supposed to be. The surgery took three to four hours. I was taken off of the respirator within minutes of surgery.
After surgery, my mom said that I was a yellowish, greenish color. She said that I looked like a breathing cadaver with bandages and IV’s coming out of both feet and hands and a chest tube. There was me and a baby in this first intensive care room. There were nurses at pretty much all times in this room and I was only allowed to be visited by two people at a time. My burly uncle had to walk out of the room and cry after he saw me.
At the end of these two days my chest tube was removed. Doctors recommended that my parents not be in the room for this. Even though they weren’t in the room, they could still hear me screaming as the tube was ripped out since my skin had already grown to it.
I spent 36 hours in the next room with three other kids. After this I was put in a regular room. The same uncle who had been crying and couldn’t stand to see me mustered up the strength to come back and visit. When he came to the room I wasn’t there. Of course the worst was assumed. I was, however, in the playroom being scolded by the nurses for moving chairs.
I was sent home after five days with just tape on my chest. My parents, on the way home stopped at a McDonalds and I bumped my chest on the booster seat and cried. But I wouldn’t be stopped. I had regular checkups until I was 5. The first time I saw Dr. Pilapil again you would have thought I saw the devil himself, but he wasn’t offended. I was cleared at 5 years old.

Yesterday

Yesterday... I decided that yesterday would be a biking day. I rode by myself on the Pinellas Trail. It was a little warm and I, being the genius that I sometimes am, forgot to bring water. I finished my 54 mile bike ride, regardless, because I'm stubborn like that.
As I was riding, I almost hit a 3 foot long black snake. It made me think back to a time, about three years ago, when my dad and I were riding on a mountain trail outside of Frisco, Colorado. The PETA people might want to stop reading now. I promise; it was an accident. The trail was very curvy and we were going at a fairly good rate of speed. All of a sudden, I'm not sure if it was Chip or Dale, ran out in front of me. I, being the animal lover that I am, slammed on my brakes forgetting that my dad was following close behind. I went right over the chipmunk and my dad went right over his handlebars. My dad ended up with several stitches, the chipmunk went to a better place, and I... well I was fine.