The author completes Lake Placid Ironman 2011 with the aid of his Cook Zenith stent graft. Not bad for a 68-year-old!
Life is brief, so celebrate your successes. Yesterday I finished the Lake Placid Ironman for the fifth time. This may be the first Ironman completion for a person with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) stent graft (Cook Zenith). I had one of my worst race times, almost three hours slower than last year, due to being under-trained as a consequence of missed training in the Fall whilst recovering from the AAA-surgery, a foot injury in the Spring, and gastrointestinal problems associated with a cold prior to the race. These things happen, and I feel great the following day, so we (my stent-graft and I) handled the race well. I knew I was going to have a hard time as soon as the swim started, so I took it pretty easy, had fun, and was happy to finish. You have good days and bad days, and it is never a good idea to force the bad days. Enjoy them all, I say. Today, all that I can think about is food, especially La Poutine or a Chip Butty. These are the best carbo-loads I know.
La Poutine consists of french fries, cheese curds and special gravy.
Chip Butty. I prefer mine on French bread with lots of butter, and both salt and vinegar on the chips (French fries). Americans prefer ketchup.
One of the best aspects of Ironman training is that you can eat whatever you like after the race. Always reward yourself for a job well (or not so well) done.
Happy training!
“Enjoy them all, I say.”
I agree my friend. Job well done. Would love to see a photo montage of the whole trip and race. Congrats again!
Thanks Benjamin,
I’ll get caught up with a post for your blog, that book you mentioned, and more photos when we escape from the interstate system. Hard blogging in MacDonald’s in 15 minute increments. Thanks for the encouragement. Much appreciated.
-k @FitOldDog
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