Hi folks, I was very sad to hear of two unnecessary deaths in the New York City Triathlon. I say unnecessary because of my experience in triathlons as an ex-water polo player. I have completed the Lake Placid Ironman five times, which has an extremely crowded swim start. This year I completed the race with an abdominal aortic stent graft, and at no time did I feel threatened in the water. The start of these ... Read more
A Watershed Moment In The Life Of This Blog: Completing An Ironman Race With My Son And My Stent
Hi folks, (I am not sure who many of you are, but I appreciate your interest in my chatter), I am now moving into the next phase of my e-life experiment. I started this blog about one year ago out of fear for my life, and the need to talk to someone about how it feels to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and an AAA-stent graft. I achieved that aim and found what I needed at the Facebook AAA ... Read more
Do You Want To Fix Your Health Problem, Or Do You Just Want It To Go Away?
Hi folks, I often encounter people with health problems or training injuries who complain about them, describe them in great detail or the symptoms at least, provide a litany of health specialists consulted and so forth, but when I suggest that they might actually work on the issue themselves they look extremely confused or nod their head and continue in the same old way to repeat the story to me a month ... Read more
20 40 60, Don’t Walk, And Appreciate Your Absent Supporters
Hi folks, It is fascinating how interested humans are in what other humans are thinking about them. This clearly makes evolutionary sense, but can't we get over it? More accurately I should say, what they think other people are thinking about them, which reminds me of an old saying that I learned I don't know where: "When I was 20, I worried about what people thought about me. When I was 40 I didn't ... Read more
Inspiration And Memories From The Lake Placid Ironman
Hi folks, Each time I come to a race I meet inspiring people and take home some great memories. This year was no exception. My inspiration at this event (LPIM 2011) came from three guys, in a slightly younger age group, who chatted with me on the day after the race. One of them remembered my name and called me over to ask about how my race went. Then I noticed that one guy was covered in 'road pizza' (bike crash), ... Read more
First Ironman With AAA Stent Graft, La Poutine And A Chip Butty
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, ... Read more
Count Down To Ironman Lake Placid: Race Packet
Hi folks, As you can see, the place is becoming busier. The tents are up around the transition area, and this is when you can pick up your race packet and really start to enjoy the excitement of the race. The most tense time, for me at least, during an Ironman is organizing the gear bags that come with the race packet. Five bags are provided, but I only use three, swim-to-bike, bike-to-run and ... Read more
Preparing For An Ironman Race, The Week Preceding
Hi folks, As Chez Ollie during World War II, "He who fails to plan is planning to fail." The 'bulldog' with the sharp wit also said, "Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even though they rarely stick to their plan." Boy, is this an important issue in endurance sports? After following a training plan for the previous year, the pressure mounts as you attempt to ensure that all ... Read more
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