Patient Blogger: Fundraiser Completes Triathlon to Combat Sudden Cardiac Death July 21, 2010

Recently, I participated in the Pacific Crest Half Ironman in honor of my brothers, Kevin and Timmy, both of whom died more than 20 years ago due to sudden cardiac arrest. Both were athletes; neither had any prior arrhythmias and their deaths were a shock. Kevin died at only 20 years old, and 14 months later Timmy died at 15. Because they were both athletes, honoring their deaths with an athletic event seemed fitting to me. I have also made the Heart Rhythm Foundation the benefactor of my efforts because they have made great progress in diagnosing and treating sudden cardiac arrest over the last decade. 

In addition to the physical training and stamina required to compete in a 70.3 mile race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run), there was an emotional component to my training as well. I’ve had to tap into the grief (again) of losing two young, presumably healthy brothers, and the race fell on my 40^th birthday (ugh). Below is a summary of my experience, beginning with my pre-race jitters and ending with post-race reflection.

Race Day
I woke up at 6:00 a.m. the day of the race. I considered unpacking my bags to check (again) that I had everything correct, but decided to trust myself. I was thorough (anal) the night before. I had a hard time eating, but I managed to consume a healthy breakfast of lowfat yogurt with a banana and Go Lean Crunch cereal in it. I knew I had to eat because I had to have enough sustenance to get me through my swim and then some before I could eat again.

At approximately 8:40 a.m., I got in the water.  It was very cold but I swam for about 10 minutes and felt pretty warmed up. At 8:55 a.m., all of the racers had to exit the water and get with our groups. I was slated to go with the group wearing yellow swim caps, but because I have a defibrillator, the organizers wanted me to stand out in case it fired during the swim. So, I was a yellow caps team member wearing a red swimming cap. There was a little confusion about this arrangement so I had to keep saying to people, “I have a heart condition…,” which isn’t really correct but was the easier way to explain things.

The Swim
Finally, my group was called into the water. As I stood waist deep in the water, I told Kevin and Timmy that this is for them, I missed them, and I hoped they’d watch over me and get me safely through the swim. Then the horn went off, and so did I!

The start of most triathlons is crazy. People are pretty much on top of one another and it’s very common to take a few hits to the face and body, get kicked, etc. But after a minute or so, things calm down as people have more room to spread out.

After a few minutes, I felt like I was right on track. I couldn’t see the buoys over all the arms and legs of other swimmers but I could see that I was right in the middle of the pack and I kept checking to make sure that I stayed there. I got to the third buoy and could see the shore.  I was so excited. I didn’t feel tired. I felt like I could keep swimming forever but I decided not increase my pace. To me, pushing it in the swim wasn’t worth it because I’d only gain a minute or two over the course of the race. So I kept on going, feeling good, marveling at the fact that I did not stop swimming at all. In every open water swim I’ve done, I would stop after a few minutes to gather myself. Finally, I felt my fingers scrape the ramp and I stood up and ran out of the water.  I was so excited—it had felt so easy!

I ran up the hill, I stripped off my “special” swim cap and goggles, unzipped my wetsuit and changed for the cycling portion of the race.

The Bike
The first few miles on the bike felt terrific. I traveled over rolling hills but nothing too steep. I was keeping a decent pace, as measured by my heart rate monitor and speedometer, but around the fifth mile I realized I’d made a major rookie mistake—I’d forgotten to pee before exiting the water!

The good thing about the bike is that you have a lot of time to think about things, so I spent about an hour debating “to pee or not to pee.” I’ve heard of many folks who can pee while biking and don’t give it another thought…but I’m just not there yet. After a thorough discussion with myself, I decided that I would NOT pee while riding—largely because I didn’t have plain water to wash myself with. This decision meant I had to stop at mile 17 to use the port-o-potty.

Later, I could see the rest area ahead and stopped. My best guess is that my bathroom stop cost me about 8-12 minutes. I decided that there was no way I was going to beat my last time…so I should just take it easy, have fun and enjoy the scenery and the race.

I think I averaged about six mph on the two climbs, so going 17 mph felt great! Finally, I reached the last climb. I was light-headed but happy knowing that I only had one more mile before 14 miles of downhill cycling. Finally!

I enjoyed the downhill more than I thought I would. It was scary going so fast but I tried not to pay attention to speed and just concentrated on holding on to the handlebars! Finally, I came upon the final 4.4 flat miles to T2. I barreled by a few people on the flat and then saw my boyfriend, Graeme, just before running into T2….

–Maggie Finnerty

Editor’s Note: Part II of Maggie’s triathlon experience will post on Friday, July 23. In the meantime, learn more about Maggie and her mission.