Nicole Nelsen's First Ironman
An Ironman…2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. My mom asks me where the desire to do this comes from. It’s actually her fault. It all started when she wanted to do the Big Sur Power Walk (21 miles) for her 40th birthday and she wanted my dad and I to do it with her. My dad and I decided we’d rather run 26 miles than walk 21. Neither of us had ever run more than 6 miles before but it seemed like a good goal to aspire to. I had just left Irvine and the volleyball team and that had been one of the hardest decisions I’d ever had to make and so I wanted some other kind of challenge to focus on. Crossing the finish line I swore I’d never do another marathon again. But a couple months passed and my friend Mary and I signed up for the New York City Marathon in November 2003. After 2 marathons it was time to up the ante a little bit; I signed up for a 50k (32 mile) run in the trails of Nisene Marks in October 2004. Afterwards I was glad I did it but ready to give distance running a rest for a little while—my legs at the end of that 50k felt like they’d been cooked in a slow-cooker and the muscles could just fall off the bone.
Some friends of mine at work (Leah and Pam) were into cycling and Mark Tinkess had always told me I’d make a good cyclist, so I decided to try it out since I wasn’t a long-distance runner anymore. I bought a road bike in the spring of 2005. Since I only see in black and white and go all out if I’m going to do anything at all, I bought a really nice full-carbon Felt F3C road bike, worth more than my car. Then my friend Pam said I might as well do a triathlon since I ran and rode and I said why not. (It helped motivate me that her husband was also doing one and we could make a little side wager of who’d finish first and the loser would have to buy the winner a spa day.) So I did the Santa Cruz Sentinel in September 2006, which is an Olympic-distance triathlon: 0.9 mile swim (around the wharf), 25 mile bike (to Davenport), and 6 mile run (along West Cliff). (And let it be said that Pam and I got a very nice spa day thanks to 5 little minutes.)
After doing the Sentinel, I knew my next goal was the Santa Cruz Big Kahuna, a Half-Ironman: 1.2 mile swim (around the wharf plus a little), 56 mile bike (to Pigeon Point), and 13.1 mile run (along West Cliff to Wilder). The Big Kahuna was in September 2007. Through all the training for the marathons, the races themselves, and the Sentinel, the Big Kahuna was the most difficult to finish. I had trained for it but not to the extent I should have. During the run I stopped in porta-potties along the way just to sit down. I would sit and try to think out my plan for where I was going to drop out without being seen because I had these darn race numbers written on my arm and a tank top on. I kept going like this from porta-potty to porta-potty, which were placed every 2 miles or so. It wasn’t until I saw the 11-mile marker that I finally started to think I might actually finish. One of the things that helped me along the way was seeing this other guy, who was also clearly struggling, keep going forward walking/jogging/walking/jogging…he was not fazed; he was determined to finish no matter how long it took. He was part of Team in Training and he (we) kept moving forward and every so often other Team in Training members would pass by and give him such strong encouragement and he would feed off that and be reenergized. I had been worrying about how many people were passing me but seeing his race philosophy that he was just going to walk/jog for as long as it took helped me realize again that it was my race too and that I just needed to keep going, it didn’t matter how fast.
I did finally finish and after being treated to Mimosas and lunch by 2 of my best friends, Kim and Tim, and having an ice bath made for me and then sleeping for 16 hours, I then signed up for a full Ironman with 3 of my friends the next day. This may sound crazy and illogical but during the Half Ironman I had decided that if I ever wanted to even think about doing a full Ironman I would only do it with Team in Training because it would be the hardest thing I'd ever set out to do and I would need the discipline and support of a team. And it was funny I’d had this thought because simultaneously my friend Kim who’d been at my Half Ironman race, decided to look up Team in Training triathlon events (because she’d done a marathon with Team in Training) and there was an Ironman informational meeting that night. So we decided to go to this informational meeting for kicks and we ended up signing ourselves up and signing up Richard for him.
Through my various running and cycling training, I've seen Team in Training teams but have always brushed the idea aside, knowing it's a good cause but there are many different good causes and as far as the training, I'd always rather do it myself. The Half Ironman changed this and made me realize I can't train for an Ironman by myself. That goes against my nature to say but I do believe it now. The team gives you essential structure and is built on one training principle: giving you every possible edge to help you succeed your goal. This includes strength, endurance, mental preparation, and nutrition. It is an amazing statistic that 90% of the Team in Training Ironman athletes finish; (never mind that 25% of the finishers need an IV at the end). An Ironman represents the crux of personal fitness to me and it is my dream to finish one (and to hopefully not need an IV).
So far I’ve only talked about the training aspect of Team in Training, but it really is just as much about raising funds and awareness for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. My knowledge of blood cell cancers was extremely limited before but I’ve recently met multiple people and families that have had lymphoma diagnoses and that have benefited from the Team in Training organization. It is real. They calculate the fundraising amount by figuring out what the event costs and coaching costs are and multiplying it by four so that 75% of everything you raise goes directly to research and patient services. And I also just learned of a family in my grandparent’s community that I am choosing to be my honoree family: Nicholas and Nicole Golyar, who live in Omaha, NE. They have a 2-year old daughter and a new baby that was born in February. Nicholas is 26 years old and was diagnosed with cancer in late July last year. He has acute B-cell lymblastic lymphoma. Only 1% of all people diagnosed with lymphoma have this variation and it requires extremely aggressive treatment. I’m hoping to help the Golyars raise money as Nicholas has had to quit work for treatment and Nicole is home with their 2 children. I really appreciate you even taking the time to read this and to share in my training goals and to share in Nicholas’ story. I know there are so many important and good causes that need support and I hope everyone chooses what is right for them. Any amount given is extremely appreciated. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Race information: The Vineman -- August 2, 2008 Sonoma County http://www.vineman.com/triathlon.htm
