It took all of Donovan's strength, along with the support of family, to get her over the finish line in the problem-plagued race.
"I started to feel sick as soon as I got on the bike," said Donovan.
Featured in the July 2 Examiner, Donovan was competing in the triathlon to raise money to eradicate puppy mills.
Training for the extreme endurance event would sometimes leave her shaky and ill, said the 36-year-old athlete, but this was the first time health problems had cropped up so early in a race.
"My whole system jammed up; it was a struggle for me," she admitted.
Halfway through the bike course she was forced to spend 45 minutes in the medical tent before rejoining the race and was almost too exhausted to enjoy the reception each athlete receives when they finally make it to the finish line.
"I pushed everyone out of the way to throw up," she recalled with a laugh. "But they followed me with the medal."
Then she went for a second stint in the medical tent and four bags of IV fluids to help her re-balance her electrolytes and rehydrate.
But none of this is enough to discourage Donovan from doing it all over again: she's set her sights on the 2011 Ironman and wants to raise funds once again for an animal shelter.
Donovan comes through for SPCA
- Published on August 20th, 2009
- Published on Febuary 12th, 2010
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Jessica Murphy
Ironman triathlon was an ordeal — but she made it
Westmounter Jenny Donovan raised over $1,000 for the SPCA by competing in last month's Ironman triathlon in Lake Placid, completing a 3.9-km swim, a 185-km bike ride, and a full marathon in just under 17 gruelling hours.
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