Cherie Gruenfeld Returns to Kona
> report filed October 17, 2003 by Amy
White
Cherie Gruenfeld was absent from one of the
favorite dates on her race
calendar last year, the Ironman World Championships in Kona. The Big
Island must suit Cherie: She has five age-group titles to her
name--1994, '95 '99, 2000, and '01--and she holds the record for the
women 55-59 age group.
In 2002 she was forced to withdraw from the
race on October 1, missing
it for the first time in 10 years after being dogged by injuries
suffered in a bike crash at the inaugural Ironman Utah.
Gruenfeld had a remarkable introduction to the sport of triathlon, which she picked up after years of running and marathons--she did her first triathlon in 1992, and raced for the first time in Hawaii that same year.
Along the way the Californian has become a dominant player in her age group at shorter races (like Wildflower and Vineman) as well as other Ironman races, like Ironman USA Lake Placid and the old Ironman Europe (now Quelle Challenge Roth) in Roth, Germany.
She also founded and has continued to expand a remarkable program called Exceeding Expectations at Cypress Elementary School in Highland, Calif. About three years ago, Gruenfeld was asked to speak to the young students there about her Ironman experiences. She mentioned to the teachers the possibility of some of the students doing a triathlon in a nearby town.
The response was huge and immediate: Nearly 200 showed up for tryouts, and 12 were chosen to be trained. The program has grown exponentially since then, and Gruenfeld credits her work with the kids--most of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds--with providing extra motivation as she worked through her injuries this year. The program runs on donations and the generosity of many in the triathlon community. If you 'd like to help, you can send a check to Exceeding Expectations at P.O. Box 748, Blue Jay, CA 02317-0748.
So this has been a year of rebuilding for Gruenfeld--one that finds her returning to Kona for the race she loves. We caught up with Cherie and asked her to update us on her year.
Gruenfeld had a remarkable introduction to the sport of triathlon, which she picked up after years of running and marathons--she did her first triathlon in 1992, and raced for the first time in Hawaii that same year.
Along the way the Californian has become a dominant player in her age group at shorter races (like Wildflower and Vineman) as well as other Ironman races, like Ironman USA Lake Placid and the old Ironman Europe (now Quelle Challenge Roth) in Roth, Germany.
She also founded and has continued to expand a remarkable program called Exceeding Expectations at Cypress Elementary School in Highland, Calif. About three years ago, Gruenfeld was asked to speak to the young students there about her Ironman experiences. She mentioned to the teachers the possibility of some of the students doing a triathlon in a nearby town.
The response was huge and immediate: Nearly 200 showed up for tryouts, and 12 were chosen to be trained. The program has grown exponentially since then, and Gruenfeld credits her work with the kids--most of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds--with providing extra motivation as she worked through her injuries this year. The program runs on donations and the generosity of many in the triathlon community. If you 'd like to help, you can send a check to Exceeding Expectations at P.O. Box 748, Blue Jay, CA 02317-0748.
So this has been a year of rebuilding for Gruenfeld--one that finds her returning to Kona for the race she loves. We caught up with Cherie and asked her to update us on her year.
TRIATHLON INFORMER: What has the last year
been like for you?
CHERIE GRUENFELD: In June '02 I was one of the
athletes involved in the
doomed Utah Ironman. Having made it through the swim, my race was
derailed at mile 56 on the bike when another competitor, who had
stopped to change a tire, stepped back onto the road directly into my
path. I ended up in the emergency room with a badly broken collarbone
and four broken ribs. Back home several weeks later I had surgery to
repair the collar bone (I still have two plates and seven screws
holding me together) but later discovered that I had also torn a
hamstring and ripped some sheath away from the bone, both of which
prohibited my running.
The surgery gave me use of the collar bone, but all summer long I struggled with the hamstring injury. I'd rest several weeks, try running and irritate it, rest several weeks, etc. By September I was working on power-walking, figuring that I'd never get my run in shape for Kona, but maybe I could walk the marathon. In late September two doctors finally convinced me that attempting IM in my condition would be quite harmful in the long-term, so on October 1, I withdrew and began to reconcile myself to missing Kona for the first time in 10 years.
I stopped running and biking entirely and started working with Roch Frey. I had plenty of experience in preparing for Ironman races but no experience in coming back from a serious injury. Roch's guidance was wonderful. I spent no time second-guessing what I was doing but rather put myself in his hands and trusted him completely. He got me started back biking and running in mid-January and very slowly we started the comeback.
The California Half-Ironman was my first race, and it was purely a training day. I felt good and was very happy with the beginning of my comeback. Our plan was to try and qualify in Utah in late May. (I felt I had unfinished business in Utah, so I was eager to go back.) The week following the California race, I began to have knee problems, which I tried to ignore. It kept up and in late April I had an MRI and discovered it was a torn meniscus. I intended to run through it until after Utah, but my orthopedist convinced me that it was a big tear and would only get worse. He also convinced me that I could still make Utah. So back into surgery I went. In two days I was back on the trainer and in two weeks was running again. Again, under Roch's careful guidance, I built the run up and was successful in Utah. I had signed up for the Cour 'd Alene Ironman but felt that my body would be better served without an Ironman in June. So I stuck with halves, doing Buffalo Springs and Vineman, working on getting healthy and strong.
The surgery gave me use of the collar bone, but all summer long I struggled with the hamstring injury. I'd rest several weeks, try running and irritate it, rest several weeks, etc. By September I was working on power-walking, figuring that I'd never get my run in shape for Kona, but maybe I could walk the marathon. In late September two doctors finally convinced me that attempting IM in my condition would be quite harmful in the long-term, so on October 1, I withdrew and began to reconcile myself to missing Kona for the first time in 10 years.
I stopped running and biking entirely and started working with Roch Frey. I had plenty of experience in preparing for Ironman races but no experience in coming back from a serious injury. Roch's guidance was wonderful. I spent no time second-guessing what I was doing but rather put myself in his hands and trusted him completely. He got me started back biking and running in mid-January and very slowly we started the comeback.
The California Half-Ironman was my first race, and it was purely a training day. I felt good and was very happy with the beginning of my comeback. Our plan was to try and qualify in Utah in late May. (I felt I had unfinished business in Utah, so I was eager to go back.) The week following the California race, I began to have knee problems, which I tried to ignore. It kept up and in late April I had an MRI and discovered it was a torn meniscus. I intended to run through it until after Utah, but my orthopedist convinced me that it was a big tear and would only get worse. He also convinced me that I could still make Utah. So back into surgery I went. In two days I was back on the trainer and in two weeks was running again. Again, under Roch's careful guidance, I built the run up and was successful in Utah. I had signed up for the Cour 'd Alene Ironman but felt that my body would be better served without an Ironman in June. So I stuck with halves, doing Buffalo Springs and Vineman, working on getting healthy and strong.
TI: What kept you motivated during those
months of
recovery?
CG: What kept me motived was very simply my
love of Ironman and particularly Kona. Missing it in '02 was very
difficult, and I was absolutely determined to not let that happen
again. I found that working with the kids during the year was very
rewarding, but I missed the sense of personal accomplishment that comes
along with setting the goal, training and accomplishing the goal.
Keeping motivated was actually not a problem at all.
TI: Tell us how the Exceeding Expectations
program is going.
CG: The Exceeding Expectations kids are doing
just great. The group of
around 40 kids, ranging in ages from 8 to 14, regularly does 5K races
and sprint triathlons. Eight kids do 10K races regularly, and three of
the kids do longer distance runs (15K and half-marathons). Three of the
kids just recently did their first Olympic-distance triathlon with an
open-water swim. These are kids who, until recently, wouldn't do a pool
swim without hanging onto me throughout. They have wetsuits and I had a
paddler on a surfboard go along with each of them. They were scared to
death but were pretty proud of themselves when they finished. These
same kids have another tri with an open water swim the weekend I get
home from Kona.
A very big event happened in August when the Santa Cruz Triathlon Association hosted three kids to a weekend in Northern California for a race. Club member Gaylia Osterlund made this happen by opening her home to us for the weekend. The kids had their first airplane flight; Orca gave them wetsuits and they learned to body surf; Fleet Feet gave them running shoes and a local sports store gave them swim gear; Gaylia's pool welcomed them to swimming all weekend; they had a four-hour personalized swim clinic; they had dinner in the home of the race director; and they had a fantastic race on Sunday. It was the epitome of taking them out of their environment and letting them function successfully in a new environment. The trip will have a lasting effect on them and on the entire team, knowing what happened to these three kids.
A very big event happened in August when the Santa Cruz Triathlon Association hosted three kids to a weekend in Northern California for a race. Club member Gaylia Osterlund made this happen by opening her home to us for the weekend. The kids had their first airplane flight; Orca gave them wetsuits and they learned to body surf; Fleet Feet gave them running shoes and a local sports store gave them swim gear; Gaylia's pool welcomed them to swimming all weekend; they had a four-hour personalized swim clinic; they had dinner in the home of the race director; and they had a fantastic race on Sunday. It was the epitome of taking them out of their environment and letting them function successfully in a new environment. The trip will have a lasting effect on them and on the entire team, knowing what happened to these three kids.
TI: What did you miss most last year, being
unable to start in Kona?
CG: In '02 I missed the entire Kona experience.
I missed seeing old
friends I see only once a year in Kona; I missed being on the island
with the warm water, the big winds, the humid heat and the sweet
smells; I missed the anticipation and nervousness leading up to race
day and I so very much missed hearing Mike Reilly welcoming me home and
that wonderful sense of accomplishment. On race weekend we "ran away"
to New York to get as far away from Kona as we could. I spent race day
having the NY experience (museums, great ethnic restaurants, Broadway
plays), but I found myself all day looking at my watch, knowing where I
should be at that particular moment. It was a sad day for me. What I
most look forward to this year is everything I so badly missed last
year.
TI: How do you explain your love of
long-distance racing to people
outside the sport?
CG: That's a very good question. Let me try to
expain with a story. My
husband's family, although supportive, never truly understood why I
kept doing these races, until Lake Placid in '99. They came to watch
and were knocked out by the entire experience. Never since that day
have they questioned my love of IM racing. I think one needs to witness
one of these events, to see the pain and determination in these
athletes and to feel the emotion as they cross the finish line. Having
seen it "up close and personal" makes it very clear why we love this
sport. I believe there's nothing more powerful in one's life than
having a tough goal and accomplishing it. That's what I try to give the
Exceeding Expectations kids, and that's what drives me and, I believe,
my fellow IM athletes.
TI: As a Kona veteran, what advice would
you give to the athletes just
arriving on the Big Island for their first crack at this legendary
course?
CG: To the '03 newbies, I would say: Enjoy the
experience. Any IM race
is wonderful, but there's nothing like the first. Eat, drink, stay calm
and look around once in awhile and, regardless of how much pain you're
in, be grateful that you're there. Several times during the race every
year, I find myself thinking: There's absolutely no other place I'd
want to be at this particular moment (except, of course, the finish
line). And, if I didn't believe that before, missing last year truly
reinforced that for me.