It’s early in the morning on a hot day in San Clemente, and Beth Sanden is suited up and ready to start a full day of training. If you spotted her from a distance pulling on her wetsuit, ready to dive into ocean swimming, the former Ironman World Championship qualifier looks like any other athlete in training: strong and determined.
And while she is both of those things, she is also an incomplete paraplegic, someone who is partially paralyzed from the waist down. Sanden’s accident happened nearly eight years ago during a bike race in San Diego when, coming around a corner at a high speed, she and other riders hit a patch of broken asphalt that sent her careening off her bike. She was left paralyzed and with a severe concussion. In the years since her accident, she has regained partial use of her legs, and was in training for Challenged Athletes Foundation’s Triathlon Challenge in San Diego during our visit.
Coast spent a day keeping up with Sanden.
8 a.m. Meet Sanden and her gang at the San Clemente Pier for ocean swimming. The current is too strong, so they decide not to risk it.
9:30 a.m. Arrive at Sanden’s San Clemente home to get ready for a 16-mile bike ride. Sanden has a special three-wheeled hand cycle that allows her to use her arms to “pedal.” Down a raspberry smoothie to load up on energy.
10 a.m. Head down Avenida Pico to the coast, where we cycle through San Juan Capistrano to Dana Point and back. Not only is Sanden an incredibly strong cycler, she’s also a stickler for safety. We stay behind barriers and ride against traffic.
12:30 p.m. Sanden’s husband, Burt, picks us up at the end of our ride. I am sunburned and exhausted, but Sanden is ready to move on to the next challenge: swimming laps at Ole Hanson Beach Club Pool. After eating a packet of “goo”(a high-carb gel that athletes use during a workout and that I proceed to gag on), we are off to the pool.
1 p.m. Don a Speedo swimsuit, swimming cap and goggles to get a lesson from Sanden in breathing techniques, pool etiquette and flip turns. I’m practically wheezing after 250 meters, but Sanden continues, all the while greeting friends. She’s got an electric personality; everywhere we go, people know her.
3 p.m. Sanden hops onto her elliptical machine for an hour.
4 p.m. Time for a rest. Sanden has constant central nervous system pain in her back.
5 p.m. Prepare dinner.
6:30 p.m. Vacuum garage and read book to relax.
Get Involved
Attend the Challenged Athletes Foundation’s San Diego Triathlon Challenge on October 25, 2009 at La Jolla Cove or donate to an event participant online.
:: challengedathletes.org
