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| Crystal Ridge Ski Patrol-I'm in the middle of the first row. |
"Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist, but the ability to start over."- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Training for marathon doesn't happen in a vacuum. The
training program is 18 weeks. Lots can
happen in those 18 weeks that can help or hinder training. Unless you are a
professional athlete, and I am not, there are lots in life that can help or get
in the way.
At the very least I
have to work my training program around the other events in my life. These last
few weeks have included two milestones that included two long good-byes.
It has been a long month of goodbyes for my three client
work groups and three going away parties.
I spent the last month training my replacement and tying up
work projects. Part of that process was
saying goodbye to a work area where I’d spent the last 10 years. I was a supervisor of training for Electric
Distribution operations at a utility in Milwaukee Wisconsin for 9 years, until
my change back to the training department last year. I had worked in training for 5 years before
becoming a supervisor.
So for the last month I've been saying good-by to all my
work groups and friends. I hired many of
the people that work in our electric dispatch group and was part of groups that
wrote over 125 procedures. I worked all kinds of days, nights, holidays and
weekends putting customers back into service after storms. I really felt like I was part of a family. I
am proud of the work we did together.
Still it was time to move on to a new challenge. Over the
next few months I will be learning the power generation side of our business
and helping to write procedures as the Manager of Business Process Improvement.
For the first time in 15 years I have an office and feel like I have arrived as
a professional.
The 2nd good bye came earlier in the month. I‘ve
been a member of the National Ski Patrol at Crystal Ridge for 23 years. They
became the Rock Ski area earlier this year.
I expected it to be a learning experience for the new hill management.
We had new Patrol leadership as well.
The new patrol leadership has made decisions I felt put both patients
and patroller's at risk. I expressed my
concerns and did not see any effort to resolve the issues.
When I found myself
the only Ski Patrol member on a Saturday night shift with no safe way to
transport a patient I knew it was time for a change. I am in the process of
looking for a new patrol home. A tough
decision to leave behind so many great people.
I let both hill and patrol management know the reasons for my leaving.
Hopefully my departure will be a catalyst to improve safety especially of the
patrol operations. You never know, I just might be back. So it has been a season of change and adaptability. Two key skills for an athlete.
Change can be good, exciting and difficult all at the same
time. It brings new challenges and you
have to let go as well. Change comes as part of the marathon training program
as the mileage build and workouts get more challenging. I am just getting to
the point in my training program where the workouts are almost more than I can
handle. The tough workouts help prepare
a runner for marathon day. The increase
in workload changes the body so an athlete is ready. Change in our lives
prepares us for what is ahead. Change is not always easy, but it is
necessary. I believe the things that
happen to us in life prepare us for the next bend in the road, just like
workouts prepare an athlete for a race or game day.
My workouts this week included an 8 mile tempo run, a long
run of 19 miles, a race and a bike time trial.
Everything went well until Saturday night when I woke up at
12:30 a.m. wide awake. I immediately
knew there was no way I was going to do a race and my long run on the same day.
I had planned on making the 6 mile race part of my 19 mile run.
I cancelled any thought of doing the race so I could sleep
in a couple of more hours. When I got up
at 8 am the temperature was 9F. It was
supposed to get up to 28 F. My run was going to take 4 hours, if I waited until
it warmed up would I get my run in before dark? So it was off to the treadmill. I
made a bargain with myself I would do half inside and half outside. I got started and while I was in the gym I
went ahead and did the entire workout on the treadmill. That is 4 hours on a
treadmill with no TV, just the radio. Yes it is as boring as it sounds. By my
reckoning this should be about 19 miles.
At least I am hoping it is.
That workout completed my training for the week. One more
week closer to Boston. One week closer to spring and hopefully warmer
temperatures. I'm not sure I can handle many more weeks of 4 hour treadmill
workouts. The key to change whether in
a workout plan or in life is to stay flexible , work your plan and to be confident
you will be ready and prepared for the next bend in the road.
*****************
Chris
Wodke
Founder
& Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com
Team CMT
is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure
for CMT. We have almost 119 members in 25 states. If you wish to join us visit
our web site.
CMT or
Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It
affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS). It is a disease of the
nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of
normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.
Symptoms
include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor
balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual
dexterity.
Structural
foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.
Poor
tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold
hands and feet.
Additional
symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing
loss.
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