Hartford Ski Spectacular- Biathlon

"It always seems impossible until it is done"- Nelson Mandella

I think it's good sometimes to do things that make you uncomfortable.  I was really out of my comfort zone when I went to the Hartford Ski Spectacular in December in Breckenridge.

I would have been fine if I had gone to the alpine race camp. I've been an alpine skier since I was a freshman in college.  I have been on a local ski patrol for 30 years.  Downhill skiing is second nature.
I've also skied in the mountains many times. I could have gone to the alpine clinic and been very proficient.  I've even done a bit of racing.

I decided to go the the Nordic camp because I have been trying to master skate skiing for 3 years. I thought a week of intense clinics and racing would be just what I needed. I didn't think it would be easy and it wasn't, but by the end of the week I saw some significant improvement.

The second reason I sent to the Nordic camp is biathlon was included.  The sport of biathlon combines Nordic skiing with shooting.  We have a local league, but did not want to show up for a race unless my skiing got much better.

All of the coaches at the clinic were paralympic development coaches. It was a great opportunity to try the sport.  For the clinic we used laser rifles to shoot at the target. 

When I was trying it out, the coach told me to look through the site at the tip of the gun and then the one closest to me.  I could never hit the target until I figured out the coach meant to look at the two sites at the same time.  I'd used shot guns as a kid, but they never had scopes.

Once we got that mis-understanding cleared up, I hit every target. Not only that I did it time after time. Wow something I was good at.  Marksmanship may be in my blood.  My younger brother was on the marksman team in high school. I also have a great grandfather that was a sharpshooter in the Prussian army.

We even did relays were we had to ski, then lay down and shoot. It's called coming in hot.  I did almost as well. Finally here was something I did as well or better than the other students. I kept saying I can't ski, but I can shoot. The head coach told me to stop saying that because my skiing was fine.

My contact coach for the week, Mark said he saw lots of improvement in my skiing. Now I am excited to try some biathlon races here at home.  I still need to keep improving my skiing, but I am excited by the progress I've made.  I am looking forward to get even better. It was well worth the risk to look a bit foolish by all my falls earlier in the week.


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Chris Wodke

Founder & Manager Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a three time participant of the Boston Marathon.  In 2012 she finished 2nd at Boston in the Mobility Impaired Division. She was on the course in 2013 when the bombs exploded.

She has appeared three times at the Paratriathlon National Triathlon Sprint Championship. She was the 2012 and 2014 National Champion Paratriathlon Open Division Champion.

In 2014 she was the PC Open Champion at the Duathlon National Championship and at the Aqua bike National Championship in 2016. She represented Team USA at the Aquathon ITU World Championship in Chicago in 2015i, Cozumel in 2016 and Denmark in 2018. In 2018 finishing 5^th in the 60 to 64 age group.

 In 2014 she represented the U.S. as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.  She has won state championships in cycling and triathlon as a senior Olympian. In 2017 she placed 2^nd in her age group at the Winter Triathlon National Championship, earning a spot on Team USA for the World Championship.

She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.

She is the author of the book, “Running for My Life” that details her experience as a CMT affected athlete and the book “Soup Sundays, A Journey Toward Healthy Eating”.

http://www.henschelhausbooks.com/catalog/memoir-biography/215-running-for-my-life-winning-for-cmt-9781595982827.html

You may visit her author page at:
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Wodke/e/B00IJ02HX6

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMTWe currently have 230 athletes in 41 states. We also have members in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Vietnam, Iran, Scotland, France, Turkey, Poland, Norway, Mexico, Wales, Ireland and Sweden!. If you wish to join us visit our web site; www.run4cmt.com or www.hnf-cure.org

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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