Hartford Ski Spectacular-Nordic

"Make sure your worst enemy doesn't lie between your ears."- Laird Hamilton

In early December I attended the Nordic Race Camp as part of the Hartford Ski Spectacular or the Hartford Ski Spec as it is known.  The camp was for disabled athletes.  I made sure before I signed up that I would be welcome as an athlete with CMT.  I was made very welcome by all the coaches and other athletes.

I had been looking for some time for a week long clinic. I have been struggling for the past few years to master the skate ski technique for Nordic racing.  Taking a lesson here and there has not helped me make the progress I would have liked.  A week long clinic with coaching would be just what I needed to improve my skiing.    My goal is to be able to race locally first and then maybe progress to a para national championship race.

There were 10 athletes that were in the clinic all week.  A few others dropped in for part of a day during the week.  There were more coaches than athletes.  I was assigned coach Mark for my first day and to be my point person for the week.  Every day he stored my skies at the end of the day and had them ready each morning.  Mark started our lesson by asking me about my limitations  as a skier with CMT.  Mark is both an alpine and Nordic instructor at Sun Valley Idaho.  He works with able bodied and challenged athletes.  He has the same discussion with anyone he teaches because so many impairments are invisible.  My lack of flexibility in my calves would prove to be a challenge all week.

To skate on skis, you have to be able to bend at the ankles and the knees. I have very little bend in my ankles.  Balance on skis is a challenge because of this. It also takes me much longer to develop the muscle memory needed to learn an athletic skill.    There were lots of falls as Mark worked with me that first day.

Most of the coaches were current or former Olympic athletes. I worked with most of them one on one over the course of the week.

The second day we did drills and I continued to fall.  Sometimes I needed help getting up. I was out of breath due to the altitude and the cold.  Once after I fell and I laid in the snow, I had the thought maybe I should have gone to the Alpine clinic.  I've been Alpine skiing since I was 18 and I am pretty good at it.  It is really tough to endure the frustration of trying to learn a new skill.  It was also humbling. I kept saying I was a bad skier and the head coach kept telling me to stop saying it.

During some of the drills we were video taped. I was not bending my knees and ankles nearly enough.   I heard the same thing every day from the coaches. It is something for me to work on.

One day the coaches decided we should do relay races. That brought back bad memory from gym class. I felt sorry for anyone getting me on their team.  We had to carry a football through an orange cone lined course down a hill, then back up a hill and hand it off.  I was doing great until right before the finish line. Then I had trouble getting up. I felt bad until I saw others fall at different times too.

Despite my frustration, I made huge progress. The last two days, I only fell once each day.   Early in the week, I was able to go downhill with no problem.  The uphill and level needed work.  By the last day I felt pretty confident in my skiing.  Mark my contact person had been busy with other skiers for a few days. When I saw him on the last day he commented on how much I had improved.  I owe it all to the work of the wonder coaches, Beth Ann, Mark, Don,Maggie, Paige, Nick, Kristina, Bitt and Russ

The last day I was a bit tired, so while the group went on a longer ski, I went with a coach. I even got a lesson in ski waxing. The snow was sticking to my skis and I could not move.  We took the skis inside and the coach showed me how to wax them.

I am really glad I went to the clinic. My skiing improved so much. I have not been on skis since then due to the holidays. Once I am back home, I will be out working on improving even more.
I will also be skiing in a Wednesday night Nordic league.  I am looking to put all my new skills into practice


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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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