"For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."- Ephesians 2:10
Sometimes I try to pack too much into a Summer weekend. We have such a short season that events often overlap or occur at the same time. The weekend of July 13 and 14th, I had a conference in Chicago and a race in Cleveland on the same weekend. I knew it was going to be a challenge.
The first event was the Issues Etc, the conference for Christian laity on the campus of Concordia Chicago. The event started on Friday at 3 pm and was scheduled to finish on Saturday at 7 pm. The problem was I needed to be in Chicago on Sunday morning for the Pan American Masters Games. I was scheduled to race in the sprint duathlon. The problem was it was a 7-hour drive to Cleveland and transition opened at 5 am. So I had to calculate how long I could stay at the conference and still get to Cleveland at a reasonable time to get some sleep before the race.
One of the reasons I wanted to go to the conference was I wanted to hear athlete Riley Gains speak. She talked about the challenging situations she found herself in when forced to compete against a trans athlete. One thing she said that I did not agree with is that God raises up the unprepared. In my journey, I can see many things in my life that have prepared me as an athlete to raise awareness of CMT.
So I left the conference at 2:30 missing some great speakers, but I wanted to get some rest before the race. Most of the way to Cleveland I listened to coverage of the Trump shooting. I pulled into Cleveland about 9:30 p.m. It was about 10:30 by the time I got to bed and was up at 3:30. I never sleep much before a race, but at least I got some rest.
I was on to the venue by 3:45. I stayed about 20 minutes from the venue and wanted to give time to navigate closed roads. The roads around the venue were supposed to be open until 5 am, but as I tried to get to the site I found every road blocked. I later found out a new Superman movie was being filmed causing the closures. I remembered from the race instructions about one road remaining open. I made my way there and followed it. I got to a really big park and then started to see cars. I followed them right to the venue.
Doing any multi-sport race now has really become routine. I had signed up for the duathlon because I did not want to swim in Lake Erie. There have been problems with rough waters at past national championship races. I signed up for the Pan American Games because it is a World Championship drawing athletes from 70 countries. The race also offered para-divisions.
I lined up for the start of the duathlon. The start official told us the race was being held under yellow flag conditions due to high heat and humidity. That meant we were to proceed with caution. I was kind of wishing I was doing the swim since the water ended up being flat and calm. Being wet from the swim does keep me cooler for the rest of the race.
Here in the U.S., a sprint duathlon is a 2.5 K run, 20 K bike, and 5 K run. This race would be run with international rules, meaning the longer run would start the race.
The race was pretty routine. I was warned the bike course had a portion going over a bridge with a washboard surface. It caused the bike to shake for several miles. We got to pass the Cleveland Browns football stadium and Roll Hall of Fame. It was really hot and humid by the end of the bike and I was happy I just had a 2.5 K run left. I set off on the run. As I ran I realized I should have finished and was out on the first run course. By this time the triathlon athletes were on the run course. I had been directed the wrong way by a volunteer. I found out later a few of the timing employees were sent to the course and made the mistake. I overheard at least one other athlete had the same thing happen. It added at least an extra mile to my race. I had wanted to finish in under 2 hours and still made it in 2 hours even.
I left as soon as I got my medal because I had a 7-hour drive home. With only a few hours of sleep, the drive back was a challenge. I packed lots into the weekend and am glad it all went well,.***************************
Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com
Chris is a triathlete Nordic skier and long-distance runner. She
is a three-time participant in 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 Para Triathlon National
Triathlon Sprint Championship. She was the 2012 and 2014 National Champion Para
triathlon Open Division Champion.
She has won national championships as a physically challenged athlete in
Aqualon, Duathlon, Aqua Bike, and Winter Triathlon. She was the national
champion in her age group in 2023 for gravel duathlon.
In 2014 she represented the U.S. as a Para
triathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship
in Dallas, Texas.
She was the 2023 Gravel Duathlon National Champion in the 65-69
age group.
She has won state championships as an age-group athlete in cycling
and triathlon. She has represented America as an age group athlete at world championships
in Chicago, Denmark, Cozumel, and Norway. She earned a bronze medal at the
Winter Duathlon World Championship in 2023 in Norway.
In 2020 she was named a National Ski Patrol Subaru Ambassador and
a USA Triathlon Foundation Ambassador.
She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.
She is the author of the book, “Running for My Life” which details
her experience as a CMT-affected athlete, and the book “Soup Sundays, A Journey
Toward Healthy Eating”.
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 find a cure for CMT. We currently have 257 athletes in 43 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 website; 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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