"Above all be the heroine of your own life, not the victim." - Nora Ephron
September is CMT awareness month. The community posts memes on social media and does other activities to raise awareness of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) a genetic neuromuscular condition I share with about 150,000 Americans.
My awareness month was quieter in past years for reasons I will address in a future blog. But I did two days of racing on September 21 and 22nd. Doing athletic events and writing about them for the last 12 years have been the main focus of my work.
I chose this route because unlike many in the CMT community, I am still physically active. I felt it was a gift I could use to give a voice to those with CMT. They are almost forgotten because when you have a rare disease like CMT you can feel invisible to even the medical community. CMT like many conditions does not overtly manifest itself. Its ravages and struggles can be invisible to the rest of the world.
It can be easy when you have a condition like CMT to feel like a victim. It might be easy to wallow in a why me? mindset. When I first became aware of the larger CMT community, the attitude was common. Many were angry. I took a different route. I decided to do the best I could with the ability I have. I hoped to show others you can live a full life and have big goals.
The race, The Dirty Mitten was part of two days of gravel racing. The first day was a gravel bike race. The second was a National Championship race for gravel triathlon and duathlon.
I would be doing the 10 mile race. There was a 28-mile and a 50-mile distance as well. Since I was also racing on Sunday, I chose the 10 mile race. The race would give me a preview of the course and check out the road conditions. Sometimes I take a run turn when racing. My plan was to learn the course so all went well on race day and check road conditions. Plus by doing both days of racing I was eligible for extra swag.
Gravel racing is a much tamer version of mountain biking. I am not a great mountain biker. I gave up on it when I dislocated an elbow in my first and only off-road triathlon. Gravel is run on wide dirt forest roads. It has the beauty of the woods from mountain biking with all the technical challenges.
Gravel still requires good bike handling skills. There are discipline-specific gravel bikes, but I use my mountain bike. I already had a mountain bike. Since I have 6 bikes I did not want to buy yet another bike. I lined up in the very pack of the pack lined up at the start.
I found lots of loose gravel and washboard sections as I rode.. It's been dry in the Midwest so the roads were also dusty. There were a few soft sections of sand. I had to be constantly aware to pick the best spots to ride. Being on a mountain bike, I am a bit slower, bur my mountain bike rolls over most hazards and soft spots.
The course was fun with constant rolling hills. I was able to get good momentum on the downhills to get me over the next hill. The race was big enough I also always seemed to have company around me.
I pushed my pace a bit because the awards were in 10 year age groups. I had passed at least two women in my age group early in the race. I thought there were five of us and hoped to sneak into a podium spot. But there were 9 and I finished in 6th place with a time of 49:20. Not bad for riding a mountain bike. I felt good the entire way. It was a good start to the weekend.
****************
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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