Trading Medals for Miles

 

Sequoia National Park

" You never fail until you stop trying." Albert Einstein

For the second year in a row, I decided to skip the USA Triathlon (USAT) Multisport National Championships in Omaha.  It is a series of 11 races over four days.  As a paratriathlete, I can compete in any non-draft race.

I was a multiple-national champion and multi-sport master during the two years the race was held in Irving, Texas. I stayed with family and drove down from Milwaukee. This made participating very affordable.

When the race moved on to Omaha, booking a hotel room for a week added to an expensive week. Plus, USAT was charging $30 for parking and some huge fee for use of showers.  I had thought about camping at the race venue, but USAT had booked all the spots and put them up for sale at $100 a night.

In Irving, there was no shade for the athletes unless you paid the $100 plus fee to be in the USAT Foundation tent.  The only food on site was a few packaged snacks and a bit of fruit. It is not enough if you are doing two races a day.  I felt like I was not getting a good bargain for the money I was spending.
I think I'm also starting to get a bit burned out on competing. I've been cutting back on my racing schedule over the last couple of years.

So this year, I decided to take a vacation for the money I would have spent competing in Omaha.  I picked a camping and hiking trip to California. The small group tour would visit King's Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite.  

The trip description said the trip was strenuous. I think I didn't believe it based on my hiking experience in the national parks.  I was a bit worried by the 8 to 10 miles of hiking every day on the itinerary. The last time I did long hikes was with a friend in Utah two years ago. But that trip was in the fall after a season of preparation.

The Spring weather in Milwaukee was cold and rainy, leaving me feeling a little underprepared.

When I filled out the pre-trip forms, there was a section to alert the tour company about medical issues. I disclosed my CMT.  The first day of the trip, the guide asked me what that meant to me. She had read up a bit on CMT before I arrived.  I told having CMT would mean I might be slower than the rest of the group. I might also mean I would turn back earlier than the rest of the group on a hike. I warned her I fall about once a day, and my foot drop means trips when my foot gets caught. I also told her I might be more tired at the end of the day, and go to bed earlier than the rest of the group.

My guide, Kaite, was a former pro soccer player. She had foot drop for a bit due to a back injury. So she at least understood a bit of what I faced. 

Katie did a great job of watching over me. I was a bit slower than many of those in the group, but I was also the second oldest.  One day, when we were hiking the Mist trail in Yosemite, I told her I was ready to turn back. She said I want you to go just a bit farther because the waterfall view was so incredible. This is one of the waterfalls on the trail called Vernal Falls.

She was right, and I was glad she encouraged me. Then she walked me back to the trailhead to the group was going to use to get down. I shared with her on the way down that sometimes I would like to trade my body with someone who is not using theirs. So many people sit at home doing nothing. If they traded with me, they would not notice the difference. I felt a little discouraged that I could not go as far as everyone else. But later several of the others told me how difficult the hike was for them too!.  

Another day, when we were hiking the Half Dome trail, we came to a beautiful spot and I decided that was where I would stop and have lunch. I would wait for the group to come back. This is the view from my lunch spot.

It was a simple adjustment for me to make. I had a beautiful shady spot for lunch. Stopping when I start to tire is important. I am more likely to trip and fall or turn an ankle when tired. 

I did have a fall every day. I did get tired, and I did catch my foot often. It gave me a chance to explain my CMT to my other group members. So I guess I was raising awareness on the hiking trail instead of on the race course.

I was glad I traded my medal for miles. The world is an amazingly beautiful place. I shared the experience with 11 other people from all over the world.  The hikes were long, they were hard, and I was tired at the end of the day. But I did very well even with my CMT.  Often I hiked alone, not able to keep up with the faster hikers, but not as slow as the two slowest.  I am glad that with some adjustments, I can take up even challenging trips like this. It was so worth it to see views like this.

All of the work was worth the effort to see beauty like this. I am so glad I traded medals for miles. I will take memories that will last longer than any race memories.  The next hiking challenge will be a short trek in Nepal in November.

**************************

Chris Wodke

Founder 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 Paratriathlon 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 Paratriathlete 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”.

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 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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