MSers in Training 2018

[Marinadca]

Hi All I figured I would get an update in before the year was up. It has now been 5 months since my hip surgery and I have had lots of up and downs but the trend has been going mostly up. In late October we had a warm day but I have been on the trainer indoors trying to get my strength back and making my muscles fire at the same time.

MS has affected my recovery mainly because of my coordination issues. Certain muscles have had to be retrained to fire at appropriate times and it is still a work in progress.

I have been really focusing on strength and grinding it out and am now at about 40 mins, 10 mph. It has been going up steadily so I am hoping to be back next season full strength, but we shall see. Walking is more of a struggle as its more weight bearing and aggravates my hip flexors, tfl, and acl on both sides, so I am doing a bit of it but not much. I am not at the frequency of workouts or their intensity that I want to be but I have to keep hope that it will eventually get there.

[Marinadca]

Hey all!!! Don't let me little post be last of the year, lets hear your updates.

My huge achievement - I biked at 11mph for 45 minutes. Blistering

How are you all ending the year?

[AMFADVENTURES]

Hey Marina, thanks for the prod. Admittedly, I've been pretty easily and heavily distracted lately. It's really great to see you are making so much headway returning from your latest setback. Setbacks are inevitable and restarts are never easy but you seem to be slugging your way through it like I imagined you would. I know it's not easy, it's just who we are!

Dave, I've wondered if pickle ball might be a possibility for an MSer, and former racquetball player who's lost most of his reflexes, but I feared it might involve a whole lot more ball chasing time than playing time, and besides I can't keep up with all of the stuff I try to do now. However, I'd love to live pickle ball vicariously though you.

Alain, I did get back out on the ski bike. I had a new set of instructors but they were giving me the same set of instructions - slow controlled wide sweeping turns from one side of the run to the other. So I really paid attention to trying to do it like they wanted me to but I found it totally unnatural and ended up falling about 8 times in a matter of less than 3 hours. Although none of the falls were particularly spectacular, by the 8th one I could barely get back up, in fact after the last fall, I had to sit on the slope for about 5 minutes before I was finally able to climb back onto the ski bike. The instructors offered to help me but of course that was only going to happen over my dead body. Fortunately the lesson was about over anyway so the next time we we went up we took an easy run all the way down to the base and and I concentrated a lot more on NOT falling than on technique and I didn't fall. I don't know if or when the next ski bike lesson might be but I am pretty sure I'll need at least a few more outings to gain any level of confidence on it.

I had coffee with my long time friend and bike buddy, "The Bullet" this morning. She wants to do the MS 150 again next year and is looking for a training buddy - which would be me. Also, my sister is planning to spend next summer in Colorado and she's bringing her bike so although she may not know it yet, she'll probably find herself doing the MS 150 too. I'm not sure about "Leggs" or my youngest daughter but bike buddy peer pressure being what it is, they my not be able to resist. If you happen to come across some old guy wearing an "I ride with MS" jersey surrounded by young women on bikes, there's an outside chance it could be me, we'll see. Anyway, it's all started that whole beginning of the year planning process of schedules and diets and rides and entries and planning and training and etc., etc., etc!

So, until next year I'll be trying to finish those last few bottles of wine before I have to stop drinking and get serious about training again.

Adios My Friends,
Larry

ps: I ended up with 3,008 horizontal miles and almost 20 vertical miles on the bike this year, not a banner year but certainly acceptable.

[Veronica]

Ok, just zapping out a babbling end of year update…

Glad you are at the point you are at now Marina. Sure sounds as if it has been an intense year for you. Next year back happily on the road certainly seems to be in the cards for you. I don’t have to say “Keep Truckin’ “…you are doing it!

Larry, glad to hear the biking plans for next year! Go for it, you old geezer! I used the skibike you have used for just a little bit on Saturday. The K2 was better than I expected, but I found it much harder to handle, difficult to get on edge, and actually lower to the ground than the iSkiBike that I prefer. My mountain will only allow the K2 on the magic carpet and not the lift as one has to carry it onto the lift, and the mountain doesn’t want this….plus I could never handle the bike that way, and certainly would never be able to unload without it being a major operation, and probably major disaster. So I will use this ski bike until I get my own that can be used on the lifts..

I was getting really bummed with all the physical help I needed to walk up to the shed where this equipment was. (I need to still wear my ski boots for this skibike as the binding is for a ski boot. With the bike I will be getting, I asked for a snowboard boot setting, so walking will be easier with boarder boots.) We don’t have enough snow yet, so I needed a lot of pushing and pulling with me on the bike to get to the start of the carpet. While the actual skiing was great, and it felt good to even get in a little run at my mountain again (it’s been two years…) , I found myself getting frustrated and disappointed that I wasn’t able to be more independent with the setup stuff. I can somewhat acknowledge the reality of always needing someone to help with this, but in my role as a volunteer for the adaptive program, I am supposed to be helping others and not in need of tying up a buddy instructor just for me. Plus at times we just don’t have someone free to help me to get the slope. ( Once there I should be fine on my own…)

So, with these thoughts eating away at me, I gave myself a good talking to, and decided that all I need is a designated “Sherpa” who is willing to do these things for me. Somehow labeling the person this way is easier to accept. I vented with my buddies with the adaptive program, and the supervisor mentioned that there are a few teens who have contacted our program looking for community service hours, or were just interested in adaptive sports. So, since the program cannot make them official due to their age and lack of training, these kids can get hands on experience in helping disabled athletes in working with me first, then just shadowing lessons . And it certainly would ease my mind that I am not pulling someone away from a student. And helping to build the base of new adaptive instructors....

Whew! This pulled me out of a morose black hole …..and got me working on acknowledging and accepting that to be independent as a PWMS, I need to remember that I have to accept being dependent on others to do so. That’s a hard thing for me to do… While I have had this diagnosis for 14 years now, I still find myself trying to compete with people who do not have physical issues …and it never works.... what a surprise, right?

So that is my New Year’s Resolution….to accept that being dependent on others is what I need at times to gain the independence that I crave….. and that feels as hard as trying to walk half a mile to me!!

I am off to Steamboat next Sunday to return to the weeklong adaptive ski camp experience that introduced me to the skibike. Will be great for my skill building. And great for the comraderie of being with 30 other adaptive skiers. I always leave these events with a renewed pride in who I am and what I can accomplish. It is my Winter Chicken Soup for the Soul.

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

[penkalet]

I am happy to see everyone is enjoying the snow.
Larry, isn’t something that you can ride and climb for hours but just getting up 8 times will drain you completely! Just like me taking a shower and dress up then I have to rest for 1/2 hour.
Got a cold at Xmas like every body else in my house, so I am behind on my hip surgery exercises and couldn’t start PT. But it’s OK I also need time to heal.
I wish everyone a happy New Year and the best healthy 2019.
Alain

[Grady]

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my fellow M.S. Warriors! Keep up the good work everyone.