Over the years, my feet have become increasingly worse when snowboarding. Alex and I made our first trip to Snowbird a few years ago and for Christmas, he bought me new boots. He knew my old boots sucked and thought he was doing me a favor. We got to the mountain and I cried the whole way down. I replaced those with another pair of boots and was really hoping for good things to come. We must have spent at least two hours trying boots on and finally, I felt confident that these would work. On our next trip, I had to stop after only a few runs. This pattern has gone on now for almost two full seasons. I have changed socks, I have cut my boots, had custom foot beds built, spent hundreds of dollars on wasted lift tickets and hundreds of dollars on lessons to work on my mechanics. I think I know what is happening or at least causing my pain but cannot seem to figure out how it is possible to fix.
Over Thanksgiving, Alex and I took a last minute trip to Whistler. They had over 60 inches at the base and we grabbed a deal for $125 a night at the Hilton inside the village. My feet were asleep by the time we got on the Gondola. I tried to tough it out as best I could but it was total misery. I mean misery sort of like the movie. You know the scene where Kathy Bates hobbles the Author... That is what my feet felt like. Alex finally told me to see a doctor. This cannot be good. I have literally done everything.
I went to the University of Washington Sports Medicine Clinic. I had convinced myself that 10 years in pointe shoes must be the problem and enlisted the dance specialist on staff to talk to me. I was able to replicate the pain I was having and was even able to show her how my feet can seize. I was going in there without any expectations. I wanted to keep my anxiety at bay and stay realistic about the fact that most likely they could do nothing and that in the end this was all just a cruel and mean trick my body decided to pull on me after years and years of abuse. She decided that it was a vascular issue and that blood thinners would clear it right up. Now, my expectations were low but you can imagine my skepticism after getting such a quick diagnosis. Could it really be so simple? And what about these blood thinners? I scheduled for a second opinion by the ski and snowboard specialist. I went back a couple of weeks later and he decided that it wasn't vascular but that it was mechanical. I scheduled another visit with a Physical Therapist to work on my boots and foot beds.
In the meantime, we canceled our trip to Snowbird due to lack of snow and scheduled another last minute trip to Whistler - this time we paid $169 for the Hilton... Not bad for a holiday weekend. I was super nervous about this. I really didn't want to blow another bunch of cash on wasted lift tickets. I was beginning to get to the point where all of the bad experiences were starting to outweigh the good ones. I was afraid I would end up hating this sport and throwing in the towel.
Rory came over the night before we left to open presents. She brought her ski boots. During my heartache and pain, Rory and Alex had been devising a plan for how they could convince me that skiing is really what I was meant to do all this time. The thought of learning another sport all over again was not that appealing to me. I reluctantly tried on the boots. My feet were instantly asleep. At that moment, we both realized that the boot was literally cutting into my calve. I yanked it off and shook my foot around, waiting for it to tingle back to life. It sort of felt like someone filled my legs and feet with rice crispies. I put on my snowboard boots and sure enough, they were also cutting into my calves. We grabbed the liners out of my old boots and put them in the new ones. Sure enough, they hit just below my calve. Could this be it? After all these years? The next four days sure would tell...
Alex rented a snowboard our first day up and we took it pretty easy. He was doing quite well and decided to venture up to the top of the mountain for a run down on some harder terrain. The winds and snow had picked up at that point and the Gondola was slowed to a snails pace. It took over twenty minutes to get from the mid-station to the top. When we got off the swirling whirling wind was driving tiny particles of ice across your cheeks in such a way that you got a free exfoliation if you stood there long enough. The downfall of boarding is always strapping in. We desperately tried to find a sheltered place to strap in a fast as possible. It took us quite a while to get down but we made it. The next day, we paid for First Tracks. $17 CDN will buy you a lift ticket, buffet breakfast and first tracks with up to 650 other folks as insane as you for getting up at 7 in the morning. They ring the bell and announce the mountain is open. At that point you and everyone else get first dibs on fresh snow. We had 11 inches from the night before and it was beautiful.
I admit that riding in the powder is still not a fond memory of mine. I actually hate it. Everyone wants me to love it as much as they do but it is just plain hard. It was Christmas and I cried... After digging out, I decided to stick to the groomers while Alex played off piste. I took the next day off and Alex went for a short day. I decided to sign up for a lesson the next day.
I was put in the more advanced group along with three teenagers. Apparently parents still put their kids in lessons to be babysat while they go out for the day. I didn't get much instruction and by lunch time I bailed. The good news was, my feet didn't hurt (that much) and we rode over to Blackcomb where I got to ride 7th Heaven for my first time. The sky was clear and blue and it was absolutely amazing. I also got to try out deep powder and trees - I got about halfway down and bailed back over to the groomed section. I guess it was refreshing to know I could do it but am not sure I would choose to do an entire run that way. I met up with Alex and we rode for the rest of the day. I made it from 9 to almost 4 before finishing. And the best part was, I didn't cry once the entire day!
But, wait. Did you fix your foot problem? If so, what did it? If not, did you ever try the Physical Therapist?
Posted by: LIEvans | January 07, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Yep - the old liners worked and I haven't had any problems since. It never dawned on me that my feet were falling asleep because circulation was getting cut off at the calve... I cancelled my PT appointment and decided to see how things go the next couple of times that I ride. Cross your fingers!!!!!
Posted by: KatFood | January 11, 2007 at 07:33 PM