Training: Skiing at Teton Springs

Allison and I went to Teton Springs yesterday. The day was spectacular, blue skies and no wind. As a result, we were both very warm! Allison cross country skied and I skated. The trails at Teton Springs are groomed and maintained by Teton Valley Trails and Pathways. I feel so lucky that we have access to a beautiful trail system. It's only 3 miles from my house!

Hoarfrost

A warm spring on the Teton Springs property




This is a very poor example of skate skiing. It's a lot of technique. I don't have much technique.
(24 Seconds and not very exciting)



Here's an example of cross country skiing
(5 seconds and Allison always looks cute)



Geeks with new cameras, we were taking pictures of each other at the same time. Allison's camera is much prettier than mine! I still love mine even if it's not pink.

15 degrees and beautiful

New Year's day was a gorgeous day. It was about 15 degrees but the sun was shining brightly, there was no wind and there was not a cloud in the sky. Gorgeous! I saw a band eagle fly overhead as soon as I walked outside and then I saw a heard of deer during the run. A nice way to start the new year.

Wednesday was beautiful and today promises to be more of the same. Below are pictures that show how running in the cold can be bearable! Beautiful views and good company.

Top of the Grand Teton

Grand, Middle and South Tetons

My enthusiastic running partner Dolly

A common Idaho past time, snowmobiling. Look at the pavement on the road to the left. It was the only place I've run where you could actually see the pavement. Because I was too lazy to remove the cleats, I had to run on the ice.

Snowmobile track that made for a challenging .5 mile section of "trail". Running on this is like running through sand

A real sleigh. This is what farmers sometimes still load up with hay to feed the cattle. Some just use their sleigh as decoration! See Dolly?

A shot of the road where I ran one mile repeats. I took this picture at night and it looks odd.

Did you ever want to know what it sounds like to walk on ice with cleats when it's 10 degrees at night? This is what it sounds like! (10 seconds)

Addison's Emergency Injection Kit - DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!

Explanation of Adrenal Crisis - on emedicine.com, you will need to sign up for a FREE account to view this EXCELLENT explanation of an Adrenal Crisis. You need an emergency injection kit to pull you out an Adrenal Crisis.

Who needs an injection kit?

• ANYONE who has been diagnosed with Addison's disease. If your doctor says you don't need an injection kit, he is sadly, sadly mistaken. Most ambulances DO NOT carry Hydrocortisone and/or will make you wait until you get admitted to the Emergency Room to be injected. Check with your local ambulance crew to see if they carry and will administer Hydrocortisone. Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colorado are a few states that do not carry or administer Hydrocortisone to Addisonian's in crisis.
• Emergency Medical Response by state, complements of CARES

Why does a person need an injection kit?

• Vomiting - vomiting more than twice is cause for an injection. Dehydration is dangerous for Addisonian's.
• Accidents - see above.
• Back country travel - often if you are hiking or biking in the back country, transportation to medical services is a long, long way away.
• Foreign travel - you need to be prepared if you are in a foreign country. You need to be responsible for your own health at all times especially if you're in a foreign country.

What is in an injection kit?

• A basic kit could contain the following
• A needle (I've got a 21 Gauge 1 inch - your doctor can recommend the best needle for you
• 250 mg Solucortef (I've got 250 mg because I am often far from medical help and my doctor thought that would be a better choice for my circumstances). I keep mine in its original box
• Alcohol swabs - inexpensive and can be purchased from pharmacy
• Instructions on how to give an emergency injection sealed in a zip-loc bag
• MedicAlert card
• Addison's crisis emergency protocol
• A letter from my doctor that says: "This is a letter stating that (YOUR NAME HERE) (Date of Birth HERE) is a patient of mine who has Addison's disease. She must carry in her possession a supply of Solu-Cortef and syringes while traveling. Please accommodate her in this regard."
• Peptobismol, Hydrocortisone pills, salt pills (all optional but I like to carry them with me)
• 
• These are the contents of my basic emergency kit

A close up of the Solu-Cortef

This is what my basic kit looks like all wrapped up in a snack size zip-loc bag (6.5 inches x 3.5 inches and 2 ounces)

• The deluxe kit could contain
• All of the above items
• Rubber gloves, plastic wrap and a trash bag
• Mole skin, minipads, various bandaids, athletic tape & toilet paper
• Tweezers, safety pins, razor
• A light source, matches and lighter
• Pills: Immodium, Hydrocortisone, Zofran, pain killers
• Sunscreen stick

All the junk in the deluxe kit

Deluxe kit all packed up. 7 inches x 4.5 inches x 1.5 inches and 8 ounces

Last but not least the MedicAlert bracelet

• All Addisonian's need a MedicAlert bracelet (or similar). I've been told the necklaces are not a good idea because if you are laying on your back, the pendant slides around to the back and can be undetected by emergency crews

Both of these pendants were ordered from MedicAlert. I sewed the pendant on a watch band (above) because the "active band" from MedicAlert has a clasp that opens easily when you're being active. I also put the pendant on the second one because I liked my beads better than the MedicAlert choices.

2008

2008 plans for this blog:

1. I'm going to post an Addison's disease specific topic every Wednesday. It will be factual (as opposed to opinion) in nature. I will provide as many references as possible. I encourage anyone who is reading this to suggest topics and to comment on my posts. If you have information that you'd like provide on a specific topic, I'd love to post it for you if you're not able or comfortable doing it yourself
2. Document my training through pictures
3. Provide inspiration and information to others with Addison's disease

2008 plans for me:

1. Stay healthy through regular, well planned exercise, research and good eating habits
2. Obtain sponsorship to make it possible for me to continue to stretch my limits. I'm not really good but I finish and I have a good attitude!! If you know higher ups at Columbia (Mountain Hardware division), Cloudveil, ASICS, Merck or Danskin who would be interested in sponsoring me, contact@addisonssupport.com for a resume.
3. Run from Teton Canyon to Grand Targhee ski area every month in 2008
4. Do the following races
1. Run the Desert Rats 50 mile race in April 2008
2. Run the Grand Teton Races 100 miler in August 2008
3. Ride the 24 hours of Targhee solo in September (mountain biking)
4. Do an endurance mountain bike race in November of 2008 with my husband

Winter 2007

Earlier this week Victor, Idaho (11 second video)


What an Idaho person has to wear in addition to a coat, hat and sneakers during many months of the year in order to run. Clockwise from top left: cleats, box of replacement cleats, goggles, bedazzled gators, balaclava, glove liners and an iPod. I always take a trash bag with me just in case the wind starts blowing really hard.

Only in Montana...

This sign is a repeat from this summer. It's funny, eh? Well Carol (THANKS CAROL!) in Darby, Montana took the picture below in the gym. Only in Montana would you find a sign that says...