The Adventures of Being Injured – Judging Not Competing

Judges Pit - Freeskiing World Tour Qualifier, Jackson Hole

Almost every athlete has a story of being injured. It is just part of the game. I haven’t really been injured since I was teenager. I don’t know why. Maybe I am super human or not pushing it hard enough. I’d like to think that all of the hours in the gym and pilates helped me stay injury free for the last ten years. Or maybe it was just luck. Either way, I now know how fortunate I was.

The one benefit of being injured is that I have had the opportunity to experience things I normally wouldn’t. This weekend the Freeskiing World Tour came to Jackson Hole for a qualifying event. There were 100 skiers in the event with 100 more the waiting list. Jim Jack, the president of the International Freeskiers Association, asked me to be a judge for the event. I was really excited and honored to have the opportunity to judge an event.

As a competitor, the judges opinion means everything. Every skier is out there skiing their hearts out, trying to show the judges that they deserve to stand on top of the podium. At the end of the day, it is up to the judges and whether or not they thought your run was the best. Needless to say, I took the position seriously.

The IFSA has developed criteria for judging. The criteria consists of 5 categories and score 1-10 in each category. The categories are: line choice, technique, fluidity, control, and style. Line choice is the most important category. The line choice score dictates how high or low you ca score in all of the other categories. A competitor can not score more than three points higher than their line score. Technique is based on how the skier executes the line. Do they have strong big mountain skiing form. Did they make good decisions in their line or did the ski right into their slough above exposure. Fluidity creates an esthetically pleasing experience for the spectators. The skier should look like a water droplet flowing down the mountain. It shows confidence, skill, and experience. Control is control. Was the skier in control throughout the entire run or did they go screaming down the hill out of control. If fall, you were out of control and the score will reflect that. There is a point when the skier may be “too” in control, meaning the skier does not have the skills to ski a zone faster. Style is a new category this year. Style can be anything from tricks to how the run looked, overall impression. Did the competitor throw a back flip or look like they were having a blast? The interesting part of style is that it does not have anything to do with the line score. A competitor may have had a really low line score, but the judges may have really liked the run and they may receive a high score in style and vise versa. At the end of the day, it is subjective. It is the opinion of the judges, whether or not they liked it.

The morning before the competition, the judges skied each zone in the competition deciding how difficult it would be to ski and then creating a value for each zone. This means when a skier entered a zone, their line score would start with a given value. If they hit an air in the zone, their line score would continue to rise until they finished the run. As an athlete, it is hard to know what value the judges will place on which zones. When I am competing, I like to stand at the bottom of the venue and look at the entire venue. It is pretty easy to figure out which lines look the most difficult or aesthetically pleasing. Then I decide if I have the skills to rip the line.

Judging seemed like a mystery when I first started competing, but as I gained experience I also gained the skills to rip the more difficult lines and found myself standing on top of the podium more often. There were times when I thought the judges were wrong. This feeling also became less and less with more experience. I realized that everyone has an opinion and it may be different than mine. Judges do make mistakes. Judges are human. There was definitely a few times during the weekend, that I wished for instant replay. That is also what makes the sport cool. There is no instant replay. So the runs with emotion are going to stick with you. I was really nervous to talk to the competitors about there runs. Would I remember every run. I was surprised to find that I did remember almost every run. I was able to recall the run and justify the given scores.

My favorite part of the weekend was ripping around with skiers. There was so much excitement and enthusiasm. I thought judging would make me sad. I thought it would be hard to watch the other skiers rip their lines while at sat at the bottom injured. What I felt was not sadness it was joy. It reconfirmed that I love my sport and I am so happy to be a part of it regardless if I’m standing at the top of sitting at the bottom.

The Adventures of Being Injured – Lasers, Mud Baths, and Chiropractic

Almost every athlete has a story of being injured. It is just part of the game. I haven’t really been injured since I was teenager. I don’t know why.  Maybe I am super human or not pushing it hard enough. I’d like to think that all of the hours in the gym and pilates helped me stay injury free for the last ten years. Or maybe it was just luck. Either way, I now know how fortunate I was.

I have been trying to convince myself that I am not really injured, but considering that I haven’t skied since December 8th, it is time to admit that yes I am injured. I had no idea how hard it be to admit. I have wanted to hide it from my friends, sponsors, and anyone else who I might run into. “I’m not injured, just taking a few days off.” Days have turned into weeks and now I find myself in California rehabbing.

It turns out, I am injured. An x-ray revealed that I have a 30 degree subluxation of my neck. What does that mean. Basically, it means that when I was nuking down the mountain and things went wrong, my head should’ve popped off. Luckily, it didn’t. At least I have that going for me. My doctor actually said, “You are really lucky that you have such strong neck muscles.” Really? Well I have been working out. I think it is a funny comment because I have never spent much time thinking about strengthening my neck muscles.

The good news is that I’m not out for the season. I am scheduled for another x-ray today to see if I am any closer to being back on skis. Keep your fingers crossed. I am finally feeling better and am back in the gym. Mentally, I am ready to fly over Chamonix for the Freeride World Tour today, but physically I’m not quite ready. Anyway, the adventures of being injured.

Injury Adventure in California – Mud Baths, Lasers, and Chiropractic

I’m not one to sign up for surgery right away. I am always looking for an alternative. Which is why I am in California seeing a chiropractor. And let’s just say he’s not your typical chiropractor.  He amazing!

Dr. Gooing found that many of his patients were unable to hold their adjustments and needed to return on a regular basis for upkeep. He did not consider this a state of wellness and went on a mission to discover a solution. What he found was a subluxation, or structural misalignment, was not the root cause but a symptom of a deeper cause. With the new technology available for diagnosis and treatment, he was able to uncover the root causes of your “back” problems and correct them for long lasting relief and wellness.

Gooing Chiropractic Clinic embraces the new tools to help us address the cause of your symptoms, correct those underlying causes and then correct the symptoms to restore your body to wellness.

One of the most remarkable advancements is the understanding that the body is electric. Your electrical body must be in balance to keep your organ and structural body in balance. An imbalance in the body can happen from environmental factors, DNA factors or traumas. Traumas can be emotional, physical or chemical. Traumas can include foreign organisms in your body that most Americans are in denial about but over 90% have.

This is how I found myself taking a mud bath in the Motel 6. The injury I sustained to my neck left me vulnerable to heavy metals, micro-organisms, and other dirty little bugs. I have to admit, sometimes it all seems a little out there. The theory is that every organism has a frequency. If this is true, by using laser frequencies it is possible to detect what gnarly little bugs are messing with your body and keeping it from being well. What does this have to do with my neck? If your body is busy fighting bad guys, it cannot concentrate on healing itself. The mud baths help to draw out all of the heavy metals in your body, while the laser can zap all the bad bugs.

My first mud bath was an adventure in itself. First I would mix up the mud and then put it on the affected areas in my body: my neck, major organs, and energy points.   I would hang out in the Motel 6 naked and covered in mud for twenty minutes.  As the mud would dry it will pull out any heavy metals and toxins in my body.  Then I would mix up a bath tub full of mud and soak for 20 minutes. The bath is followed by 10 minutes outside allowing the sun to regenerate your body. Finishing with another 20 minutes bath mixture of mud and crystals. Needless to say, I felt ridiculous.

Mud bath after mud bath left my skin shiny and wondering what I was doing in California.  It is hard to see how a mud bath would help the subluxation in my neck.  Meanwhile, the snow kept falling in Jackson and the competition season has started without me.  We took another x-ray after three weeks of mud baths, adjustments, massage, and acupuncture.  My subluxation had improved from 30 degrees to 20 degrees.  At this rate, I wouldn’t be skiing for another six weeks.

We went back to laser to see if we could find any other hidden traumas or bugs.   I was ready to pack it up.  Laying on my back in the doctors office with a laser shining across my mouth, the doctor used muscle testing to find out what was keeping my body from healing.  After a half hour of this, the doctor informed that I had picked up a bug when I was 26.  I really couldn’t help thinking that it sounded ridiculous, but then he informed me that it was most likely something similar to Geardia.  This was crazy because I did have Giardia when I was 26.  So maybe there is something to all of this.  So then we nuked the giardia with the laser.  It didn’t hurt and I really have no idea if it worked or not.

It was great to get rid of all the bad bugs in my body and have shiny skin, but I wasn’t any closer to skiing.  We decided to try to turn the clock up by forcing my spine into place.  I spent three days at the doctors office.  We began with pulling traction on my cervical spine and then knocking my vertebrae back into place one at time.  It wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t pleasant.  It was incredible how it effected my emotions.

The vertebrae in your spine protect your spinal cord and thus your nervous system.  So as Gooing began to move my bones, it also moved my emotions.  I would go from feeling so tired I could barely keep my eyes open to huge rushes of adrenaline all in a matter of minutes.  It was a crazy three days.

At the moment my neck is still unstable.  It will take a little while for everything to stable out.  The good news is that I am back in Jackson and feeling great.  No more mud baths and I’m going give skiing a shot tomorrow.

The Adventures of Being Injured – Prolo Therapy in Mexico

Almost every athlete has a story of being injured. It is just part of the game. I haven’t really been injured since I was teenager. I don’t know if I thought I was super human or just wasn’t pushing it hard enough. I’d like to think that all of the hours in the gym and pilates helped me stay injury free for the last ten years. Or maybe it was just luck. Either way, I now know how fortunate I was.

I have been trying to convince myself that I am not really injured, but considering that I haven’t skied since December 8th, it is time to admit that yes I am injured. I had no idea how hard it was to admit. I have wanted to hide it from my friends, sponsors, and anyone else who I might run into. “I’m not injured, just taking a few days off.” Days have turned into weeks and now I find myself in California rehabbing.

It turns out, I am injured. An x-ray revealed that I have a 30 degree subluxation of my neck. What does that mean. Basically, it means that when I was nuking down the mountain and things went wrong, my head should’ve popped off. Luckily, it didn’t. So at least I have that going for me. My doctor actually said, “You are really lucky that you have such strong neck muscles.” Really? Well I have been working out. I think it is a funny comment because I have never spent much time thinking about strengthening my neck muscles.

The good news is that I’m not out for the season. I am scheduled for another x-ray today to see if I am any closer to being back on skis. Keep your fingers crossed. I am finally feeling better and am back in the gym. Mentally, I am ready to fly over Chamonix for the Freeride World Tour today, but physically I’m not quite ready. Anyway, the adventures of being injured.

My First Injury Adventure -Mexico…………

I am not one for modern medicine. I am terrified of surgery and not crazy about our medical/insurance system that we have in the US. I believe there are many alternatives that in long are probably better for you. I am always searching for an alternative, less invasive, therapy. This belief has took me to Mexico for Proliferent Therapy as opposed to having surgery on my MCL. I torn my MCL in Argentina a few years ago and the US docs immediately wanted to do surgery. Surgery meant my season would be over and I would spend a lot of time on the couch, not something I was into. A friend had recommended Proliferent Therapy. At the time Proliferent wasn’t legal in the US, so I had to go to Mexico.

Two weeks later I found myself sitting in a little hacienda just south of the boarder. Sketchy doesn’t even begin to describe the doctors office. The only thing that put me at ease were the posters of Bodi Miller on the wall and the NBA pros sitting next to me in the waiting area. When it was my turn, I asked the doc if he would like to see my MRI. He replied, “There’s no need for a MRI, I can will do a few tests and see what the problem is.” Really? He bent and twisted my knee and said your tore your MCL and PCL. Well okay. Maybe he has a gift or maybe I am getting completely ripped off. Next the nurse came in, and yes she looked exactly like a what you would expect from a sketchy doctors office in Mexico. She was young, fit, and gorgeous. What was I doing? The nurse came in with a tray displaying one of the biggest needles I have ever seen. “This is going to hurt a little.”

With a twinkle in his eye, the doc made small incisions in my MCL and PCL to create scar tissue. He then injected enough of the pro-lo solution for my knee to swell up 10 times bigger than normal. And yes, it hurt like hell. After he was finished he instructed me to ride the stationary bike for 20 minutes to help spend the solution throughout my entire knee. Once I finished riding the bike, he patted me on the shoulder and said I will see you in two weeks.

I limped out of the doctors office, my knee the size of watermelon, and tears running down my face. I wasn’t sure if I had just destroyed my knee and my skiing career. I sat with a glass of tequila and watched sunset convinced that I had just made a huge mistake.

My only rehab was to ride the stationary bike 1 hour per day. I rode the bike like my life depended on it. After two weeks, the swelling had gone down and I returned to his office. At this point I was pretty sure the doc was a complete fraud and wasn’t looking forward to hearing what he had to say. I was ready to head back to the states and have surgery. But figured I was in this deep, might as well see it through. The doctor did his same unconventional tests on my knee and smiled. “Looks like it is almost healed.” That was when I knew he was a fraud. It didn’t seem possible that my knee was ready to go. I gave him my best “you must be joking looks” and he said jump for me. I did and the knee felt fine. Better than fine stable and strong. He asked to do a few more plyo-metrics and the sent me on my way. And that was it.

I know it all sounds crazy or too good to be true, but my knee has been good as new for the last four years.