Lost my skiing mojo?

[sibhusky]

I take a different triptan now because Imitrex started needing two doses every time. I was running into issues with my Rx plan. Now I use Naratriptan, which rarely needs a second dose, but takes way longer to work. I've been thinking of trying eletriptan, but it's only recently become a generic, so I need to check my formulary.

For me, Tylenol hasn't fixed anything in 35 years, maybe a fever.

 

[Powgirl]

Same here...Tylenol has no effect on me...I am fortunate with the Imitrex as I know it doesn't work for everyone...those migraines are so exhausting...take good care of yourself!!

 

[newboots]

Imitrex was my savior until the side effects (nausea and a weird bodily sensation) felt worse than the headache. My headaches were rarely so painful that they were intolerable, but they were relentless. Always lasted 4 days. Imitrex would often stop the headache but I suffered through it.

Ugh.

 

[Kika35]

OK, first take a BIG cleansing breath!! Yes, sometimes all kind of factors affect confidence. I'm getting over a big slide backwards last year. One with no reason I could discern.

Re the boots: can you go back where you purchased them and work with a bootfitter? If not, where you have very specific issues you do need an expert. Yes, there are ways to take up space inside boots.

Out of shape? Welcome to being human!! Yes, add in more work to build back up. Focus on the entire leg, not just quads or glutes. You need the muscles to balance so ignoring the hamstrings (for example) is not helpful. Core stability is a bigger part of skiing than many realize. When I'm not in ski country, I teach Pilates in a studio setting. Full body work starting from the core. And no, I'm not pushing that for you! Just do the work you know you. Hills are great. And nothing completely equates using ski muscles besides skiing.

Yes, go for lessons! A new eye might notice some little something you don't know you are doing.

Fear? I read Mermer Blakeslee and Kay Gill. All on Amazon or your public library. I was first amused by Gill's suggestion to sing, but it did help! I'm not admitting to what I would sing!!

Hang in there!!

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to reply. My notifications are going into my junk box.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and encouraging reply. I feel better just having read it

Re: boots: I called the store I bought them at, but they could only offer to tighten the buckles. I looked up other places nearby. One said that padding won't help, and the other offered to work with me, but I am thinking that maybe I should get out on the hills again one more time before making any adjustments.

Re: being out of shape, I will try and get out skiing as much as possible, but I also joined a gym since we got back. Thanks for the advice about pilates.

Thanks also for the book suggestion. Kay Gill's book looks to be precisely what I need.

Thank you again for your support.

K

 

[Kika35]

And I would add one more thing. There's nothing wrong with skiing on greens. In fact, Abbi herself introduced me to a beautiful, gentle green trail yesterday, and suggested it was the perfect place to practice my new skills. It absolutely was. It was uncrowded, unlike the rest of the mountain, and I wanted to ski it over and over./QUOTE]

Thanks for saying this. I don't know why, but I feel like I should be comfortable doing the black diamonds that I did effortlessly in my youth, especially when I see people who are definitely older than me doing them.

The percentage of greens and blues at Keystone is really appealing to me.

 

[Kika35]

SkiBam and I are Tremblant skiers and could help you with technique and confidence. Boots go back to the store. Boots can be made bigger, but not smaller. I think you've been fitted opposite.

Hi,

I usually only get out there once a year, but would definitely be interested in meeting up anywhere in the GTA if that works.

Thanks for the offer of help.

 

[Kika35]

I also just got new boots, and the fitter put me in a boot that was a size bigger than my old boots. I didn't question it as I have bunions that have gotten considerably bigger since I got my old boots. I took 2 runs down an easy blue run and realized my heel was moving all over the place and I had little control over my skis. I left the mountain, back to the boot fitter, he made some changes, next runs were 100% better. I think there is still more work to be done, but I want to spend another day on them before I go back. If you didn't have them fit, return them and go to a reputable boot fitter...it makes all the difference in the world...and take Jilly up on her offer...she is great to ski with!

Can I ask what kinds of changes they made?

 

[Kika35]

Even wearing the wrong socks has thrown me off! Also, I once got the wrong tune on my skis, (a tip to tail racer tune), and couldn’t buy a turn until I detuned them a bit!

I was wondering about that too. I had the bindings adjusted at the same place that I bought the boots. The took down my height, weight and age, but only kept one of the boots to adjust with. Does anyone know if that's routine practice?

 

[BonStarlet]

Ooof. i was recently referring to my skiing as having a case of the 'shanks.' I took a particularly graceful (actually kind of graceful) fall a few weeks back that involved careening down the mountain on my stomach apologizing to people along the way and breaking a BRAKE off my ski. Woops. SNOWW says i was going very fast so...i'm considering myself lucky. Things are on the upswing though. I had the opportunity to night ski over at Bogus Basin in Boise a few times on toy-like rental skis. It got me out of my head, and i feel much better. Maybe you just need something 'new' to take your mind off of it?

 

[Mary Tee]

Can I ask what kinds of changes they made?

I'm not that knowledgable, so can't give you technical explanations. A slightly thicker footbed I think and some "C" shaped pieces of foam, I think on the side of the anklebone. Maybe some of the more technical Divas can fill that out a bit. For the next day I pretty much stuck to a beginner slope and took a run, played with the buckle adjustment, and kept doing that with the micro adjustments. I thought I was going to have to go back to the fitter, but I think I've pretty much gotten them dialed in

 

[Kika35]

Boots that don’t fit right are nightmarish! Start there. If they are too big, you won’t have good control of your skis on even the easiest run. Go back. If the boots were not altered in any way, you should be able to exchange them.

Unfortunately they were an end of season sale, so no exchanging for me :(

 

[Kika35]

I'm having an off year as well. The next day after every day of skiing I've had a migraine. It's really interfering with my vertical too. Because I don't come out of migraines all energized. So the next day back will be pretty tiring, and then I'll be in bed again. Two winters back was similar, with last season not being so bad. It used to be that during ski season I didn't get them. Very irritating. I would have thought by now I'd be getting into the swing of things, but not yet. I think if I could just have a sunny day maybe it would help with energy levels, but so far that hasn't happened.

I'm sorry. That sucks.

I don't have migraines (I do get cluster headaches), but 2 of my 3 daughters do. We all grab a Red Bull and Advil at the first hint of one and they help immensely. The caffeine and taurine are vasocontrsictive, so if your headaches are vascular in nature, it should help.

Triptans (Zomig, Imitrex, Malaxlt), however, are a girls best friend. I don't ever leave my house without one.

 

[KristinB]

I really don't have anything new to add here, but wanted to let you know that you are not alone! I back surgeries which kept me from skiing last year. I hit the slopes this year and was a bit off, as well as feeling the results of just finally being able to work out! You are NOT alone - a lot of us feel that way. I do plan to sing myself down the slopes next weekend though.

As for migraines - my friend swears by her daith piercing. I don't have personal experience, but thought I would throw that out there for you to check out.

 

[newboots]

I was wondering about that too. I had the bindings adjusted at the same place that I bought the boots. The took down my height, weight and age, but only kept one of the boots to adjust with. Does anyone know if that's routine practice?

Yes. They need to have a boot to be sure the bindings will fit now, but they don’t need 2 boots for that.

 

[Jenny]

I believe I found mine again today. Just had a great time, love my skis, conditions were nice, and we were back at a place we love, with a group of friends. I'm so happy right now.

 

[EAVL]

Oh can I relate to this! Both the losing my skiing mojo and the migraines! I have had many a ski day ruined by waking up with a migraine and not being able to go out at all! It makes me feel better that I am not only one dealing with either of these issues.
As for the mojo-losing issue I am on my third season dealing with this. I have been skiing for seven years and learned a lot fast since my oldest was competing in slope style snowboarding. We were there all weekends, spring breaks winter breaks, etc. I was pumped to ski, ski, ski. I got to be confident on blues and even did a couple black runs. I even tumbled down the hill and got a mild concussion my second season. I was a little nervous after that, but got over it quickly. Two seasons ago I caught on edge on something unseen getting off the lift and injured a ligament in my knee. Was small and healed with no surgery but my anxiety went through the roof. Since then I feel like if I could get hurt doing something so basic and easy a major accident could happen at anytime and I could either be seriously hurt or die! This season I have not skied much. I have days where I decide to stay in the condo and do yoga and read. I got snowshoes and love doing that. I get sweaty and nauseas driving to the resort. I feel like I might cry or hyperventilate but I haven’t yet. I do pray the whole way up the lift that I will be safe coming back down. My husband is an expert skier and my youngest can now keep up with him. I think they finally get I will never ski trees, steep pitches and waist deep pow with them, but they get impatient when their idea of skiing with me is blues all day and I feel too scared to get off the greens. My youngest has Asperger’s and serious social anxiety so she has no desire to join a team due to meeting new people. Our large group of friends we skied with in years past has dwindled due to people getting different passes, injuries, life commitments and some of the kids (teens now) don’t love skiing like they did a few years ago. My oldest now lives in Summit County and is an instructor so we don’t have the need to be at a mountain before first chair every weekend. It is easy to be lazy and not want to go now. I do a lot of yoga and I feel strong and look fit but I get wiped after a couple of long blue runs. My thighs burn and shake and I feel completely spent. I am sure the mental stress I have contributes to the exhaustion. We live in CO and only have weekends and holidays to ski so our resorts are always crowded when we go. People zooming by me give me a mini heart attack every time! I used to not care as much. A guy came inches from hitting me a few weeks ago and I screamed and thought I was going to die for real! I don’t know what the answer is to get the mojo back. I think I need hypnosis or something!! Lol!! I do feel better reading that I am no the only one who has experienced this though! Good luck and hopefully we can all get our mojo back (and no more headaches either)!!

 

[liquidfeet]

....I do a lot of yoga and I feel strong and look fit but I get wiped after a couple of long blue runs. My thighs burn and shake and I feel completely spent. I am sure the mental stress I have contributes to the exhaustion. We live in CO and only have weekends and holidays to ski so our resorts are always crowded when we go. People zooming by me give me a mini heart attack every time! I used to not care as much. A guy came inches from hitting me a few weeks ago and I screamed and thought I was going to die for real! I don’t know what the answer is to get the mojo back. ....

I don't like the people zooming by at high speed, passing too close. The only thing I know to fix this is pull over and wait for them to pass, or to ski where they won't go.

But the shaking and burning thighs and heart racing and total body exhaustion come from one thing, skiing in the back seat. That can be fixed, if you want to. Since you've been skiing for years, you'll need to go on a "backseat diet" with big-time determination to get yourself balanced properly fore-aft-wise. It can be done. I did it. I no longer get throbbing and quivering thighs, and I no longer end a weekend of skiing with endorphins running high to cover up the pain and inflammation in my knees. Being properly balanced is a stance thing.

If you choose to fix this technical issue that wears you out and precludes enjoying those blue trails, you might consider taking a few private lessons focused on this one thing. Go with a seasoned instructor you trust and like, and return to the same instructor for follow-up lessons and "booster lessons" as time goes by to be sure you are doing the new stuff right.

@EAVL, this can be fixed! Go for it.

 

[newboots]

I can never disagree with @liquidfeet , but I do have something to add. Feeling sick on the way to the mountain sounds to me like fear, a bit of PTSD. Which makes complete sense, after your lift-exit accident. A therapist can help (best if specialized in PTSD), and the books recommended above (I think it's in this thread) about fear and skiing are virtually required reading for someone in your situation.

I hope you can return to loving to ski! It's so good to do as a family, and to master something that's risky and challenging.

Hugs!

 

[EAVL]

Newboots and liquidfeet,
Thank you so much! Yes I am sure I have PTSD and am full of fear and terror skiing anything other than greens mostly. I feel better on blues if no one is around but that doesn’t happen often for me. I do let people pass A LOT. Takes me forever to do a run when it is crowded between waiting for people to go and needing to rest my legs and catch my breath. The books look awesome! Will check those out. And the back seat driving is probably something I do. I try to pay attention and not do it and at times if I do my skis start to run away with me and I don’t like that so it makes me get in the front seat more, but maybe not enough. I will focus more on my body position and let you know! Thanks!!!

 

[liquidfeet]

I can never disagree with @liquidfeet , but I do have something to add. Feeling sick on the way to the mountain sounds to me like fear, a bit of PTSD. Which makes complete sense, after your lift-exit accident. A therapist can help (best if specialized in PTSD), and the books recommended above (I think it's in this thread) about fear and skiing are virtually required reading for someone in your situation.

Ditto what @newboots says. Read this book by Mermer Blakeslee.
Into the Yikes! Zone: A Conversation with Fear. Here she is.

The book comes with various covers, and in some later editions she dropped the first part of the title. I'll put them all up. It deals with fear for skiers very comprehensively.