REAL STORIES by REAL PEOPLE
A collection of articles on various POSE and other running related topics written by and/or about Pose Method Certified Coaches and Pose Runners of all levels.
CHARLOTTE SUN (USA)
February 8, 2004
IRON MAN
SPORTS: TRIATHLETE WITH MS - KYLE IS IRONMAN
Multiple Sclerosis not keeping Kyle down
by Christina Ledra
Photos by Jonathan Fredin
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Leaps and bounds: David Kyle, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis three years ago, is now training for the U.S. National Championship Iron Distance triathlon competition in October
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Three years ago, Oct. 25, 2004 was just another day on the calendar that was out of mind to David Kyle.
Last July, Oct. 25 became the day that motivated the now-upbeat Kyle out of a deep state of depression and weaned him from the cane he used to get around.
It's the day of the U.S. National Championship Iron Distance triathlon competition in Clermont, where despite being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis three years ago, he will be competing for a spot on the U.S. National team in the physically challenged category.
MS is a chronic, non-fatal illness that affects the fatty tissue, called myelin, that surrounds nerve fibers in the Central Nervous System (the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves).
Myelin, which allows nerve fibers to conduct electrical impulses, is broken down causing various symptoms such as paralysis, vision problems and fatigue.
Kyle had his first taste of the disease when he woke up one morning about two years ago and couldn't feel his toes, but disregarded it and didn't see a doctor.
"Within a few weeks it was up to my waist," Kyle said. "I don't mean to be gross, but when you're a guy and it goes up to your waist, you're like 'Maybe I should get this checked out'. Then after that my arm would go numb and different things, like it would itch like crazy."
Kyle went through a series of tests to determine what the problem was, but MS is a difficult disease for physicians to diagnose because the symptoms come and go.
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"It was horrible -- it was really just Hell on Earth," Kyle said. "They call it limbo land, where you don't know what's wrong with you. (For) some people it takes years before they know. Fortunately, mine only took a few months, but for that time you think you might have MS but you might not, or you may have lyme disease, they throw all these different things out at you."
- Local triathlete David Kyle,
on being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis |
When doctors were finally able to determine that he had MS, it hit him like a brick wall.
"It's like having a death in the family. You have to cope and understand that who you thought you were, you're not anymore, you can't define yourself," said Kyle, who raced bicycles competitively in Alabama for 10 years before moving to Florida four years ago. "I've always been athletic and a racer, then all of a sudden that's swiped off the table."
The news of having an incurable disease, along with the fatigue that came along with it, sent Kyle spiraling into a state of depression that limited his daily activities outside being a youth minister for Palm Tabernacle to laying around the house, feeling overwhelmed by the illness.
"It's rough physically, but it plays on your emotions so hard and you've got this thing inside you that's kind of eating you from the inside," Kyle said. "It's like you're going into an abyss or a black hole and you're never going to get rid of it and you won't, but you have to have something to keep you going."
After a few months of letting MS get the better of him, Kyle decided to dust off his bike and set a goal for himself; he was going to try to represent the United States at the Iron Distance Triathlon World Championships, MS and all.
"I always wanted to do a marathon and I always wanted to do the Ironman, and I never did it so I said, 'OK I'm going to set this goal for a year down the road,' " Kyle said. "It's coming up soon, but it was essentially to pull yourself up by the shoestrings and fight it."
Fatigue is a factor in Kyle's training just like it is in his daily life, but according to his physician, Dr. Donald Negroski, a neurologist in Sarasota, exercise is something that is encouraged with patients who have MS.
"I recommend that they exercise, but not to the point of fatigue," Dr. Negroski said. "It can be beneficial because there's a lot of stiffness or spasticity in the muscles and joints, and exercise can lessen those."
That's exactly what happened when Kyle began training again. Once he got into a daily routine, his symptoms became more tolerable and, after a while, he no longer needed a cane.
Encouraged by his progress, Kyle enlisted the help of a trainer to reach his goal. He already had the biking part down, he just had to learn how to run properly and swim long distances.
After searching online, he found Connie Sol, a personal trainer from Miami.
Sol had never trained a physically challenged athlete before, but was eager to help Kyle get to the Iron Distance race.
"I really believe that we set our own limits and I'm not one to tell someone that they can't do it," Sol said. "If I can help him get there then that's great, and I never hesitated because I like that mindset."
She first had to essentially teach Kyle how to swim, since, by his own admission, he could barely get across a pool. Now he's able to swim a mile without stopping.
Sol also had to teach him how to run using the POSE method of training, a set of techniques that teaches athletes how to run with proper form.
Because Kyle has more health concerns than Sol's other clients, the two have to keep in contact by telephone every day.
Kyle follows Sol's "master plan" for the month, which is broken up into weekly cycles, and keeps track of his heart rate daily, both resting and after he's done his two-hour workout. He then reports the rates to Sol, who makes the necessary adjustments.
"The body will never lie," Sol said. "If he goes up to a certain rate, even if he doesn't feel it, we end up wasting our time if we don't adjust what he's doing. If it goes up and it's starting to creep, we work with daily changes. The major purpose is to get him to finish the race."
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| Finding his stroke: When David Kyle began training to compete in a triathlon, he could barely swim the length of the pool. Now, he can swim for a mile |
There are days when, in the middle of his training, he'll lose feeling in his arms or back or legs, but he's gotten used to that. In other cases, like when his heart rate goes too high, listening to his body becomes a vital part of Kyle's training. But he must also have the drive to not give up when fatigue starts to take over. The line between the two is a fine one but one he's learned to toe.
"You have to be more cautious in terms of training because the normal mentality is just to push through and grin and bear it, which I can't do," he said. "I don't have that luxury because I might be in the bed for a week. I get all these crazy symptoms, you can't sit there and mope about it, you really have to press on."
Mentally, the training has helped him tremendously. Knowing he has something to work toward everyday keeps him active and out of the rut he was in when first diagnosed.
"I think that's good for the sick community, setting a long-term goal, because I've got this goal that's a year and a half away, or now just a few months away," Kyle said. "Those days where I don't want to do anything, I know I don't want to show up (to the race) and not be ready, so I get out of bed and get in the pool."
There's also a greater motivation beyond the Iron Distance race that gets him through the days.
"My whole priority is my family and prolonging my mobility," he said. "I want to be able to walk in 15 years so these goals are for that reason; to see my kids and to be healthy and go places. That gets me out of bed, gets me on the bike, keeps me on my feet."
You can e-mail Cristina Ledra at cledra@sun-herald.com.
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