On the Slope Again, at Last

9 bunny runs, 1 blue run, 1 spill. That was my score on the first day of skiing after 11 years. I planned to stick to bunny slopes and do 3 runs in the morning and another 3 in the afternoon. But I was excited to be back on the slope and the blue run in front of my eyes beaconed; I gave in to the temptation after the first 3 bunny runs and a break.

Soda Springs, next to Sugar Mountains that I used to patronize for daytrips, only have 2 chair lifts, one for green and the other for blue. The price was equally light weight at $30. It was a perfect ski resort for a recovering CFS patient. And it was only 1.5 hours away too. I used to get up at 5AM to get to the mountains when I was living in the Bay Area. Now I can get up at 7 and still be on the slope by 10 AM. Now I am taking full advantage of being in Sacramento.

So I ended up doing three sessions instead of two I planned: 2 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. As I was coming back, I realized that is what I used to do: blue/black warmups in the morning, and then tackle the mountains before and after lunch.  Just like I used to do, only on bunny slopes. Still, I was cramping all over by the time I was done. That's how much I'm out of shape despite constantly challenging my PEM limits.

Strangely, I didn't sleep as well as I expected last night. I was tired and somewhat phlegmatic rather than knock-out tired when I returned. I took shower and went to bed early and ended up waking up several times. This morning, I'm feeling about the same: a little tired and phlegmatic when I should be sparkling and achy all over. Maybe I didn't do enough skiing. Imagine that, 10 runs not being enough after being sick for 11 years.

And that is the strangest thing about CFS, at least in this late moderate/mild phase of it. When in routine, it's as if the parking brake is on: you can't do much and you keel over when you do. Then, when novelty hits you, the brake is released and you function as if you are no longer sick. No wonder people mistook CFS for depression for years.

This false recovery has been happening often enough, it's no longer surreal like it was back in 2016 when I was suddenly able to walk twice as far for no reason. Back then, the thought of recovery after 8 years almost brought tears in my eyes. Now, it's more like, meh.