Tracy Huber Overcomes Injury

By Cheryl McGinnis

Completely worn out. That's the last thing you would ever think of when describing Tracy Huber, Kentucky 's fastest female cyclist. Actually, she was never worn out, but her hip was. What really comes to mind when considering Huber and her incredible comeback is a Pegasus, rising up from the ashes to fly.  

Huber, like others in her family, suffers from osteoarthritis (OA), also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD), which is the type of arthritis involving the cartilage of a joint. More than 40 million Americans have some form of osteoarthritis, which manifests itself between the ages of 45 and 90.

Blessed with an athletic family, Huber began ballet at 3 years old and developed into a state-ranked tennis player and competitive hockey player, until a nagging hip problem forced her to stop. She began running in 1979, eventually even qualifying for Boston Marathon.  During a race in 1997, her foot got stuck on railroad tracks, resulting in a foot injury.  She altered her natural running gait and developed hip pain. Huber underwent an operation to no avail.  She was left with radiating pain from her hip down through her leg.

An initial doctor visit in 1999 was unproductive and frustrating.  Not one to give up, Huber took the MRI films to Dr. David Seligson, chief professor of orthopedic trauma surgery at University of Louisville, who determined that she needed arthroscopic surgery and an eventual hip replacement.

By now, 38-year-old Huber, limping and forced to give up running, turned to biking as a means of cross training. 

HUBER TAKES UP CYCLING

Though her hip was severely degenerated, it wasn't bone on bone yet, so she was a good candidate for the surgery, which took place on Valentine's Day 2000.  It was successful, but after ten weeks on crutches, Huber was looking for a way to get moving.

She began riding with the Southern Indiana Wheelmen, who recognized her potential and encouraged her to race.

In 2003, as a CAT 4 racer, Huber won her first 25-mile road race and knew she was on to something. She tried racing a 40K time trial in Indiana and finished in 61:40 on an old, heavy Cannondale with clip-on aero-bars. 
Huber took third place in her first Criterium race despite trouble clipping into the pedals and struggling to catch the leaders.  The following day, in pouring rain, she finished first in CAT 4, third overall.   Daughters Helen, 14, and Hillary, 12, fearing their mother would get hurt racing on the slick roads, begged her not to race.

They describe their mom as determined and not easily deterred.

"I love to watch her smoke the competition," said Helen, an eighth-grader at Collegiate, who aspires to play college field hockey.  

She credits her mother with teaching her how to set goals and work toward them, saying, "I have learned that you can do anything you set your mind to do."

In October 2003, determined to be the best she could be, Huber hired coach Curtis Tolson, captain of the Texas Roadhouse elite racing team, who first noticed her at the Wheels of Justice ride.

"I saw that she was physically strong, but knew zero about racing," recalled Tolson.  Entering his 25th year of competition, he knows what it takes to be a winner.   Tolson is a 14-time Masters Champion, former resident of the Olympic Training Center and second place finisher in the Olympic Track Trials.     

"To prepare Tracy , we'd analyze the course and plan out a strategy for training, rest and race tactics.  She trained with men to prepare for races against other women," he said.  "Then she was like a cat playing with a mouse before moving in for the kill."

Lest anyone think that winners like Huber fall into this easily, take note.  As a single parent, she was now racing on the Louisville Bike Club Racing Team, weight lifting three times a week and logging 300 miles a week on the bike.  She juggled all this while working full-time as a nurse case manager.  Working from home allows flexibility for afternoon training rides.

"Sometimes I'm up at 4:30 a.m. to ride the trainer for an hour if I know I can't ride later due to appointments or one of the girls' hockey games," said Huber. Her racing season runs from March through September, so she's focused now on building endurance and fat-burning capability.  She'll continue to lift weights for strength until spring.

"I am a very driven person," admits Huber.  "The more I have to do, the more I accomplish. I try to go on about five hours sleep, with some ten-minute cat-naps."

Not one to snooze while the competition trains, she set her sights on a three-part competition, culminating with the Masters National Criterium in Park City , Utah . She trained on Indiana hills like Doolittle, with mile inclines and 18 percent grades, before heading to Colorado Springs two weeks before the race for altitude acclimation. Unfortunately, she woke with a sore throat several days before the time trial (a 36K race) and struggled to finish sixth.

"My heart rate monitor was going crazy," said Huber.  "It read 178 at the end of the starting chute." The second leg, held two days later, was a 46-mile road race, with three major climbs - 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 miles long.  The sharp turns kept getting steeper and that's where the fighting started.

"I thought I was dying," recalled Huber.  "But climbing is one of my strong suits and I reminded myself that I'd worked 10 months for this.  If I was going to die, I would do it at the end." She placed ninth in the age 40-44 category, which is impressive after only racing for one year.

A LIFE-CHANGING RACE

On August 17, 2004, Huber lined up with 27 other competitors for the Masters National Criterium.  This was the race she had been dreaming of.  It was also the race that would change everything.  

Competitors race 55 minutes or 17 laps around a 1.2-mile loop. It is very technical and dangerous, with riders averaging 25-miles per hour and maneuvering corners within inches of one another.

"It was a very nasty race - lots of name-calling, pushing, shoving and fighting for position," reflected Huber, who was one of three leaders going into the final turn before the finish stretch. The front rider pushed everyone off toward the fence, causing the second-place rider to catch her pedal on an orange cone. The cone flipped up into Huber's front wheel and she went down. It cost her the bronze medal.

That was just the beginning.  Her pelvis was broken in three places, and her ribs were broken, as well. But Huber is not one to be held down for long.  Eager to return home to her daughters, she drove 1650 miles in 23 hours with no pain pills.

"I just stared at the clock waiting for when I could take my next Celebrex," she said. "When I stopped in Kansas City , I could barely get out of my car."

The first doctor she saw didn't even X-ray the hip or pelvis, though she was in tears from the pain and couldn't walk.  He insisted it was just arthritis. Ten days passed between the crash and a second opinion.  The MRI showed that now the socket was shattered. 

On September 23, 2004 Huber underwent a total hip replacement. She opted to use Stryker, a prosthetic manufacturer that produces ceramic hips, favored by younger people for durability and non-cemented socket.   Huber claims that the surface of her new hip is so durable that the only thing stronger is diamond.

The Stryker representative bundled up the top of her femur in a blanket during the surgery and brought it out for her family and coach to view. 

"It looked like a small cue-ball with a scab on it," said Tolson. 

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

Not to be held down, Huber got around on crutches for four weeks and was riding a stationary bike three weeks post surgery. She was restless.

"Exercise is as much a part of my life as brushing my teeth," said Huber.  "Eleven weeks downtime about killed me. Curtis told me the rest would do me good, and as always, he was right."

Another challenge was caring for teenage daughters while on crutches.  But Huber's sense of humor and steady determination taught her daughters more than she knew at the time.

"When I got mad at her, I used to take away her crutches while she fixed dinner," admitted Hillary. "But one of the lessons I learned from Mom was to always try.  And when you fall, to get back up again."

Huber is definitely back up again, already logging 200-300 miles a week (sometimes four hours at a time) and serving as captain of Revolution, a racing team out of Cincinnati .

"She's beyond the point that you can call it rehab," said Tolson.  "She's where she should be without the injury. Sometimes I have to tell her to cool it because she would just keep going and I have to rein her in."

Huber looks forward to the support of a team, which provides camaraderie, uniforms and race reimbursement.  Her first race of 2005 is Shabobele, held in February on a very demanding course in Northern Kentucky .  She has posted a 58-minute 40K, averaging 26.2 miles per hour, so she is strong, especially on the hills.

Her racing bike is a Trek Madone, designed by Lance Armstrong and named after a hill that he trains on in France .  Made of carbon fiber, it weighs 15.5 pounds.   For time trials, she rides a Trek Equinox, with the same frame used by the U.S. Postal Team. 

Tolson believes Huber has a good chance of winning the Masters Nationals this year. "She won most of her races last year, racing without a team. Tactics are so important and you learn a lot when you lose," he said.  

Though Tolson doesn't think Huber has a weakness, her daughters gave away her secret - oatmeal raisin cookies with peanut butter on top, and sometimes even a Quarter Pounder.  It works.

Cheryl McGinnis has a B.A in English from Centre College, where she served as communications associate, cross-country coach and sports information director.  Cheryl was Kentucky 's NCAA Woman of the Year (1993) and National Inspirational Athlete of the Year (1994).  She is a member of Team USA , most recently medaling in both the 2004 World Triathlon and Duathlon.  She was named All-American in triathlon and duathlon (2003).  Cheryl is also a certified personal fitness specialist and spinning instructor and owner of 2nd Wind, a motivational coaching business with a focus on mental techniques.  To contact Cheryl, call 693-7443 or e-mail offrunnin@yahoo.com.