Wholistic Fitness

TEAM MOUNTAIN YOGI – UPDATE FOR MT. TAYLOR WINTER QUAD; 3 Days Out
{actual, albiet edited, coaching counsel to my teammates; “Haku” (our team’s runner) and “Gram Man” (our cyclist) and Ananda (our Team Manager) as we get closer to the start of the Mt.Taylor Winter Quadrathlon (see DL 2/12, et.al). website: www.mttaylorquad.org

{OPEN NOTE TO MY TEAM’S COMPETITORS: yeah, i know some of you might read this and in doing so come to the Sacred Mountain with enhanced intel of the course conditions. so be it. my Team, however, specializes in spirit, not intel. i offer this DL to you as a token of my confidence that NO ONE trains like a WF Warrior…so…all the more power to you…cuz’ you’re gonna need it, baby! by the way, after you lose to us, my new High Performance Yoga Prop Workout will be available by the end of the month. get it so it’ll be a closer match between us next year. fact; i did the SKI DESCENT yesterday and it’s like holding Chair Pose (the HP Way; thighs parallel to the earth) for 10 solid minutes…on a swaying balance beam into a headwind! i felt great thanks to HP Yoga…bring it on, noble competitor; let’s dance the dance of sweat, cold, and breath!}

Noble Mountain Yogi Teammates,
i skied and s’shoed my sections of the Sacred Mountain yesterday. high, high winds on summit.
auspicious signs, tremendous CHI force on upper reaches of the peak. more details at our Team Meeting on Friday at the hotel.

i am very confident about my equipment setup and have my transitions down to a little over two minutes total.
if it is blizzard conditions however, different story.
also playing into my hands (err, feet) is the fact that the Course Setters were breaking in a new snowcat driver,
and..the rookie friggin’ plunged the snowcat off course and down a VERY steep slope at about the 10,800′ level leaving
the entire Ski Course utterly fucked up…
which means, if they can’t get it out and have to leave the course the way it is? it will be PERFECT for me cuz i am a mountain yogi, skilled in Adaptation to Imposed Demands
and thus can ski like desert lightning in what others perceive as ‘horrible’ course conditions. bring it on!
so far, my pilgrimage’s up Tsid’ool has evidently won favor among the Mountain Gods…They are stirring up
a volatile brew of course conditions that will favor YOGIS..those who are trained to go with the flow!

Gram Man’s cycling course is absolutely perfect, there is very little shoulder debris so he is good to go for it. it is likely to be
snowing and windy on Race Day, however, so Gram Man, let me know if you need anything or have questions.

now then,
Haku.
i have one word for you:
ooooof!
your “RUN” course is in the most brutal condition i have ever seen.
i will admit; i am pleased that i am not, for once, soloing this bitch. no course records will be set this year!
anticipate a high attrition factor. most competitors will start shifting early from a ‘racing’ mindset to a ‘survival’ mindset.
at our Team Meeting i will speak on my tactics on where each of you might be able to POUNCE!

Haku:
miles 1&2.5, no problem; run fast here because:

mile 2.6-4 (above is mile 3.9): Pig Slop into slushy or icy snowpack with tire marks

another shot of your Mile 3.5 section (i did not even get out of Bala (my Element) for this one!).

mile 4.2 of your 5 Mile Run Up: snowpack!
now,
i did run a bit on the snowpack, here is what it looked like:

remember you will be hauling ass DOWN this Mountain Yoga Studio Flooring too…
so,
Dharma Blessings to Deerman!
(i TAF, if i was soloing this thing, i might switch into TRACK SPIKES at the snowpack? they are so light i
would carry one in either hand and then switch into them at the snow?)

coming up empty on the ice paws…still checking in Albuquerque. so far all these ‘outdoor athletes’ just keep staring at me
quizzically. don’t worry, i’m used to it.

TEAM LOGISTICS FRIDAY;
get to the Race Dinner by 5:30 pm
get to the Pre Race Briefing by 6:00 pm
Team Mountain Yogi meets at Holiday Inn Lobby at 7:00pm
(ps; wear your Wholistic Fitness Chi Cap to all the above)

i have to be ON A FRIGGIN’ BUS and carted up to the RUN/SKI transition by 7:00 am!
so let’s make it an early night on Friday!

get yourself CHECKED IN and your DROP OFF BAGS into RACE HEADQUARTERS ASAP on FRIDAY: the place goes
nutso the later it gets and the poor volunteers get scatter brained and tired and tend to make mistakes the later you
check in, so get there early!

i am evidently pretty fit because i kept my effort at high Zone 2, low Zone 3 and did both the ski into the snowshoe and got the
summit in under an hour. my descent time going VERY EASY was 33 minutes for both events. so, Haku, you will have less than an hour and a half
unless conditions are epic or technical malfunction arises during my four legs.

Grammage: Practice of Patience will be the name of the game for both you and i. we’ve got a long wait this year due to the
course conditions on both Haku’s RUN section. i will get you a walkie talkie and relay info to you so you can plan your
warm up for your DOWNHILL Time Trial intelligently; it’s gonna be hard to hammer that thing when you are cold and have been
waiting for so long, yet, you have faced far more challenging race circumstances.

okay, beginning Friday let’s keep in touch as much as possible.

my plan is to ski the SKI UP and SKI DOWN course to see what type condition it’s in on FRIDAY MORNING
then, get to EQUIPMENT CHECK IN and then to the hotel to do yoga, chill out, etc.

my cell is:
(omitted)

Ananda’s cell is:
(omiitted)

let’s keep in clear and continual contact.

it is supposed to snow on Race Day, so, gear up and think WARM THOUGHTS!

the podium will melt any frostbite, i am sure!

YaTehHAY!!!!

coach ilg