Wholistic Fitness

SMILING AND SCARRED; ANANDA INTERVIWED

From Movie Star to Marred Mountain Biker; Ananda goes down hard today while training with Coach for her first ever
Mountain Duathlon.

WF Interviews Joy/Teacher Ananda for DL
about her First Ever Bicycle Race (and in clipless pedals!)

On August 6th, 38-year young WF Temple Manager and Teacher Ananda did her first ever road cycling race; straight up the face of Mt. Humphreys shown here in the background. Below, WF Devotee Laura interviews Ananda about her first race and her next competition.

WF: How did you prepare the morning of the race (food, warm up, mentally/psychologically)?

A:
Ahh…perhaps from a Bike Racers POV (point of view) not very well.
However, from a Wholistic Fitness POV, my morning began with a Meditation in the Zendo to set the Intent (bhavana in Yoga terms) of my race; which was to beat my personal time record up the Snowball Road (which to that date I had done only 3 times and only once in clipless pedals). My personal meditation also included a prayer for all the cyclists, that we be protected and guided safely up and down the mountain road.

From that space i embraced the beautiful morning by sitting outside with Coach, drinking a half a cup of Peet’s coffee, Major Dickason’s Blend (hey, it works for Lance) with half a banana, listening to the birds sing and watching the cats play as the sun began to grace us with His strength and life sustaining force. As a Yogin every time we stand in Tadasana at the beginning of our yoga session, be it in a class or in personal practice, and we set the intent of our practice, we also give homage to the Sun. Thus the name of Surya-Namaskara, Sun Salutations.

{Getting yourself to the Sign In is half the race! Ananda signs in for her first ever race…hey, don’t knock her nervous look until you’ve been there yourself, baby!}

Coach and i got so caught up in the moment, that when we looked at the clock…oops!
See, we needed to get to the race site early so i could register for my one day race license, as well as register for the race itself and Coach’s race category started 30 minutes before my group. So, no warm up…in the typical sense of the notion.

{Ananda poses with “Ajna”…her ‘girl’ before racing up the peak}

Thank Go(o)dness and Coach Ilg for Toilet Yoga, followed by Neti and Pranayama. This was my internal warm up. i did get to spin my legs on Ajna (that’s my girl) for about 10 minutes before the start of my race, unlike Coach Ilg.

So, no food (expect for the 1/2 banana), only Pran for breakfast with 4 Action Caps and 5 Sport Caps and lots of adrenaline.

WF:
What about an Ilg Supreme? I would have thought surely you would have one to power you up the hill! Why did you make this choice?

A:
i listen to my Coach, Coach Ilg and trust in his guidance. Ilg Supremes are very filling and we (Coach and i) want the stomach to be as empty as possible before a race. Trust me i had one as soon as i got home!!!

The intent of Peet’s coffee, for me, is to stimulate a Bowel Movement. i don’t even like coffee. i never order it. Can’t stand the taste. However a little caffeine (1/2 cup) helps me “release.” The banana coats my stomach so i can handle the coffee. go figure.

Because of my tendency towards low blood sugar, which Sunrider Herbs have pretty much leveled out, aided by a possible adrenaline spike, i took a PowerGel right before the race just to insure i wouldn’t bonk.

WF:
How did you feel as you approached the start line?

A:
nervous yet centered.
Coach Ilg had thought, based on his years of racing that as a Time Trial race we would be started individually and since this was only my 3rd time in clipless pedals it would be safe. As you’ve heard Coach quote, “if you want to make God laugh, make a plan”
or in this case “you want to make Joy nervous, make her start her first bike race ever in clipless pedals with 15 other Warrioresses.” So when our category was called (Womens 4) i made sure to position myself to the left of the pack (i did not want to go off the curb of the road) and at the tail end. While the race official was counting down I performed Kapalabhati’s “skull-shining” breath of fire. the major and only advantage i had going into this race was my Practice of yoga and the ability to use my Breath and Posture as allies.

WF:
How did you feel as the “start gun” went off?

A:
Honestly, i don’t recall how i felt.
i was too focused on what i needed to do and that was to look good :-)…seriously though, here i am wearing a WF Jersey all decked out in the Appropriate gear, playing the role of a “racer” (once an actress, always an actress) i HAD to get my shoes into the clipless pedals without fail and jump onto the wheel of the last rider.

The last part of the above sentence is where having an amazing, World-Class Coach is crucial for performance. My training rides with Coach Ilg up to this day have been about:
1) how to ride a road bike (that helps)!
2) where to position yourself safely in a Peleton.
3) do what it takes not to get Gapped (no space between your wheel and the wheel in front of you) for as long as you can.

so keeping all three of those points in Mind i had no time for feelings…unless you mean my Heart pounding in my chest because the horses out of the gates took off at a cadence twice my normal “i just want to get up the hill” speed.

{Even accomplished actresses like Joy can’t act their way through suffering when the hill starts to bite; racing bikes up mountains is superb for stripping away layers of who we ‘think’ we are. Shown above, Ananda and Ajna striking a hillclimbing groove.}

WF:
How did you feel at the half-way point?

To make this more interesting, let me tell you about the headwall which came slightly beyond the half-way point. i will say this however, i was going faster than i ever had up this or any hill (noting that i am racing my bike at a starting elevation of over 7,500 feet and i have lived my life, until now, at sea level.) So my lungs where working beyond anything they had ever experienced, which meant my Breath was hard and loud. To keep me focused and not caught up in the drama of my aching lungs, i returned to my source of Power, the WF Sangha and my personal Mantra.

{Ananda while on a training trip to Zion National Park, “Each time i questioned, “why”…i devoted myself to the purification of my soul and the love of our Wholistic Fitness Family. “}

Each Breath, regardless if loud or hard, was connected with a syllable of my Mantra.
Each time i questioned, “why”…i devoted myself to the purification of my soul and the love of our Wholistic Fitness Family. And even though i got gapped by mile 1, i remained true to my morning’s intent: i was racing against or rather with myself, not the other fast racers up the road.

so this brings me to the HEADWALL (where the grade of the road increased sharply).
i knew it was coming up and i knew i had to monitor myself so that i wouldn’t blow up once i greeted her steep and challenging face. so as i approached her, i kept true to my Mantra. The other training points, such as �pull up on the clipless pedals so i can use more power from the hamstrings�, and in Ron Jones� words, “stand up on the pedals and hammer” had flown out the window. it was sheer will power at this juncture.

And then there he was…
My Beloved,
My Coach,
sitting on his bike on the other side of the road, cheering me on.
he even recruited 2 guys, i do TAF one was dressed up like the devil (a nice metaphor for i was definitely challenging the ego inside my mind, lungs and muscles at that point) and the other had a Nordic Bell, ringing like the WF Gong in my ears.

All three of them where cheering my name, “Go Joy, Go Joy Get up and out of the saddle, Pull up on your pedals, use those hamstrings, Go Joy, Go Joy.”

Tears, honestly, swelled up in my eyes as i recall that suspended moment in time where i felt so much Love and Support.

Even though in that moment i was in Zone 4, “sucking goose eggs,” the tears of my sweat and pain where completely transformed into tears of joy and love. i could do this. i am doing this!

WF:
How did you feel as you saw the finish line ahead?

A:
again, i just wanted to look good ! i knew, technically, i was the last racer on the road to be crossing the finish line (at that time i did not know that 7 racers had not even finished the race) so i wanted to show myself and the onlookers that i had a little left in me. so i got out of the saddle and from my youth when i use to race in running events, i sprinted for the finish line.

i even got a “Strong Finish, Good Job” from someone.

i knew in my heart and in my body, that i had beat my personal time record.
in case you’re wondering my personal time record was around 57 minutes.
Ajna and i got up that bad boy in 49:50:00 minutes.
i TAF that deserves a Podium placement.

WF:
Very impressive! How did you feel as you reflected on your effort the next day?

A:
Damn proud!!!
even though as Yogis it’s not Appropriate to cultivate the quality of pride, i TAF that if used in a way to challenge and transform negative tendencies and self imposed limitations, pride can also be an ally.

{Ananda relaxes with ‘Jaspurrr’, one of her two cats that she spoils when not training and doing WF Temple Work.}

WF:
When’s your next race?

A:
Well, since you asked — October 8th. �Gaspin� in the Aspen� Duathlon:

http://www.flagstaffnordiccenter.com/duathlon.htm

i’m racing the Short Course: 2.5km run, 10km bike, 2.5km run. while of course, Coach Ilg is racing the Long Course: 7.5km run, 30km bike, 7.5km run.

Hey, you�re all more than welcome to come join me, who cares if we’re gaspin�!

May my feeble humbling race interview be of inspiration to all of you that have never toed the start line of an actual race. It’s never too late.

On the Wholistic Fitness Path we only get younger, stronger and more supple with Time and Practice. So use your WF training and challenge yourself beyond what you think and feel you can do to what matters most, just doing it!

Namaste,
joy
teacher ananda

***

On behalf of Ananda and our entire WF Sangha, i bow to and personally thank Noble WF Warrioress Laura Pendell for doing such a beautiful Interview!

Know a WF Warrior that you would like to Interview for DL? Let me know!

to Beings unafraid to Breathe into their Fears and challenge their Higher Self to come out and play,
i bow to you,

coach ilg