Wholistic Fitness

Through the twisty part of the course I stayed on Joe’s wheel. The backside of the course was real flat, and into the wind. I wanted to make a selection (there were five of us together), so I went to the front and pulled. I succeeded in dropping everyone but Joe. Then on the next section of the course, with some uphills, Joe gapped me. I got back to him, then he went again and got a gap. He kept it the rest of the race. Meanwhile, there were two guys behind me about 10 seconds. I accelerated again on the backside of the course, and got another ten seconds or so. So it was Joe, about 20 seconds ahead, then me, then two guys twenty seconds back, then everyone else.

I kept it going the rest of the race, and kept reminding myself to just stay upright. It was real cool coming through the start finish each lap and having the announcer say “and Mark Featherman is still leading the 45+ racers.” Last lap I saw the other 45+ stand up and start stomping the pedals, to try and come up to me. By that point, I had eased off a little because I thought I had it in the bag. So I accelerated myself and kept the gap to the line. Second place overall, and first place in my age category. What was really cool is that I had brought my 11 year old to the race, so he got to see me get a win. He was even more excited than I.

I was doing the Om Mani Padme Hung chant at certain points in the race, and trying to focus on mula bandha. It’s hard for me to bring mula bandha during a race, however, I gave it a shot.

I dedicate the win to you, coach.

Now on to the other disciplines. My “Early Morning Ritual” is going well. I’ve been slowing down and really trying to dive into the poses. In WF Toilet Yoga®, the “Toilet Pigeon” is a killer! I am still working on uddiyana bandha, that one is hard to hold for more than a few breaths.

Neti and my “WF At-Sink Pranayama” have been going real well. For the first time in years, my nose has not been stuffed in reaction to pollens and allergies. No meds, just neti and pranayama. That’s not to say the pranayama is perfect — I usually have a stuffed nose on the right side, which I have to work to get open.

Yoga: I did the HP Prop Workout this morning. One of my blocks is at the gym, so I did it with two blocks. Even with that OUCH! I’ll be hitting it next week with all three blocks. That workout is a killer.

OK, that is all for now. Oh, except I also signed up my first SUNRIDER customer. He’s a cyclist I know here who expressed interest earlier this season, then tried to tell me Herbalife was better. I just smiled. And now he’s signed up. I think what may have motivated him is that I was a step below him a few years ago, and now I’m a step above — plus, he has hit his forties and, like me when I turned 40, his metabolism has slowed and he put on a few pounds.