Race Report: Imogene, 2009

Published on Sep 17, 2009 by in Racing

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click on pics for enhanced chi
and thanks for being Here Now!

NOTE: i’d like to thank you for your Practice of Patience…i’ve got two GREAT pics taken during the Race by a professional company out on the course, however, the price they want for them is like quadruple the amount of money i already lose on this blog…so, as i negotiate the ransom, i truly hope you enjoy these photos taken by Ananda and myself…


As Race Day dawned, ilg yawned.
i don’t know if i have ever toed a Start Line so fatigued…
not even my WF Sport Jersey
could ramp up my exhausted, new daddy body and mind.
Imogene, 2009 – was my second attempt to bring along the Clan to one of my races. feeble ilg bows infinitely deep to those other Race Dads and Moms that Continuously, Consciously Parent while still racing.
as the Taoists say, “The chi flowed elsewhere,” as i made my way through my proven (never MORESO than today!) WF Pre-Race Rituals including EMR and Kinlani practices as best as i could with only 2 hours of ‘sleep’ and after driving 400+ miles the day before the race at a pace appropriate to a 2 year-old (can you read; excruciatingly SLOOOOW??!?).
Notice how the shape of my legs have changed since back in May when i got onto the podium in the Iron Horse Bicycle Race…this is what WF is all about; the capacity to willingly and quickly shape-shift ones body in order to attain the Teachings of diversified fitness.
The body should be at the command of the warrior’s mind.


Here is the Precious Double-Mala Wearing reason for my chi-less Race Morning…my Birthday Girl (2 years old on Race Day) is, shall we say, a highly spirited lass.

Here, Dewa showcases Her new found; ‘posed smile.’
i began specifically training for Imogene immediately after my Pagosa Duathlon in July and saw 2 and a half months of impeccable training unravel within the final 24 hours of my Race Start for Imogene.
Now, the Non-Practictioner might say, “Oh well…for new parents, that’s the way the cookie crumbles,” right?

i might have laid in bed, getting angrier and angrier at how F*%ked Up was my Pre-Race Day (not eating, exhausted from driving) and Pre-Race Night (no sleep, baby crying, exhausting neural pathways instead of replenishing for the race) and such anger would only add to the frustration of seeing several months of training get blown into fatigue by this very common New Parent Scenario.

as a WF Warrior Yogi, however, we are trained in understanding the role of karma in all of this. The storehouse of karma is known as the karmasaya, and my Pre-Race Blow Up must be viewed from an inner understanding of the karmasaya. It could have been anything; an injury right before a race, a scheduling conflict that destroys the race appearance, it could be a new PR or throwing up on the race course itself.
There are no accidents as our various karmas await the opportunity to come into fruition. And my Pre-Race disaster must be viewed as one of these karmic opportunities in which to Practice, to purge, to Rise Higher!

So important is this Teaching, that i am going to devote a DL in the next few days particular to the role of karma in the outward manifestation of my demolished Pre-Race ritual. If we, as Fitness and Sport Performance Yogis, do NOT get behind this understanding, then we will continue to vent our anger, our frustration in mis-directed ways; toward our family, toward ourselves, toward others. Instead of having the Race Day be as it is and bring what is needed for our Self-Cultivation we re-act in habituated patterns, driving the klesas (the causers of karma) deeper and even increasing our karmic load instead of purging it. So, i want you to stay tuned to DL over the next week like never before because i don’t speak often about karma, however, this one example is vital for our ongoing growth together, to-gather, to-get-Her.

If you read my final DL before Imogene, where i spoke about the spiritual victories attained even before the actual Start Gun goes off, you can tell i had a sense that such an unraveling might occur.

The Start Line…ilg lined up on the third row, somewhere in there…

…ahh, there i am, taking a moment with HP Yogin Steve who was using this race as a Tune Up for a marathon 2 weeks later. Other HP Yogis on the Start Line including Chris Latham who scorched to a 10th AG in the 30-34, and Yogi Jut – start of Agassiz Running Pilgrimage DVD – who finished nobly in a little over four and a half hours with a hurtin’ knee. ilg TRULY hopes to see YOU on this Start Line next year! Why not? Imogene is NOT so much a running race; it’s mostly power-hiking and spiritual tenaciousness within an astounding setting!


With a wave, i begin my Pilgrimage at Imogene…again…this is probably my 13th time. These days, i tell people, my goal is just to reach the summit within the time it used to take me to run the whole course! The Mantra begins with these first steps and continues for 17 more miles through drop-dead beautiful terrain rich with historical chi…i was really attempting to empty myself enough in order to turn on the extroreceptive capacities and transform some of this historical and natural chi into some sport performance chi…in the end, my whole Race Day was truly a beacon of my grit and determination. And that, is a Great Blessing.

Dewa bringin’ it…
Ananda could barely hold back Dewa as we took off…and as soon as we did? She took off after us, determined to catch up with Daddy. The girl’s got Game, i’ll say that much. Her sprint brought the gathered crowd great delight.

At the Finish Line i outsprinted two Front Range sport-specific runners using my plyometric and road racing tactics and fitness. After 3 hours and 23 minutes – nearly 12 minutes faster than my time last year – there was no way i was gonna get beat at the line. i nearly cracked the top 20 in my AG, and all things considered? I felt great about my wholistic effort. Afterward, i relished hooking up with other Flagstaff friends and auspiciously ran into one of this Tribe’s greatest Angel-Warrior’s; TH. It takes a pantheon of Angels and Deities to keep ilg Serving in the Way of Wholeness Through Fitness and TH is one our Tribe’s most benevolent Angels. In fact, all these DL’s over the past couple of years were taken with a camera tithed to me by TH. Like so many of our WF students, there is a great and inspirational story behind this WF Angel – such as doing what it takes to reduce his 800 mile per month car driving to 100. Try that, Oh Noble Warrior! Indeed, TH has a fantastic story that i will one day share with you around this Tribal Campfire.


Immediately after the Race, aside from a lone heel blister, i recovered remarkably fast…THANKS MAP Amino Acids and SUNRIDER Herbs and PowerBar!!!

about the only ‘sore’ bodyparts on me were my Biceps! this is due to an exaggerated arm swing i use to soar down past dozens of competitors as the Race Course of Imogene drops from over 13,000′ to 9,000′ in only seven miles! i could barely pick up and hold Dewachen for about 3 hours after the race.

photo above; Dewa discovered this FANTASTIC antique from the early 1900’s in someone’s front yard in Telluride; an ancient Push-Sled! CLASSIC!

In fact, i wish to devote this DL and my Race Pilgrimage to all the Ancient Warriors, like this amazing Warrior captured in an 1800 fitness event held in Telluride back in the day. This photo, along with an awesome amount of other old-time pics, hang within the spirits (quite ‘hot’) and walls of the New Sheridan hotel in Telluride.

i’d like to conclude this Race Report with some apres-race shots…coming up next ONLY FOR DL SUBSCRIBERS!

hope you are enjoying this Pilgrimage and that you GET OUT AND DO!

head bowed,
el coache

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