Wholistic Fitness

One of my most Precious Shishya’s;  PY from Kinlani, AZ who has such Trust in feeble ilg as her Teacher, she will toe the Start Line of the 75-kilometer, 4-sport Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon this Saturday…without even ever having  nordic skied before in her life!  See my Interview with this inspirational Doctor of Statistics and Daughter of Shiva below.    Now…how Brave are YOU willing to be along YOUR Wholistic Fitness™ Journey?   Spots available for the two other Sacred WF Pilgrimages:  IRON HORSE BICYCLE CLASSIC on Memorial Day or the IMOGENE PASS RACE the second weekend of May.  See you on the Start Line,  Most Noble Multi-Disciplined Yogi!

Journal of  WF: so,  what made you say “yes” to Toe The Start Line of the Mt. Taylor  (Tsidool) Winter Quadrathlon…one of the 3 WF Sacred Sweat Pilgrimages?   do you intend on completing the other 2 (Iron Horse Bicycle Classic and Imogene Pass Race)?

Shishya PY: Coach planted the Tsidool seed while taking me on my first real uphill snowshoe in Dec. 2009.
Turquoise Mountain has a pull for me, sOMething indescribable, and mysterious.
i’ve yet to see Tsidool in this Lifetime, yet i just know…
plus,
if Coach TAFs i can, here comes a Noble Effort.

i do intend on completing the other 2, Imogene in 2011, Iron Horse 2012.

JWF: we understand when you said “yes” to Coach to Toe The Start Line of Tsidool,  you had never cross country skied before,  let alone using climbing skins on skate skis or even attempt going down an alpine ski hill on nordic track skis…what WERE you possibly thinking?!

PY: wait–there’s a ski leg???

i have a note from Coach taped on the inside of one of my cupboards with a photo of him in Iron Horse, and a quote that says “Attack thy Weaknesses, Destroy Avidya.”
i TAF it’s fair to call xc skiing a weakness…
attacking it is the only option saturday.

JWF: can you describe briefly what a typical “Mt. Taylor Training Day” might involve and how training for Taylor differs from training for your triathlons?   describe a highlight and lowlight mOMent during your Taylor training…

PY: time-wise, the commitment has been about the same as half ironman training. the difference is in intensity.
typical Tsidool day: a 26 mile hill climb road ride (2,000+ascent) followed by a 6 mile trail run (1,000+) ascent, topped off with HP PROP Abs and medium form. with more than  a dash of wind and temps in the low 40s. also added pre-season Iron Temple training which changed everything.

i was new to triathlon, so training for  half ironw(OM)ans involved more base-type training–longer distances, significantly lower intensity and fewer hills in warmer temps.

another big difference between Tsidool and HIM are rest days. for tri training i had to force rest upon myself– for Tsidool i needed the rest days so profoundly that sometimes i had to brick them–2 in a row!
naps (glorious naps!) were a necessity.

pranic Highlight–sublime full Moon set and Sunrise while snowshoeing solo up to the top of Aggasiz, temps below 0, winds +20mph.

pranic Lowlight–deep emotional challenges–full days of crying following the Intensity of working so much out from within

JWF: Coach says that he has worked with very few individuals who display the ongoing gumption for high training volumes and intensities matched by the willingness to do the inner work as well…who Taught you to be so brave, so diligent in your Practice?   Where does it come from?

P: my Dad was a green beret, so discipline is in my blood.
although i approached many aspects of life with deep discipline even as a Chi-ld, Spiritual training with Intensity became a part of my Life with WF.

those who lead by example are rare in Kali Yuga. Coach’s dedication to Walk his Walk drew me in.
Coach inspires me to be brave and push harder and further by believing i can and by being willing to Share with those as feeble as i.

JWF: we see why Coach loves you so much;  you have a Ph.D in Statistics, yet pursue outdoor athletics and even travel to the Ganges and high Himalaya to balance your obvious intellectual prowess  to study spiritual work at their most pure sources…can you tell us more about your desire to balance the intellect with sacred sweat and sitting?

P: academically speaking, i have a “terminal degree.” however, learning is Infinite in Sweat and Stillness.
it is easy to get absorbed in academic life. my continued Quest serves as a re-Minder that there is  more to It All than economics and statistics, thus allowing me to be professor, researcher, and human Being all at the same time.

JWF: describe how you are feeling about Toeing the Start Line at Mt. Taylor this Saturday…we understand it might be raining and snowing along the 75-kilometer, 4-sport course!

PY: Tsidool is making my other races seem so….predictable.
i feel like i do when i am preparing to go to the Himalaya–gotta be ready for anything and everything
of course there will be snow!
and adventure!

JWF: Anything else you can leave us with as we wish you Go(o)d Luck on Saturday?

PY: may Our Practice benefit All Beings in All Realms and…
if i can toe this start line, so can you!

in Deepest Gratitude for Rinpo Championji,
(  )

Coach’s Note:  Shishya PY recently received an official certificate from Perimeter Bicycling for being the first female finisher from Kinlani at El Tour–State of Arizona Award and also was the first women’s showshoe at the Agassiz Uphill, an event created by coach ilg.