Wholistic Fitness

and here, at mile 26, i felt…. fine. i had a full tank of pranic gas in my legs. my core was lifted, my head high, the integrity of my divine structure uncompromised, even after the grueling hills, the dramatic fall, the miles of effort. for someone who, seven months ago, had never run more than 10 miles in his life, to be in this state after an uphill marathon at altitude was absolutely remarkable…. and i attribute it all to you.

the journey we have taken together has quite simply redefined what is possible for me as a human being. and within the beauty that is the divine alchemy… my whole life is physically and spiritually transformed. i cannot thank you enough.

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I set the intention of running the Jemez Mountain 50k trail marathon last October. I had recently returned from a series of devastating mudslides in Ladakh, India where over 1,000 people lost their lives. I came back in a difficult place, needing some time to heal and reconnect with friends and family. I also came back keenly aware of the preciousness of this life, and with a renewed sense of what is possible for the human being, how much brilliant potential we carry around with us every day.

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“Uh…i’m supposed be bike racing in this next weekend?”

Thank go(o)dness us Wholistic Fitness™ athletes are versatile…to hell with sitting on a trainer or pedaling today…i’m going skiing! When God gifts us snow? Dance in it! Dance in it until you shatter yourself, as Rumi might advise! And today was perfect for an uphill ski effort among my Sacred San Juan snows…new daddyhood, teaching, and coaching was wearing on me…i needed to feel again the rush of soft while velvet caress my skis again. As yogi’s we are trained to accept things as does Mother Earth; without condition. We should welcome difficulty with a soft and open mind, like snow itself. When our thinking is soft, we abide in a state of awesome receptivity instead of chronic reactivity. Such imperturbable thinking is as stable as Shiva yet as seductively fun as Shakti. Come ski with me today…you won’t believe the beautiful pics i took for you!

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rode the passes today for the first time “this spring”…

i put “this spring” in apostrophe’s because there is still 4 1/2 feet of snow lining the road to Silverton, the Finish Line for Memorial’s Day 40th running of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic

today’s workout: 29.2 miles

over Coal Bank Pass (10,640′, average gradient 6.5%) then tag the summit of Molas Pass (10,910′, average gradient 4.9%), turn around and re-climb Coal Bank…start and finishing from Durango Mountain Resort (8,793′).

stats:

conditions: solo with wind…sunny, temp; 49 degrees

43 minutes to the summit of Coal Bank

1:14 to the summit of Molas providing an average speed of 11.8 mph to Molas

2 hours and 8 seconds total ride time back to DMR

total average speed: 14.5 mph

max speed: 45.3 mph

total vertical feet of climbing: 2,171′

here are some pics i took for you…may it help inspire your workout tomorrow and i hope i see you on the Start Line of the Iron Horse Bicycle Race next Memorial Day if not this one…the Iron Horse is one of the Three Sacred Sweat Sport Pilgrimages of WF…

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The essence of group road cycling is riding “paceline.” For decades i’ve loved what happens when i am in a Club Ride or in a race and the chosen or evolved Leader of the group (sometimes even myself!) puts his hand up in the air in swirly-q motion which means to all the riders, “Okay guys, let’s paceline!” Pacelining allows cyclists to travel at least 30% faster with less effort while providing a scintillating social experience for new riders and the seasoned cyclists equivalent to ‘aerobic therapy.’ Also, pacelining is a foundation of racing. Like everything in life that is genuinely worthwhile, pacelines do have some inherent danger.

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from WF Online Shishya MM from Arkansas; “I thought I had skirted
the one that I sent a pic of earlier,,,,,,,no deal. The back end of
that slapped me with about two inches of rain and some 40mph winds.
It was awesome. There is something very clean and calming about
riding in a down pour. It brings a great deal of clarity about what
we are doing and why…”

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ran up to T2 (tower #2…upper left) on Smelter singletrack in 24 minutes…felt like nothing…that Asea Sacred Water, is CRAZY! if you are not yet on it, get on it TODAY! ran down in 11 minutes…swear that 1,200′ climb has gots to be one of Durango’s best lunch-hour workouts! wore my zero-support Saucony Mirage’s…yum, yum, OM~ a Turkey Vulture drew a bead on me and swept right at me on the arete! rad!

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And Milarepa said: “Do not entertain hopes for realization, but practice all your life.”

i pedaled my bike thirty miles over two mountain passes at an average speed of 16 mph solo in high winds in order to try to make it to the girl’s “farm date.” on the west side of Mancos Hill my speedometer spat out the high speed stat of 78kph down choppy pavement and buffeted by significant crosswinds. on 26×22 wheels? lemme reMind you; speed, my friend, is relative…

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