Wholistic Fitness

so santoshic was my demeanor during my Pre-Race Ritual which included EMR and a version of Wing’d Angel, that i was nearly late to catch a carpool with Noble Warrior Andrew Ferguson (who would finish 6th overall) and Miles Venzara (4th overall). on the 20 minute ride up to the venue, we chatted effortlessly about things like wax of the day, recent ‘gossip’ among the local nordic world of Durango, and generally i bathed in the sacred waters of being friends with such High Mountain Yogis as Andrew and Miles. deeper within, however, i wore a face of concern as does any New Daddy toeing a Start Line….let alone a Nordic Marathon reputed to be among the world’s toughest…

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Snowshoes on my back (5)
Skis beneath my slip-slide feet (7)
Mind surfs sky-like snow! (5)
– coach ilg
after today’s ski training up La Plata Canyon, 1*29*11
photo essay of 15 incredible Colorado mountain shots…

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one week after bringing home gold, silver, and bronze at the Chili Ski Classic – your coach attempts (note Word Choice: ‘attempts’) to switch physiologic gears at the 42-kilometer and 3,000′ of climbing at 13,000′; Durango’s homegrown, Tour de Ski…

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Remind me again why the hell i should NOT raise my daughter to be a nordic ski racer? futilely yet steadfastly chasing last year’s champion, Clay Moseley – a world class cyclist – during last Sunday’s 10k Chama Ski Classic. elevation; close to 10,000’. remember, this the day AFTER racing a 15k Freestyle race at the same elevation! as you can see, i’ve at least manufactured a big gap between myself and third place…more importantly, i’m trying to put seconds between myself and anyone else in the King Of The Mountain (KOM) competition which goes to the fastest Classic 10k skier and 5k Snowshoer…as you’ll soon read, i would lose my KOM title by 40 seconds. photo by Pat Hogan.

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i can do it, i can do it…i kept telling myself…up and over a short roller, we went..we passed a lap racer…Tim was in the finishing straight, the people were cheering, nordic bells were ringing…this is why we race…i stabbed my ski poles in a vicious manner, pumping out my V2 cadence with as much Warrior verve as i could muster.

i finished 2 seconds behind him, 7th Overall…3rd in my Age Group.

tomorrow would be another day; MY DAY TO DEFEND MY KING OF THE MOUNTAIN TITLE! could i do it…especially after wasting myself on this brutally beautiful 15k? hmmm….

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‘If you’re not desperate for time to meditate, you are not desperate enough…yet.’ – coach steve ilg

…it’s a little scary how fast i return to my previous life as a solo sadhaka…delightfully, i built a fire in my cabin, got into my yogi birthday clothes, and immediately dove deep into a solo asana, pranayama, and meditation session…hours flew by like Ravens in an updraft as i merged sacredly into an inner pranic ocean of Himalayan cave like retreat…Blessed are we who crave inner-Attainment over entertainment…

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coach announces his hosting of Durango’s first ever Sport Snowshoeing Race; “The Winter Warrior 10k” plus reveals an incredible self-healing gem for our inspiration, and gives you the link to his latest beautiful column; “RUNNING ON WATER”

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can i just say that skate skiing for 2 hours into alpine skiing for another 2 is like the most delicious form of high mountain suffering a true yogi can ever pray to experience?

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