Are You Living It?

On Wednesday I had the privelage of volunteering at the Mount Shasta Nordic Center, instead of working at the office. We had a grade school bring about 50 kids for a day of Nordic lessons and touring. It was a treat to be involved in showing children a new way to have fun and exercise in the outdoors. Community volunteers helped lead stations with games that developed Nordic Skiing skills in a fun and approachable way. By lunch time, most of the kids were pretty comfortable on their skis and looked forward to their ski tour. Living your passion is not just about doing the things you love, but having the chance to share those things with others. Share Your Passion!

Check this out. Man, that looks like fun!

Massive pillow fights - I think I’m going to aspire to be an organizer of one. It makes you giggle like a little kid. Punch someone in the head with a pillow today.

Being a backcountry guy for quite a few years now, I’m ashamed to say that Ive failed to ski some of the best terrain Shasta has to offer, and its only a 20 minute drive from my door step.  Im speaking of Castle Lake which is a pristine high country lake with breathtaking views of Mt Shasta.  In the summer its a popular swimming spot and in the winter ice fisherman drill holes in the ice and test their luck.   The lake forms a big basin which holds tons of snow and Ive skied innumerable times.  Its the back areas of the lake that I had yet to discover.  photo by Chris Carr

On Sunday the Etna Brewing and DeSalvo Custom Cycles Team got together with friends for a ride in Northern California. We started at Collier Rest Area on I-5 and headed down the Klamath River. Turning up the Shasta River canyon we were treated to a gentle grade and snow covered peaks in the back ground.

Early spring racing in the NW means wet, wet weather and 40 degree racing. Fun. To offset this bone chilling effect I’ve discovered “ATOMIC BALM” (cue the echo voice: balm, balm, balm), which when applied directly to your skin, not only heats but keeps on giving for hours afterward. Today we pulled up to the start line and you could see the snow line in the distance. Reminiscent of last year, where I re-strained my hamstring, I decided to apply a big dosage of Atomic Balm to my legs. It’s 2 pm now - our race was at 8:30 - and they’re still on Fire! If they’re still burning by bedtime, I’ll know I over did it.

My life has always been outdoors. Likely due to being an overactive child, driving my mom nuts, and being sent outside continually! I made it through childhood and upon graduating from college, joined the Professional Leisure Circuit. Seasonally working a Ski Area job, then following the snow-melt as a Whitewater River Guide. Life was easy. I worked at the same place I played. Health and fitness were of no concern as I was active every day. Life had no limits and I bounced back from minor injuries with ease.

Do you ever wonder how you got to be where you are in life? Were there any moments that seemed pivotal to your current employment or outlook that completely shifted your perspective? Or were they a sum of its many parts, decisions, outcomes, relationships, etc that fate bestowed on you?

               Last week after checking the NOAA weather page, I saw that it was snowing hard up in Mt. Shasta. A couple quick phone calls later and I was set to film for two days with Focal Productions.  Within the hour I was traveling north on hwy 395 inbound for Shasta by night fall.  The following morning I met up with the Focal Production guys in the early twilight and an hour later we had arrived at our filming zone for the day.

My left shin was raging literally a quarter of a mile into my run last night.  As Kip would say, “I was just a little T-O’ed.”  I’d planned a 70 minute run, so when I was already in pain before minute three, it was frustrating to say the least.

As Linda wisely put it, sprinting is like candy for the legs. You make them endure long bouts of suffering and general fatigue and reward the with a heavy hit of sprinting - which last but a few seconds and then you pay for it later. Personally I LOVE sprinting. Thankfully I was given the right amount of fast twitch muscle fiber and agility to propel myself forward quickly. And after Saturday’s snafu - I was bound and determined to not botch the final sprint.