Props to Spinners!

Wow.

I went to my first spinning class today.  Let me say--I have complete respect for spinners.  I'm sure that riding a real bike on a real road is much harder.  But we road "up" and "down" about 12 hills whereas if I were riding a real bike I would have picked a relatively flat route--especially for my first time.

I should have known it was going to be hard when I walked into the room and the temperature was about 60 degrees.  Even still, everyone there had a towel!!  One woman had her arms in her shirt it was so cold--but they all told me not to worry, I would be grateful for the air as soon as we got started.  They were so right!  It didn't take 5 minutes for us to want the 3rd and 4th fans on--and that was with all the lights off!!  (There's like a little spotlight on the instructor.)

From the moment I sat on that rock they want to call a bike seat, I realized what this thing is for in the all bike shorts I've seen.  Yes, I "knew" but there's a big difference in knowing something intellectually and knowing it personally.  My legs felt the work out...my heart rate certainly felt the work out....but the real test of my will happened where my body parts met the leather.  Thin running shorts do NOTHING in the way of padding.  My butt is wide, but trust me-there is NOT enough to pad a bike seat in the places that matter.  I will be investing in either a gel seat or a super expensive (meaning super thick and padded) chamois before my next class!  Without going into any more unnecessary detail--I'm sure my husband will appreciate the investment.    ((BTW, for you experienced spinners out there, my calf injury prevented me from standing up.))

As if an hour of bike hell wasn't bad enough, I went straight from there to Body Pump.  That class makes me feel strong.  When I'm "pumping iron" I feel like THIS, although I probably look a little more like THIS!  I don't want to get all buffed up or anything, but I would like to be stronger and have some muscle definition.  I want to believe this class will help me get closer to that goal.

While I was straining to lift those weights pumping all that iron, I noticed the instructor still had the timing tag on her shoe from Cotton Row.  After class I asked her what her time was--54 minutes.  Then she had to go and tell me she just started running in January!!  Now, I'm not going to go beating myself up because she's been a trainer for 8 years.  She had a considerable head start on me in the fitness department.  She had a solid base of strength and cardio that I'm going to say gave her a huge head start.  But...she also just ran the Country Music 1/2 Marathon a few weeks ago!  (From what I've heard this is a seriously difficult race---and she did it in just over 2:10.)  Impressive.  But, again, she's a professional physical fitness trainer.  I refuse to compare myself --an arthritic, slightly overweight, out of shape 40 year old-- to her (I'll skip the adjectives).  Kudos to her.  That's what I say (even if I did call her a bad name in my head at first).

After I finished wiping up my sweat, and picking up my jaw from talking to Miss Fasty-Pants, I felt GREAT.  I'm so glad I went.  I'm even more glad I did both classes.  There really is something to the endorphins that exercise provides.  I feel like a new person.  I still want to run and I can't wait until I can hit the trails again...but spinning and weight lifting are pretty darn good substitutes in the interim.

Thanks for stopping in.   Come again soon!
:D