(Photo to the left-Brad (mentor), reflective me, Byron (mentor), Becky Lee, and Macey.)
As you know, training started on January 21, 2011. The weather has been too chilly (downright COLD) to ride outside, so we’ve been spinning at the gym. I had already committed to two spin classes at my gym (which is not unusual for me on a Saturday) when I found out that training for TNT would start the same Saturday. At first we were told that training would be at 5:00pm, which would work great, though I was wondering how I would feel at 4:30 in the afternoon after having already accomplished 2 classes by 10:15 am. Then came the correction. TNT spin class would begin at 11:15. Perfect. How was I going to feel after doing three spin classes in a row?
In between the first and second spin class, there’s 15 minutes to have a little break to refuel. I usually use that to stretch, eat a shot block (it’s the equivalent of a half a shot of espresso in about 1 square inch of colorful gummy stuff), a Luna Bar, and fill my water bottle. About the time I finish doing that, it’s time to get back on the bike and start pedaling.
At the end of my second class, I knew that sitting around for an hour in sweat soaked bike clothes, I would get cold, so I had brought a change of clothing with me, changed and gym hopped. When I got to the other gym, I couldn’t believe how many people were there! It took me a little while to find a parking spot but once I parked, I chugged some chocolate milk, and headed inside. I wasn’t sure what the protocol was at this gym, so I headed to the front desk, turned and looked around and found some of the team off to the side. We sat and talked for a little while, waiting for everyone to arrive. I mentioned to our spin instructor that I had already completed 2 classes, so please don’t be offended if I go easy in this class. She assured me that we were only going to do about half an hour of spinning at which time we would cross train. That gave me hope. On the way to the spin room, we passed a Zumba class in progress. Later I heard someone say that they counted 80 people in that class and they couldn’t be sure they counted everyone. That room was packed!
Part way through the class, Michelle (instructor) saw that I was hanging my head a little bit and asked if I was doing ok. I smiled and said that I was getting a little tired. She responded, “I bet you are!” Then announced to all of my teammates present that this was my third spin class that morning. My first thought was “overachiever”. But when everyone started cheering for me, I quickly became encouraged and got over that thought. Then came the cross training. First thing Michelle had us do were squats. I felt like I did 2 squats to everyone else’s 4, but Michelle made sure that I knew that if I was done, that was ok-I had already been through enough that day. WHEW! Day one of training down.
The next week, I was traveling for business to Atlanta, GA and Providence, RI. I’d like to say that I took full advantage of the hotel’s fitness centers (especially the gorgeous one in Rhode Island), but I did not. I didn’t touch a spin bike-or do any cross training for a week and a half. That next spin class (not with TNT) was brutal. It was one of those off exercise days, you know? When you don’t have energy, can’t keep up, can’t breathe, just over all can’t find the groove. And that was just getting to class! Once I was in the class, on the bike, I was hearing other participants saying, “Look, I see that restaurant over there. Let’s all just go have dinner. I don’t want to be in spin class today.” We had a substitute instructor that evening which changes things up a bit. If you’ve had the instructor before, you know what to expect. I had not spun in her class before and again, it was brutal, I couldn’t keep up, or breathe, or find my groove. She would give a command and we would all do it and watch us very intently to make sure we had followed what she said. As soon as she would look away, I’d quickly (and somewhat laughingly inside) lighten up my resistance, ever so slightly, because I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up the pace if I didn’t, based on what I was seeing from the instructor. I made it through that class, all the while thinking that going to the restaurant hadn’t been such a bad idea. Don’t get me wrong. I had a good workout-sweated, heart rate up, worked hard. It was just an off day.
That Saturday (February 5th) was the third TNT spin class (my second) and we filled up the front row of bicycles and spilled over to the last row. It is fun to see a larger group of cyclists on the team this year, though it is a little odd, because I’m used to riding with Coach Brad, Allison, and often, someone who wants to come along for the ride. I think I counted 12 of us in the spin class last week.
Today, we didn’t meet as a team, though I did do two spin classes at my gym, just to keep momentum going. I worked my legs pretty hard a couple of days ago and struggled a little in this morning’s classes. This evening, my legs are sore, but as our coaches and mentors say, “Pain is weakness leaving the body.”
I want to give an update on my fundraising. I am $90 away from my Sawtooth Cycle Challenge goal, which puts me $1,040 away from the America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride goal. To those of you who have donated, thank you SO much! I sincerely appreciate the monetary, verbal, and written encouragement! For those of you who haven’t, would you please consider donating to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society (LLC)? If you are reading this from my blog page, please click the link at the upper left, to make a secure and tax free donation. If you are reading this through FaceBook, please go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/oswim/ambbr11/jkdowner where you can safely and securely apply your tax free donation. Or if you prefer, you can write a check to LLS and get it to me. I will then send it on to LLS.
Again, I want to thank you for your donations, your consideration to donate, your encouragement, and for taking the time to read my, sometimes verbose, blog.
