Last night I made the decision to get up and go to a spin class today. The kicker is that the class was actually at 5:30am! So I set the alarm early, and got to bed .. well.. kinda early. It took a few false starts to get going, in which time I forgot my bike computer (so I could watch my heart rate) as well as my water bottle at least once, as well as my breakfast. I had only intended to have a few waffle biscuits (similar to the Honey Stinger waffles that Fat Cyclist loves so much, but smaller) to make it through the class before I had a real breakfast.
I made it to the class a little bit early, and I got myself fitted for the the spin cycle. The thing to realize about spin cycles is that you cannot just rest, the bugger keeps your legs moving even if you want to stop! That is, unless you are crazy enough to attempt to FORCE your legs to stop, at which point I think the spin cycle decides that you really don't need those kneecaps anymore. After a little bit of time on it, I got the hang of it. I dialed in my "home gear" and the instructor got us going.
Problem #2 is that my legs are strong, but only for about 2 minutes. So I followed the instructors directions and got my home gear, but it was way higher of a gear than I should have been in. Like 4 or 5 gears too high! So I got about 15 minutes or so into the course, and my legs are just completely spent. I had visions of overcooked spaghetti legs when I got off the bike. I adjusted my "home gear" down a bit over a few attempts, and finally got to a gear where I felt like I could follow the class without having to take breaks.
I did have to go get more water about 3/4 of the way through the class, but overall I was really happy I went. 6:30 came around, and I asked for a hose to clean the cycle up, as I felt like I had sweat about 18 gallons of water onto the unit. Instead I wiped it down, and we went through the cooldown stretches. When all was said and done I was very spent, extremely ready for breakfast, and very happy I managed to get up early. So happy in fact, that I decided I should go back to the gym after work and get a little more of a workout in.
I met my wife and kids there, and while the kids were in Zumbatonic we decided to head over the cardio theater. After about 10 minutes on the recumbent bike and I was definitely feeling the effects of the spin class in the morning. It was about then that I was glad I didn't attempt to go out on the roads for a bike ride this evening. The good thing is that I could just dial down the difficulty and watch "Mr Poppers Penguins" for a bit. We finished up about a 30 minute ride on the bikes, and it was time to go pick up the kiddos. From there it was home and dinner.
It's been a really long day, but I'm still very glad that I made the decision to get up this morning for the spin class. I hope I can continue to make Wednesdays my early day and keep going to the class.
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