Like "Rakim Spinning Ain't No Joke"

Curious about spinning I put some feelers out on Facebook, Google+, read a little online; I even went as far as giving the spin bike a whirl for a few minutes earlier in the week.  "It's a great work, Wear pads, get some lube, bring a towel-(I forgot my towel... Lol),water and arrive early to have the instructer set your bike up" were just a few of the comments I received.

I signed up for an 8:30am class at my local YMCA.  Excitement and apprehension caused me to toss and turn the night before, similar to race day jitters. A little self talk quashed the jitters.  With my water, nuun tablet and keys in hand I made my way to DD to grab a bagel and a cup of coffee.

I arrived at the class with plenty of time to warmup, set up my bike and review the 3 positions- seated, standing and hovering.  About 8:25 the room starts to fill and I'm checking out the other participants to get a gauge of their fitness levels to see how well I think I would do-(I soon would learn that looks have no bearing on performance or fitness level).  The majority of the participants were females 30-45 and just two older men over 50.

The jitters are gone, the seat doesn't feel that bad I'm ready.  The lights dim then the music starts. We start off at a nice easy pace to warm up.  "Okay what you want to do here is turn the resistance knob and maintain your same pace"

5mins into the class I realized "Spinning Ain't No JOKE".  I cringed everytime Jane said "Give me another turn and maintain your speed".  Sweat is starting to bead on my forehead.

Although the bike is stationary it felt as though we were literally climbing hills.  Now the sweat is dripping and I'm trying to catch my breath and Jane won't let me.  "Don't lean what you want to do is here is hover, add some more tension to support your weight and pick up the pace". 

Pick up the pace; I thought I'm okay finishing last but, this isn't a race.  Jane must have seen the puddle of sweat accumulating on the floor and felt bad for me, so she stopped by with paper towels twice and checked in with me.  

"Are you ok?" Yeah I'm fine.  "You can sit down if you want".  I can't stop because when I glanced at the other participants they were "Crushing It"; plus my mind is making making fun of me for judging a book by its cover earlier and committing to qualifying for Boston.  

Spinning sounds easy but it is a serious low impact workout which recuits different fast twitch muscles.  Runners at all levels can benefit from a spinning. Final thoughts it's a solid workout I'll definitely incorporate into my training plan and bring a towel next time.  At the end of the class I was drenched and would need to refuel with my POWERSpin Berry Recovery Shake.

#theroadtobostoncontinues