Joyful Suffering

"The key to staying in the saddle on an uphill is to sit your tail back as far as possible, elbows bent, body down, and head prepared for joyful suffering. That is what cycling is all about, right? Joyful suffering..."

I may not be the biggest fan of the new Tuesday night spin instructor, but he has been coming out with some gems recently. And, while I'm not his biggest fan, I keep going back to his class. Tonight, while sweating my tail off during class, I started thinking about what it is that keeps drawing me back to Tuesday night spinning.

I started spinning about a year ago and it was love at first sight. If you know me, you know that crazy exercise with loud music and a nutso instructor sounds like a match made in heaven. I have been going pretty religiously since the love affair began. I loved the old Tuesday night instructor Brian. Loooooooooved him. Like, I think I might have actually shed a tear when he told us he was leaving Tuesday nights. This new dude...there's just something about him that I don't love. He doesn't do music well, and if you spin, you know how much the music matters. He is definitely more of a traditional cyclist and less of a spinner. He isn't shouting "Two! Three! Saddle!" throughout the class and has actually told us that "all of that shit" does matter and that we should mostly do what feels right for us. He isn't super bubbly and bouncy like most of the other instructors. The class attendance has dropped significantly, so I know it isn't just me. For 6:30 pm spin classes, you need to call ahead 24 hours and book a bike...tonight there were only six of us in the spin room. There's just something about him.

But, like I said, I keep going back. And tonight, I think I realized why. I work my ass off in that class. And it isn't about the music. It isn't about the bubbly, bouncy instructor. It isn't about jumping in and out of the saddle. It is about riding...riding hard, and riding well. When I scoped out the room tonight and realized that there were only six of us, I looked down at everyone's shoes. I was the only person wearing sneakers. Everyone else was wearing cycling shoes...you know, the ones with the clips. Real cyclists are the ones that are sticking it out in this class!

And, well, that is what I need to become more of by October...a real cyclist. Not just a runner making her way around the Kelly Drive loop on a mountain bike that's too small for her in order to finish a sprint triathlon. My ass is going to be riding 56 miles...after swimming 1.2 miles and before running a half-marathon...that's no joke!!

I also realized that I have been learning a lot about cycling in his class. I'm learning technique, etiquette, strategy. These are things the other spin instructors I have come across don't really talk about. Don't get me wrong, some of them are clearly cyclists and we get a few pointers now and then, but mostly, they are spin instructors instructing a spin class.

I don't know exactly what is it about new dude, but I have decided that I'm going to continue to attend Tuesday night spin (followed always by power yoga with crazy Jacqui). And I'm going to find out the new instructors name so I can stop calling him "new dude." And I'm going to embrace and appreciate the class. And I'm going to continue to learn, grow, and relish in the joyful suffering. :)

The Good Kind of Crazy

"Not that I'm not happy to see you guys tonight, but I have to question the mental state of people that choose to spend Fat Tuesday spinning rather than getting drunk." This is how my spin instructor started class tonight. It made me laugh. But then, of course, it got me thinking. What type of person does make this choice?

Tuesday nights are my favorite nights at the gym. I typically take a spin class and then a power yoga class. When I tell people this--that I take two classes back-to-back, that I actually really enjoy spending multiple hours at the gym, their reaction is usually--"You're crazy." This is the same reaction I usually get when I tell someone my race schedule. "You're crazy."

I would like to think that if I am crazy, it is the good kind of crazy. I'm motivated. I like, no LOVE working out. I get a sick rush from signing up for a race. I get an even sicker rush from crossing a finish line. I sweat my ass off. I convince other people to run with me. I make spread sheets to track my training. I take back-to-back classes at the gym. I choose to spend Fat Tuesday spinning rather than getting drunk.

I'm crazy...but the good kind of crazy. :)

My cousin Vinny

Yes, I have a cousin named Vinny. And yes, people usually chuckle when I start off a story with, "So, my cousin Vinny..."

Vinny is one of my many cousins that help make up my ridiculously awesome family. And one supercool thing about my family is how close my cousins actually are. We all get along, we hang out, we text, we call, we have cousins dates...we grew up together and we still hang--it is pretty awesome. Vinny and I are close in age, we went to high school together, and our relationship has gone through different stages of "closeness" throughout the years. Over the past few years, we have become pretty tight again, and even though he continually tells me that I am low down on his lists of cousins, I think he would agree.

I have chosen to write this blog about Vinny today because I think he is **awesome**. Vinny and I both ran the San Diego Marathon in 2009 with Team in Training.In running the marathon, Vinny tapped back into something that he had a long time ago and he has taken his love for running to a whole new level. It is inspiring to watch him run, to hear him talk about running and, most recently, to read his blog (http://vinnycapp.blogspot.com/).  (Oh and we were lucky enough to get his awesome girlfriend Nichole out of the deal too...they met while training for the marathon!)

Vinny is running his first Ultra on Sunday, the Caumsett State Park 50k. This is just a step along the way towards his ultimate goal at completing a 100 mile race. 100 miles--can you even fathom running that far? I know I can't. But Vinny, he can...and he will, I know he will. And what an achievement that will be!!

So, today, I am sending all of my positive vibes and thoughts to my supercool cousin Vinny--I am so proud of you, cousin, and  I will be thinking about you tomorrow!! I can't wait to come out to be a pacer during your 100 mile run (I will be wearing a headlamp!). GOOD LUCK TOMORROW!!!!

Vinny and I back in the day.

Vin and I last summer after the mudrun in Philly. 

Intimidation vs Excitement

As I mentioned before, I am competing in a half ironman triathlon this fall. A half ironman consists of three legs: a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run...totaling 70.3 miles (you've see the bumper stickers...now you know...). A good half ironman training program consists of approximately 20 weeks of hardcore training. My 20-week mark begins in June. Tonight I started mapping out my training because I wanted to see where I need to be at the beginning of June.

Wow. All I can say is...wow! I anticipated that it was going to be a ton of training. I knew what I was getting myself into; however. tonight, as I was creating a spreadsheet for my training, I got to actually see it in front of my face. As I was typing out the schedule, for every Saturday, I was able to enter the word "rest" into the schedule. For 20 weeks, I will only be able to "rest" on Saturdays. Wow.

This got me thinking about the reasons that I am doing this and how excited I get when I start training for a race. At the same time, I became incredibly overwhelmed and intimidated. I'm wondering what it is that helps strike a balance between the feelings of intimidation and those of excitement. What is it about training and racing that keeps me smiling? Why am I able to take the feelings of anxiety, that in almost any other situation get the best of me, and turn them into fuel for running harder, biking longer, swimming faster? What is it about racing (running, mostly) that makes me so excited? Why does it win out over intimidation?

I'm not sure that I will ever be able to figure out why I can do this in these situations, even though I fail miserably at it in other situations (ahem--dating...); however, I am happy that this is the case. I am never afraid to try a new race or register for a new challenge. As a result, I have repeatedly had the amazing experience of crossing a finish line. If you haven't done it...you should try it sometime, nothing beats it!