Thurs and Friday

I guess I forgot to post Thursday! I had a pretty rough day. Sleep and I did not get a long, and so, my Thursday workout suffered a bit. I ended up only running for 5 minutes (.5 miles, though!), and weight lifting for about 35. It was a decent workout, though I wish now I had pushed harder. I ended up eating a lot of crap. May have helped my emotional state, but I know that wasn't good for my health!

Today, I woke up anticipating going to Columbus, but I realized with all the snow, sleet, etc. that was coming out of the sky, I was staying home. Due to weather hazards, all programs at my gym were canceled, though the gym itself was still open. This mean that yet again, I missed a zumba class. Instead, I went to the gym with a friend/neighbor. I ran 3 miles on the track and then biked with him for about half an hour. I wonder how many calories I'm really burning when I run. NM tells me it's lower than my HRM says. Apparently, depending on how far I'm running and how fast, my BPM can get up to the high 170s. Peaked today at 183! Yikes! I'm not really sure if that's a good or bad thing! I tried to get in some "deep belly breaths," as Kim calls them, but I often have trouble breathing through my nose in the stuffy air of the rec center.

I had a balanced day of food so far, but tonight should be a smorgasborg of crazy foods because Dee is having a game night party at her place. Should be fun! I thought about bringing some of my many board games along, but I figured it'd be more fun to just play whatever they've got. :-)

I'll also need to shovel out my car today--yuck! All that snow!

~Court

Alternative Makes it Happen

Despite some troubles, spin went pretty great! I didn't think Lindsay was going to show; I had her mat ready but she got there with one minute to spare! Yikes! We're all set up and warming up, when Kim realizes the mic is not working at all. OH NOES!

But we warmed up while Kim and the rec center dude (Lindsay: "He looks like Justin Bieber! YUCK!") worked on it. Kim pulled it off without the mic, though. She had some classy hand signals to guide us through jumps, and overall, it worked! I think I had my tension set higher than she asked for most of the night, but I think that's ok. That's my plan for future spins. My HRM suggests roughly 925 cal burned in 57 minutes.

I have decided, though, that I'm not sure how accurate the HRM is anymore. I'm going to go back to logging the way I did before I had the HRM. I think then, maybe, we'll see if I'm over eating due to overestimating calories. I'd really like to not be over eating...

So the class was fantastic! Kim and I figured out that my heart rate is in the right zone--between endurance and interval, which is great! It means I am maximizing my workout. I gave it my all through this class in a way I haven't before. It was a mix Kim's used before--an alternative (sort of) mix from her son's music. Second to last "work" song? Disturbed. That's right, baby. Disturbed!

My face lit up as I turned to Lindsay. She says, "What the hell is wrong with you?" and I respond, "This is DISTURBED! They are my FAVORITE!"
[Also included on the playlist were Dropkick Murphy's, Offspring, Metallica, Sound Garden, DMB, and a cool down ride to Savage Garden's "Truly, Madly, Deeply." So cheesy!]

Apparently, she was pretty freaked out by the look of sheer, unadulterated joy on my face.

It was an amazing ride.


Currently, considering clean eating for Lent (with a few stretches....like my vanilla soy milk) to see how my body responds. Thoughts?

~Court

Routine Rut

Didn't sleep well, didn't get up early enough. Did have a nice run today, at high speeds, though only for 10 minutes. Felt good nonetheless!

Getting in my lifting....didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to do. Basic arms and upper body. I'm trying to add more lower body stuff in, but it just doesn't seem to be happening. Maybe I need to add in more squats or, heaven forbid!, lunges.

I did some standing in place lunges today in addition to a few curtsy lunges (one set of each, on each leg). About the same output as regular front and reverse lunges? I'm not sure. I like them better, and I think I can figure out if I'm going beyond my toes easier, so I may stick with them for a while. I'd like to start doing more with the hamstrings....what to do? This is my last week of only stability ball abs, though. I've decided to up the ante and combine two of the different sets Oxygen recommends. We'll see if I can get any satisfaction out of doing both routines.

I'm a little bummed about the fluctuation. I know all of the unhealthy eating is keeping me from meeting my goals, but I can't seem to stop. Perhaps it's the winter, but I'm having some crazy ups and downs in terms of feeling ok. And I'm sleepy.

I need a more regular sleep schedule. And I need to get back to my yoga before bed and yoga in the morning. I guess that means I need to clean my apartment. Maybe after my fellowship application gets written.

Then, I can add yoga back in more regularly. More planks probably couldn't hurt, either.

~Court

Back to it

I was in DC (well, Fairfax) for most of the weekend. Got to Nikki's on Wed. night, drove down south on Thursday, saw the keynote that night, and spent the rest of the weekend down there. Ate a lot of breakfast buffets (thank goodness for giant plates of delightful blueberries!), several indulgences at the Cheesecake Factory, and a $13 martini (yikes! but delicious!). Oh yea, and Thai with Alysia and Brian. Did I mention Brian mixed me more margaritas than I can remember drinking?

What's the point of this rant about food?

I finally got to the gym this morning! And it was glorious! My iPod died as I was climbing the stairs, but I still had a good work out. Just the usual. Elliptical (shin pain still existent) and rolling hills on the bike. 1,000 cal/hr. Pretty wonderful :-) Feels good to get back to a routine after a stint in another world.

Not feeling like doing my other work, but I guess I don't have much of a story to tell about gyming today. I was, however, remembering when Megney used to gym together. And I really miss that.

I have some real problems with the mix of having gym friends and wanting to be by myself. I like to invite ppl to do things, but then I guess I end up pushing them away. I haven't been able to really settle into this or find something that I really love. I love my bike and I love spinning. I'm still considering becoming a spin instructor in the future, but I guess I'm in a rut and would like to break out of it.

I wish somewhere around here did bikram yoga. I wish I didn't live in a shitty apartment so that I could build a home gym and do some other fun things. But no. Starting to feel cabin fever. I've lived in this place for three full years. I want to move somewhere that's sunny and warm where I can bike all day and come home to a complete gym in my basement.

Somewhere sunny, with rolling hills.

~Court

6am, didn't happen

My alarm went off at 6am, but due to a general lack of sleep and some skin issues, I pressed snooooooooooooze til 6:35am. Then I got up!

Got to them gym earlier than any other Tuesday/Thursday, and got in a quick 10 minute run, 2 minute cool down. Felt pretty good. I wasn't gasping for breath, and my heart rate recovered pretty quickly. Felt decent. Ran a little farther than normal, even if only 4 hundredths of a mile! Haha, still farther!

Then, I headed to do some weight lifting! The 10 pounders aren't taking their toll as much any more. I can feel myself getting stronger. I picked up my weights, and went to set the timer on my HRM........oh noes! I had fitted the chest strap on but forgot to grab the watch part as I shuffled out the door! Yikes! Shoot! Oh, well, best guess! Rounded to about 40 minutes and 400 cals burned. That's probably a conservative estimate, but it's better than nothing.

Didn't get very far in my lunges today. I'm not sure why though. I didn't make them any more difficult than I usually do. I'm chalking it up to the lack of sleep. I won't get to weight train much this weekend, because I'm going to DC. However, I will try to get in some squats and some lunges in the hotel room, maybe mornings before we get going. That could be helpful. Maybe some yoga, too. I haven't yoga-ed since Saturday, and that's driving me kind of nuts!

Here's to another day down! Spinning tomorrow!

Monday Morning, Monday Morning

Last night, a friend invited me to the tough spin class for tonight, but I'm going out for coffee with another friend. I went to the gym this morning, instead, though I think next week I'll do the spinning class on Monday.

Got to the gym a little later than intended, but not a problem. I walked the track once (1/6th of a mile), and then hopped on an elliptical. I'm trying to give my shins a rest while still doing high impact cardio. I elliptical-ed for 30 minutes and did some intense intervals while working on it. I've heard recently that peaking your heart rate can help you burn more calories, so I am trying to add in some intervals here and there.

Finished up and walked the track again, then hopped on a bike and set the program for random hills, level 5. This seemed a bit too easy at first, and for about 15 minutes, my heart rate didn't get above 133. I figured that was ok, though, and kept going. A nice, elder woman sat on the bike next to me, and I just had to comment on her adorable Valentine's Day heart vest. Very cute! We struck up a conversation, and before I knew it, I had been riding for 25 minutes and my heart rate was up to 150+! She finished her workout, and I focused my attention, pedaling fast and hard for the last 5 minutes.

I cooled down for 2 minutes, then walked to the water fountain and stopped the HRM. 1hr 6 minutes and 898 calories burned! Holy Batman! I'm not sure that I can trust 898, but I sure do feel hungry right now. I didn't bring much for lunch today, as I wasn't really thinking. I did have an apple and a piece of chocolate. Now, I'm about to heat up my veggie burger. Around 5:30pm I'm doing coffee with a friend, and will hope to be home and making dinner by 7:00pm: a healthy green dinner of whole grain pasta, peas, broccoli, diced tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. For snacks tonight, I can have special valentine's day cupcakes and then frozen blueberries with peanut butter. YUM! I might even have something else....I'm not sure what, though. I'll still have about 300 calories of discretionary calories to eat, so we'll see!

What a great day at the gym, though! The chat was nice. I wouldn't like to do it every day, but once in a while is really fine. :-)

~Court

Hardcore

Yesterday's spin class was a lot of fun! We didn't get started right away, so I only got in about 45 minutes of actual working out, but that was actually pretty ok by me. I made a conscious effort to watch my heart rate monitor and push myself. I burned about 640 calories in that 45 minutes, so I think I did ok! I'm trying to boost that calorie burn up a little bit higher, though.

The class was fun with some heavy riding--riding at 8, 8.5  level of difficulty for some songs! And the songs were really great. Kim had an interesting mix of hardcore, punk pop, and R&B. Very cool! Really helped push me to have some serious music to listen to.

I've been throwing around the idea of becoming a spin instructor in the future--maybe the next place that I live. I really enjoy the class, and I would love to keep taking spin. However, I'm considering a themed course--lots of hills and jumps coupled with hardcore music. By hardcore, I mean hardcore alternative (not hardcore indie or something like that). I'm think Disturbed, NIN, Metallica, SpitFire, SlipKnot, and some more mild stuff like SR-71 and the like. I think these bands have the ability to really pump up your blood and turn you on to the difficult ride, push you through it! That's my tentative plan: a hardcore-inspired spin class.

Then this morning, I went to the gym and got there a little bit early. I ran my normal 10 minute mile before lifting, and I actually got in a good 45 minutes of lifting! Still at the 2 sets of 8 push ups, and I'm thinking I need to go up on my deadlifts and bent row weights, so we'll see. I've added in a new challenge to my first set of basic squats--a side leg raise. I'm thinking it will help whittle down the saddlebags and hips (I hope!).

Eventually, I'd like to work on lengthening my Saturday training so that I get in a lot more leg work. I think it'd be good for me. Otherwise, feel pretty great about today's gym session. I'd like to go up on my tricep weights soon, but I just don't know if I can.

I'm also noticing a little more definition in my abs. They probably won't ever be ultimate abs the way I want them to be, but I think the routine I'm doing is helping. I actually have muscle definition! Not the super-toned definition I'd like, but it's more than I can ever remember having in the past. My goal for next week is to add more yoga into my routine. Hopefully all those planks will help those muscles get there a little bit faster. We shall see!

Now, it's off to Ann Arbor for an extended anniversary weekend. I won't be working out much--maybe some yoga here and there, but don't expect many posts!

~Court

Tues/Thurs Woes

I have some trouble getting out of bed in the morning. I am often not very aware of the time that I have available to me, either. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, this is a problem. I start work at 9am on T/Th, so in order to gym before hand, I need to be there....well, early. I haven't figured out how early just yet. I got to the gym last week later than this week, but it still wasn't early enough.

I like to run and lift on T/Th. That's about 30 mins cardio and 30-60 mins lifting (depending on how much time I have left!). I've had to cut short both activities for the past two weeks--limiting my run to just one mile (10 mins, then a 2 min cool down slow walk), and my lifting has slipped to about 35 mins. This allowed me to do two sets of all my main exercises, but I'd like to start adding things in rather than speeding up and taking sets out!

I'm hoping to get to the gym by 7:15 on Thursday morning. That means I'll need to be awake probably by 6:15. Yuck! Well, we'll see what happens, and I'll let you know.

Later today is spinning, so I'll probably give you an update about that soon! Suffice it to say, I did get a decent workout at the gym yesterday, but it wasn't as wonderful as I would have liked it to be. I want that cardio to be at least 2 miles, and the weights to be a little better. However, I'm getting stronger already. The extra pounds I'm lifting are getting doable, and yesterday I was able to do 2 sets of 8 push-ups in a row. I think I'd be extra strong if I got up to 20 push ups in a row, don't you?

~Court

Another Sunday, Another Zumba

Today was another Zumba class! I had a good time, and I'm becoming better friends with Susan--a girl I know from a few things on campus. She comes to the Zumba classes that I go to, even when my other two friends who usually come aren't able to.

We set up in front of some mirrors and got ready! This Sunday class goes by a lot faster than the Friday class because the instructor takes less breaks. There were a few old favorites mixed in but no new routines. I felt a little silly with some of them because I had no clue how to replicate her moves, but it ended ok. :-) This instructor also only does 45 minutes of zumba and then 10 minutes of abs. I don't really like the ten minutes of abs because I know that I do abs when I lift. Zumba is supposed to be my hour of cardio!

Today was not the biggest calorie burn, though not the smallest. Roughly 640 cal/54 mins. I'm considering adding yoga into this to make sure I'm moving enough. I think that will also make sure that I keep up the yoga. I like my yoga class once a week, but I want to do it at home, too, so that I can keep my flexibility up (and the planks really work those abs!).

I'm not really noticing any weight or measurement change lately, but I can tell that my abs are getting stronger, so at least that's a plus. I am trying to lose this last 0.5 pound so I can win my weight loss challenge with Nikki, but if I don't, then I don't.

Here's to health, cardiovascular wellness, and lots of strong muscles!

Oh, did I also mention that I did 3 sets of 6 (regular!) push-ups yesterday? Getting stronger all the time....

~Court

Ah, yes, hello Saturdays at the rec!

Today didn't start very well. Lots of nighttime troubles in the wee hours of the morn including some shrieks that probably woke up my neighbors. I am, unfortunately, plagued by nightmares (this is an ongoing problem that has been ongoing since I can remember being able to dream).

After several hours of no sleep, I wake up with a start and glance at the clock. Five til nine! Oh NO! I am not going to make yoga! (Yoga starts at 9am). Quickly grab the phone to find out what happened to my alarm....Whew! It's only 7:57am, not 8:57 am.

Get up, still feeling terrible, and get ready for the day. Get to yoga, am there 10 minutes before class starts, and am in a modified corpse pose, waiting for the class to begin. My friend who is my hero because he agreed to take the class with me shows up, and we chat a little. I'm still not really in the mood to be at class. Still trying to get beyond the nightmares and hours of lying restlessly awake.

The class begins and we move faster this time, through more poses. Stork pose into tree (my favorite!). I feel centered, and I think I am a tree. I feel firm and solid in my foot, my root, and I reach up high, growing towards the sun--growing, growing, growing. After moving out of the pose, I realize how much more balanced I have become as a tree. I'm proud of this achievement, and I think about how much I love this pose: how it has helped my mental health and my physical. We even do a half moon pose in the class today, which helps me feel beautiful and flexible, very strong.

At the end of class, as I'm taking my last sun-breath, I realize I feel good: extremely good. The bad mood, the anxiety, and the stress of the night have completely left me. I'm ready for a run.

And run I do. I'm still on the treadmill because the track is hurting my shins so. Shorter runs I can do on the track, but 3+ miles is better left for a shock-absorbing treadmill. I ran fast. I am amazed. I have never run this fast on a treadmill before--not for extended periods of time. I am running a 6.0/6.4/6.7 run. I'm a little over 3 miles in 30 minutes (largely because I warm up with a 1-minute 4.0mph walk, which means I have to make up the rest in some quicker moves to get rid of that essentially lost minute). <--Why do I do this? Because the rec limits our treadmill time to 30 minutes. I get my run in and am impressed with myself. 3.04m in 30 mins. I'm keeping to work on it. I'm going for speed, not so much distance, because I know the two work together anyway. After my run, I decide it's lifting time.

Not just lifting time, though. It's "go up on weight day." I move from 15 pounds to 20 (10 per hand, since they don't have a 20 pound bar, which is what I wanted to use). This is tough, but I make it through two full sets. I bump up my legs to 25 pounds (legs can always take more weight than arms, for me anyway). I do ok the whole way through. I'm struggling, and it's tough, but I know I'll get stronger. I don't need massive muscles, and taking 3 months to go up 5 pounds total is not a big deal. I figure it will be a nice long while before I really have to start using the boys machines. Maybe I'll just move to more reps when I hit the most weight I want to lift. We'll see.

I also get in my ab workout, but I'm not feeling so good now. I think I strained a muscle in my neck and shoulders when using the new weight. I'm not sure how or which muscle or during which move, but I definitely have a slight injury.

I decide it's time for the sauna and about time to get home. 5 minutes in the sauna feels like heaven, and I leave the locker room only to find there is a guys' volleyball tournament going on in the gym! I'm so very excited! Volleyball is my ultimate favorite sport. There is no better sport in the world; it is truly amazing. (Did I mention, I used to play?) I take up residency watching the game. I can't help but cry out "help it, help it!; get to it! sweet! nice! ACE! good get! nice dig!" I'm sure the other spectators are irritated, especially because I'm not routing for one team; rather, I'm just excited by the game. I'm full energy, just watching. It's like magic, and I find I can't stop smiling.

The game ends, and I look at the clock. I have work to do, so I unhappily and unfortunately tear myself away from the next game, and go home.

It was a great day at the rec. I seriously considered staying there the whole day. I considered biking some and walking, or watching more games, but ultimately, I knew I had to leave. And now here I am, still avoiding my work! I just can't let go of a morning that really turned my emotions around.

~Court

Crazy Busy, Beautifully Quiet

Well, the school was closed yesterday, so I imagined the rec center would be too. However, I was wrong! I was able to show up with my friend who happens to live in my apartment building. We got there a little after 2:30pm, and the place was a zoo! I had already done 30 minutes of power yoga at home, so I decided to just run one mile and then lift.

That was possibly the most painful mile I've ever run at the rec. There were people ALL OVER the track. It was literally running in a pack. I couldn't pass anyone, I couldn't get around anyone. I ended up having to keep pace with some slow going joggers because there was literally no way around them. I thought at one point that I was going to run them over!

But I held my temper and finally said enough was enough! Headed to the circuit training area to get some lifting in. As it turns out, that was also a painful mistake! I have never seen that space so jam-packed. I found a little room to do my thing, and had some chick repeatedly run into my 20lb. bar. I was quite aggravated. She could see me lifting, and somehow she ran into my bar and messed up several of my sets. Other people kept walking in front of my when I was trying to do lunges. Walk around! Don't skip in front!

Ugh, what a disaster.

Today, the campus was closed again, but I realized the rec would be open earlier, so the same friend and I headed to the gym at 10am. Thank goodness! The place was nearly deserted and very quiet. I got a treadmill for a really great 30 minutes, 3 mile run (thankfully, because the track has been killing my shins! I need some serious shock absorbency!). Then, I biked for 20 minutes. I figured that the spin class I normally take on Wednesday nights was canceled, so I wanted to get some biking in if I could. I got on a recumbent bike (those are mildly uncomfortable for me to ride in, but it was the only open bike), and set it for "random hills." Close enough to spinning with the random hills, but about a quarter of the time. It's alright, though, because I still got to bike on some excellent rolling hills! Great morning!

I got in a really great workout, had plenty of mental space, and I fell really wonderful about life right now.

I've got a lot on my To-Do list today, but knowing I already had a great workout makes that a lot easier to deal with. I'm also looking forward to tea and yoga with another neighbor later tonight.

What a lovely day to have all to myself! Thank goodness for treadmills and lazy people who don't want to wake up early!

~Court

The long weekend

Well, my boyfriend came to visit for the weekend, but I am the best girlfriend ever because I bought him a guest membership to my gym! That's right, we went to the gym together! While I zumba-ed, ran, and yoga-ed, he ran and lifted and walked. It was a great time!

Spending time with him, though, is the reason I haven't been posting here! So here's mini-update for today, and I promise that I'll be better about posting this week.

Today, I wasn't sure I was going to go to the gym. I really felt like I needed a rest day, but I don't like to miss a day at the gym.

I ended up not making it to the gym in time for spinning; instead, I decided to run the track. I had planned on 3 miles, but only made it 1.3m (in 11 mins, yay!) before my shins started to hurt very badly. I've been dealing with shin splints for years now, but have persevered. Today, it was just too much. I ended up running just that bit, spent 10 minutes in the sauna, and then went home. I didn't feel like I really worked myself, so I decided to do a little more working out at home. I got home, popped in The FIRM Yoga, and got to work. It's possibly my favorite at home workout video, and it always makes me feel good about life!

It turned around my mood and got me moving. I also realized that my body must be getting stronger and more efficient at working because what used to be a 250+ calorie burn was only a 190 calorie burn today! That made me a little sad because I wanted to eat a lot for dinner. On the other hand, it makes me really happy because my body is getting much better at this!

Tomorrow is my day for a run and lifting. I don't know if I'll get to the gym in the morning or the evening, but I will get there!

And hopefully, my shins won't hurt me. 3+ miles is the goal!

~Court :-)

Feeling Strong!

Today I upped my run. I only upped it by one lap, though. I am a huge wuss--I don't like to run outside in the cold, and anyway I'd probably slip on slush and kill myself (I'm currently living in Northeast Ohio). Therefore, I run in the gym--usually around the indoor track. Treadmills are ok and good when I need a quick work out or an incline, but I prefer the track.

I did my normal warm-up walk lap and then started running! I thought, "Today, you can run 3 and a half miles!" but after my spinning yesterday, I decided that wasn't going to happen (man, my calves were aching!). I focused on the 18 laps that I needed for 3 miles, and actually felt pretty amazing.

Towards the end of the run, probably lap 14 or so, I had a great burst of energy thanks in part to my iPod (Guster with Barrel of a Gun came on). I felt like going faster all of a sudden! I got to lap 18 and said to myself, "Ok, Court, this isn't the last one! You're going to run one more!"

I picked up the pace just a little bit, and half way through that last lap I pushed and went for an all-out sprint. Finished 3.16 miles in 29 minutes and 56 seconds. It felt pretty wonderful!

Then I moved to the abs and stretching area near the track to work on my abs. I'm testing an Oxygen ab routine. They tell me it's "5 weeks to your sexiest abs!" Well, we'll see. This is week 2 (just the start), and I don't think they look sexy yet...I moved to the advanced movements this week. Well, three of them. One is a very difficult move, and I just don't have the balance to pull it off. I did five of them, and then moved back to the "beginner" move for 15 more reps. Not bad. I'm working on it, I promise!

Moved down to the circuit training area. This is my power zone. I don't do the circuits or use the circuit machines, but there are free weights and a few barbells that I use to do my weight training. I incorporated Biking Barry's advice on using negative training today, and my muscles could really feel the burn! I have a pretty basic routine that consists of a slew of exercises. I do this 3x per week and usually spend about 45 minutes on it. Minimal rests in between sets, and I try to change it up just a little bit each time I do it so my muscles don't get tired or bored. I moved up in weights for some of the exercises, but not all. In another week or two, I'll be moving up.

I felt pretty great while lifting, and I felt healthy. At the end of the workout, as I walked out of the gym, I thought about maybe I should have run more or done something else, but I ended up just coming home to do some errands. I have lots of cooking, cleaning, and writing to do today--and am picking a friend up from the airport later tonight--so I'm glad I got in such a fun workout this morning! It put my whole day in perspective, and I burned almost 700 calories!

Great workout, and my muscles aren't sore from spinning last night! I love to keep pushing myself like this, and I hope I stay this healthy for the rest of my life! I feel so lucky that I have been blessed with motivation, hope, and the energy to maintain my healthy lifestyle.

~Court

Spinning: The Tough Teacher

Last night, a friend asked mine if I would join him for a Monday night spinning class. Typically, we see each other at the Wednesday night spinning class, with my favorite instructor, Kim. I've taken classes with several other instructors (Brenda, Tom, and Bree), and liked them all ok, but I really feel I connect with Kim. She's got my kind of personality.

So my spinning friend gives me this challenge: come to the extra-tough spin class on Monday night with me. If you don't come, you're a chicken!

I show up, and see him waiting for the classroom to be opened: "Hey, you made it!"

"You didn't think I'd back down from a challenge, did you?"

We set our bikes up in the center row, towards the far side of the classroom, and I tell him, "If I die, I'm blaming you. I'm not blaming me!"

We chat for a while as we warm up and wait for the instructor. Then, there he is. The notorious Jerry. I've heard this guy has the spinning logo tattooed somewhere on his body. He looks a little older (awesome white hair!), but he's in great shape. I'm instantly jealous. Then, we get right into it.

There's no warm up. There's jumps. Jump. Jump. Jump. These jumps are fast and not at all the way Kim does jumps, in nice even counts of 8s, 4s, and 2s. These are in-the-saddle-out-of-the-saddle, quick as you can! Not awesome for a chesty lady like myself (hey, I'm pretty fit, but I've got some rockin' curves), but I survive them.

The rest of the class passes in a blur of sprints and climbs--first position, running on the hill, 3rd position climbing, in the saddle sprinting. We sprint for full minutes at a time--I'm not kidding, folks! About one sprint in and I realize, as I'm sweating everywhere, that I forgot to take my makeup off before class. I'm horribly worried I am streaming black and look like a zombie-emo-gym-rat, but I keep pushing.

Jerry turns out to be pretty awesome, though he tricks me on several occasions: "One more gear! Push it! This is it! Ok, now turn it up again! One more! One more!" I start to disbelieve him, and I think, "I know 'one more' is a lie--there are like ten more!"

I have never ever been so drippy during a spin class in all my life. At the end of the day, I cash in a 942 cal. bank check. The last song is tough, but I recover quick enough. My heart rate is ok as I settle into some runner's stretches and a nice pigeon-pose (my favorite yoga pose).

I leave the gym feeling totally awesome, ready to take on the world. I step out into the snow and think about how spinning must be God's gift to Northeast Ohio, seeing as how it's snowing and icy. I'd probably die fairly quickly if I tried to actually bike in this weather, but spinning satisfies the need to be on a bike (for now). As I'm walking through the slowly moving flakes, I think about how much fun it'd be to go ice skating right then and there! The ride has given me lots of energy and a new exuberance for moving.

I'm already ready for my Tuesday morning run and lifting session.

Jerry, though tough, is a teacher I'd like to work with again.

~Court :-)