Go Faster, Faster... SPRINT!

03/24/09 - Spin

Our yoga class was canceled this afternoon, so only one workout on Tuesday. I arrived at the swim center where our spin class is normally held, really proud that I was able to balance my training bag, bike trainer, bike, and purse all in one trip! I'm getting used to this stuff! I walked into the room reveling in my mini-success, to find it empty! This class is normally packed to the gills with my triathlete teammates, but today, there was just a handful. Seems there was some miscommunication between the team and the coach that I somehow overlooked! Lucky me, because this was the most intense class I've had to date, and now it became my own private personal training session.

After getting the bike situated on the trainer, I started warming up and was wondering who this new coach was standing in front of me.... maybe no one was here because his class was awful? He clarified for us, and told us his name was Richard, and he was a former pro cyclist and training teammate of Greg Lemond. He still races, and focuses mostly on century rides and 24 hour endurance events on his mountain bike. With that out of the way, he did a quick bike fit on all of us, providing us suggestions for peak performance, and then the class began, complete with some timed rock'n'roll tunes! SWEET!

We started out with some speed intervals at medium intensity (and Guns'N'Roses), but quickly I started noticing a trend. This guy wanted us to go fast! He kept yelling, "Faster! Faster! Pedal Faster! Now, SPRINT!!!!"at the top of his lungs. We kept increasing our intensity of the gears to simulate hills, but kept increasing our speed as well. I was maxed out.... in my lowest possible gear out of 24 options, cranking away with power, and speed, and being told to go faster! There were a few times that I was ready to break and considered toning the gear retention down just a little, and he'd walk over and look at me and tell me, "Keep it up, go faster, you're almost there!" Almost where? This is a stationary bike, thanks to my trainer... ha! OK, I didn't say that, but I knew what he meant. I was almost to the top of my imaginary hill that we were racing up, so I just kept on pushing to the top.

By the mid-point of the class, I was soaking wet. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I looked like I had just gotten out of the pool, complete with sweat dripping off my nose and forehead! I always bring a towel with me and it was already doused with perspiration, sopping wet all the way through! Remember my sweat-o-meter from last week? Well if I was using it to measure this workout, this would be off the charts! We finished with some really intense sets, timed out to some ACDC, Sweet Home Alabama, and opera? The opera was actually the hardest set of the day, and it was the perfect song choice. I gave every bit of juice I had during those 5 minutes.

So what did I learn? Well, that I always surprise myself with my continued progress, there's no way at all I would have been able to do half of this class just a year ago. And, as always, never judge a book by it's cover... an unassuming ex-pro athlete might just work the last bit of sweat right out of you!