Spinning Begins!

With the new year comes new resolve to get back into the training routine. So far so good! Our first spinning class of the 12-week base camp was a baptism by fire. Basically, we introduced ourselves to new and old campers, and then got straight to the burning business of an 8 minute stress test ... times two. This is my fourth year at camp, and the fifth year it's run. Time really flies Except for those 8 minutes I mentioned ... they creep by.

The test is a Coach Carmichael (That's Lance's longtime coach for those who don't recognize the name) adapted method that seems to do a decent job of pinning down early season heart rate zones without having to do the potentially damaging work the regular test would do to an early season physique. (You've can't just dive into a twenty minute time trial before stretching your capillaries to support the pumping blood, limbering up the muscles and developing the cardiovascular efficiency required.)

At first I thought my scores were kind of a disappointment. Somehow in my head I had last year's scores about 10bpm higher (indicating better cardio-vascular health this time last year, thus, more ground to make up for this year). But "in my head" is exactly where that belonged. The data shows I'm actually the same, if not better off. Hurray! The mind can play funny tricks when you're burning up your matches. As Daffyd put it, "doubt and self-loathing are a part of cycling!"

I was surprised at how pumped I was actually for a Sunday morning class that began at 7am. I was all smiles and ready for intense work ... eager to unleash some hurt on that spin bike. Looking forward to a great winter of training.

Over the five years that camp has run, it's changed up a bit and become more and more useful for people like me who are trying to juggle "real life" with my "hobby". So our spinning sessions are two hard rides a week I don't have to coach, cajole or cry about by myself. That means that most of my solo-responsibilities include things that aren't hard to convince myself of, like some strength sessions or mindless movie-watching: a euphemism for "riding the trainer". There's strength in numbers, people. I'm a cycle-holic, and RPM is my support group.

In sum, basically this blog post is to say, I'm motivated, feeling good, and pray to God the feeling lasts.

Afterall, it's only January!