I am hardcore!

I totally rocked the spin a thon today! While some people might think I was crazy (including myself leading into it) I'm so glad I took the challenge on and approached it with an attitude that only 100% would do.

Today was the YWCA's 1st annual spin a thon- 6 hours of spinning with some awesome instructors. It was 10-5 today- yeah that's 7 hours. There was 6 one hour spin classes with 10 minute breaks in between. The breaks definitely saved us, especially "the 3 muskateers" as Lisa dubbed us during the last class since there were only 3 people that did the entire 6 hours- Rick, Mary, and myself.

Overall, the day was better than I was expecting. Jen, the organizer, did a great job having a wide selection of snacks and plenty of water of course as well as leading her class, which was the second one. Each class was also really varied which broke it up nicely. The most amusing was Eric's- #3. He was one of only 2 spin instructors that I haven't taken and I can definitely see why people like him so much and his class is always over filled. He was hilarious and very encouraging throughout, but called a few people out that weren't pushing it. He called me out several times saying my form was perfect (holy red face) and was giving the 3 muskateers major props for committing to stick through all 6 classes. He said a lot of really nice and encouraging words that helped me get through the complete agony that occurred during class 4- Tammie. I take her Wednesday morning 6am class (love it!) so I knew what to expect- no mercy.

I was feeling really good till about half way through Tammie's class. That was when I realized that I really hadn't eaten enough (a couple bananas and orange slices) and my reserves were completed depleted. Through sheer will power and complete refusal to quit, I made it through Tammie's class and could barely get off the bike fast enough to get food afterwards. I have never felt such extreme and immediate relief after gulping down power gel- it was amazing.

So end result- I KILLED class 5, Betsy's. I've taken her before- a killer class with lots of sprints and standing runs (similar to Tammie). Class flew by because even though I could feel every single muscle in my legs, back, and glutes (holy pain!) in a beautifully painful way, I had the energy to push through it. There were a few new entrants also and they were all amazed by the fact that the 3 muskateers were still going. A little bit of pressure always makes me feel even stronger.

After class 5 I was stretching and went to do a quad stretch when my left knee screamed at me. Like screamed at the top of its lungs. I immediately dropped to the ground to stretch further and massage my knee. Miraculously the pain eased and I was able to stand and walk around with no pain after about 10 minutes. Thank goodness- I really wanted to finish, but I had already decided that I would stop if the pain didn't subside.

Class 6, Lisa, was fun as she is always full of bubbly energy, which is infectious. I will admit though that I was counting down the minutes until we were done and the last 5 minutes was pure and complete muscle exhaustion.

Adrian was awesome and supportive and came to cheer me on at the end- husband brownie points! :) All in all it was a great day and I'm proud of myself! :)