And torture it is.
Somewhere in the middle of Tom's advanced cycling class is a monster hill. More like a plateau, geographically, because after you spend two songs climbing, you max on the resistance and ride. For seven and a half minutes. You get out of the saddle. Sit down. Get up. Sit down. Get up again. All the while trying to even register RPMs on the bike.
Tom nearly apologized for the challenge - in a maniacal sort of way. I told him that he could give me all he had if it brought me to a sub-4:00 marathon. A runner himself, he told me consistent attendance would do just that - though he was quick to point out that he'd never run 26.2 that slowly. I would've hit him but I didn't want him to make it 8 minutes.
And I can see it, how the class can help me. It's not just because Tom refuses to let you prance up hills. It's also because the class is teaching me to hurt. It's something I recognized after that first class as I recounted my puddles of sweat to Mark and again, yesterday, when Tom welcomed me to class No. 2.
"You'll be fine," he said. "You just need to suffer."
The week, in training:
Monday: Spin
Tuesday: 5 miles, hillish + Piloxing (taught) + Bodypump (taught)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 5 miles + Rip (taught)
Friday: 6 miles + 3 miles
Saturday: Accidental rest (no one showed up for Bodypump - sad!)
Sunday: 3 miles with the stroller + 7 tracks of BP 86
Great job!!
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DeleteRock star! You'll need to suffer a little on the hills at Veterans. So excited for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks ;) They took out all the hills for me this year. Ha! A girl can dream ...
DeleteGreat week! Learning to push through the painful moments can be so helpful on marathon day.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteOoo! Bike intervals are so fun!!! What else did you do besides the awesome hill? That will really help your training!
ReplyDeleteWah! Why did no one show up on Sat?! You could have been racing!
Fun? That's an interesting word. He spends most of the class focused on hills so we're pretty high on resistance. At the end, we have to race him and try to max out RPMs.
DeleteAs far as Saturday, no idea! My classes are small (4-8) but usually one person shows. And the worst part was that Mark and my in-laws were out of town so I had scrambled to get a sitter for Miles.
Yeah... fun... when you are done? Hee hee hee.
DeleteWhat a freaking bummer. :( Did you go do something for you instead, to optimize the baby sitter time?
Great week, Kim! Spin class sounds killer and like my iron(wo)man bestie says, "strong and fast biking legs make strong and fast running legs".
ReplyDeleteyou are already off to a great start! i'm sure that spin class will help you "dig deep" on those tough hills! great job
ReplyDeleteNice training week!!!! That spin class sounds all sorts of hellish awesome. I hope he gets you to that sub 4
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