I'm spun

I used to go to spinning class at Western; I absolutely loved it, aside from the instructor's weird taste in spinning music. (Note: Dave Matthew's Band is absolutely not good work out music.)

I have now attended two spinning classes at my new gym, Push. Wowzers. It's a very different experience. 1. No DMB. 2. Much harder. 3. More than half the class wears clipless shoes. I didn't even know they made clipless pedals for spin bikes. 4. Way, way harder.

My goal for the next month is to go to two spin classes a week. I really like the instructor of the class that I went to last night and on Thursday, but I may switch it up to check out the other instructors. Another goal is to go to yoga at least once a week.

My two main hurdles in mountain biking are core strength and fear. I need more core strength to be able to stand up on the bike for longer periods of time, which I hope the spinning (lots of standing) and yoga will address. Aside from doing lots of riding (difficult with three feet of snow), I think that increasing my strength will help me have more control over the bike, and, therefore, decrease my fear. Additionally, I plan to do lots of visualization. It may sound cheesy, but it's totally worked for me in the past. I close my eyes and imagine a tough section of trail that I've crashed or had to walk around. Then I picture myself doing it perfectly. Repeat 5 - 10 times. I try to do it a couple of times per day. Honestly, it's really worked for me in past athletic ventures (shot putting, free throws, volleyball serves, etc.)

In other news, this song is the perfect spinning song. Go Flo Rida!

After spin class yesterday, I met my friends Katie and Karen at the bar to watch the Orange Bowl. Katie went to undergrad at V-Tech, and she made me an honorary Hokie for the night. Sadly, V-Tech lost to Stanford, but we did decide to become Monday night regulars at the Brewery. We also made a new (very drunk) BFF named Leyna. She was a font of information about all sorts of things: the best flavor of vodka (bubblegum), how to avoid a hangover when you are over 30 (start early, end early), best place to ski in Tahoe (Sierra-at-Tahoe), and wedding planning (elope). She and her equally hilarious husband also had created several new dance moves that they demonstrated for us.