You SPIN me right round baby. . .

Aaaah spin class!  I had heard so much from so many people about this kind of fitness class that I was more than a little nervous when Tuesday came and it was time for my first attempt at spinning.  First let me point out that I really intensely, strongly and positively despise bike riding.  Like really don't dig it, in any way!!!!  So the thought of spending 45 minutes spinning on a bike wasn't super appealing!  Plus the fact that every workout begins with 15 minutes of warms on the bike - my bottom hurts after about 5 minutes, so I am pretty much thinking this will be hell.  Real hell. Hot,sweaty, burning, anywhere but here, hell.

I got to BDHQ and hopped on the bike - an effort in itself, because seriously people - my butt is NOT meant to sit on that tiny little seat! Large butt + teeny seat = very sore tailbone!!!  Then I discovered that my spin instructor of the day was the owner, Michele Shorter.  5'3'' and half my size - Michele is fit beyond belief and makes you work - harder than you think you are capable of, and harder than you ever thought you would!  ( She kinda scares me, but in the nicest possible way!)  Great start - spinning and Michele - she is amazing and tough, and this is gonna be a nightmare. . . .

Let the sweating begin!  I seriously have never worked that hard in any exercise class or situation - it was harder than anything I have done in a really long time.  Faster, slower, up, down, more tension, a little more tension - a little faster, a lot faster, just 5, 10, 20 , minutes more.  I was pretty sure I would throw up ( a lovely little detail!), my legs were screaming, and my heart was pounding.  Why am I doing this? I wondered.

Funny thing, though.  About 30 minutes in, I stopped thinking about how hard it was, how much my legs hurt, how hard I was breathing, and when would I be done.  I got into a groove and started thinking about how strong I was, how awesome it was that I was doing this, and that I was doing something I never thought I could do.   I almost ( ALMOST!) forgot how much my bottom was hurting.  Pretty cool.  And distracting - the last 15 minutes seemed to go, well not exactly quickly, but at least each minute didn't seem like 10!  I have just done 45 minutes of spin and now just a little abdominal work to finish off!  I worked like a sweaty machine - and here are the stunning pics to prove it:

This journey is more that I thought it would be, and a lot harder.  But it is forcing me to redefine my limits, to do more than I think I can do, and that has got to be a good thing.   I may even buy a bike.

OK -  maybe not.