Sunday Hazing

To a packed house The Blue Sapphire pumped out a rhythm that had us all relative strangers in synchronous pedal stroke up and down the steepest of ladders.  Her chant:  “How are you Sunday” had us responding in unison in exasperated breath.  

The art of spinning is starting to come together for me. Four months in has me comfortable in the uncomfortable zone and balancing speed, cadence and resistance like bacon and eggs and toast.  I am even starting to feel graceful in and out of the seat too. Thanks to Carolyn and her “Fine China” metaphor I am placing my derriere in the saddle rather than slamming back down after a strong effort in #3. 

A Memorial Day weekend treat was having Carolyn leading us today. And from the back in #38 I must say fellow riders we did look good.  A familiar face in Debbie to my right with her carved features showed me she was leaving nothing for tomorrow and that was incentive enough for me to empty my tank just in time for “Mea Culpa”. 

The Blue Sapphire is as cute as a lamb but whoever heard of a killer lamb?  They just invented it and they call her Carolyn Mellace.

The Lamb Leads Us to Slaughter

The Blue Sapphire had my legs on fire this Thursday night. The resistance dial seemed to be moving to the right by voice command giving me the workout of the year. 

 I say to myself how can a woman so small in stature command such a presence in the CS the way she does.  It’s not just her fitness or even her perfect physiology it’s something else.  Might it be her relentlessness in going after what she demands of us?  That is certainly possible but what about her delivery? She has a way of making torture feel like it’s right and proper and not outside the laws of humanity.  This must be it I thought because ultimately it’s our choice to be here and be with The Blue Sapphire. 

She has her own haunting way about her as well.  Her smile is captivating and when you see the whites of her eyes you just want to perform at a higher level.  When she rocks from side to side pounding the pedals we all know that Carolyn is doing the same thing she is asking of us.  Effort comes natural to her and it makes perfect sense to me to follow her lead.  Tonight especially had me focused on pedal speed something, which I now know, can bring me to breathless and increase my level of fitness as well. I had thought it was solely the resistance that would get me to succeed at spin and because of Carolyn I am learning that both speed and resistance compliment each other.

Sunday is coming up fast my friends and who better to spend part of our Memorial Day Weekend with than The Blue Sapphire. 

Thursday Night With The Blue Sapphire

Relax it's not Thursday Night Yet!

A Little Bit About The Blue Sapphire

As if you didn't know already.

About Carolyn:  Carolyn is a certified cycling instructor and also teaches interval training at Equinox.  She is a yoga practitioner and has taught classes in Bosu, Urban Rebounding, Weight Training, Boot Camp and Step Aerobics in her 20-year span in the fitness industry.  Carolyn’s engaging and unique style has brought her a huge fan base.    She is part time at Equinox as she maintains a full time career in the Pharmaceutical Industry. 

There are many things that strike you when you see this diminutive figure of power.  She has a lithe form that belies her endless endurance and strength. She moves with grace and speed. And when she flashes her smile and winks blue, you can almost feel her hand on your shoulder guiding you through the most challenging parts of her ride.  I feel lucky to have discovered her through Kristen and I know that Peter wishes she were here more than two days a week.  She teaches Interval Training and Spin classes on Sunday mornings as well as a Spin class at 6 PM on Thursday evenings. I call her The Blue Sapphire you’ll call her Sensational.  You can follow her exploits right here. 

Cat's Paw

Carolyn professed tonight that she wasn’t going to be pussy footing around with us. And that was going to be the title for tonight’s post but let’s face it this lithe figure   is more like a lioness hungry for prey than any kitten I could imagine. And what makes it all palatable is that effervescent smile she flashes as she adjusts her ponytail into a tight bun. 

I like this Thursday night thing firstly because I can get a bike with relative ease, secondly it gives me the whole day to recover from the previous days spin and last but not least we have The Blue Sapphire a truly gifted athlete that loves what she does and her attitude reflects just that.

Tonight I could feel twinges in my left calf as I rocked up to position 3 and I immediately backed off a bit but it seemed to abate by mid session and I was reminded quite succinctly that I need to stretch more.  This frame is approaching the winter season and I have to come to grips that I have to oil the moving parts at least every 100 miles. 

Fine China

I never thought that spinning for me Jack Briant would be anything that had the word graceful in it. However I stand corrected because in The Blue Sapphire’s class today I felt it.  I thought that grace was a feminine mystique or charm like the hip carriage they sway so gracefully when they walk by.  That might be a little archaically romantic but hey I am a child of the moon when hippies ruled the earth. 

I think I got lost there let me swing back to The Blue Sapphire and her unmistakable charm she exudes with that wink of her blue eyes and when she flashes that smile that elevates my effort in the saddle of spinning torture.  Hey I was talking about grace wasn’t I?   Yes I was. 

Mellace had us driving hard in #3 and when she said sit down as if our derrieres were “fine china” it had me mesmerized because the movement of spinning never seemed to be graceful to me mainly because I was so out of shape from the athletic perspective.  Today however was the first time that I felt a definitive difference in my level of fitness. All those KSC’s sessions culminating in how I feel today.

Even with the magnets in high resistance I felt like I was spinning in mud but the stroke was even not choppy and when TBS* called for speed with the magnets apart I was able to achieve breathless in the higher RPM’s. And not feel like I was out of control or bouncing in my seat.  Graceful? As Bugs Bunny once said: “Could be”.

P.S. Thanks to Cindy for the address of this blog SundayswithCarolyn.blogspot.com

The Trellis

A special edition of the Blue Sapphire this Thursday night had me wondering if the magic I felt the first two times was going to sustain itself for the third edition.  Well I can answer in a resounding affirmative that the third time is an even bigger charm. It affirms in my mind the innate talent that Carolyn possesses.  Her countenance is the most beguiling feature of her athletic physiology.  It says very quietly to my grey cells that she is with you and not just calling a rhythmic cadence artfully executed. 

She squeezes the sweat out of me without so much as a complaint or even a grimace.  It’s almost as if I can put my legs through torture and smile while doing it.  The climb up the trellis today was beautifully written like The Blue Danube even though the fire in my legs told me there would be hell to pay tomorrow. 

What I do like in her orchestration is that I can transition myself between the RPM and resistance with more deftness because the segments are drawn out just a bit more and I feel my pedal stroke is smoother and more even foot to foot.

So The Blue Sapphire is ensconced in my weekly regimen I just wish I were younger so I could spin every day and write more first hand experiences.

I see her as a seraphim angel but I could also swear that she has two small horns as well. 

Spinning Choreography

This was my second dance with Carolyn Mellace and with a full house in the CS this Sunday morning; the heat was turned up full with all of us in pedal stroke synchronicity.  Carolyn Mellace a petite physically gifted specimen with flashing eyes fixed on high beam and a neon smile that sets off her riveting countenance. 

This spinning class unique unto itself had me running low on gasoline by the 50^th minute.  It might have been the combination of speed and resistance that had me so caught up in keeping pace with this female dynamo.  She may be diminutive in stature but the talent wheel she spins is 10 feet tall.  Truly here is another gemstone in the Equinox palace of professionals.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy myself as much as I did but Carolyn’s choice of music felt like Shakespearean iambic pentameter.  She had each interval choreographed perfectly and the condiment of her smile made it way more than worthwhile. 

I don’t know just how many spin classes these old legs can handle but they will just have to make an adjustment to include Sundays with Carolyn.  I can’t wait until next time. They boys in the locker room were all buzzing about how great this class was and how Mellace must be running on 93 octane.  I totally concur. A spinning mate John told me she has an evening version on Thursdays, I want to catch that edition when that one goes to press too. 

Spinning Choreography: Plays on Sunday Mornings at 10:15 don’t miss it.