Black White and Blue Perfect

There are times when I refer to the energy measurements known to man like amperage, horsepower, candle power, watts and BTU’s. All of them come to mind when I watch the dynamic Blue Sapphire take over mission control in #41.  She (to coin a colloquial phrase) had it all going on this morning.  Carolyn has very distinctive features and facets of her personality in spin.  She has of course those blue gemstone eyes that flash a warning we are headed for either a challenging speed interval or a heavy mountain climb. Then there are those baton like arms of hers that direct our movement in and out of the saddle and expand our effort when the resistance wheel is calling us for a turn to the right. And then there is that lilting voice of hers, that could give buoyancy to a sunken ship. Today however, she added something more. It was her generous helpings of that trademark comet white smile, which made the Herculean effort we need for hill climbs conquerable. 

I have been on quite a few spin excursions with the Blue Sapphire, but today was 20 out of 10. I had fun, I smiled more than I ever do and I felt as if all of us were feeding off the collective energy we seemed to be generating from the choreography of this extremely talented female. We of “Hello Sunday” had a BLAST today, an all out blast and I want to thank Carolyn’s cardio class in the hour before that saved some of that Blue Sapphire candle power for us in the CS.  

Thank you Carolyn and Sundays will never be the same unless  you are teaching our class. 

The Blue Bullet

She was dressed in black but she was the blue bullet this Sunday morning. Have you ever been shot? Probably not, but this bullet doesn’t wound but still hits the heart.  Carolyn is always a special treat and the week is not complete unless I can catch at least one dose of the blue gemstone. 

The Blue Sapphire takes her work serious but she never takes herself too seriously. When there was a technical snafu with her music, she delightfully provided the bridge of silence with her own rendition of the song. She did it so spontaneously and it reminded me that we are here to work out but also to have fun. I always do on Thursday nights or Sunday morning. 

Carolyn uses a segment of each class to concentrate on the core when she says: “Don’t Bounce.” This takes effort and my legs start to burn when the upper half of my body is frozen out of the action. A great exercise within the exercise of spin class. I also have a love hate relationship with the “up to saddle” intervals as it takes me out of my comfort zone having to make the extra movement on top of the pedal stroke.  Her music is exquisite too. She never stays with one genre either, like the bubble gum top ten of the day and we never hear the same songs over and over. 

Carolyn will switch with Damian this week  as he will take her Thursday and she his Tuesday both at 6 PM.

Not All Lambs Go to Heaven

It’s Sunday and where else would you find me but spinning with The Blue Sapphire in her 1015 slot. Pound for pound the biggest little powerhouse this side of the Mississippi.  Or west for that matter, why discriminate geographically. 

Three of my most recognizable spinettes from KSC were here; Debbie H., Nancy K. and Green eyed Stacy. Stacy said my goatee looked good and that made this old man feel good. Nancy just back from her world tour, has been accusing me of flirting and I guess I would have to agree, since I am not dead just yet. We were also graced with Peter R. our club manager this morning and I couldn’t see from my vantage point how he fared but no doubt he was challenged and he got a firsthand dose of one of the clubs elite group exercise instructors. 

  My engineer friend to my right had her own take on the proceedings this last Sunday of the summer. She said that Carolyn had a drill sergeant air about her today. However you want to describe The Blue Sapphire, she always does what she does with a smile and her trademark blinking blue headlights. Carolyn connects with us emotionally and that is part of her appeal. Too many times I have seen some technically proficient instructors lacking this essential element even though their ride never disappoints. They all have charisma and I love how Kristen and Carolyn turn up the volume just right.  

What I have most recently found challenging are the intervals of seated to position #3. This move takes a bit of choreography and today was emblematic of The Blue Sapphire because she had it timed like a disc jockey. These breakaways are particularly challenging and get me quickly to the anaerobic zone. Ostensibly I used to think that this was just an exercise to break the rhythm of the road but now I know that there is a purpose to it. The other challenge, outside our intense hill climbs are when we hold our upper bodies still and just use our legs for the pedal stroke. This takes extreme concentration and strength.  

Thanks Carolyn for a great summer and fortunately for us we can pick up where we left off next Sunday. 

Anaerobic Sapphire

I was a touch curious what two days of not spinning would do to my stamina, and as I suspected the rest did me good. A Sunday Blue Sapphire gave me a double shot of the diminutive wonder this week. She had the usual full house and Carolyn is never routine, predictable or boring. She changes the music, cadence and her repertoire is unfailingly dynamic in its’ scope and thoughtfulness to detail. For instance when she adds: “Take it up, take it down” it not only requires concentration but adds endurance to the rigorous pedal stroke as well. 

Toward the fourth quarter of our hour I got into oxygen deficit, more commonly known as  the anaerobic zone. After nearly 7 months of devoted spinning, the intervals of going anaerobic are fewer and fewer, signaling to me that I am improving.  But today watching the Mellace perpetual motion machine, I fell off the diving board into deep blue water. I felt like I was going down for the third time only to be bailed out by the end of the hour.  

Scanning the room I found a few scattered KSC riders and I was especially glad to see my lithesome friend Debbie who for some reason reminds me of Lady Penelope a character from the 1968 television show, The Thunderbirds. The blonde dulcet, looking even more fit than I can remember, always has a smile and a kind word whenever I see her in the CS. It also made me sad, as the summer has disappeared yet again in two shakes of a lambs tail.  

I See Two Stars on Thursday Night

I discovered an idea that can help my recovery between sessions without missing a day in between. On Wednesday I took the Mike Borska 830 AM class and then The Blue Sapphire, Carolyn Mellace on Thursday night at 6 PM.  The 32 hours in between seemed to work and gave me the rest my body was clamoring for. In a previous class Mike said I looked a little tired and for me because I get wrapped in taking classes and then writing about them, I lose sight of the fact that each class is an all out effort for me.  It also feeds into my addictive personality which I have to be on guard for.  

Carolyn keeps us on our toes. She is always about having fun but she doesn’t “fool around” She has a singular devotion and it’s not just for the money. She’s shares the passion as we do to keep our bodies “in the pink.” An old expression dating back to Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet in 1597. A little history lesson but one that always reminds me that the peak condition is something that the athlete in all of us drive for. 

I love Thursdays with Carolyn, primarily because it sets up the weekend and always seems to propel me towards a sharper state of mind as the week winds down.  She is always sharing her unique personality when she twinkles one of her blue stars at you. I am so fond of her and happy she leads me twice a week. 

Have you been aware of the changes in the club?  When I went for the shower I saw that half of them were sheet rocked up and just four were working. Not a problem for the evening but what about during the morning rush when the club is burgeoning with people.  I suspect that much less women shower at Equinox so it probably is not a real issue on their side of the continental divide. However, all in all I think the construction is going on well without nary an interruption for us members. The management must be nervous as I know Peter feels like this is his home away from home.  

Just a word about the new membership counselor Louis. He is a ubiquitous fellow isn’t he? I see him all over the club, not just in his glass cubicle behind his computer and phone. He is enthusiastic and takes his vocation way beyond anyone that I have seen before in that position which unfortunately has a huge turnover. He seems to be taking in the pulse of the club and I wish him well and I hope he remains a long time. I recommended a new member and he treated her with deep concern and continues to do so long after the sale.  

Okay, so the question is will I be able to make the Saturday edition of KSC? For those of you who read me I am a little under the weather with my atrial fibrillation today and I so wanted to be with you this morning. Hello Evil Woman. Do you miss me, just a little?

All Lambs Go to Heaven

Even ones that take us to Hell and back.  

Let me tell you that our trip to hell and back was in it’s way, pure torture. However, being led down the path to Hades by the Blue Sapphire was like enjoying fire and brimstone.

 While I am always quite absorbed in the adroit call of this talented instructor, I am also taken by the visual Sapphire.  It is true that her lithesome physiology has been acquired part by genes but mostly (I suspect) by a dedication and work ethic that are beyond my comprehension. This coming from a man who for several years ran a hundred miles a week, so the admiration does not come without some allusion to how much dedication to hard work it takes.  

There is an ethereal part of Carolyn, a sense of delicacy despite the ferociousness of her spirt that one can almost see in the shadows that live just outside her furious athleticism. Almost beyond description, this jewel shines with a flawlessness that is even beyond viewing to the naked eye. 

This Sunday session I had resolved myself to take it just a little easier after spinning with the Evil Woman on Saturday and a planned session with the Corso Zone on Monday. The thought was only a fleeting one because as usual I got taken in by the two blue stars and a comet.  There was a moment when those two blue stars blinked only to be followed by the white comet of her smile. And just like the other 39 I left nothing in the studio except for the salty pool beneath my bike.  

I hope my spin mates that I have not waxed too poetic about all the instructors I write about, but they are all  so very talented and each singular in their talented natures.  This week between Kristen, Carolyn, Cathy and Mike I had the most fun and I thank them all.  

45 Minute Sapphire

The abbreviated version of Hello Sunday,  was hardly discernible from the full version. The Blue Sapphire was splendorific this morning.  Those two blue stars had a deeper brilliance this early morning. As if a star can have it’s own exclamation point. 

Spinning as I have recounted has taken on a larger than life aspect to my own.  I never in a million summers would have guessed that I would rediscover the passion I used to claim when I ran long distance.  Those days however, were fraught with a distinct lack of symmetry and were abundant in an egocentric lifestyle that left wreckage at every turn. Those days are long gone but having entered back into the fray of extreme effort as spinning demands of me, I have a deeper appreciation of the lives I touch and a commitment to myself to keep my head right size, while I pare my body down to the athlete that lies within. I had let complacency overrun my existence but no longer.  I have found that working to correct character defects was important but I needed to focus on my shortcomings as well. 

 I owe much to the instructors at Equinox who have helped point my compass back to magnetic north. My life had so much deviation, and I filled it with variation hoping that I would resemble the man I was created to be, whomever he was. I am still not sure what path I am on, but one foot in front of the other along with my daily pedal stroke is all I need be concerned with in the present moment. 

What was that all about Jack?  Just that stream of consciousness that seems to take over my fingers as I pound out these daily stories. 

The Blue Sapphire has made Sunday much more meaningful in that I am motivated afterward to read and write with a deeper clarity due to the energy exchange I receive each time I get a strong dose of her infectious kineticism that seems to be more abundant than the stars I can count.  As I took my after spin stroll I saw moving like a perpetual motion machine the Blue Sapphire leading her cardio group session. Someone asked me if I was going to do a double. AYKM? Well, maybe someday, just not today.