The Grey Panther

She cocked her head to the side flashed a blazing a baby blue topped by the white cloud above her iris and it was her check where we were in our Sunday ride with The Blue Sapphire. Resplendent in grey form fitting attire the athlete of Carolyn shone just like it does every Sunday, complete with a full house and our sense of knowing that we would be having great fun, but by rides end our collective asses would be kicked. And kicked they were.

A lightning bolt hit me during today’s ride and it came from two places. The first was the variable I was searching for; what is the salient difference between riding indoors and the outdoor version. Yes, we all know that the elements play the largest role, and the fact that we are moving over ground rather than staying on the same ceramic tile was the main difference, but there was something more I was so sure about it, but until today it was escaping my hard drive. I saw it in Stacie, yes the newlywed Stacie who has one of the brightest smiles this side of heaven and her nonchalant attitude about what she may look like when she is in the saddle of her stationary bike. She is not self-conscious. Not a speck exists in her, and she was not worried if some of her epidermis was showing as the rider next to her was clearly very concerned. This self-consciousness does not exist on the outside ride. And it was the clue I was searching for and Stacie showed me for the first time that the reason we don’t communicate as well as we could in the CS is because we are worried about what we look like. It’s not just the women that are concerned with what sweat apparently does to our good looks it’s the men as well.  Can we lose the “skin” that when we don’t look like magnifying mirror beautiful, we can get closer like our outside rider counterparts do? Just a question and I am not sure this is the singular reason but it happened in the usual way, it was nascent. 

The other major revelation came from The Blue Sapphire herself. As I noticed to my left, a young man was clenching his face for virtually the whole ride and I also knew that this doesn’t happen outside either. Tightly clenched hand grips have no place for us in the CS as well. Carolyn said, as she alluded to me about the Minnewaska ride that when biking outside we are loose not only in the hand grips and our face but how we plant ourselves in the saddle as well. It harkened back to my earlier in the week ride with The Corso Zone, that a tight physiology does not give us the results we are seeking.  Loose and flexible rather than tight and clenched. 

Thank you Carolyn it was indeed a memorable Sunday.

Frozen Core

We had a Blue Sapphire edition this past Thursday that was as challenging as ever. However I am always seeming to say that each time I spin with this superlative Equinox star. As fall starts to take hold, the setting sun virtually blinds us at the 6 o’clock hour and makes me wonder where did this year go. 

Thursday nights with Carolyn is one hell of a way to start the weekend early and fire up our metabolic oven and incinerate some of that extra caloric intake we inevitably find ourselves favoring ourselves with after a challenging work week or shopping week if your name is Nancy K.  

I was so certain that the resistance dial was the only adjustment I could make on the bike where I could improve my endurance and strength. Carolyn was the first to show me that that just wasn’t so. When she has us freeze our upper body and just use our legs, the burning in my legs is excruciating, even with little resistance in the pedal stroke. She tells us it strengthens our core and I love the idea that these short stints carry the impact they do even though my legs are on fire. 

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?