This blog post is a day late because I was too busy going to spin class and then watching hours of Twilight Zone reruns with a friend because my life is amazing. (That’s not a joke. It was perfect.) Last month one of my goals was to ride a double. For those of you who haven’t been sucked into the world of indoor cycle classes aka spin classes, riding a double is when you take two classes back-to-back. So instead of suffering for 45 minutes, you suffer for 45 minutes, take a 15 minute break, and then repeat. Sounds like something only a masochist would do, right?
I added it to my monthly goals in April because it seemed so badass. I’m always totally wiped out after my spin class that I couldn’t even understand how someone could make it through a second one. But after a few months of setting my workout goals by the number of classes I could take in a single month, I was ready for a change. So I decided to try to be like those badass people I’ve seen in class. Those people who are already soaked in sweat when they get on the bike to start class because they’ve just done this. Those people who the instructor gives a shoutout to because they’re ~riding a double!~ Those badasses.
Turns out, riding a double is not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Was I tired? Yes. Was I soaked in sweat? Yes. Was I sore the next day? Yes, definitely yes. But was it doable? Also yes.
I thought that I would be fine in my first class and then probably struggle through the second one. In fact, I was so pessimistic about the second class that when I got on the bike to start it my goal was literally to just stay through the entire class. But then something weird happened. The second class felt… easier than the first one. I was already warmed up from the first class so there was no lag time during the two warm up songs before I could get fully into the class and into the hills and sprints. My body was totally ready to own the second class. It was just my brain that was telling me I couldn’t do it.
So I tried to not really think through the entire class–a decision that was undoubtedly the best one I could’ve made. I ended up killing it in my second class. I got my highest ranking ever: 10th! I finally cracked into the top 10 and on my second ride of the day! Honestly, I still can’t tell you how that happened. But it felt amazing and I was (am) so proud of myself for it.
Plus, I got to go over to Union Market for breakfast when I was done riding so that made everything better.
I’m definitely going to try to ride a double at least once a month going forward. It’ll definitely be on a Saturday morning because I’m not about to do two classes after work. So let me know if you’re in DC and you want to join me–I’ll give you a guest pass and ride with you!
xoxo,
J
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