Does that count as 2? How about 7?

I try to get in at least 4-5 workouts per week. Sometimes it's easy peasy. Other times I'm lucky to get in 1-2 solid workouts. I try not to stress over it too much because it all makes a difference. I'd like to know if you take a 30 minute "break" in between workouts, does that count as two separate workouts? I'm going with yes....because that's how I rolled on Sunday.

First up it was a TNT group training with the run and walk teams (training for Cap City 1/2, Cleveland 1/2 and Full, and San Diego 1/2 and full). I was coaching and my walkers had between 3 and 6 miles depending on their races. Despite the 19 degree temps, the sun was shining and we had about 25 participants show up. My last minute decision to add a layer proved to be a wise choice as I spent some time below my normal pace and it took much longer to get warmed up. I don't think my hands ever got warm.

I knocked out just over 6 miles with the team before rushing back to our starting point to change into my cycling clothes. I inhaled a Pria bar and a fruit strip (I swear there is crack in these things) before heading down the street to a group training for TNT's cycle team (training for the Lake Tahoe Century ride). About 30 minutes after finishing 6 miles, I found myself on a spinning bike.

Their coach, Tim, let me tag along again. Remember last week's hill climbing adventure? That was 90 minutes of torture fun. This week was going to be 2 hours. Say what?? This team is training for a century ride which is 100 miles. The triathlon's bike portion I will be participating in is only 17 miles. So why am I showing up to a 2 hour spinning class? I have no idea. It's fun?? I don't really have an answer to that other than I know I'm not a very strong cyclist and spinning in the winter will make the transition to road cycling in the spring a little easier.

My shoulders hurt for a couple days after last weekend's spin class (I was mentally cursing Tim every time I tried to put my coat on) so I raised the handlebars (correct term??) this week so that felt better. One thing you can't change on a spinning bike though? The saddle. You can change the position but you can't change the fact that the seat seems giant compared to my road bike. Contrary to what most people think, a smaller seat tends to be more comfortable than a large one. It all depends on the placement and how the saddle fits on your sit bones. The spinning seats do NOT fit my backside I guess. The second I got on the bike, my @$$ hurt. Yes, I realize it has been a while since I've been on a bike and typically it does take a couple rides to toughen up the backside again but I don't think there is any getting completely used to the spinning bikes. Maybe that's just me.

Tim had a 2 hour and 6 second playlist for us to ride our way through....including 30 minutes and 30 seconds of hill climbing. I have never been so thrilled to climb hills before because it meant I could get up out of the seat.

Last week, I apparently blacked out for one of the climbs and completely left out one of the songs in my post about the spin class. Tim read my post and pointed that out. So this week, he conveniently sent me the climb song list. I told him I'd have to start taking notes during class if it got any longer. My memory isn't so great, especially when I'm oxygen deprived when trying to remember something such a the song we are climbing to.

As we first got started and were spinning through a warm up, I mentioned that my skin was still cold to the touch from my 6 miles out in the cold. Tim told me not to worry, I wouldn't be cold for long. That was the truth!

Ahhh, Tim. Thank you for capturing me in all my sweatastic glory.

Climb 1:
"If Today Was Your Last Day" by Nickelback -
Tim reminded us about his hero who recently completed a round of chemo. Even though I was feeling the 6 miles I completed earlier in the morning during this climb, you CANNOT sit down when you know that the climb is dedicated to a young man fighting cancer for the 3rd time. I also noted that I was NOT cold anymore.

Climb 2:
"The Climb" by Miley Cyrus
Tim shared a story of a woman on last year's Lake Tahoe team who was afraid of hill climbs (I think I'd like to meet this woman!). One of the team hero's mom thought of this woman and told her about this song. While not many adults would admit to listening to Miley Cyrus, the lyrics really are appropriate when trying to climb. This was all it took for that woman to make it to the top of a large climb. And while I'm not a fan either, the song got me up an indoor climb without falling off my bike or passing out.

Climb 3:
"Right Now" by Van Halen
Another team hero was actually spinning with us. He is a cancer survivor and was in there surviving the 2 hours spinning class right alongside us. After his cancer diagnosis, he realized more than ever that you need to live right now. Be present in your life right now. I absolutely love this because this is one of my greatest struggles. Sometimes I get hung up on things that have happened in the past or even get way too wrapped up in planning for the future when I'm living my life right now. I won't lie though, I blurted out half way through this climb that "I'd really like this hill to be over right now."

Climb 4:
"Use Me" by Bill Withers
Finally! Another hill so I can get off this seat. I was trying to work though in my head what was the most polite way to say, "Holy crap, Tim, my @$$ hurts so bad!"

Climb 5:
"American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz
Before this climb officially started, I was up out of the seat. I kept the resistance on the bike down but I really needed to get off my butt. It was starting to get really uncomfortable. Tim decided to take the opportunity to dedicate the climb/song to the "Gym Class Dropout" turned Hill Climbing Queen" and told us to dial up the resistance. I was amused, which did make the hill go by a lot more quickly. I still hadn't figured out the polite way to say "Holy crap, Tim, my @$$ hurts so bad" so I'm pretty sure at some point, I may have just blurted it out just like that. Sometimes I just can't help but blurt out my thoughts....especially when I'm experiencing some discomfort.

Climb 6:
"Best of You" by the Foo Fighters
For some reason, during this song, I noticed how low my heart rate stayed through almost the entire song. Despite cranking out the same intensity (at least I thought so) as the other hills, I felt much more relaxed as we made our way up the hill. It wasn't until the last 90 seconds of the song that I noticed that it seemed like Tim was sprinting up his imaginary hill. If the coach is sprinting, them maybe I should to. I gave the last 90 seconds as much as I had. If I was going to spend time out of the seat, I might as well really take advantage of it. Or something like that.

Climb 7:
"Dreams" by Van Halen
The last climb before the cool down. Cool down? I was sweating like a beast by this point. There was only one other girl in the class (Go TNT Staff!) and we had been joking about how there was no way we were glistening. We were sweating hard core. I have also decided that 36 ounces of water for 2 hours of spinning is NOT enough. I could have easily downed another bottle of water while on that bike. I normally drink A LOT of water when I work out but the water loss was obscene. I lost about a pound of water during the morning's workouts. Can you guess what I spend the rest of the day replenishing??

I survived another crazy long spin class with crazy hills. So I was going to call that 2 different workouts but do 7 hill climbs count for anything extra? I'll need to think about that.

Last week I cursed Tim every time I had to put my coat on or when I would walk up stairs. This week, I'm cursing him every time I sit down. Which is a lot considering I have a desk job. But it's all in good fun.