spinning

Getting certified

Thanks for all of the nice comments and congratulations on my last post. A little info on the Spinning course:

  • I received a manual to read before the orientation
  • I had to attend a 9-hour orientation
  • Lastly, I had to take a 50 question test

I left off in my last post saying that I had a lot of doubts before I took the course.

I had no idea my parents were getting me this as a Christmas gift so I was a little taken aback (but def. not ungrateful!) on Christmas. They said that me becoming an instructor is kind of like a Christmas gift that keeps on giving because I can gain employment from it.

They also said I didn’t have to take the course if I didn’t want to–they just didn’t know what to get me for Christmas and went out on a limb with this idea. So I thought why not? If I get certified and hate it, at least I tried and had a cool experience!

What the orientation was like

The orientation was at a local gym about 35 minutes from my home. It began at 10am and ended at 7pm. Needless to say, it was a long day. Twelve people were at the orientation and it was all in one room. We each had a Spinning bike and a chair next to it.

Here’s a breakdown of the day:

  • 10am-12:30pm: Learned about the history of Spinning and how to properly set up a bike.
  • 12:30-2:00pm: Performed a “form ride” where the teacher checked everyone’s form and we all practiced basic spinning skills like jumping and standing climbs.
  • 2:00-2:30pm: LUNCH! (I packed a pb&j, an apple, carrots, a Luna bar, hard boiled eggs, a tuna sandwich, popcorn, and trail mix—> We were told that we would need to eat a lot because we were going to be riding the bikes a lot.)
  • 2:30-6:00pm: Learned about endurance, strength, recovery, and interval training as well as heart rate training and how to put together a class and choose music.
  • 6:00-7:00pm: Rode the bike again for a tough class.

(^ I packed a lot of stuff for the day…!)

*So overall, I had three hours of riding, five and a half hours of learning, and thirty minutes for lunch to make it a nine hour day.*

My thoughts on the orientation

  1. I wish it was broken up into two days of four and a half hours instead of one nine-hour day.
  2. It made my butt really sore :p.
  3. I really enjoyed the instructor–she was very knowledgeable and nice.
  4. I was whooped by the end of the day. My body was really tired from spinning and my mind was really full. It took me all day Sunday to process everything in my head!

Tomorrow or sometime soon I’ll do another post on the 50 question test and what I plan to do with my certification!

On running

First and foremost, I promised a 5k recap. On Sunday my little sister and I ran a 5k costume race and we were both ballerinas. I think we were too cold to take a lot of pictures but we got a few. The race was in a state park around the lake that I swam a 5k race in (in July), very cool! The temperate was around 40* and a lot of people showed up in silly costumes.

(Hannah was a Steeler’s ballerina) I spent any time I wasn’t running next to the fire. Hannah came in at around 29 minutes… not too shabby for a 13 year old!Like my tutu?! My time: 22:52. Pace: 7:29. I wasn’t too happy with myself because this race is quite flat.. I wanted to do better but I haven’t done ANY speed work since I was at Seton Hill practicing cross country.

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On running: I feel as if running was a huge part of my blog in July-August because I was getting ready for the cross country season and I HAD to run because my coach had given me a specific training plan that I was to follow.

Then I got a knee injury. Then I didn’t end up running cross country.

Ever since late August, running has just been here and there in my blog. Sometimes I talk about a race and sometimes I don’t mention it for weeks.

I have been running! In fact, yesterday I went out for a run. Stats: 4.16 miles in 36 minutes with an 8:38 pace. Cool beans.

Here are a few reasons as to why running hasn’t been discussed too much lately:

1. School has taken over my life. No joke! I feel as if all I do is study/write papers/do homework. I’m so happy to be learning so much and i’m feeling blessed that I am getting a college education. I want to make the most of what I am learning and I want to achieve the best grades I can. Sometimes running just doesn’t fit into my schedule. That’s okay with me. Lately, I run about 2-3 times a week.

One of the many to-do lists I write daily.

2. I’m still afraid to “go hard” because I don’t want to get injured again. I haven’t done speed work since August. The least little twinge I feel in my knee or any body part for that matter makes me question if I should be running or not. So sometimes I just take a week off if I feel funky.

3. I have been loving swimming and weight lifting lately. I often go through phases of activities/things that I love. Just ask my boyfriend, I’ve been obsessed with scrap booking, spinning, playing Mario on my iPod late at night,baking cakes, Just Dance 2, reading, coloring, and attempting to crochet. I’m still obsessed with some of the things I just mentioned (baking when I have time, Just Dance 2, and reading). I go through the same thing with sports. I can’t say I have ever been burned out on running because it is still new to me, but I have definitely been burned out on swimming! Lately I have been loving the pool and I swim about 3x a week! Unless i’m training for a triathlon, i’m not going to swim and run the same day, so if i’m swimming 3x a week that leaves me 2-3 days of running or weight lifting and I do what ever I feel like. Yay swimming!

4. The weather is getting COLD! Yeah… this is a crappy excuse haha. Cold weather running isn’t my favorite thing, but I still run… just not as much ;).

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So that’s why running hasn’t been on my blog too much. Would I like it to be on my blog more? YEAHH!! I suppose that is something I can work on, but i’m not going to force myself to do anything I don’t want to/feel like/have time for.

I have been looking into a half marathon or a full marathon for the early spring.. so we’ll see if I get any injuries in the near future. If not, then I’m game for a half or full!

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Have you ever held back on all-out running/other sports because you were afraid of re-injuring yourself?