Spin Class take two

I went to the early morning spin class again. I'm getting better about timing as well. If I get up at 5 am and leave the house at 5:15, I arrived at 5:30, and had to wait for the coach to arrive. I do want to get there early to get a team trainer and there aren't that many, but that's too early. I did take a little nap in the car, which was nice. Today I woke up at 5:15 and still got there about 5:35, so still had time for a little nap.

A different coach this morning- I think there are about 5 coaches in all, and this one was great. I think she's in charge of the whole program, but it's hard to tell. Felt a little more comfortable, but did core for 15 minutes afterwards, and that was tough. My back is a little tight, especially on the left side, and doing planks makes it twinge-y.

A lot of the other people have aero bars on their bikes, and I covet them. They look all cool, and they take the pressure off your hands, which is a problem for me. My right hand falls asleep, even after changing gloves, adjusting the handlebars at my LBS (local bike shop in triathlon lingo), and changing positions frequently. The problem with aero bars for me is my gut is in the way. It's bad even now when I use the drop handlebars, but in the aero position I would be even further bent over. It's just not very nice to be punching myself in the gut with each pedal stroke. Hm, how to fix that?

Spin Class

I'm trying to hit all the major types of classes my New Triathlon Training Group has to offer, and next up- the 6 am spin class. I've been to spin classes at my gym and actually like them. There they turned the lights off and turn up the music and it's a very intense, high endorphin rush type of class. The spin class here uses trainers like the one on the right. They are really cool because you use your own bike. It took a little getting used to- it's more unsteady that a stationary bike. And I didn't realize there's an adjuster knob at the back that regulates the pressure on the rear wheel. So I was at my biggest gear and not working hard at all for the first 15 minutes until I asked the woman next to me, who helped me adjust it. And then it was much harder, but better. I managed to keep up for the most part, though the cadence is the hard part for me. I know going at 90-100 cadence in a smaller gear will help in endurance cycling, but at 100 cadence, I feel like I'm jiggling and bouncing all over the place. I need to work on smoothing that out. But overall a good time, and at 6 am it's a lot cooler and less crowded than the afternoon spin classes, so I'm going to stick with that.