Whirlwind NYC Tour: 7/1-15

Oh my goodness. It's time for another whirlwind immersion in My Former Life.

In less than 48 hours, I'll be driving to New York (leaving Kai, my shiny blue Impreza, who REALLY needs to not score me another shiny speeding ticket) for a 2-week trip to fit in as many people, coffees, and Spinning classes as possible.

If you're in town and you want to ride, here's where I'll be. All various NYSC locations around Manhattan (and one in Brooklyn). If you're not a NYSC member and you want to ride, email me at melspin@gmail.com (easier to respond via Crackberry than to blog comments; I'll be playing nomad, crashing on random friends' couches, so legit Internet access may be scant).

WEEK 1
Wed 7/1: 6:30PM (86th/Lex)
Thurs 7/2: 12:30PM (City Hall) & 6:15/7:15PM (36th/Mad)
Fri 7/3: 6:30AM (86th/Lex)
Sat 7/4: 9:30 & 10:30AM (23rd/Park)
Sun 7/5: 9:30AM (41st/3rd) *

WEEK 2
Mon 7/6 6/7PM (23rd/Park)
Tues 7/7 12:15PM (Union Sq - 14th bw 5th/6th) & 7PM (Park Slope)
Wed 7/8 6:30PM (86th/Lex)
Thurs 7/9 6PM (59th/Park)
Fri 7/10 6:30AM (23rd/Park)
Sun 7/12 9:30AM (41st/3rd)*

WEEK 3
Wed 7/15 6:30PM (86th/Lex)

*Note: Sundays have become my "50 mile training days" (ok, so maybe I've only done this twice -- and maybe only once outside; yesterday was a 3 hour ride on my Spinner - last hour was pretty tedious, not going to lie. But not exhausted at ALL -- maintained 60-65% with occasional surges to 70% and 75%.). So I'm going to keep this up in New York. Since I'll be on a Spin bike anyway (an NXT with good mirrors around, at that), I'll be riding another 2.5 hours after I wrap up my class (with a full cool-down/stretch/"goodbye"). If anyone wants to incorporate some endurance training into their lives, I'll actually plan a legit training session (instead of winging it solo). Email me.

I'm actually a bit nervous to return to my old world, as it were. Absence makes the ridiculously inflated, overhyped expectations grow fonder. And my style has tooooooooooootally changed drastically, even in the 6 weeks since I've last been in town. For the better, but tooooooooooootally different. After the mindfulness course I just taught, I can't ever go back to a world where I'm NOT orienting a training session that way. But it's ok; it'll be an interesting intellectual challenge to pull it off with a population that hasn't been "mine" in a long time (I come to town and play "rock star" in this insane parallel universe where teaching Spinning classes somehow earns that kind of ridiculous, unearned hype, reconnecting with a few regulars -- but most of these classes are people I don't know, who don't know me). It's going to be ALL about the introductions -- framing it, giving it context. I wrote about this concept once, though I can't find the link. Those first 30 seconds make or break a class -- for me, at least.

If you've been reading Spintastic for a while, you've likely abstracted the sense that I'm big on goals and sub-goals. Two trips ago, my goal was to jumpstart my new 2009 training regimen -- my sub-goal was to lay the groundwork for avoiding overtraining. Last trip, my goal was to stop teaching 5 classes a day every time I'm in town like I used to do for a living (i.e., forgetting that I don't have the same cognitive/physical resources that I did pre-medical school and thus running myself into the ground). I taught 5 for the week, and had a LOVELY time reconnecting with the non-Spinning aspects of my old world (which I was in danger of forgetting I even had!).

This time? Goal = teach as many classes as humanly possible. My brokeness is more important than my sanity/social life. Sub-goal = prevent overtraining (maintain 65% MHR for as much of the week as possible, and seize the opportunity to perfect coaching off-the-bike for ENTIRE rides against a backdrop of a 99% lack of street cred. Random sub, entirely off-bike, spouting random stuff about breath and intention and self-efficacy and whatever the hell else I talk about all day? Really?

Yup. 'Sgonna be awesome.