Team Ride and Atomic Training

How'd I Turn My Shirt Inside Out?
by
Jenn Leonard

Gaga made me do it.

Not really, but I felt Ms. Gaga when I looked down half way though spin class and saw the tag of my workout shirt. Oops!
Hey, if an inside out shirt is the worst of my appearance at 5am, Im doing pretty well!
5am is not a time I'm accustomed to being awake.
At 5am they leave the lights off for spin class.

While the Mud Demons have been kicking ass on the cyclocross circuit I've taken some time to reflect and get back to training. After all this biking thing was just a hobby in the spring, my second choice after IT band issues forced me off marathon training. Am I sure I want to throw myself into it? To suffer for glory, or defeat, as a bike racer?

The verdict: Yes.

So to spin class I go. Twice a week at 5:30am. Thankfully the gym is 2 blocks from my apartment. No Tom Petty show - I'm not "learning to fly" Im learning to hurt.
When my legs start to burn during a sprint interval I think of my last 2 races at PIR with the women's open category. I remember the pack accelerating, me unable to answer, biking long lonely laps by myself and getting lapped.
"Do you want to lose Leonard?" says the voice in my head.
(Apparently I am motivated by drill sergeant-esque put downs, always addressed to my last name.)
Sometimes the voice says
"Why aren't you hurting? If you aren't hurting, then why aren't you going faster?"
Then sometimes I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and remember what I looked like this spring, 15lbs ago. Whose legs are those anyway?
Of course other times I hear JB saying "back back back" and "up up up" as I watch my pedal stroke. When we do high resistance intervals to "Another Brick in The Wall" I imagine myself climbing through the fog on the Col du Tourmalet dueling (wo)mano a (wo)mano with Senor Contador & Herr Schleck.
Whatever it takes to keep those legs going.

This morning I was having a hard time feeling oxygenated,
breathing for my life didn't seem to help.
I was wondering if the instructor forgot to turn on the fan in the back of the room. Then the voice said "there's no fan when you're climbing to Timberline Lodge in August, and by the way, you cant just turn down the resistance when you get tired either."

So, suck it up Leonard!

I sometimes wonder if my fellow spinners think I'm a bit mad for grunting my way through class and leaving the room after looking as if I got caught in a downpour.

I felt the affects of my cadence work in spin class on our first team ride last Saturday. Let me tell you, that was an awesome time. I felt like a real bike racer pacelining with Sandra, Dey Shaun, Jake and Randy with JB driving by calling out things to work on, or blocking traffic, or handing out sandwiches and fruit.
It was a perfect cycling day - nice and cool and no rain. Ive climbed up to Thompson on Skyline probably a half-dozen times but never on the exact, sustained route we took up. Though my legs were getting tired I could feel that my leg speed had improved. Now my arms were getting tired from trying to hold my wrists straight and keeping my elbows bent. Guess I better get back to those pushups and work on that clean & jerk.

I've started JBs Atomic Training program at The Ranch in the last two weeks. Learning to ride rollers has been an experience.
So far I havent had the nerve to try it solo yet.
I'm finding interesting parallels in my Zen focus on the rollers and similar traits I'm cultivating in other areas of my life.
It seems pushing my body has inspired me to push my spirituality as well, but that's a story for another blog.
Meanwhile back at The Ranch
Jake has been teaching me the clean & jerk.
I'm pretty sure I look ridiculous doing it now, but I'm starting to get it.
I'm excited to be doing the bench press too, this weight training makes me feel like an animal!

We even worked in some swimming last week for some cross training.

Dey Shawn and Ben got in on the action this past weekend too. The guys have been cooking up some tasty food which is fantastic after a hard workout session.

Its a lot to take in, all of this bike training, and all these strange new words too; Embrocation?? I have a feeling Ill find out about that later this winter. I'm afraid of corners, fast descents and road rash.

And leaves!
I'm really freaked out about the "turtle shit" on the road right now. I guess this all goes along with the saying "do something every day that scares you. " I am looking into the mouth of the lion, my eyes are open wide!