Day Tripper

Where else can you find a spin instructor that has never missed a spin class in what four years?  We all get sick but just like in AA when your ass falls off you pick it up and you bring it with you. A perfect idiom for the Trance Inducer, Tripp Doherty. We would be more than chagrined if we ever see a substitute in his place and I wonder who Kristen will plug in to  take his slot as he heads up to Lake Placid?  I think we should all show up in his classes as if he was there and honor him because I think he would appreciate it a lot. I may be wrong and it’s probably easier just to skip but I don’t think that’s how we roll.  Let whoever is in his place know that we are a tight knit group and although he is our inspiration our camaraderie is unlike any group he or she has ever been witness to.  

Think about it because we are a little smug when it comes to him aren’t we? If Tripp’s not there we might say to ourselves: I am going to sleep or I will catch him when he comes back. No not good enough. Let’s ask him tomorrow and see what he thinks. Maybe I am just full of hot air or trying to ride the bike in the picture.  

Lake Placid is fast approaching and I will update how our hero is doing on a regular basis so check in often and leave comments so that he can feel us back home.  

Runner's Low

Tripper wanted me to get this youtube video up and you will get a "feel" for what the Ironman is like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnqpYKx8Fvk&feature=related

I am well acquainted with Runner’s High having experienced it firsthand in my marathon and ultra-marathon days of the 70’s and 80’s but hey Jack it’s the 21st Century and the running boom is over at least for this aged warrior. I know that Lizzie of Ari and Lizzie will chide me about talking about how old I am but that’s to be expected. One because she is a sweetheart and two she is only 30 something. 

However, be that as it may I had no spin bike on my weekend retreat and so I was relegated to running on the boardwalk in Long Branch New Jersey. Not exactly a bleak prospect but I can tell you that my first run on Saturday was anything but fun. I wound up walking and running and running and walking. And I know that these beta-blockers are kicking my ass and are keeping my HR at such low levels, (Resting rate is 47) but there might be a way around these joy killers. And the answer was simple enough. It was to just keep running and today Sunday I did just that in the 6 AM hour. And I put the clock on it for a point A to B run. I took 30 minutes out and I was amazed as it was only 22 minutes coming back. I am not claiming I am ready for another Boston Marathon but it does tell me that I will include some running into my spinning regimen. I am convinced that the run will accelerate my progress in the CS.  

And no I am not ready for Dana, Maureen (Woodside) or anyone else yet and may never be but I do know this that what I claimed I would never do again has me giving one foot in front of the other a second thought. 

The Prince of Excitement

Next up my friends watch as the story unfolds before your eyes. 

When my lights go dim what better way then to head home with my handlebars in front of me and my friends of the Lavender Palace all around. I know that they will carry me out to rest to an everlasting peace.  No, not a morbid thought as some might exclaim but what better ending than to be with those that live in my heart rather than next to my toothbrush. 

A surprising near capacity room today in the 7:15, as Tripp seems to make all the odd time slots a place of anticipation for his growing legion of fans.   And I can always sense the depth of the energy when he takes the helm and today the red headed Prince took me for that ride only he can muster from my pedal stroke. Playing those familiar tunes that attack me viscerally my heart literally leaps from my thoracic cavity and wants to do a dance on the floor right next to Jennifer Lopez.  It’s tough to keep my excitement within the realm of the possibility that my sexagenarian body will allow but it’s also so satisfying to know that I still get amped up like the three way light bulb next to my reading stand.  

The Prince of Excitement nears his next challenge of his 2nd Triathlon in Lake Placid and watch here for hourly updates of his progress, as he will no doubt shatter last years mark.  He will surely give all he’s got.  

Beyond Spin

Lest it become a habit I am back at my keyboard and scribing refusing to rest from this past Saturday where my fingers couldn’t type the words fast enough. And before anyone accuses me of writers block I will make an entry from my class with Tripp Doherty yesterday at the Noon hour.  It is fast becoming apparent that our sessions with Tripper have moved past the stage of simply being an entertaining spin class, and beyond that a very closely-knit spin class. But I think things have started to escalate in terms of each other’s commitment not only to each other but also as to what type of training some of us are doing. 

Maureen Russo just recently took up an eleven-mile run after several spin classes on Tuesday on a topographically challenging run with Tripp starting at the bicycle path in Woodbury to Cold Spring Harbor and then back again. I have run the hills in Cold Spring Harbor and let me tell you they are as challenging as any hill you will find on Long Island. What made Tripp’s eyes open wide was the fact that he expected her to be far behind him and she was in his words: Right There.  

We have, as Tripp will attest a tremendous core of extreme athletes that are multi talented. You will find outdoor cyclists, runners, swimmers and in the case of Stacie Ries and Tripp, mountain climbers. I wonder if parachuting is not out of the question now.  The point is that we in Woodbury in particular are not one dimensional in the sense we not only push the envelope every time we don those spin cleats but when we put on climbing boots, running shoes or in our bare feet when we hit the liquid surfaces too.  

I am looking for stories from all of you and if you are shy those friends of those athletes that you admire let me know about because we want this blog to expand beyond the walls of our Lavender Palace. 

Wake Up Jack

I was slated for the iconic 8:30 but as I left the somnolent state this morning,  the digital clock read 4:47 and since I didn’t feel tired the 6:00 am whispered: “Get up Jack”. And out of the night chariot I arose. 

Although I have fallen head over heels for the 8:30 where the energy is always jumping I don’t get to see some of my favorites like Young Dana or PC and it’s a sure fire bet that they would be there in the 6:00 and I was not disappointed. By the way Dana is looking super svelte and you can tell her training with Tripper is paying dividends. My friend Woodside, Maureen has also stepped up her training and she is slated for an 11 miler in the hills before long. She is progressing in leaps and bounds via her running regimen and her coach has her reaching milestones weekly.  I am so tempted to do a mile or two but something is holding me back. Maybe it’s my knees.  

Tripper had us riding for longer intervals in the saddle today versus in position 3 and I for one think that although it feels easier to achieve higher RPM’s seated over standing, I also think that we can direct more power and achieve better results while seated. I will ask Tripp maybe tomorrow in his noon spin.  

Anyone have a comment about the 8:30. I need to clone myself or get a press pass. 

A Rush

How can the challenge of spinning be so satisfying?  I will venture a guess, it’s because of how much of a good time we have doing it.  I have tried doing it on my own with none of my classmates present. That experience is much like my own workouts have been like for the past seven years, lonely.  I know how to kick my own butt because I was a marathoner. But it was a solitary sport even when I was running with thousands of people.  Back then there was no one alongside me urging me to give my best performance, because I had to find that desire within. That was much easier when I was a young man but now a ½ a lifetime later I don’t have a race to train for because I am just trying to stay fit and there is no contest, no clock at each mile marker letting me know how well my training has paid off or not. As a sexagenarian fitness can seem like an amorphous pursuit but spinning has changed all that.

The results for me are much better than any personal bests, medals and trophies I may have collected back then.  Even running up the Empire State Building has not given me the same satisfaction that spinning has given me now.  I have learned to breathe, hydrate, pace my ride and give my all and no trinket can match the feeling I get when the class is over.  In fact of late the hour seems to literally fly by.  

A little over a year ago I was fortunate to stumble on Mr. Tripp Doherty.  I have supplied many adjectives to this mysterious man who injects me with adrenaline each time I have taken his class.  When I spin with him I know two things; I had an exciting ride and I am soaking wet.  It’s almost liked a great movie; it holds my attention and when I walk out of the theater I feel good. When I spin with Svengali  I have burned 500 calories as well.  And what amazes me is each time I enter the CS with him  the story he tells is one I have never heard before.

Profiles: Christine Oh

I had the pleasure of meeting Christine Oh at Lake Minnewaska last year on our ride with Tripp. She is an Iron Woman who is  humble, understated as you will read  someone we can look to for inspiration as well. She gives us a snapshot on her recent day.  

Hi Jack,

Christine Oh 

Christine wrote: "Hi Jack, not little me. My life is really not interesting enough to write about:) Just enjoying the places I go, people I meet and enjoying every step of this journey which will lead to who knows where.... today happened to be an amazing day of training, took a spin class in the morning, went and ran 10 miles, and this afternoon joined our dear friend Tripp for a mile ocean swim. It was pure bliss! It's days like today that remind me of why I do what I do. I'd like if we could all get together out on the roads or on the mountain bike soon. The weather has been so good to us, let's hope this continues:)) BTW, I had the pleasure of meeting Stacey in Tripp’s class, we did a 2.5 hr. trail run last week after his Tuesday class. She's an amazing person!"

And after she saw this story she had to comment back to me illustrating her own attractability:

Christine Oh: Lol! I'd really like to see a blog about your experiences as a 2-hour marathoner. You are one heck of an athlete yourself Jack!