Our Iron Man

The day before Mr. Fantastic’s date with the Iron Man and we are sending positive thoughts his way.  It’s not just the fact that he is competing, that will never be enough he wants it to be better, faster and more.  There is no victory in just participating for him.  I have no doubt  the goal he has set will not be an apparition, but a certificate embossed in gold. 

Shut It Down

Again this week I found myself  in the 45 minute version of Mr. Mayhem and we were treated to another rendition of the  ringmaster calling his last class for the next week as he is headed to compete in  the Iron Man at Lake Placid Sunday the 25th. It was  but 4 years ago Tripp was tipping the scales at 270 lbs. Quite a feat in terms of weight loss and more extraordinary as this competition  is comprised of 2.4 miles in the water, 112 miles on the bike and the classic 26.2 marathon distance on foot. Is that material for a book or what?  There is much more about Mr. Incandescent we would love to know and when he catches his breath after this competition I will sit down with him and get some newspaper copy for all of us to sink our teeth into. 

To a near packed house in the noon hour you can just feel the ground swell I was talking about yesterday starting to cascade over the membership at Equinox. Make no mistake about it Tripp has a following that we are only beginning to discover. When I ask my other cycle mates about who they spin with and when  Tripp’s name comes up, a big smile creases their face. And if by chance they haven’t, I give them a bagful of superlatives to urge them to sample this motion picture with the ever changing script. 

I swear that I am more soaked after this class than any other. Maybe it’s just the hot weather but in  the pool beneath my bike, I could do a jack knife into by mid session. The music was eclectic and seemed to fit my ear preferences as it reached back into the early 80’s and when he finished with Enigma for the cool down I could hardly believe our time was over. At the bottom of this post is the link for the Iron Man in case you want to follow the exploits of our hero this Sunday. 

Iron Man: http://www.ironmanlakeplacid.com/

Ground Swell

It was a break through day for me in the CS. At first I thought it was the bike #16 because the pedal stroke felt so smooth. I had the feeling that my legs had became one with the bike. And so I kept ramping up on the flywheel and the ease with which my RPM's were increasing was like a light switch had went off in my physiology.

The viscerality in Tripp's class is always present but today the kinesthetic dial got broken in the up position and although the music selection almost had me on the ceiling I was able keep my heart in my chest (just barely) and I put forth an effort that tops any class I have ever taken at Equinox. I don't know about you but when passion knocks on my solar plexus I answer the call with all my heart and soul. I haven't felt like this since my 2 hr. 39 min. Boston Marathon. The exhilaration in Mr. Fantastic's class might be illegal it's that good. And although I am sober nigh on 21 years it almost feels like it is intoxicating. There is something about this man that reaches into my heart and mind like no exercise trainer I have ever met. It's so amorphous I can't even figure out how to say it just yet. I fashion myself as a wordsmith but I have not found the vocabulary that adequately embraces what this experience feels like. You can only drink it and taste it for yourself. Then you will know my friends, then you will know.

The imagery hit me about mid session and it was the phrase, “Ground Swell”. You know that feeling when you are in the ocean and you feel the water underneath you and you are buoyed upward? Or if you were in a boat and the rising tide lifted all boats? It was what I felt collectively as I witnessed efforts around me I had not seen before. It may have been an optical illusion or an incantation but the hour disappeared like blowing out a candle.  

I Love Raspberries Too!

I got the feeling that Mr. Mayhem does not always stick to the low fat regimen that one might conceive he does based on the exercise regimen he lives. He let it be known that he loves raspberries and a generous helping of cream as well. What? Cream? Fat and cholesterol enough to clog the arteries to a standstill? But there must be room for living in the world of exercise and life's rewards certainly can include raspberries and cream.  

Tripp Unplugged

I  noticed that Tripp's power bike was unplugged. As if he needed any power on his bike. I might have to start calling him Mr. Incandescent because he can light any bulb without any power source except his own eternal blue flame of desire. He is transformational on so many levels. The disheveled young man that every so often has to fold back his unruly locks from his brow. He does this I think to reflect on the life he is living and sharing with us in each moment, he graces us with his extraordinary charm and energy that disappears like a dream we had last night but can't seem to recall the details to.

All Passion, No Smoke

The excitement today in Mr. Fantastic's class was off the veritable Richter Scale. It was in a word incalculable. And when he played some musical favorites from my era, if it were not for the bike being a stationary one I would have climbed into the ionosphere. A bit of hyperbole I will admit. but there never was a man who I knew so little about but was I so willing to put my trust in. His boundless energy inspires me to put forth an effort I haven't felt since running up the Empire State Building steps.

It's a three ring circus and an amusement park all rolled into one. The admission price is our membership at Equinox and filling out the little square box at the reception desk and voila, we land in the seat of a numbered bike. Then we witness the whirling dervish transform himself from the quiet, self effacing young man we hardly know into the animated comic book character that takes on a personification we want to cheer and sweat a river to.

Tripp is on the final leg of his quest for the Iron Man in Lake Placid New York on the 25^th if my recall of the date is correct. We all wish him well and when he let it slip that but 4 years ago he weighed 270 pounds and now is entered in the most grueling events known to humankind there is nothing we can't do if we put our minds to it.

All passion, no smoke and truer words could never be  spoken about  Tripp Doherty. All passion, no smoke and oh yes no mirrors either.

Tripp's Dialogue

It has been way too long since I have partaken in Mr. Mayhem's Coney Island review. I have been occupado in Kristen's Spin Class and although I love the structure I miss the spontaneity that Mr. Fantastic supplies with his extemporaneous repertoire of unrestrained mad dashery as only he can supply.

I was watching an old movie this past Sunday from 1928 and although it was silent the comedian was remarkably entertaining, his name: Harold Lloyd. What struck me along with his expressive countenance comedy was the archive footage of Coney Island amusement park in it's heyday. Inside Coney was the famous Luna Park, which closed in 1944 and has now reopened this year. Once I saw the patrons on the steeplechase ride Mr. Mayhem's class came to mind. I loved that ride as a kid and in the saddle with Mr. Fantastic I am a kid again.

Tripp's tuesday is typical Mayhem with him leading 4 classes in two locations and I got a chance to lock knuckles with him just before he started class number 3. And I vowed I will be back to enjoy this truly remarkable instructor ASAP.