A rose by any other name

Not that this is about a rose nor is it really about a name either, but yesterday I was at my kick-ass spin class.

The instructor is great, always works us hard, plays good music and really motivates me. I thoroughly credit her with my past performance during the 9th annual Triathlon. Just prior to this she had us working on hills and visualizing passing people. While it wasn't as smooth as she had us pretend it was, it was great when in the event I was able to pass people. It felt very surreal, like a 'this is what I'm training for' moment.

She announced to the class that she'll be taking the weekend off (which is no big thing to me as I train outdoors on the weekend), but got me thinking about the Silverman. It’s this weekend, and I was curious to see if that was the reason she was going to take class off. She is in good enough shape that it's plausible.

I mention this to her and she's says no, she camping; never done a tri before but is thinking about it, then she sheepishly says she’s never actually been on a “real” bike before.

I understand the no tri before; it seems that a lot of people specialize in one aspect. Runners are strictly runners and bikers are strictly bikers (swimmers are insane, so I don't count them!). What struck me was the "never been on a real bike".

Holy Cow! This is my “role model” telling me that she has never rode in a real world environment. That's like a marriage counselor telling you the tips for a good marriage but never being married themselves. It's easy to throw stones when you live on the outside looking in (I think I butchered several sayings there).

But maybe I'm being elitist. Maybe it's not the same as having no practical experience in the field in which you teach.

I mean what am I looking for? I want to be motivated to cycle [check!]; to raise my heart rate [check!] and sometimes to be driven to the point of death [check! (sometimes double-check]. So really, she is meeting all the 'basic' needs. Plus I get to listen to some great music, stuff I would have never thought of (BTW: Celtic music is GREAT hill climbing music!), I get to visualize the race environment, and I get some good stretches in when it's all done.

Now I'm sure, I'll have a voice in the back of my head that tells me "this isn't really how it is on the road". And the sad thing is, it’s true, there is no way you can simulate the road experience. But it’s an awesome workout and the instructor does their best to push you to your limits.

All in all, I guess it's a great thing. I just wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then.