why don’t you take me to . . .

spin class serenade

i really like the spin classes at my gym — they are challenging, the bikes work well, and you don’t have to arrive super-early to ensure a spot because they rarely fill to max capacity. however, i have one complaint:

the music SUCKS.

i go to an all-women’s gym in chapel hill, and in general, i love it. it is a bit pricey, but it has what i need and is a pleasant, clean workout environment. the gym’s patrons are a somewhat odd mix of college-aged girls who for some reason don’t want to work out at the UNC gym, and middle-aged women, many of whom have a crunchy granola sort of vibe to them (and seem to enjoy lounging around naked in the locker room). people on both sides are nice, but i exist somewhere in the middle and i’m not sure where the rest of the late-twenties set is working out.

anyway, back to spin class. i appreciate an occasional oldie, but 60 minutes of late 70s/early 80s cheeseball music with a smattering of what i would probably classify as ‘worst hits of the 90s’? terrible. last night’s class included such gems as:

■ “why don’t you take me to . . . FUNKY TOWN!”

■ “YMCA”

■ taylor dayne’s “tell it to my heart” (wonder whatever happened to ms. dayne?)

■ effing “mambo #5” (!!!!!)

i think the best song played was “groove is in the heart” by dee-lite. now, that is saying something.

there were many more, especially in that 70s genre, but i couldn’t tell you because i’ve blocked it all out. now, i am sure that the older women are familiar with these hits, but i am not sure they actually like them. the young set must have been just . . . confused. personally, having (whew!) missed that decade, i associate most of the 70s stuff with bad infomercials for mix “best of the 70s!” tapes, and it all just hurts my sensibilities.

i was good and practiced mindfulness and didn’t let it get to me — instead, i worked out the annoyance on the bike! maybe that was the instructor’s intention all along? in addition to sweating out my irritation, i also started designing a new-and-improved spin class playlist in my head. some highlights:

■ (warmup) radiohead, “everything in its right place”

■ (early buildup) shins, “girl inform me”

■ (steady state) lady gaga, “pokerface”

■ (more buildup) m.i.a., “paper planes”

■ (steep climb) christina aguilera, “fighter”

■ (buildup) arcade fire, “neighborhood #3 (power out)”

■ (aggressive jumps) carrie underwood, “before he cheats”

■ (intervals — and to satisfy the older set) beatles, “revolution”

■ (speedwork) britney spears, “if you seek amy”

■ (speed/climb) white stripes, “the hardest button to button”

■ (more speed) beyonce, “single ladies”

■ (last pump-up song!) REM, “end of the world as we know it”

■ (cooldown) ingrid michelson, “die alone”

there. lots of well-known crowdpleasers, some classic ‘pump-up’ songs, a few less familiar tunes, and 8 jillion times more motivating than “mambo #5.” i think i will actually approach my gym staff about doing something like this — maybe having a once a week class where a class member gives the instructor a playlist 1 week in advance?

schedule fiasco
i’m not going to go into details, but something very bad just happened in the world of coordinating two resident schedules and i’m holding my breath that everything will turn out okay. arghghghghghghghghgh. i am practicing mindfulness by being aware and acknowledging the waves of frustration and desperation as they come, but i sort of want to tear my hair out and scream anyway. i think i’ll go for a run instead.

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4.14.09

workout: 1 hr spin class + 30 minutes gentle hatha yoga (flow #2 from yogadownload). spin class HR stats: average 163, max 180. lower than when i first started spinning. since spinning is so dependent on your own effort and there’s no gauge on the bikes, i can’t tell if i’m getting fitter or just lazier. maybe a bit of both.

doin’ time: it was a late-ish dinner that i made after coming home from spin, but the timing worked out nicely as josh was very excited to come home to a home-cooked meal that was just complete at 8:45 pm. on the plate: chicken breast with dijon and tarragon cream sauce, spinach salad with dried cherries (and pumpkin seeds — which are not in the picture because i forgot to add them before taking it), and a near east whole grains rice pilaf blend that had pecans and spices. recipes in the sidebar as usual!
we both enjoyed the great combination of flavors — i LOVE tarragon. i also enjoyed the cream sauce as a decadent change — it was silky and delicious.

reading: 30 minutes on the bereavement process in children. it was sad!

flossing: check.