Race Day #2: February 27, 2010

RACE DAY is a chance for spinners to measure their fitness level and challenge themselves beyond a normal class by keeping their heart rate above 80% for twenty minutes or more. It is also an opportunity to build team-spirit in your group exercise program, a sense of "we will overcome together". If your participants have a goal, a team, and a coach, they are much more likely to stick to a fitness schedule, reach their fitness goals, and feel good about themselves. Make spinning more than a class that random individuals go to; make it an integral part of their lives that they can't miss.

The RACE DAY in the fall semester was a lot of fun, but there were several issues I wanted to ameliorate for the second try. Our spin bikes have no way of measuring heart rate or pace or effort levels. Last Fall, I had made the race about percent effort, how you feel at the time. This is not very scientific and doesn't give any concrete marker for participants to measure their efforts. This time I had spinners learn how to measure their heart rates throughout PEAK WEEK, so this time racers could have some data and a benchmark for future comparisons.

There was a lot more organization to this event. I made sure people knew to wait outside the spin room until all the bikes were set up. I spoke with the attendant beforehand to make sure he knew there would be a special event and to make sure everyone stayed in line. Instead of making the sweat bands (they turned out to be way too hot), I bought Nike headbands for the ladies and gel packs for the fellows. I still set up all the cards with inspirational phrases, the photos of far away places, and streamers.

This course was a figure eight loop. Each song was one figure eight. 2 min flat, 2 min standing flat, 1 min flat.

Warm Up Tracks:
*Heart Rate (HR) Check #1
1. Survivor by Beyonce (4:13)
2. Mony Mony by Billy Idol (5:00)
3. How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20 (3:31)
*HR Check #2

RACE:
1. All I Ever Wanted by Basshunter (4:45)/Lo
2. Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard (4:50)/Hi *HR Check #3
3. Into The Groove (Sidechains Remix) by Madonna (5:32)/Lo
*HR Check #4
4. Lose Yourself by Eminem (5:20)/Hi
5. Crazy by Britney Spears (3:18)/Max, *HR Check #5

Cool Down:
We Are The Champions by Queen (3:00), *HR Check #6

RACE DAY Musings

Forgot to mention in my last post how RACE DAY actually turned out. My cryptic email messages and in-class announcements did their job: Spinners got really excited about the day. There was a buzz around Pottruck Gym which reached new participants and my rather surprised boss. One of my Regulars even said that she'd been talking about it to her parents and was bursting with anticipation all week long. Said Regular and two others also decided to make 'costumes' for the occasion. I was completely tickled to see their "NINA IS MY HERO" jerseys. I myself bought a racing outfit (NB: I bought a triathlon outfit that would help motivate me to sign up for my first triathlon in August...I mean, if I have the duds, I HAVE to sign up, right?). My race attire matched my neon green sweatband, which I wore 80's style across my forehead. In block letters, you could easily see my "TEAM" and "MIND/BODY" catch phrases. Did I mention that I stayed up until 2AM the night before making those bands? Crafts take so much longer than you think... It was just as well the bands took me so long, I was so excited I couldn't sleep.

The hours leading up to class passed in a whirl wind. Greg had agreed to meet me an hour before class to help me set up the bikes, etc...however, the day before he had a huge exam and slept through his alarm. He did make it in time for the event, but this left me alone to move all the bikes into a square, hang streamers, and set up the cards and photos. Fortunately Cecilia and others arrived 35 minutes early to claim their spots and I was able to delegate the duties. By T-30 minutes, there was already a bulging line out the door. It was up to me to take charge, make sure people stayed outside and then pass out the right bands to the right people.

Slight difficulties arose because this wasn't a separate, official event. It was first come, first serve; so a complete Newbie could have show up and come into this situation. For my Regulars, I had specific bands that I wanted to give them. For instance, I wanted Dorsey to have the "SexyBack" band because we had worked on posture technique together. To Linds, the "Endure" band because a) she's made so much improvement since she started last year and b) she said it was her favorite of my catch phrases. Cecilia: "Breathe" because she's really into yoga...Hope: "Faith", obviously you can't have Faith (the second song) without Hope (made connection and joke during the track). Anyways, the list goes on. I had made up a list of all the people that I knew, and hoped, would come to class and what power words I associated with them. The tricky part was that I didn't know for certain who was coming. And I was hoping that no one new showed up that day and took the spot of a Regular.

I, myself, felt the same feelings and anticipatory-nerves that I'd feel before any race (and I was a little nervous about whether people would show up)--which is exactly what I was going for! The Race went off without a hitch and I made my usual corny jokes. For instance, during "Sex Bomb," which was popular during my first semester in France, I told the story of how this French guy commented, "Nina, normally you are like ice, but tonight you are on fire!" I then followed with a "Fire it up, Team!" Also, I had a real blast beating on the cowbell during "Phantom of The Opera" to signify pace changes.

*The feedback to me personally and to my boss, Katie, was so positive that Katie has agreed to make TWO OFFICIAL RACE DAYS this next semester! Now we can have a sign up sheet and a separate time just for this event! I have so many ideas already on how to make it better and run more smoothly.

In any case, the goal of this class was two-fold. A) To test how your training is going & B) To keep people excited about working out. Definitely accomplished both of those tasks. Success!

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to all the Regulars who make planning spin classes such a delight!

RACE DAY (Spin Profile #41)

Over the course of the last semester, I pondered what makes a good spin class. And more importantly, what makes my spin class awesome?

1. Music. Connecting me and the participants to the music.

2. Well thought-out and organized profile that fits with the music.

3. Challenging. My classes are hard. I push us to only take breaks at the end of a set.

4. Sense of team. We're in this together. For me, it's not just about showing up to class, playing the profile, and then leaving. I care about the Team and if we all meet our goals (and whether or not we all make it through and feel good about ourselves afterwards).

5. Innovation leads to motivation. I keep myself and the team excited about coming to class with new ideas: new music, themes, race day, spin list serve

6. Belief in my Team. I believe that everyone can do more than they think. Sometimes we all need just one person to believe in us and push us to that next level.

Notice how I mention 'Team' several times. Last January, I was taught in my Body Pump training to think of myself more as a coach than an instructor; to think of my class as my Team. The number one aspect of college that I miss the most is my Track Team: people with whom I share common goals and who support me to achieve those goals. In following this train of thought, I realized that perhaps the students who come to my class are looking for those same things. A sense of belonging to a team that will help them feel good and challenge to the next level.

This is when I thought about doing a Race Day. As a runner, I've had many opportunities to experience the adrenaline rush and re-motivating euphoria of a race. This is what we need our spin team to experience as well! You may wonder, "Nina, you're on an indoor-stationary bike, how can you have a race?" With a little planning, creativity, competition, and just the right spin profile, you can simulate the feeling of showing up to that starting line, racing through an 'out and back' race course, and challenging yourself to your edge.

What does that mean for the indoor cyclist? Racing means (at least to me), picking a pace that is not comfortable and holding it (more or less steady). On our bikes, there is neither a heart monitor nor a pedometer...so the only way to gauge effort level is by manually checking your HR and the less-scientific approach of "How do I feel." Either way, the goal is to keep your heart rate above 80% for most of the ride (just a slight break in the middle on the "turn around").

To hype the event and add on mystery, I organized a spinning list serve with the regulars (this actually has turned out to be a great tool to connect with regulars and get song suggestions). I made sure that people knew this was coming and to mark their calendars, but I didn't really say what it meant. Unbeknownst to my spinners, I started preparing them for Race Day two months in advance with Endurance and Strength Profiles and also by slowly decreasing the number of breaks allowed. For example, we started out the semester doing sets of two songs--can take a water break at this point. Then it became after three, then four and so on. We slowly increased our overall endurance so by the time Race Day came around, we had the endurance to last through 6 (regular length) songs without a break.

It took me three weeks to narrow down the profile. I at first thought of doing only longer-than-seven-minute songs to encourage the endurance aspect...but there are not many songs that everyone can stand for seven minutes. And many of them start out with slow, guitar anthems...

I decided on five songs to take us out, one middle song to transition us for the turnaround, and then four songs (more intense pace) to take us back.

Instead of a usual profile filled with different drills, I kept it simple. It's a race after all, we want it simple and you wouldn't be doing drills or intervals in a race. So, I had two commands: Rolling and Flats. Rolling means we turn the resistance up to a 2 (aka your challenge resistance) and go out to standing-position 3. Flats means we sit down, turn the resistance down, and get on the FR cadence. That "rolling" was meant as a sprint up a hill. In terms of how fast you should be going, mostly the cadence/tempo of the song is a good indicator. For instance, Take My Hand by Simple Plan is FAST and it's near the end, so just keep up with the song.

But remember, this is a race. Every moment should be at your edge. There are only three speeds today: FAST, FASTER, and FASTEST!

Additional Surprises:

1. Set the bikes up in a square. Everyone had a partner/competitor across from them

2. Decorated with Penn-colored streamers

3. Made sweatbands for each participant. Each had one of my favorite motivational words on it (Endure, Fire It Up, SexyBack...)

4. Each bike had card on it with one of the words from the sweatband with an inspirational quote on it or technique. Participants were given sweatband upon entering and had to find their matching bike

5. Each bike also had a post card of (what I thought) was a good visualization (mountains, beach, sunsets...)

6. I brought out my cowbell (what race isn't complete without one) and used it in the second half to signify bursts of speed (Fast, Faster, Fastest)

The List:
1. I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts (3:08)

2. Faith by George Michael (3:13)

3. Sex Bomb by Tom Jones (6:05)

4. I'd Do Anything For Love by Meatloaf (7:41)

5. Like A Prayer by Madonna (5:41)/treat this song like it's the last one. FASTEST! Break is coming in next song.

6. Take My Hand by Dido (6:43)/take the first minute to get control of breath and form...as the song picks up, so do you with some easy rolling.

7. Phantom of the Opera by Harajuku (6:21)/Back to our max intensity! (brought the cowbell out for this...bursts of all out sprints)

8. Hey Girl by O.A.R. (8:14)

9. Take My Hand by Simple Plan (3:51)/Coach ppl to go all out for the last two songs by moving at cadence or faster. This is RACE DAY! ENDURANCE AND STAMINA CHALLENGE TO THE MAX!

10. Halo/Walking On Sunshine by Glee Cast (2:05)

11. Symphony No. 9 Choral: IV. Ode To Joy by London Symphony Orchestra (3:19)