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Workout Plan: Week of March 10, 2013 + Daylight Savings Victim

I had a crazy morning and I am so frazzled right now. Something about me: I am insane when it comes to being early. I am always ridiculously early for everything. I can’t ever be on time and I can certainly never be late; I NEED to be at least 15 minutes early everywhere I go, usually more. If I’m not 15 minutes early, I consider myself late.

When I teach spin, I’m there at least 30 minutes early so I can take my time, use the bathroom, set up my bike, make sure my music cord is plugged in and playing correctly, etc.

I set my alarm for 4:30 this morning, to teach my 6am class. I woke up before my alarm feeling nauseous, but awake. I usually wake up on my own between 5 and 5:30, so normally waking up on my own before 4:30 would be a red flag that something was off. But since I felt nauseous, I just assumed that my nausea is what woke me up. I didn’t think much of it.

I got up, took my time getting ready and at 5am thought about how I had so much time. That thought was literally interrupted by seeing the clock say 6am. It hit me right away what happened, and my stomach dropped as I realized my class should be starting at that exact time.

I was a victim of daylight savings.

I was the person I usually judge. I have an alarm clock that automatically adjusts the time to what the iPhone or iPod says. Of course, that only works when you actually DOCK the iPhone into the alarm. Which I obviously did not do.

I yelled for Andy to get up and he said he’d drive me. (Normally, I walk the 15 minutes myself). I shoved my stuff in my bag (forgetting all my clothes for work and tonight’s Revolve class) and called the gym on the way to let them know I’d be there in five minutes.

I am so grateful to Andy for driving me and not complaining about his unexpected early wake-up. I ran into the gym and there were three people in the class. I apologized profusely and they were all really nice about it.

I started my music and then realized I was using the gym’s cord and not my longer one that reaches to my bike. I tried switching it but for some reason today it wasn’t working! So the music stopped for a minute, making me even more frazzled, as I switched back to the gym’s cord and accepted that I wouldn’t have my playlist in front of me.

Did I mention it was a mostly new playlist full of songs I haven’t taught before?

Once we were up and running for real, I asked the three students if they wanted a shorter version of the class or if they’d like the full 55 minutes. They all said I should teach the full class and I told them if anyone had to leave early, I understood. No one did! I was so happy they all stayed and were so nice about it. The class itself was awesome too and I know I provided an awesome workout despite the issues! I really liked the playlist and the ride profile, and the three students being so nice about it made me feel so much better. If any of you from today’s class are reading this – THANK YOU!

We wrapped up at 7:10, 15 minutes later than usual. Not too bad, and I’m just relieved they were all so nice about it. I’ve been annoyed with late instructors before, but I know it happens to the best of us (even my idol Brynn from Refine, on Thanksgiving day when she realized she couldn’t get across the parade to teach class on time. It all worked out in the end and we had an amazing class when she got there anyway. You just have to adapt). It won’t happen again because it’s just not in my nature, and I am definitely learning to teach under stressful circumstances. So in the end it will hopefully make me a better instructor.

But the frazzle didn’t end there. After class I showered at the gym, and when I went to get dressed realized I left the entire bag of clothes I packed at home. I packed them, but in my frenzy didn’t throw the bag in my gym bag. So I had to go all the way home (the gym is closer to my office than my apartment) so I could get dressed and finish getting ready, before heading back out to walk to the office.

On my way to my apartment, a black cat walked right past me.

And that was all before 8 am.

In other news, tonight is the FREE DSB & Fitness NYC Revolve Body Ride class! Jason Tran is teaching, he is sweet and awesome and funny and motivating and high energy. We are all very excited to see you all tonight at 8:30 pm! Shoe rentals are free. I believe there might be a couple of spots open, so please let us know if you’d like to attend (or if you can no longer make it).

Here’s my workout plan for this week of March 10, 2013:

  • Sunday – Rest (When I saw how nice the weather was, I hoped to get a 3 mile run in before the sun went down but thanks to 45-minute Holland Tunnel gridlock in Manhattan I didn’t make it back home from Boston in time. I hate NYC.)
  • Monday – Teach spin (55 min) and Body Ride at Revolve (45 min)
  • Tuesday – Refine (1 hr) or run 4 miles (Depends on how late I get home from the Revolve class….)
  • Wednesday – Refine (1 hr)
  • Thursday – Refine (1 hr)
  • Friday – TBD – Either Refine, Revolve or Run based on Tuesday….
  • Saturday – Teach spin (50 min) and Refine (1 hr)

Here’s how my workouts last week went:

  • Sunday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
  • Monday – Teach spin (55 min) – Complete!
  • Tuesday– Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
  • Wednesday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
  • Thursday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Not complete, got a call to sub spin at Club H so I did that instead
  • Friday – Run 4 miles outside – Not complete, the weather drastically changed since the initial report and there was a snowstorm. Considered treadmill but decided to REST.
  • Saturday – Teach spin (50 min) – Complete!

And that’s where we are. I have more to update you on. I bought myself an exciting 30th birthday present (my birthday is on March 21) and I’m excited to share what that is with you.

Looking forward to seeing you at Revolve tonight!

Have you fallen victim to Daylight Savings? Make me feel better and tell me about it. I won’t judge you (anymore).

My 2nd Place 5K Race Medal, Spotify Gripes, VSL3/Doctor Rant, Andy Took My Class

Happy Tuesday, friends. Here are a few random things going on in my life right now.

Andy In My Class

Andy took the spin class I taught last night! He hasn’t taken my class before because I usually teach at absurdly early times in the morning. Last night was my first evening class.

I was so happy he came because I wanted some real feedback from someone who doesn’t feel like they have to be nice to me. I also wanted to kick his ass. I succeeded at that and I loved going over the specifics of the class with him after and hearing how my class seems to someone who (1) has taken FlyWheel before and (2) does not usually spin.

He got to hear a variation of the playlist I’ve been using (I haven’t had any of the same students twice yet, so I’ve been playing off mostly the same canvas). I loved hearing how each song in particular was for him in terms of intensity, placement, emotional response and enjoyment. Tomorrow night I will debut an entirely new playlist that I will also dip into for my Saturday and Monday morning classes.

I do find it interesting how the three gyms I know in Jersey City don’t provide mics for instructors. I lost my voice during the class because I had to yell so loud.

VSL3

I’ve been sick since August, 2007. Almost six years, which is crazy to me because it still feels so new. It seems like yesterday I was eating delicious salads with eight free toppings for lunch – NYC living at its finest. I miss it. Anyway, if you’ve been reading for awhile you know that I’ve gone to many doctors, including the best GI specialists in New York City. After nothing helped me feel better, I continued going from doctor to doctor, hoping someone would have some idea that might help me – other than surgery. No one did.

And then last week, a friend of mine told me a friend of hers raved about this crazy strong probiotic called VSL3. It’s recommended for people with Crohn’s, Colitis, IBS and other digestive illnesses. It’s very expensive and lives in the refrigerator at certain pharmacies. It must keep it cold at all times because IT’S ALIVE.  After doing some research and reading tons of reviews, I learned that many people in similar situations to me have found a lot of relief from VSL3.

Learning about this made me really angry. I’ve seen so many doctors, top experts in their field. They say they’ve tried everything there is to try with me and the only option left is surgery to remove my colon. They’ve recommended other brands of probiotics – far lesser brands according to my research. So why did NO DOCTOR ever once mention VSL3 to me? How dare they recommend I remove my entire colon and potentially destroy my life without trying something so basic, something that worked for others, something that any decent GI doctor should know about??

End rant.

Do any of you take VSL3? How do you like it?

Medal

I finally got my medal from placing 2nd in my age group in the Read, Write, Run 5K last June! I didn’t get it on race day because it didn’t even cross my mind I would place, so I just ran home as soon as the race ended. I can’t recommend small, local races enough. Placing in a race is something I can brag about for the rest of my life, and even though I know many of you can run 5K much faster that my 24:27, this is a tremendous confidence booster and running validator  for me.

I wish I could run the 5K again this year but it conflicts with my honeymoon.

Dori's Read Write Run 5K Medal

Spotify Gripes

I signed up for a Spotify  Premium membership now that I need to make so many playlists and listen to so much more music to teach indoor cycling classes.  I figured I’d save a lot of money on iTunes and once my indoor cycling tab is set up here I could link you to all my playlists, but I’m having some issues with Spotify that make me question the value of the $10/month service.

  • Inability to tell me playlist length – Apparently this used to be a feature and Spotify removed it. To know how long a playlist is, I need enter all my songs into this time calculator. It’s tedious and leaves room for error. It also makes it extremely annoying to remove songs and add new ones. iTunes shows you the duration of your playlist, making it a much simpler choice and making me wonder if I should continue buying music and setting up playlists there.
  • Inability to change song order in a playlist on the iPhone app – Another thing that drives me crazy. I usually put a bunch of songs on my playlist, add and remove as I listen to decide what will make the best possible spin class. Once I figure out what will be a hill, I usually need to rearrange some songs. If I add a new song, it needs to be before the cool down. But in the Spotify iPhone app, you can’t change the order of the list. Your songs appear in the order you added them. I’m rarely at my home computer and I can’t use Spotify at work, so this makes it difficult for me to get my playlists organized. Another reason I am tempted to cancel my Premium membership and just use iTunes.

I don’t get why Spotify would offer a paid service without some very basic functionality. Do these things irritate you, too?

Tell me something random in your life right now.

 

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