A message to Beginning Spinervals Athletes: An Invitation to THE CHALLENGE 11/30/13

Because we are at one day before 2013 Spinervals 32-Day Challenge, this may not be the best timing for recruiting.  My hope is similar to my last year's Challenge Prologue blog (A 2011 Finisher's Guide to Challenge: Prologue 11/25/12), but I decided to write another version because I felt like I could make a small contribution to Coach Troy's overwhelming athletes' testimonial in a different way than you may hear. 

I will start from who I am because that is part of why I am writing this version.  Often times, you hear tremendous accomplishments from Coach Troy's clients and they are not often what you can relate to.  They were sometimes very good athletes to start with and competed while younger in high school and college.  Or they were fit in foreign services.  If you read my Confession blog you can see that I was the fat kid who was called “pig” in Japanese schools and just about worst in PE classes. Recently I remembered I couldn't go on in high school annual hike and was ordered to skip PE class for the following month and future hiking events.  Back then I was sent to a doctor and diagnosed iron deficiency, but now I know I was just simply not in shape.  I continued to gain weight moving to the US and when I hit 205 pounds (93kg), at the age of 36, decided to do something about it and signed up with local gym.  Then in 2009, I took up cycling and shortly after I discovered Spinervals. 

Until recently, all I could offer to prove how effective Spinervals was some Aerobic Threshold testing data and some anecdotes.  Last Christmas, my husband gave me power meter for birthday and Edge 500 for Christmas and I started to keep track of power numbers.  All year in 2012, I kept comparing the same Spinervals titles I do and best numbers were January, February and March. 

When I first finished 2011 version, Coach Troy quietly sent me a link to Iron Girl training, but I had no desire to “compete”.  But I kept up with Coach's program until spring and rode for fun and fitness with my husband outside and Spinervals during the week inside. 

When I finished 2012 Challenge, I started to realize I am quite fit for who I am especially at the middle age I am already at.  With inspiration and encouragements of friends, I entered in my first athletic event I remembered except school fall field day competitions at the age of 46 this June.  (http://keikofit.blogspot.com/2013/07/girls-just-wanna-have-fun-tt-2013-7113_3053.html) This was USAC sanctioned with lots of girls in racing teams, but it had big print 1ST TIME RACERS WARMLY WELCOME.  Of course, I didn't win Special First time Category 4 or anything, but I enjoyed having focus in training.  Then when I looked for more events with my newly acquired racing license, there was not much except road racing and I had no intention to invite the chance to hurt myself.  So I looked into Duathlon, then I had to RUN!

Previously I ran to lose weight for wedding dress on treadmill, but once I started cycling, I stopped doing that.  When I ran on treadmill for non-cycling cardio wildcard workout, my body hurt everywhere the day after and my ankle in jury from non-athletic cause came back.  And I never ran outside.  My first 2-mile run was probably 15:00/mile pace.  But I completed two Du's and my very first 5k in Novemeber, I ran under 30:00, which is nothing fancy for most people, but quite an accomplishment from my background.  I credit this small accomplishment to the support of my husband and Spinervals Team members AND the fitness I have built through cycling.  

So this is when YOU come into pictures in blog.  Maybe you are hanging out in Spinervals Facebook page and read posts of accomplished friends who come home with AG medals and qualifying for Boston marathon and Kona World Championships and feel overwhelmed that you can't be over-performing like them.  Well, I am not over-performing, but my motto is if I want to get better, I am going to surround myself with who are very good.  So I get advice, encouragements and inspirations.  I make sure to return the same when I can.  As I wrote after first Challenge, you will be surprised with the friendship you built in the community. 

Another type of people Spinervals team receives every year is a good runner/swimmer in triathlon who wants to improve cycling portion and naturally those who bike and sometimes race in different disciplines and want to see improvements.  If you want to hear testimonials of good athletes got better, excellent athletes got superb, my friends at Spinervals Team community can provide plenty of examples.  From my limited Du race experience, because my cycling is still ahead of running, longer the bike course works in my favor.  If a good runner becomes better cyclist, the overall chance of better results seem pretty obvious to me.

To complete Challenge, I would say you need basic fitness.  Maybe you completed Basecamp phase of Super 6, you just came out from race season or you have been exercising nuts.  And you are going to need scheduling organizing skills and family/friends support.  The benefits don't end with physical fitness.  You will establish friendship with your teammates while sharing your workout experiences.  Since this is during the holiday in most parts of the world, it may work well, like me, off teaching schedule, or may make it difficult, with family/work commitment and often traveling.  Challenge is not just one workout or performance test you do one day.  It is a long commitment. 

I hope I convinced some suspicious or anxious people to somewhat hopeful participants of Spinervals Challenge.  Now please share good and bad days during Challenge month, and for the matter during our training and racing everyday!