Your a Sucker If Your Second

I have been recently trying to work off those dang vacation pounds that 4 days straight of 2 for 1 happy hour have wreaked on my body. A friend has been raving about spinning which I tried once in college but never much cared for, partly because I don't like to have searing pain in my legs and feeling like someone has their hands around my throat as I gasp for air all to pounding Techno music. But this week I did my fair share of biking at the Cape - which I loved. So I decided to try spinning at NYSC. What I learned 1) I don't know if I'll go back 2) Second is for suckers. Or so our teacher was screaming at us through her headset that looked like she should be answering my credit card inquiries at American Express. We were supposed to be visualizing hills and the goal line within view (now this was hard for me to see through the black spots that indicated I was seconds from passing out and pitching off my bike). So she keeps yelling "no one likes a loser!" "Second place is no place!" Talk about the opposite of my lovely nurturing yoga practice where you are "free to be where you are" and you should "listen to your body." The contrast was so startling that I didn't know if I should retaliate and be where I was (which was in like 1st gear sitting down when everyone else was standing and in high gear) or if I should go for that first place prize and vomit in the locker room later.  If I learned 1 thing its that changing up the routine is good and that challenging the expectation might produce results. You can definitely go further than you think you can. Well... I'll update you on that next week after weigh-in. I may decide to just "be where I am."