SoulCycle vs. Flywheel

I go through waves of love affair with spin then lull.  Right now I'm in the love affair wave.  I like getting a great sweat in in under an hour.  Ride 26mi in a room full of others without going anywhere, in!  Here is a quick overview and my thoughts on each.  If you want the spoiler alert, I like them both the same but in different ways (spoken like a twin mom, eh?). 

Similarities for both - considering Flywheel and SoulCycle shared a co-founder (Ruth Zukerman who started Flywheel after a split from Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice), I imagine many of the core offerings for both cycling chains came from the same luncheon chats.  Both chains have packed rooms with bikes lined up facing a stage.  On the stage is the teacher with a spotlight on the stage, and the room is typically dark or lit with a black light.  Both chains have their own gear so riders can tout the brands in skin tight attire.  Both chains have short (45min) classes to get riders in, sweaty, and out.  Both chains have nice touches like lotions, gum, and hair ties at the gyms.  Both are pricey - ranging from $25-30+. 

There are some key differences, though...

Flywheel - a little background, I am competitive.  Very competitive.  Only in sports, not life.  In Flywheel classes, when you create an account you pick a user name.  Then, you have the option to have your name on the torque board during sprints and other in-class races - I love this!  I feel like I work out harder getting to see real numbers.  Regardless of if you're on the board, you get a nice little summary of your ride on their website.  In the Flywheel classes I've taken, most of the music is new popular pop and other similar fast paced songs.  During the class, the instructor motivates to "push it," "own this moment," "make this time count," and so on.  On the bike are two weight bars to do arms mid-class.  The bars are different weights so you can pick or use both together.  The bike has a water holder on the front, and the gear changer down below - you can also look at a little screen to see torque and RPMs.

SoulCycle - there's no torque board or competition.  Also, on the bike is a dial to change resistance, but you can't see your resistance on the bike; instead you go with what feels right.  The torque-less and number-less class make it less competitive and make the class more focused on you, the rider.  The rest of the bike is very similar to that in the Flywheel class.  Differences are that on the SoulCycle bike there are two water bottle holders on either side (which was actually harder for me and I nearly dropped my water).  Also, on the back are 3lb weights (you can pick different weights before class, but only get one set).  On the stage, there are Jonathan Adler candles to give the room a comforting feel.  The room is dark for the most part, and there is a black light on occasion.  The teacher also controls other lights to give a light show kind of feel.  The teacher in my SoulCycle class said more motivational things: "this is all about you," "take time to love yourself," "taking care of your body and mind are the most important thing," and so on.  Along the wall were similarly inspiring phrases.

Completing both classes I felt the same level of awesome exhaustion and sweat.  I'd opt for either!

Partner on the run

Now that Matt has committed to doing a half, he's getting in the training mode and I'm loving every second!  This weekend we managed to get 4mi together, then I went on for 10mi more and he went on for 2mi more.  This was his longest run since Bay to Breakers about 8 years ago, and that was fueled by beer so it didn't quite count.  Unfortunately it took about three days to loosen up.  Last night we knocked out another 3mi just around the Queen Anne loop.  The tandem runs were made possible by Matt's folks being here (babysitters!)  Now we'll see how we can continue to co-run.  May need to be a couple relays for a while where the baton is the boyos.

Lunch runnin'

With a jam packed schedule of (1) wake up, (2) get boys up, (3) make breakfast, (4) make and pack lunches, (5) get boys dressed, (6) get me dressed, and (7) get to work, I don't have much time to jam a run in.  Then, when I get home from work and having another tight schedule of (8) make dinner, (9) convince boys to stop playing, (10) eat dinner, (11) homework (if we're lucky), (12) play games, (13) get boys ready for bed, and (14) read boys stories, evenings again aren't time for a run. 

Hence, the lunchtime run!

I've taken to blocking out at least 1:30 every day to run or workout at the gym.  That's really just 30min to run, and time on the other end to change, shower, and eat.  Thank goodness for showers in my building because today for some reason was a spectacularly humid day so post run I was not in prime shape for meetings (as in addition to mornings and evenings being jam packed, every 30min in between seems to be, too). 

Favorite post-run lunch/snack?  Smoothies!  And loving that it's finally season.  We just got a Juicy Cafe in SLU and my all time fav is spinach, banana, mango, spirulina, and ginger.  Yum!

Happy Father's Day!

It's been quite a year.  We had a bladder cancer scare (Matt), cyst (me), and many sicknesses we call the plague (Wilson and Cole).  It's been a delightful year, too.  My dad turned 70 and can still out cycle me.  My mom's quilting is amazing and she gifted a quilt made of my race shirts recently (more on that another time), and the boys excelled in 1st.

On this Father's Day I'm thankful for many things... from my dad, I'm thankful I learned to have an eye for art.  I'm thankful I've been inspired to find sports as part of life (cycling and running are key sports), and I'm thankful for kindness and love.  From my Matt (dad of Cole and Wilson), I'm thankful for peace, happiness, and love for me and my family.

Here's to dads, and here's to inspiration through family and love.

Race Report: Seattle half marathon

This weekend I finally got my Newtons back laced up for a half - the Seattle half to be precise.  It's been a couple months since I enjoyed a good 13.1 jaunt and this was a great but extremely cold one (34 degrees!)  First, the finish line... I ran the half in just under 1:35 and placed 3rd in my age group:

















As this was the 4th time I've run the Seattle half, it's fun to look back and compare.  Here's the y/y comparison:

• 2010 - 1:36
• 2011 - 1:39:57
• 2012 - 1:36:52
• 2013 - 1:40
• 2014 - didn't run, boo

While I still want to get down to a 1:30 (goal for 2016), I feel great about this one.  It was the weekend back after a week long trip in Cabo (trip report to come), I'm battling a cold, and it's my fastest on this course.  All in ... rad!

Matt and the boys brought me to the starting line.  Cole has started coaching me before races.  He has two bits of advice: 1) try to win, and 2) push your arms back and it'll make you go faster.  He swears he can beat me and I'm pretty sure in a sprint he can (but don't tell him that!).

At the starting line, I met up with a friend, Karen, to high five and muse what we were doing in the freezing cold.  We huddled at the starting line for a bit and then when the anthem started Karen went to a pace group.  I stayed towards the front because I hate trying to dodge and weave getting off the starting line, and I always tend to go out much too fast.

I wound up keeping a good pace the first couple miles logging close to 7min per.  Once I hit Leschi it was all over with the rough hills.  There's a leg in the race around mile 9 that looks just like a street I used to run in th

Weekend roundup: pumpkins!

Last weekend my dad was in town and we had a terrific time getting into the Fall swing of things.  My dad got in Friday evening and we had a nice mellow dinner at home.  Saturday was my Pt. Defiance 30K race, so the boys (dad, Matt, Cole, and Wilson) stayed in Seattle to do work around the house.  

Sunday was the highlight of the weekend when we went to The Farm for pumpkins and fun.  We kicked off the day with a duck race, then watched the 3 Little Pigs acted out by real pigs.

We enjoyed a great tractor ride around the farm and got some family shots in the process:

 After hopping off the tractor ride, we got lost in a corn maze.  I am not a big fan of being lost, but Cole and Wilson were a-ok:

 All in, great times. 

Race Reports: Base 2 Space AND Pt. Defiance 30K

It's been a racy kind of month - but not in the Victoria's Secret way.  I'm still building up to New York Marathon (gosh I love typing that!) and in the process of upping my mileage I upped my race-age.
 

 Two weeks ago, I ran the Base 2 Space.  An incredible stair climb and fundraiser for Fred Hutch that our good friend managed at the Space Needle.  This was the first time people have been able to run up the stairs at the Space Needle and it was pretty spectacular.  I enjoyed the buildup to the race, too, with the weather rapidly changing and the sun seemingly flying into the sky in a matter of minutes.

Speaking of minutes, I was blown away at how FAST the race was.  I ran up the entire needle in just under 7min (and managed to place 2nd woman in the process).  I will say, though, that at the top I was way more exhausted than if I had run a 10k - I couldn't catch my breath for literally hours.  One guy walked by me at the top with a dr. mask covering his mouth and said "you must be new at this.  You have track hack.  You should get a mask."  Lesson learned.  A couple people in the race were semi-pro stair climbers.  One guy came from Minnesota just for this run, another guy was off to OR next week for another run.  It's a whole new race field.

More than the race aspect, I enjoyed the race because of the amazing people and the great cause.  I'm so proud of our buddy for putting this race on - it was quite a feat - and I can't wait to support him and Fred Hutch again.

This past weekend, I ran the Pt. Defiance 30K for the 4th time (and this course for the 5th time - last year I did the 15K).  This was hands down the rainiest run I have ever done.  It was crazy - the morning started with an amazing sunrise and then clouds quickly rolled in almost timed with us starting the race and the sky opened up into a downpour. 

I started at the front in the race and by mile 3 fell to 3rd woman which I held until the finish.  The course was turbulent to say the least with tree roots jutting up all over the place, fallen trees to step or hurdle over, mud everywhere, rain and mist blocking the views, and pure awesomeness.  My iPod stopped working at around mile 8 and I have to admit, it was incredibly freeing.  I have never run without music (not that I can remember anyhow), but the rain on the trees and the birds dodging the shower made for a great sound track.

After each loop there's a rope to get down a super steep hill.  My first loop was fine as the hill was muddy but not terrible.  My second loop I slipped and skidded almost the entire way down the hill making it a bit of a mud dash vs. a trail race.  I LOVE the Pt. Defiance trail runs and can't wait to do this one again next year.