Mike's Marathon Blog

On Wednesdays and Fridays, my alarm clock goes off at 5:20 am. Today was the first Wednesday. As you can imagine, it was rough.

On my way to the YMCA at 5:45, the 2 DJ’s on the radio were actually talking about the people that are awake at 5:45 am. It was pretty funny. They said the only people that are awake at 5:45 are the people coming home after a nightshift and crazy people. I must be one of those crazy people. Except when I got to the gym, there were about 100 other crazy people there BEFORE me. So I think that means I’m only semi-crazy.

Spin class starts at 6 am. Yes, I go to spin class. Yes, I even have spin shoes! And yes, I wear bike shorts with my spin shoes in spin class. Say what you will, but spinning is the best workout! There is no pounding on your knees and it seriously strengthens your legs. I ran a half marathon last May after pretty much only taking spin classes for 2 months. I can run 10 miles and not sweat as much as I do in an hour spin class. Plus, probably the true reason I go to the class, it’s typically just me and 10 chicks. And I don’t know if anyone has ever been to a Y, but I’m the youngest person there by about 10 years. I’m like Brad Pitt at the Y. It’s an automatic confidence boost every time I go. Especially in the pool (see below)! I’m the youngest person in the pool by 40 years. Spin class is fun. You get a good workout, listen to good music and you’re surrounded by hot Andover moms.

After spin class, I do sit-ups and push-ups for about 20 minutes. Unless I lay on the mat directly under the TV. Then I usually just watch SportsCenter until 7:30. Next in line – pool. I started swimming last year when I was training for a triathlon. I swim 1/4 mile, rest, 1/2 mile, rest and then end with another 1/4 mile. Swimming at the Y has it’s pros and cons. One of the pros, as I mentioned before, is that I am the youngest person to have ever been in the Y pool. I think that’s safe to say. The older women talk to me about the weather, how long they’ve been swimming, yada, yada, yada. The reason I think they are so nice to me and talk to me all the time is because they feel bad for me. The only con about swimming at the Y is that these old biatches blow past me! I don’t know how they frigin do it! I remember one time I was keeping up with this one older woman swimming in the lane right next to me. We were swimming side by side for about 20 laps. I finally stopped at the edge and saw that she was doing the backstroke the whole time. I couldn’t pass a 65-year old woman swimming backwards. True story.

Workout is done. Time to shower. You ever take a shower at the Y? 1 room, 10 shower heads. Believe it or not, there is a difference between older guys and younger guys showering at the gym. A younger guy, me for example, is in and out. Basic cleaning and I’m outta there. Not the older guys. They’ll stay in the locker room for an hour. They’ll shower, go in the steam room, shower again, talk to their friends – and during this whole time, they are nude! And ya know what? Now that I am writing this, I kind of see where they’re coming from. Where else in public can you walk around naked?