Tri Challenge

Headed down to Bath Sports and Leisure Centre this morning for the Family Fun Day. Every activity was open to members and visitors for just £1, and there was plenty going on. I’ve been a member for a couple of years, and am constantly impressed by the staff and facilities on offer. They have a very well equipped adult gym, extensive exercise class timetable, full-length pool, aqua tubes, “Zany Zone” for little children and an “Active Zone” for slightly older kids and teenagers, featuring Xbox fitness games, Playstation dance mats and smaller-than-average treadmills, spin bikes and cross-trainers. Absolutely fantastic way of getting kids out and jumping around.  

First on my to-do list was the bleep test – where you shuttle run around 20 metres between pre-recorded bleeps, which get closer together as time goes on. You might remember doing this at school and hating every moment. I’ve got to be honest: I still dislike it. I maintain that I’m not built for speed, but I was intrigued to see if my recent training was paying off by comparing it to the result I got a couple of years ago when I last did the test – reaching level 7 (a bad day) and then 8.7. So off I went. And the first five or six levels weren’t too bad. You start off at a very gentle jog, and gradually work up. Once you get to seven, it starts to become hard work. By eight, I was running out of puff, but was quite pleased to hear Simon (the PT) shout out “8.7 Jo, keep going!” I did keep going for a little longer, but finished – feeling a bit sick – at 9.4. More than fit enough to join the police (5) but some way off entry level for the SAS (16). I’m dead pleased that I beat my previous best, but must admit that I would like to hit 10 next time… 

After recovering from that little burst of activity, I spent half an hour or so in the gym doing some gentle resistance work on the Swiss ball. Then it was time to get ready for the spinnathon… a four-hour spin challenge outside under a gazebo at the front of the Centre. Simon took the first hour, which was reasonably easy – just like a normal class. Laura led the second hour, still ok. Newly qualified George took over for the third hour – when we all started to flag. Not sure if that was due to a general air of exhaustion or because George was obsessed with doing these sprint sections out of the saddle. I got a second wind at about the three-hour mark, when Simon and George took the reins jointly. That lasted about ten minutes, when all of a sudden I was aware that my quads were burning, my feet were sore and I was starving hungry. The last half-hour was tough, but we got there.  

There were some amusing moments: any one of the strange expressions we got from passers-by; the little toddler with his fingers in his ears who obviously didn’t think much to Simon’s iPod playlist; virtually all the spinners spontaneously breaking out into song when Castles in the Sky made an appearance; and the fully grown man being chased by a wasp while he tried to eat his lunch in front of us. We also had a minor disagreement over whether or not one track was performed by U2. It was. Electrical Storm and it’s on my Best of 1990-2000 album.  

Pretty bloody tired now though, even after food, shower and cup of tea. Also have some quite serious blisters, though (thanks to the padded shorts) only on my feet.