Thoughts on Mid-Day Spinning

I planned my make-up choices at 6:30am today based on two factors:

One, I have some sort of illness/disease/condition that has ravaged my lungs and is causing me to wheeze, rattle, and generally look like complete crap which was confirmed by my friend Kathie who left a message for me this morning, checking in, and stating the obvious: "You didn't look so good yesterday."

Two, I convinced myself that I needed to get my butt into Spinning class after my morning clients because, what better way to burn up a virus then to subject yourself to 60 minutes of endless sweat and muscle burn?

Cut to spin class. Twenty minutes in. My question to Loreal:
What is the point of waterproof mascara?

I was crying real tears of pain, not from the pain in my quads, but from the burning in my lungs, which, coupled with the sweat from the poorly ventilated room resulted in more black than one should ever place on one's face unless one is trying to cultivate an "Elvira meets very sad raccoon" look.

The black streaks on the white towel got me thinking about the feasibility of "squeezing in a little Spin session during lunch." And here's what I came up with:

Who, on a typical one-hour lunch break, has time to dedicate a full 60 minutes to the sweatiest cardio activity known to man?

And for those that do commit to the full 60 minutes, how is it possible to get a shower in before re-joining the office crowd or the after-school group or the population in general? Because, as any Spinner will tell you, skipping a shower post class is simply NOT an option. Unless you are planning to spend the afternoon at Loaves and Fishes.

What quicker way is there, other than Spin, than to ruin a perfectly good hair style, one that otherwise easily last 3 to 4 days with a quick sprinkle of dry shampoo and a spray of decent perfume?

When is there an opportunity to re-fuel? And let's be clear on this: Spinning makes you ravenous all day long so one little Zone Bar and a Gatoraide is just not gonna cut it.

Why is it, that after 60 minutes of mid-day spin, the promised endorphin "high" feels like the lowest of lows or, "I just got ran over by a really long train which also zapped every electrolyte from my body, leaving me completely susceptible to illness and disease and I can't imagine doing anything productive again for at least three days."

How can the gym whip up such delicious and balanced shake concoctions, which are, of course, perfect for the whole re-fueling challenge, and charge the sum of a mortgage payment?

I think I've convinced myself. Definitely sticking with Pilates. At least during lunch.