30 by 30: you spin me right round - PT 1

I went to bed early. That made a big difference in getting up this morning.

Made it to spin class with plenty of time to warm-up. Eased into it okay, but then we did THREE climbs. By the last one I was pretty dead and the last 30 seconds of it I had to stay "in the saddle." But I figure, one goof in a 45 minute class is okay for your first time spinning in months.

A couple of questions for other spinners out there:

• How do you easily find your pulse while spinning? I can never find it and my counts are always off. I know I'm getting a workout, since I feel like I'm dying.
• What the heck is "rate of perceived exertion"? How do you calculate it? How do you do math while on exercise equipment?

I do need to start getting my stuff ready beforehand on the days I do spin and take it all to the gym. Rushing a bit this morning (blogging while my hair dries).

Tomorrow I *may* try to do some arm weights. Hopefully my little cheat sheet is still there. Also, my spin instructor told us that there's a new Saturday morning Yoga class. I'm really excited about that as the other classes they have are at terrible times, and I'd very much like to learn yoga. (I need to complete my hippie punch card).