Fit to Print Volume 23 Issue 3 September 2014 | Page 5

Cycle Studio

I

by Corinne Brown

Cycling

Confession of a Reformed Running Snob
gotten in the way of the Volvo bumper.
I didn't immediately make the
connection between the accident and
the pain in my hip. I just took the
usual steps I would take for any lower
back/hip pain – I would see Dr. Donna
Brown for Chiropractic adjustments
and Dr. TJ Golub for Physical Therapy.
After a few treatments, TJ suggested
that I might be suffering from a torn
labrum in my hip, and suggested an
MRI, which I reluctantly agreed to.
The MRI revealed that there was

Cor Cycling

L

et me begin by saying I have always
been a running SNOB, at least, that
is, until I injured my hip. Until
then, I believed running was the only
activity that would give me the cardio
high I craved. It turns out I was wrong,
but it took a torturous path for me to
find that out! The seed had been planted
long ago by my running friend (and spin
instructor) Sharon Donnelly telling me,
“Cor, you have to try spin. You'll love it!”
In typical ‘Cor-fashion’ I dismissed it.
“No, I need to be outdoors running,” I'd
say, “I couldn't possibly get the same
workout on a bike.”
My attitude about spinning really didn't
change until it had to. Back in 2004, I
was on an early morning run with Rachel
Ezelius and Peter Daly when I was struck
by a car. I remember it so clearly: in the
early morning twilight, a guy came flying
around the corner in a tight, fast turn. I
had a split second to react, and I jumped
out of the way, but his Volvo hit me on
the leg sending me I spiraling – literally in the air. I landed splat on the sidewalk.
Had I not jumped I would probably have
been pinned underneath his car.
Amazingly, all I seemed to have to show
for the collision was a nasty little welt
on my shin. I was shaken up, for sure,
but all-in-all, I felt like a very lucky girl.
The true impact of the accident took a
little longer to express itself. A few
months later I started experiencing hip,
groin and leg pain in the leg that had

“...yes, I could go out for a
run, but I choose instead to
preserve my joints (natural
and artificial) and get my
cardio high in the FI cycle
room...”
indeed a labrum tear, but there was
also some significant wear in the hip
joint itself. At first, the pain was
manageable, but it gradually got worse
and grew more constant. Yes, I could
still run -in pain, and teach my classesin pain, or walk down my driveway - in
pain, but the fact was I now lived my
life in constant pain. As they say, the
definition of insanity is to keep doing
the same thing but expecting a
different result –so clearly, I needed to
change my exercise routine.
So I decided to give spin with Sharon a
try. Not only did she prove my running
snobbery to be completely mistaken, I
actually had a fun, challenging and,
most importantly at this point, painfree workout! I immediately switched
my primary cardio to cycling. The
Keiser M3 spin bikes in the Cycle
Studio have ride computers that track
heart rate, calories, pedal stroke,
intensity, etc., gauges which made it
easy to challenge myself in each class
and to measure my improvement.
Every class I took I felt stronger and
Autumn 2014 FIT to Print

stronger. They even helped me to be a
better instructor in my own classes.
While cycling was amazing, the pain
came back when I stopped. As much as I
loved it, I couldn't possibly do everything
on a bike. And when I wasn't on a bike,
the pain was always there, and it was
getting worse. A second MRI confirmed
that my hip had continued to
deteriorate. So after three years of
enduring the pain I finally agreed to have
hip resurfacing surgery by Dr. Edwin Su at
The Hospital for Special Surgery. His
review of my MRI