Tonight Mark took my class at flywheel and I played a song that means something to many of us in our little circle of spin instructors. I used the song for the upper body sequence and as I looked out and made eye contact with Mark I had to fight actual tears. “I’m going to miss you Mark Whitesides” I said over the mic as I pressed the bar over head. Nobody knew I was secretly choking on my tears but in that moment I felt so overwhelmed by my love for spin, my love for this city, and my love for Mark. It could be because I knew this could possibly be the last time he takes my class. It could have also been the fertility hormones I’ve been injecting into my body for several months now. These are valid reasons to be crying in front of a room full of strangers just trying to get their workout in but the real reason was the feelings the song gave me and the realization that in two short weeks, Lady Whitesides of Flywheel will no longer be a part of my daily routines. The song, Fight For You is a pop remix that takes Toto’s Africa and makes it even more catchy. The basic message is that the person he’s singing to is very special and worth fighting for. It brought back memories of my time with Mark at our original spin studio, silly times goofing around at Kore and crazy nights out. What’s the point of music if not to make you feel something? And its even more special if it bridges an emotional connection between you and the people you love that are worth fighting for.

Mark and I have made some pretty great memories together and quite regularly find ourselves laughing so hard, breaths become short and tears start to stream. We have a lot of things in common but what connected us was fitness. Because of Mark I had the courage to leave our old studio and he pushed me to audition at flywheel. He lead me to Kore, opening up a whole new path of fitness possibilities and we’ve ran two marathons together. We’ve become very close in the last year and my heart is starting to feel heavy knowing our daily attempts at scaring each other(I got you today!), twerk practice, and constant conversations about where and when our bowl movements take place will be coming to an end. I know Mark and I will be friends forever but its the daily dose of happy that he brings me that I will miss. 

Mark, your blog is short but not because I don’t have a lot to say about you. It’s because I wanted this blog to reflect the kind of friend you have become; sincere, to the point and full of love. You have made my life better just by being you. In honor of songs that make you feel something, I want to dedicate a song to you. It’s not one we’ve listened to together, nor is it one we would ever play in our classes but I want you to read it. Even though you know it well, take the time to read every word as each and every one applies to my gratitude for the friend you have become. Read every word and imagine I’m saying them to you. Mark Whitesides… because I know you, I have been changed for good. 
For Good  By Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel

I’ve heard it said 

That people come into our lives 

For a reason 

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led

To those who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true

But I know I’m who I am today

Because I knew you…

Like a comet pulled from orbit

As it passes a sun

Like a stream that meets a boulder

Halfway through the wood

Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?

Because I knew you

I have been changed for good
It well may be 

that we will never meet again 

in this lifetime

So let me say before we part

So much of me

Is made of what I learned from you

You’ll be with me

Like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine

By being my friend…

Like a ship blown from its mooring

By a wind off the sea

Like a seed dropped by a skybird

In a distant wood

Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?

But because I knew you

Because I knew you

I have been changed….

For good.