Why is Pilates so hard?

So every monday I take a 1hr pilates class which kicks my ass. Sometimes I feel I would rather ride a century, run a marathon or even swim for 5000 yards then do an hour of pilates. But after each and every class i feel so good and I cant wait to come back again for another class.

What I don't like sometimes is when I am in class with other folks and they say things like, " I can't believe this is hard for you, you do triathlons", or, " man, this makes me feel so much better that this is hard for you and easy for me". Well, I say to them, " it is hard for me and I find it very humbling on a weekly basis to come in here even after a year and get my ass handed to me and know that I have so much to learn and am psyched that its hard". What I don't get is that in the Tri world we don't go around saying, " ha ha, you suck I'm better than you or that, " I'm glad I'm so much better and your slow", it just seems so weird to me that people feel compelled to say things like this to me. Anyhoo, whatever, I'm over it. I still keep going back because I love my instructor and she works me to the core (no pun intended).

After having 4 children fairly quickly my core strength ( or lack there of) was pretty bad and needed a ton of work. Sit ups and regular abdominal work wasn't doing the job. Pilates has been a great experience for me and a very humbling one. I wish I could also fit in yoga once a week but with the run/bike/swim/weight training, I don't have any other free time right now unless a Yogi comes to my house in the middle of the night- ( that wouldn't look good to the neighbors though).

Anyway, after a 1hr class today and a 1hr15 minute bike, I have some weight training and a 1hr run tomorrow f/b my physical therapy beating, looking forward to it. Wish me luck.