Thawed Out, Worked Out

I’m tired of talking about the weather. Yes, it’s cold. Yes, it’s freezing cold. The good news is that it’s going to get warmer and that it was semi-light out when I left the office today. The days are getting longer, so let’s all be happy about that!

In other news, I think I forgot to breathe today.

Here’s a summary of how my day went:

• Work
• Meetings
• Work
• Meetings
• More meetings
• Some editing
• Meetings
• Holy crap it’s already 4 pm?

Then the great pre-gym snack debate:

(I went with the Larabar.)

I love days like today when the work day flies by. It was 5 pm before I knew it.

Today’s gym session was awesome. I took a 45-minute Chisel class followed by 45 minutes of spinning.

I haven’t been feeling Chisel lately. Too many squats, not enough post-class soreness. But today was great. We did a ton of arm work and at the end the instructor gave us some killer abductor/adductor moves. My butt and outer thighs were screaming at me.

Spinning with Melinda was, as always, fantastic. She has the best energy and I swear the woman doesn’t ever have a bad day. She played great, upbeat music and I was totally in the zone the entire duration of the class. Some days I watch the clock the entire time, waiting for those last 5 minutes to arrive. But today I was grooving right along with Melinda, loving that my brain wasn’t focused on anything.

After the gym I made some yummy tilapia for dinner. Nothing fancy: just the fish and some lemon pepper. It’s one of my favorite easy dinners to whip up.

In my last bit of exciting news (Though really, was any of this truly exciting?) I applied for something awesome today.

Jack Rabbit Sports — my favorite running store in NYC and the first place I ever bought real running shoes — is holding a competition for potential spokespeople/wannabe marathoners. I read the description, which blew my mind. I would be perfect for this!

JackRabbit is kicking off the “Run for the Rabbit” campaign in the spring of 2011.  We will choose six participants of different backgrounds and abilities to train for and run the Hamptons Marathon in September, 2011.  Each participant will also designate a charity, and will raise money for their charity throughout their training.  The competition is not for who can run the fastest, but for who can raise the most money.  Participants who don’t have a strong connection with a charity already can choose from a list of charity partners.

Awesome, right? So I filled out an application and explained why I want 2011 to be the year I run a marathon. I told them about my previous work with Team Challenge and my desire to raise money for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, which is so near and dear to my heart.

I won’t hear anything until February 8 when they start selecting people for casting calls. But keep your fingers crossed for me! I think this could be such an exciting opportunity. The program involves tons of social media usage and blogging which, duh, is my latest obsession (in addition to running).

OK, done shameless plugging for now.

Time to shower (nope, haven’t done that yet — I’m gross) and get to bed. I’m hoping the weather cooperates and I can run outside tomorrow!

TELL ME: What do you look for in a great group fitness instructor? Good music? Great personality? Hotness factor?