One of the best Living Social deals I ever bought was a two-month gym membership for $20. At a price like that, during the cold winter months, how could I have passed that deal up?

(Source)

I started my membership two weeks after the Philadelphia Marathon when I was really craving some cross training after several months of hard running training and my great deal ended this week.

I'm really sad that my two-month stint at the gym is wrapping up. I enjoyed many of the classes I was taking, especially my Monday and Wednesday night strength training classes.

I even considered becoming a regular member when my deal was over, but the $50 per month price tag for a gym that didn't have a pool seemed a bit high in comparison to other places.

I asked about any sort of special memberships for people who just wanted to take classes, but apparently they don't offer anything like that.

So for now, I'm back to being gym-less.

Since I've really enjoyed the strength training I've been doing, I plan to keep that up. I have a few Jillian Michael's DVDs that I can use and I might invest in a few other strength training DVD options.

I'm also looking into joining a different gym with cheaper memberships and a pool. I'm very, very tentatively kicking around the idea of a late spring triathlon, which means I'd need a place to swim. (And a bike to borrow, but that's a different story.)

So what are your favorite strength training DVDs? I'm looking for good recommendations to spice up my routine.

Yesterday I was cranky, tired and pretty irritable all day long. I'm not sure if it was just a bad case of the Mondays or if it was a bad case of Monday after the Super Bowl. But either way, all day I just wanted to be in a yoga class.

I never joined a gym when I moved back to D.C. because my community has a free fitness center and there's one at work too. Plus with running, I figured it was silly to pay for one. But fitness centers can't give me yoga and spin classes, which I've been missing like crazy lately.

So last night I printed off the 7-day free pass to the Gold's a few blocks from my house and hit a yoga class and it was the best thing ever. I'm planning on hitting a spin class after work today if I can make it in time and yes, I'm thinking about just paying the money to join, if it's not unreasonable, because I really miss having the option of dropping in to those classes when I feel like it.

Yoga makes me feel so much better. Today I'm in a much better mood. I'm still a bit tired, but I feel like I can accomplish everything I need to get done at work. Yay!

Ohhh and I decided to play the interview game that has been floating around on a few people's blogs. I saw it over on Jess's blog and she sent me my questions last night. They were good ones too. Made me think. So here ya go:


1. If you could give recent college graduates advice about transitioning into the work world, what advice would you offer?

I think the best advice I could offer is try to make connection with people you work with. When I took my first job in York, Pa., I didn't know a single person so I relied heavily on co-workers for tips on fun places to check out or even just which garage to take my car to for an oil change. I was lucky that I worked with a lot of very fun people and there was a good group of young people who got together on the weekends. Having a life outside the office is important and it can be hard to establish one if you're in an area you're not familiar with.


2. In terms of running, what's your favorite time of year to run?

I love running in the fall when the weather is still warm enough that I can be in shorts or capris, but I get to start using the long sleeve tech tops. The humidity is low and the temps are moderate and I feel like I can run faster/longer with less effort. The only challenge to my fall running is fitting it around tailgating.


3. If you could eliminate one part of your day that feels unnecessary or tedious, what would you eliminate?

Hands down, I would eliminate my commute. It's not as long as some people's but it takes me a good 35-45 minutes by Metro to get into the office, and I just think about all the other things I could be doing with that time, like running or spinning or yoga. It makes me miss the five minute commute that I had in Pa.


4. What's the best part about being a soccer fan?

The best part about being a soccer fan is that there aren't a ton of us out there (at least not compared to football, baseball, etc) so it's fun to randomly find other people who are as obsessed with soccer as you are. Tickets to most games are more affordable than other sports (in most instances) and I have a great group of soccer buddies that road trip to North Carolina for Maryland's away games. The whole atmosphere is fun and festive and feels like belonging to some crazy family.


5. If you could win any competition in the world, what would it be for?

This question is really tough. I've always been amazed by people who can remember and recall random trivia because it's a skill I sorely lack. So I'd be pretty impressed with myself if I was able to win something like Jeopardy. In the running realm, I think it would be the coolest thing ever to win an age group award, although I think I'll be waiting on that one til I'm about 65.

Thanks to Jess for the questions!

To play along:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.