Life is Short. Marathons are Long. 24 Hour Fitness is Hot.

Yes, marathons are looong. Heck, 10 miles is long; I can't even imagine how long a marathon is going to feel. I can't take credit for the title of this post: I read it in an article about the top 10 must-run marathons on MSN.com (the content was provided by Runner's World). Unfortunately, the San Diego marathon is not on this list. If you're interested in the "top 10" marathons and when you can run them, click here.

Crap...I had a paragraph here about running in the dark, but somehow it got deleted. Anyway, there is also an article on MSN.com about the benefits of running in the dark, which I found interesting since I run in the dark. Apparently pre-day dark running is better than post-day dark running because you sleep better when you haven't exercised right before going to bed. I, though, sleep better when I'm not awakened by an alarm clock at 4:30am. If you run in the dark also and want to read more about this, click here.

I hesitated about posting this next link (and you'll see why if you click on it and do the Bounce-ometer demonstration), but I bought the product as it was highly recommended by my co-worker, Frances. I ran with this sports-bra-of-steel on Sunday and I can report that everything went well. If you're a female runner looking for a good sports bra, check out the Shock Absorber here.

Okay, on to running. I ran 4 miles at the gym last night. Sabina came with me and we both sweated out a gallon of sweat each, we think. Sabina is now on a mission to harass the 24 Hour Fitness headquarters with phone calls every day until they turn UP the AC and DOWN the heat in their gyms. For those of you reading this in states other than CA, you'll be happy to know that Sabina's quest encompasses all 24 Hour Fitness centers nationwide. If you'd like to participate in the "Turn Down the Heat" campaign, call the 24 Hour Fitness corporate headquarters at 800.432.6348 (apparently just talking to your local 24 Hour Fitness manager won't get the heat turned down).

Tonight I'm running 5 miles outside and then tomorrow we're off to Colorado for a weekend of skiing at Copper Mountain. I'll report back next week with pictures and an update.