My concern was the swim; I couldn’t chance having a coughing fit or asthma attack in the water without access to my inhaler, and I also worried that with my ears being so congested (so odd and annoying), any water that lingers could easily turn into an ear infection. I do not want to be sick again, and I do not want to be on antibiotics again, so I stayed home while my friends completed the course.  

Missing the starting line at a race like this is doubly frustrating because in addition to missing out on race day festivities, you forfeit the fee to be on the course. In this case, I think it was $75. Quite the cost not to participate. There’s no sense in asking for a refund, these events are non-refundable because whether I’m there or not, the race must go on. The supplies, the permits, the race crew, the photographers; they’re all there whether I show up or not. So I don’t mind losing out on the money; the production crew has a job to do and the organizers are clear about the no-refund policy. But seeing all my friends’ smiling, confident faces in their race pictures? The camaraderie displayed in the pre-race group shots? The enthusiasm on display in their race reports? I’m more sad I missed out on the experience than the money.

All that said, I can’t be too sad; I have a long race season  ahead and now it’s time to transition from triathlon and focus on running. Marathon training officially kicks off tomorrow and I need to be mentally ready for all the ups and downs the next 18 weeks hold. In retrospect, I guess I’d rather have been sick before marathon training and be healthy for the rest of the summer and early fall. Time to focus on wellness and getting back to fighting form.

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Well, I got hungry. And I opened — and finished — this, all 500 and some odd calories of it:



It was supposed to be my “extra munchies” for the week. It lasted one day. Oops.

Let’s discuss how much I ate today.

Breakfast
Instant g-f oatmeal plus banana
Coffee with almond milk

Snack
Half a bag of Pirate’s Booty

Lunch
Tuna sandwich on g-f bread, with a slice of cheddar cheese
Apple
Fage 2% blueberry yogurt
The other half of the bag of Pirate’s Booty
HonestTea honey green tea bottle

3:00 Snack
Kind bar (fruit and nut)

It’s 5:00 and I’m hungry snack
The rest of the tuna salad that was supposed to be a side with lunch later this week (about 2 Tbsp. full)
2 dried dates
LaCroix

Somewhere in there I chugged a bunch of water too.

The good news is that I brought all this food with me today so at least there was no spontaneous spending today. Yay! The bad news is that some of it was supposed to last a little longer.

I think I need to start eating a breakfast with more protein to get me through the day so I don’t wolf down a bunch of air-puffed carbs. Unfortunately I already shopped for the whole week, and oatmeal was the breakfast I chose. Maybe I’ll just hard boil some eggs and add one of those, or toss some almonds in my bag for the morning to tide me over a little better. I really want to avoid unnecessary trips to the cafe down here. Everything is so much more expensive! But the calories in/calories out equation is difficult to figure out when you’re upping your training time every week.

I’ll figure it out, eventually.

All that said, I am still STARVING. I’m going to go home and eat an avocado for a snack before dinner. And then snarf down a lot of dinner before I swim tonight. And maybe some sea salt caramels. And anything else edible in my line of sight….

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That was my Facebook status on April 16, as I digested the news from Boston.

I have been a runner for more than 15 years. This awful tragedy touched me deeply. Not only because I’m currently training for the 2013 Chicago Marathon, but because, like many runners, I felt personally that MY community was attacked. I just kept thinking about all the finish lines that people I love have stood near, waiting with open arms for me, no matter how good or how poorly I performed. I’ll never be fast enough for Boston, no, but on another day, in another city… The thought is too horrible to bear.

Not much is left to say that other writers haven’t already covered. But I thought as a sign of support and resiliance, I would share some pictures from our local Run for Boston, held Monday in Oak Park, Ill. We had between 60 and 75 runners, most decked out in blue and yellow, running through the streets of our town, behind our local Boston finishers. We held a moment of silence for the victims, then, with steadfast resolve, took our grief to the streets. I loved that cars driving through the town stopped and honked, waved, and shouted their support. The sense of community, of support, and trust, was overwhelming.

Here’s all I could fit in my iPhone camera, before we hit the streets.

And here are the ribbons the local running store made for our shoes.

You can see a few more pictures on our local newspaper’s web site. We had more than 60 runners, the town next to us had 300, and apparently downtown Chicago’s runs were packed too. I hope some of the love and support we were sending eventutally made it over to Boston.

In addition to taking over the streets, I also made a donation to one of the victims, Jeff Bauman. For some reason I was just drawn to his photo immediately on the day of the bombings. I knew his condition was bad, and I was praying for him to make it. My cousin later sent this fundraising link over because she’s somehow in his network. His story later turned out to be even more remarkable given that he was able to wake up and identify the suspects. I will continue to pray for his recovery and that of all the people injured that day.

I also plan to support The One Fund. It’s wonderful that they’ve already surpassed $20 million; health care is not cheap and certainly most of those injuries we’ve heard about will need a lot of follow-up care and rehabilitation.

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Catalog Photo of My New Wetsuit (Once it Gets Here)

I bought a wetsuit!

If you can believe it, renting one can cost anywhere from $40 to $65 for an entire weekend. I was kind of surprised by this, since you can rent them right outside my office on Lake Michigan for just $10 for an afternoon swim.

Once I saw that renting would cost up to $65 for my June race, I started looking into buying a discounted used suit, but nobody had my size on Craigslist (not in Illinois or Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, nor in Houston or any Florida cities) or on Beginner Triathlete (and I’ve been looking frequently for weeks). I asked some friends to borrow theirs, but nobody had my size.  I checked several “wetsuit warehouse” type sites, but I couldn’t find anything in my size for under $150.

Finally, after much frustration, I found a discount code for a wetsuit in my size from XTerra for $127 plus free shipping, for a suit originally priced at $300. Score!  For those of you keeping track, that’s the equivalent of two race rentals. And now I can swim in the lake whenever I want.

My only dilemma now is where to put it. Hmm. Perhaps I’ll finally get rid of some of those old bridesmaid dresses I’ve been keeping around and make way for something more useful.

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FinCon12 – This is a personal finance conference I’m headed to in Denver in September. I spent $149 on the ticket. The event is going to sell out, so I needed to pay sooner rather than later. (But it will motivate me to keep blogging!)

Pleasant Prairie Triathlon – $106.44 for a race that happens in June. And I need to book the hotel soon, too! (Keeping me motivated to stay in super shape.)

BeginnerTriathlete.com subscription – $110 for a 14-month subscription that ran out this month, go figure. This is the site that has my training plans, support, mentors, and nutrition advice. (Again with the motivation.)

Shamrock Shuffle – $45 here; this race happens in March. (Are you sensing a theme yet?)

I’m gonna have to sign up for the Chicago Half Marathon (September) too, because that will also sell out. I need to find less popular activities! Or I just need to do smaller events where I can actually pay during the month I’m doing the activity, as opposed to doing it all so far in advance.

As I mentioned earlier, good thing my tax returns come soon. I didn’t blow my budget for February, but I’ll be coming close by bundling payments for so many activities into one month. Like I’ve said before, fitness can get expensive. Good thing my rent is so darn cheap!

The post Keeping me motivated: Upfront expenses appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

My step team, "Team High and Tight" ...

This weekend, I participated in Step Up for Kids to support Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. I climbed 80 flights of stairs, more than 1,600 steps, in about 24 minutes. Children’s is a charity I’ve supported for years, and this event was a new and different way for me to contribute to an important cause while getting in a great cardio workout.

Sounds perfect for me, right?

The crazy thing is, unless a friend wouldn’t have invited me — twice — to participate, I probably would have just gone along donating my check for the year and missing out on a fabulous opportunity to be part of a fun, healthy, and kind of exciting community event … and meeting some great new girls in the process.

When my friend first asked me to participate, it was the dead of winter, I was sick, and I was freezing. I was just kind of sitting on my couch being miserable and feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t want to say no, but I figured that if I just kind of ignored her we’d both forget about it. Truth is, I was kind of intimidated … I had never done a stair climb before and was worried I wouldn’t make it (note to self: QUIT DOUBTING YOURSELF!!!!).

But when she asked again, I thought, “why not?” I had just signed up for a “Winter Warrior Challenge” on Facebook and I thought this event could keep me motivated to move my body every day despite the cold. Stair climbing seemed like it could be doable since it’s indoor. And yes, it was tougher than I thought at first, but of course, ended up being just fine and kind of enjoyable, actually.

I climbed this for charity. Phew!

The event ended up costing me $100 for the donation/entry fee, $17 for our team shirt, and $14 for post-event beers. And I have to say, my team was totally fabulous and great company up the stairwell … even though this was my first time meeting many of them!

But the best part? We raised $1,541 for Children’s Memorial!

It’s so much bigger than my annual $100 donation and just goes to show you what you can accomplish by 1) getting a group of positive ladies together, and 2) how much good you can do just by saying yes to an activity, even if you aren’t totally sure about it.

So the next time someone asks you to be part of a team for charity, think about saying yes. You never know what you can accomplish until you try.

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The bad thing is that I am now sitting at my desk, legs feeling like jello, sweating profusely in my office clothes, red-faced. Oh god, please make it stop.  I am chugging ice water in hopes of cooling myself down, but the sun is beaming in through my window and with the temperature a balmy 46 degrees, I look like a disaster. At least I don’t have any important afternoon meetings.

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Of course, as we’ve gotten closer to race day, I’ve had a number of gear issues. My stopwatch broke, I washed my inhaler in the washing machine, my bike breaks started squeaking, and I ran out of all my gels at home. So, naturally … time for a trip to the running store. I replaced my watch with a new Ironman Timex (it can go in the pool – so cool!) – practically affordable at $69 compared to the Garmin ForeRunners I was eyeing that cost like $400. I got a new race waistband so my new inhaler would no long go in the wash with my shorts. I even got these fun pink laces (see pic below) because after I read my race report from a triathlon I did last year, I noticed I said the one thing I would change would be laces that don’t need to be tied (my hands shake so bad in transition). Small expense but one that I hope works well for me.

I’m feeling pretty good about the race itself. I actually did a mile swim in Lake Michigan today to prepare for the big day. It was my first wetsuit swim (I borrowed one from a colleague) and I loved every minute of it. I can’t believe I have lived here almost 32 years and never did a long swim like that before. Of course, there is one expensive but crucial piece of equipment that helps make the water temperature bearable:

I know what I’m adding to my wish list next!

Triathlon is Saturday and I’ll be pretty preoccupied with the event until then. So have a great week and remember to get outside and enjoy yourself. Try something new in your own city if you can. You won’t be disappointed.

The post Triathlon Countdown Begins appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

Sorry I’ve been MIA this past week! Lots going on:

• MAN-FRIEND PASSED THE ILLINOIS BAR!!! Rejoice!  (Anybody need an environmental lawyer?)
• Man-friend and I volunteered at the Chicago Food Depository on Saturday. What a great experience!  CFD was one of my 12 charities of 2011, so the opportunity to actually see the way the distribution center works was awesome. We were on a production line stuffing emergency food kits that the city distributes after disasters like floods or blackouts or blizzards. Our team packaged something like 36,000 pounds of food. My item was peaches. The song “Millions of peaches/Peaches for me/Millions of peaches/Peaches for free” kept me buzzing all day long. After that, we went to the heart of Chicago for tacos and tamales and tres leches cakes. Perfect date day.
• One of my best friends and her hubby just moved from Nevada back to Chicago. We saw them Friday and Saturday night. Now I need to help her find a job! (Anybody need a healthcare marketer?)
• On Sunday I ran the Shamrock Shuffle. I finished the 8K (about 5 miles) with a time of 47.27. My best finish ever at this race and in the top 25th percent of all female finishers! I guess all the rehab and gym time this winter paid off. Giant WOO-HOO to myself there. Here’s a post-race pic.
  Total cheeseball, I know. But I love those $5 gloves.  Wheee!!!!
• My brother adopted a shelter puppy! A 1-year-old American Bulldog, white with a brindle patch on his eye. He looks like Pete from the little rascals. We visited him after the race. So sweet! And so glad my fam could save this little guy and find him a new home. Here’s a gratuitous picture of his adorable little self. (Also, anybody need a video game designer? My brother is out of meaningful work, too. He designed this site.)
• Finally, I went to my first yoga class yesterday. It was $15 for 90 minutes. I was super nervous to go alone and worried I’d find myself in the company of super bendy people. But ya know what? I was one of three people there, and it was not scary at all. It was excellent. We focused on stretching our legs. PERFECT for this runner. I learned so much and can’t wait to go back!

OK, now what was I saying about taxes? Oh right. I need to do them. Sigh.

The post Hi there. I’m too busy for tax time. appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

Here’s the rundown before the insurance kicked in:

• Bill 1: When my knee was injured, I saw a specialist. That cost $294 for a 20-minute session with the orthopaedic doctor. He ordered a few X-rays, which addded a cost of $167 to my bill. Based on this appointment, he recommended an MRI.
• Bills 2 and 3: The hospital charged me $2,950 for the radiology bill. Additionally, I received a charge from the Faculty Foundation, separate from the hospital, for $347 for “MRI outpatient.” Presumably this was the charge for the doctor to review my MRI results, though it’s difficult to tell unless I call and inquire about it.
• Bill 4: Then, for the follow-up appointment, I was charged an additional $131 for the specialist’s time to give me a diagnosis. (I’m now in physical therapy for five weeks – I’m considering those charges separately.)

So prior to insurance, provided that all the bills have come in, I owed the hospital $3,889. (About the amount in my designated “rainy day fund” that is separate from all my savings).

Thankfully I have insurance, unlike a lot of people I know. Here’s the breakdown of what I owe after insurance:

• Bill 1 (initial consultation and x-rays): I owe $36.40 (there was a nice reduction because I stayed in-network)
• Bill 2 (MRI from hospital): I owe $221.25
• Bill 3 (random “MRI outpatient” bill): I owe $26.20
• Bill 4 (second consultation): I owe $25 (again, in-network reduction worked here)

In total, I owe $308.85 - not insignificant, but a small portion of the original cost. I wish I had money left in my flex spending to cover the costs, but I wasn’t anticipating any major procedures this year and so only put in enough to cover routine care.

Looking at these bills, though thoroughly confusing, makes me consider how lucky I am that I can work with physicians and physical therapists to get myself back into running form. I hear so many sob stories on TV about people who “used to run” or “used to work out” and have since become overweight or obese. I really didn’t get how that was possible, but when I look at these numbers, it’s easy to see how it could happen to someone out of a job with no insurance – she may try to stay healthy and work out, but a fall, a slip, a tear, or just overuse can stop an athlete in her tracks. And without the right network of care, she might never get back to her passion.

I pray there’s never a day when I’m uninsured. My boyfriend has been off and on insurance for years – even a white collar professional can become one of America’s uninsured while between jobs. (And as a former financial services sector employee, he’s been there a few times.) Currently a full-time law student, he is on some kind of minimal catastrophic coverage plan through his University. I hope he has a rainy day fund

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