My name is Beth & I am a running addict

Oh dear! Yeah, I know I said that I wasn't going to change my race schedule for the upteenth time but today I found a discount code for the Rock & Roll Denver Marathon/Half Marathon on September 22. The discount was for $29 off of the $95 registration fee. I love a good bargain so I couldn't pass it up. I could've applied it to the half marathon...but no...I went and signed up for the full 26.2 miles in a city a mile up in the air. That's even 900'-1000' higher than where I live. I guess hope that I'll acclimate easily and the course elevation chart actually look fairly flat with about a 200' max elevation change.

I also switched around and removed some races. I'll be doing a half marathon in Wichita Falls, TX on Saturday that I'm not too worried about. On the 25th I'll be in Tucson to run yet another half marathon...I'm trying to figure out now whether I'll be flying or driving to that one. The following weekend I'll be running back to back half marathons. On March 31st I'll be in Midland, TX for the Bloodgusher HM in the morning then drive to Ardmore, OK (almost 7 hour drive) to run the A2A HM the following day...April Fools Day, sadly this is not a joke! lol!

Motorola MotoACTV

I'm all registered for these races so I won't be registering for the May through September races until next month. I am waiting for the WDW Wine & Dine Half Marathon and Family 5K's registration which open on March 13 so that I can pay for that ASAP.

Lastly, I'm on the verge of ordering a Motorola MotoACTV at $249. I need something smaller than my phone for the half marathons but I need something that will also track my run (GPS) as well as hold music should I decide to listen to some when I run. It's much more affordable than the Garmin GPS watches that I've been looking at which run $400-$500.

I've said it before...whoever said that running was a cheap sport was lying and definitely was not a techie!! lol!

My addiction(s)

What's your addiction? I first figured out that I had addictive personality back in the early 80's after I had been in the USAF for a year or so and found myself partaking in the alcoholic beverages on the weekends more than I care to admit. The fact that I was still underage didn't help...unless I was on base where I could legally buy beer. I basically quit drinking totally in 1984 when I found out that I was pregnant. Since then I've been very tipsy once and other than that have had maybe 8 glasses of wine and 2 glasses of champagne total. Luckily, I was able to nip things in the bud before it really became any kind of major problem.

My other addictions, at least until recently have included collecting shoes, purses, Italian charms, Tupperware, Pampered Chef and Calphalon cookware that I didn't really need. Since I've started exercising again beginning in May/June of 2011 I've become addicted to Zumba...which I'm having to give up for now. When I started running in July/August I never would have thought that I would ever become addicted to running races! This is really the least likely of addictions that I could have ever expected.

Why do I say that I'm addicted to running? The fact that having just run my first half marathon, I've gone ahead and scheduled almost monthly half marathon races since returning from my first in Disneyland not even 2 weeks ago. Since I started running I've either started planning trips around races or looked for running routes in areas that I am visiting. I'm on several running themed Facebook groups and when a new race pops up one of the first questions in my mind is, "Wow, that race looks cool. I wonder how I can swing that trip/race?" At least I'm not alone in this addiction! Many of my Facebook running friends admit that they have similar behaviors. There's been many a night that we'll end up posting almost endlessly about a particular race looking to share expenses, where to stay, what the race bling (finisher's medals) looks like, etc. We tease each other with "Yes, go ahead and sign up...you know you want to!" Or giving reports on how well or how badly a race went/was organized.

Other than the cost of this addiction (race fees can range from $15 to $150) plus travel and lodging if needed, this is a healthy addiction...at least that's the way I see it! So, in honor of this addiction here's a little prayer that I wrote last night after a couple of us were working on how to swing adding another trip to Disneyland, in the most cost effective manner, for the Disneyland Half Marathon to be held during Labor Day weekend.

The Newly Addicted Runner's Prayer

Dear running gods...

Especially those dealing with newly addicted runners. 

Please provide me with the prudent judgement to make wise choices in adjusting my 2012 race schedule...

Yet again. 

Allow me to choose races that I can both afford and finish 

And let me not get sucked into the whirlpool of mania and addictive behavior that I'm known for at times. Amen

100 Days Challenge:

• Day 40
• 10.44 mile run in 2:20:12

What I Ate Today:

• 40 oz G2
• 1 whole wheat Bagel Thin
• 1 Tbsp reduced fat peanut butter
• 12 oz low fat chocolate milk
• 4 - 3" hot dog sliders with ketchup/mustard
• 1½ cups battered french fries
• 24 oz Sprite
• 1 Clif energy gel - Chocolate
• 1/3 of leftover baked potato from last night

Alkalete Review Day 3:

Just a brief note today. Feeling okay, no major changes and still feeling fairly tired. Didn't actually take a nap bur probably should have. Took a dose immediately before after my run, no significant change noted...feet still a tad  tender post run almost 12 hours since last dose. Not really feeling anything significantly changed. I have a 12-13 mile run set for Saturday, we'll see what happens then.

Running is so NOT cheap

After adding up all the registration fees for all the races that I had planned for 2012...one race a month, I was flabbergasted when the total just for the registrations came up to just shy of $1,000 for one person. The old man wants to run all the same races that I do so that would have doubled the registration costs. Well, in our current economic situation that became a stumbling block when you added in the cost of travel and hotel rooms. We could cut down the lodging by using our travel trailer...something that I had already considered; but still there was a lot of extra travel and distance to be covered. So, yet again, I've pared down the race schedule to something more affordable with mostly in-state races. The Wine & Dine HM at Walt Disney World is a must so that I can get the Coast to Coast medal, but 2012 will probably be the only year that I do two out of town races so far away from home. I am still getting my first sprint duathlon and half century ride in so I'll be a two sport athlete...whoa!

Jan 29th - Tinkerbell Half Marathon (13.1 miles), Disneyland, Anaheim, CA (TNT)
Mar 11th - Shamrock'n HM (13.1 miles), Sacramento, CA (tentative if I have to go to CA for reunion planning, $65)
May 5th - Atomic Man Duathlon (Little Boy - Sprint, 4K/15K/4K), White Rock, NM ($55)
May 20th - Santa Fe Half Century (50 miles), Santa Fe, NM ($20 + t-shirt)
Sept 28th - Oct 1st - Wine & Dine HM (13.1 miles, night run), Disney World, Orlando, CA (~$130)
Oct 27th - Dirty Dash 10K (6.2 miles, mud run), Albuquerque, NM ($35)
Nov 9th - 10th - Wine & Dine HM (13.1 miles, night run), Disney World, Orlando, CA (~$130)
Nov 22nd - WTRC Turkey Trot 12K (7.3 miles), Lubbock, TX ($20)

Now, in addition to the race fees, travel and lodging I haven't even considered the shoes, clothing, gear, etc. I'm sure that we've spent a couple of grand getting the clothes and gear we need (trust me, running is way more comfy with the technical clothing rather than with cotton clothing). Thankfully, I think we have everything we need as far as gear so hopefully our spending is done in that area. This new schedule has decreased race fees to a max of $355/person and since most are within a 4-5 hour drive we'll only need to stay one night at an RV park or hotel. So much for an aggressive running year. *le sigh*

UPDATE: Well, runDisney has added a new race at Walt Disney World and changed the date of the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. so it looks like I'll end up going 4 months without a race. I may throw in the Turtle HM in Roswell on Labor Day to break up the open dates. That's only $20/person registration if I remember correctly.