Payday Hooray!

Today is the day I reveal my running payday.  Woohoo!

Last year I decided that I would log my miles run and as an incentive, I decided to pay myself for running.  The catch is that I had to also log the money I spent on races and babysitters hired for my Saturday races.  My goal was to make a profit.  I got the idea from another blogger (and I feel TERRIBLE that I didn't save that information).  Thank you, Forgotten Blogger!  You are awesome!

Here's the deal:  I decided to pay myself  $.50 for every mile run or walked, $1.00 for every racing mile, and I awarded myself a $5.00 bonus for every PR.  The beauty of this plan is that you can use whatever amount inspires you, and it doesn't just have to be running.  Wanna reward yourself for biking miles?  How about swimming yards?  Zumba hours?  The possibilities are endless.

Let's get to it, shall we?

I logged all of my running miles on Dailymile.com.  This site does an excellent job of helping you keep track of fitness.  Not only can you log your miles, you can also log time, pace, conditions, routes, and how you felt about your experience.  It doesn't have to be just running, either.  I have friends who log spinning, biking, yoga, hiking--you can do whatever you want.  Also, this is a social media service, so you can choose to "friend" people and encourage each other with comments and badges.  You can see my miles on the right side of this post.  In 2013, I ran 645 miles.  Boo.  My original goal was to run 1,000 miles, but my broken foot put the cabosh on that idea.

Modified piggy bank for my circumstances

I logged my racing miles on a spreadsheet.  The credit column was the number of miles, and the debit column was entry fees and babysitting fees.  Now I am going to subtract the number of racing miles from the total on Dailymile:

Total Miles         645

-Racing Miles       37

New Total Miles 608

608 (.50) = $304.00

+ Racing        37.00

                   $341.00

+PRs (4)         20.00

                   $361.00

- race fees   $130.00     

                   $231.00

-babysitter   $100.00

Grand Total = $131.00

Not too shabby, eh?  I know I could have done even better had I not broken my foot in August.  I missed out on at least four races, two of which I am certain would have been a PR.  Oh well.  I am just happy that I can start again this year.

What will I do with the money?  Hmmmm. . . I will need more shoes in a few months.  Maybe a set of capris for the Spring?  How about some more songs for new playlists?  Again, the possibilities are endless, and I EARNED THIS MONEY!  I look forward to earning more money with my feet in 2014!

How do you reward yourself for running?

Like what you see?  Follow me on Twitter @itibrout !

And That Is How I Didn't Realize I Solicited Free Medical Advice.

My running peeps aren't just in my running life; we are band parents and Girl Scout parents.  Last Thursday I was at my daughter's band concert (Flutes represent!) with Deidre and Teresa, and in between band sets, Deidre's husband Bill asked about my foot.  Bill fits people with prosthetic limbs, so I was actually going for a really tasteless joke about asking him for a new foot when I told him that my foot still hurts.  Bill started talking to me, and then the band director started talking, so I looked at Bill's mouth, and I was all, "Yeah!  Uh huh!  Oh!  Ok," while he was talking  to me.  I didn't really hear a word he said, but I assumed he was telling me what kind of insert to get.  At that point I decided that I was going to go back to wearing the boot until I get my x-ray (on Monday).

Let me just say now that the looking-at-the-speaker-and-making-positive-noises has never backfired on me.  Until now.

This is EXACTLY how I look when someone tells me I can't run the half marathon.

On Saturday, Deidre texted me:  Bill wants you to stop over so he can fit you with an insert.

Me:  ?  Um, ok?  (Now I'm thinking, what insert?)

Then it hit me.  I had accidentally solicited free medical advice because I was pretending I heard what he said.  I felt awful.

Me:  OMG.  I totally did not realize what Bill was saying at the concert; I was just pretending I did.  I would NEVER ask someone to take care of me outside his/her practice.  I was only going to ask him to fit me for a new foot.  I. AM. SO. SORRY.  

Deidre:  (Basically) Whatever.  Come over.

Bill gave me an insert for my running shoes, and he explained that it was just as good as the boot, but without stabilizing the ankle (which I do not need).  He said that I would either feel no pain in two days, or it wouldn't change anything (in which case he could still fit me with a new foot).

That night I chaperoned the Homecoming dance.  I was wearing a beautiful black dress. . . with my running shoes.  Later I found out that a student came into school on Monday laughing about the "dumb girl in a dress and running shoes."  I appreciate that he called me a girl, but I am NOT DUMB.  Anyway, I felt awful at the end of the night, but that may have been the twerking that I can NOT UNSEE NO MATTER HOW HARD I CONCENTRATE ON CUTE PUPPIES AND SUNFLOWERS.

Sunday was a recovery day, and Monday was back to school, so when Deidre texted me to ask me how I felt, I truthfully said I felt the same, but now I was too scared to take out the insert before my doctor's appointment.  Tuesday was crazy-busy, but ten minutes before bedtime, I realized that my foot hadn't hurt ALL DAY.

I think the next time I see Bill, I am going to kiss him on the mouth.

New Kicks!

It was well-past time to buy new shoes.  I bought my last pair of shoes in NOVEMBER 2012, people.  Just since January I have put over 550 miles on them.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Some runners will tell you that you should change every 500 miles; some say 300.  Either way, I screwed up.

Yesterday I set out to rectify my mistake.  My store of choice is Second Sole because it is closest to my house and I have had wonderful, spiritual experiences every time I've gone there--no joke.  This time I brought my old shoes with me (my last rookie mistake was NOT bringing my old shoes), but I didn't bring my running socks to try on a new pair.  Duh.  I guess I thought that I would be getting the same shoes, just newer.  So, Dear Readers, you now have learned two lessons so far from my rookie shoe-buying mistakes: bring your shoes, and bring your socks.

Anyway, the store has a bin where you can borrow socks that approximate the thickness of your own socks, so it wasn't that big of a deal.  The "borrowing socks" were much better than my own socks, by the way.

The salesman asked me how many miles I'm putting in a week, and when told him 20-30, he responded, "Wow, that's a lot!"  Extra points for making me feel like a badass!  He took my shoes to the back and came back with these:

Saucony Guide 6

These were a size 10--a half-size larger than my regular Saucony size (which is still a half-size larger than some of my other shoes).  The salesman said, "I looked at the wear on your shoes, and I think they are too small for you in the toe box, especially for the amount of miles you are putting in.  Try these on, and we'll see if they are better for you."  Be still, my beating heart!  Did he actually analyze my old shoes?

Ok, here is a reality check.  When I looked at the Guide 6 reviews on Saucony's website, I noticed that the number one comment was that everyone had to go up a half-size.  I'm pretty sure the salesguy automatically brings everyone a half-size larger, but because I am a narcissist and an optimist, I am going to believe that he DID look at the wear on my shoes and think about my needs.  I love you, Second Sole.

I took my beautiful, bright shoes on the running path this morning for four hilly miles.  I was a little worried about the size because I felt that my old shoes would sometimes rub in the heel.  Notice the special ankle-lock tie on the left shoe.  The shoes felt lighter (the website says they are lighter), and they felt more cushiony and less stiff than my previous shoes.  They felt like I had already broken them in.  I didn't have any blisters or soreness during or after the run, so I'm going to tentatively say the Guide 6 is a win.  The real test will be the long run on Sunday.

What do you think of Saucony?  Have you tried the Guide 6?  Do you notice a difference from the Guide 5?