Running Items I Will Not Spend Money On

One thing you may have noticed from reading my blog is that I like to save money wherever I can. I wouldn't say we are total tight wads, but we don't like to overspend or waste money. Cutting back here and there over the long run can really add up... and then that money can be spent on fun vacations!

They say running is an inexpensive sport but I don't really agree with that. It can be inexpensive, but if you are someone who likes to have top of the line clothes, all the latest tech gear, and race a lot, the costs can certainly add up. That's not me. The most expensive things associated w/ my running is of course shoes (even though I can get them discounted to $59.95 at Running Warehouse) and my gym membership, which is $120 per year. If I ever need to replace my Garmin, that will be expensive as well, but I plan on just using that thing until it's dead. I got it for Christmas several years ago and it's still kicking, so we'll see!

On the other hand, many running items don't have to be expensive at all. There are some things I simply refuse to spend any significant amount of money on. I'm talking less than $10 here, people. I am sure you are dying to know what those items are...

1. Gloves. Several years ago, I was searching for the perfect pair of gloves. I tried everything. I could not find something that would keep my fingers warm on those 0-15 degree winter mornings. I paid anywhere between $15-$30 looking for awesome gloves.

These are the most expensive gloves I own. I got them at Dick's. They were $30. They aren't good for anything under 35 degrees. What a waste of money. I'm so pissed about this purchase.

But a few years ago, I found a solution to my glove problem! I layer two pairs of gloves from the Dollar Tree. I'm not joking. These are what I wear when it's single digits!

What normally happens is my fingers start to freeze somewhere during the first mile. So I ball them up into fists for about a mile. After that they are warm and toasty and I can put them back in the fingers again. Voila.

$2 for warm hands all winter. You can't beat that.

2. Sunglasses. I need my running sunglasses to be black and I need them to be comfortable. They also need to be about $5. Thank you, Wal Mart! I don't want sunglasses any more expensive than that because for one, they don't need to be expensive, these cheapo ones work just fine, and two, I don't want to worry about losing them or breaking them. But generally my sunglasses last me a year or two before I need to find another pair!

3. Sports bras. Okay, I realize the only reason I don't have to pay good money for sports bras is because my boobs are tiny. They are not just an A cup, they are an ALMOST A cup. I really don't need any significant support at all. I have some sports bras from the days of yore I keep wearing, but a couple years ago what I did was cut the middriffs off a bunch of my old camisoles and just use those for a bra.

A few weeks ago, I got the deal of a lifetime. I got these little things from Gabriel Brothers for $3.99 each! I really should have got more than 3... what was I thinking!?

I also threw out some of my older sports bras that don't fit me anymore. From lifting, my back and shoulders have gotten bigger so it was getting very uncomfortable to try to fit in some of my older bras!

Are there any running items you refuse to spend money on?
What are the most expensive costs associated with your running?

Bad Running Dreams

Do you ever have running dreams? I do... and they're BAD! Generally, I have dreams where I am trying to run and can't move my legs. Sometimes I dream that my alarm doesn't go off and I'm late for a race. But a couple weeks ago, I had a very vivid running dream that was just so weird that I had to share it with you!

Jump into my twisted brain... I dare you!

My dream began at the start line of a marathon down by the river in my hometown of Millersburg, PA. My goal for the marathon was to BQ. When the gun went off, me and many other runners were about 1/4 mile from the start. Everyone around me started running. I wanted to walk to the start (Hello, chip timing people!!) as to conserve energy, but everyone else was running so I did too.

That was just the first thing that went wrong at this race. Here are some other things that didn't go my way...

1. I kept forgetting to get water at the water stops.

2. Instead of grabbing salt tabs from a fuel station I grabbed a peanut butter donut.

3. I noticed I was wearing jean shorts instead of running shorts.

4. My Garmin wouldn't work and there were no mile markers.

5. For some reason, I had worn my backpack instead of hydration pack. I tossed it to my mom. I didn't need that weighing me down.

6. I kept getting lost on the course! We were supposed to follow orange crime scene tape but sometimes it would lead me in the wrong direction.

7. Sometimes my legs wouldn't move so I had to fly until they started moving again.

8. I had to pee really bad so I peed my pants.

9. The route went through people's houses. Sometimes there was furniture blocking hallways that we would have to move and climb through. "I'm never going to BQ on a course like this!" I kept thinking.

The end of the dream was the scariest. There was a man following me with a knife. He kept after me and was slicing the orange crime scene tape as he got closer and closer. My dad was following to try to protect me. I ran into a house and down into the basement. (Stupid!! Why did I do that???) I was desperately trying to find a door or window to get out of the basement before the guy caught up with me! He was upstairs fighting my dad.

Luckily, Christmas woke me up from my dream before the guy came down to the basement to kill me.

This was one of those very vivid dreams that I remembered so many details from. It's actually kind of funny I think. 

Do you have bad running dreams?

Weekend Wrap Up!

Good Monday Morning, Readers!

I hope all the moms out there had a FABULOUS Mother's Day!

I do believe parents have the most important job in the world. Thank you, MOTHERS!

Here is how our weekend went down...

It was dreary out for about the fifth day in a row. I was so sick of the rain and chilly weather, but Fridays are still magical. I got up a little earlier than normal so I could squeeze 6 miles in before work. A little extra endorphins never hurt anyone, right? Running in the morning before I start the day just makes me so happy.

Work was... work. Let's just say, there are 18 days of school left!

After work, Paul wanted to go to the gym, so I ended up getting in a pretty good lifting session at Planet Fitness!

Then we went out for our favorite post workout meal... sushi!

DQ is on the way home, so why not???

It was still dreary!!!!! Come on, I need some sunshine! It was warm so I did get to go for an 8 miler in shorts and a tank.

When I got home, I cleaned out all of my drawers and my closet. I keep my clothes in the guest room, so then I house cleaned the guest room! We are systematically going through each room in the house and scrubbing/organizing from top to bottom. It took me about 4 hours to do everything in the guest room but I felt very accomplished by the end!

Note: The scale on the floor is to weigh the cats. I do not weigh myself!!

I feel SO IN CONTROL when I am organized!

That evening, we met some friends at Spring Gate Winery for Derby Day! I was excited to dress up and wear a big hat.

With Randy and Michael, newly engaged! Congrats!!!

These are some lovely ladies that I work with! Did your elementary school teachers look like them? Probably not!!!

Can we talk about those heels? I haven't worn heels FOREVER and generally only wear them for sitting down activities. I was like a baby fawn for the first couple hours but eventually I was able to walk like a normal person. I just could not go to Derby Day in that dress and that hat without THOSE HEELS!

I woke up at 6am and could not fall back asleep. I finally got up and went for a 5 mile run. I was done before it was even 8 o'clock! Then I took my mom and SIL out for breakfast for Mother's Day. I didn't take pictures but I swear it happened! We had so much fun. I love my mom and I love my SIL. Here's a throwback pic of my mom and I from a few months ago.

I had most of the rest of the afternoon to myself so scrubbed our breakfast nook from top to bottom and cleaned/organized the pantry.

Then I met my good friend Bree for a 3.5 mile walk. Again, no pictures, but I swear it happened! Then we went back to my house and I served her cheese. Bree ate brie! Did I blow your mind???? She is growing a baby inside of her. When your friend is growing a baby, you serve then whatever they desire! (Unless it's meth, cigarettes, or scotch.)

The rest of my Sunday was just completing little doodads for the week that are not interesting to tell you about. Not like the rest of my weekend was super compelling but I draw the line at doodads.

Oh wait! I will tell you I have made a serious investment in zucchini, I will be eating zucchini for dinner for the next week, at least!

I'll leave you with some sweet kitty pics! Here is me and Christmas expressing our love...

I swear I am not pulling him, it just looks that way because of his fur.

And here is Jelly's blue blanket. The blanket is normally on our bed. Jelly puts it in his mouth and walks in circles, twisting it up. Well, this weekend he not only twisted it up but he carried it all the way to our basement stairs. What a silly little boy!

Did you do anything nice on Mother's Day?
Do you like cleaning/organizing?
Did you watch the Derby????
What's your favorite Blizzard flavor?
How was your weekend?
SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

New Format

Hey all! I am going to try a different scheduling format for these next several months. Here's what's going down...

Mondays will remain my Weekend Wrap Up days. My weekends tend to be a little less exciting in the summer because since I have off, excitement could be happening any old day of the week! 

Tuesdays will be my training recaps. Since Hansons starts their weeks on a Monday, I will recap the previous Monday-Sunday. I would post it on Sunday afternoon, but I feel like less people read blogs on Sundays. Maybe more people will read it if I post it during the week.

Wednesday and Thursday will be whatever I feel like, no particular theme.

Fridays will be Friday 5 or Runfessions. I have been enjoying the Friday 5 link up, but it does require you to stick to a set topic. The hardest topic I have writing about is food. I don't always have five things to say about food, and I hate forcing a post. So I will stick with the link ups for the weeks that I feel like I have something relevant to say on the topic.

Saturday and Sunday will be two more days without a particular theme. I have been dabbling in "Hot Topic" posts and have a few in my draft folder. It would be cool to keep Saturday as Hot Topic day but I don't know I will have something "hot" to talk about every week!

So there ya go! The Meg Go Run Spring/Summer schedule.

As always, thanks for stopping by and reading! Or skimming. Or looking at pictures. Or hate reading. Whatever you do, thank YOU!

Weekly Workout Recap!

This is my last workout re-cap before I officially start training for Via! From then on, I will do a little bit of a different format for my recaps and you will probably see them on Tuesdays. 

It was another week of la la la running for me! Shit will be getting real pretty soon, so there's no reason to bust my ass right now.

Saturday- 8 mile loops around a nearby park. I ran a pretty consistent 8:30 pace, which is like the definition of a "la la la" run for me! I walked two miles afterward. BAM!

Sunday- Ultimate lifting sesh at home! It took me over two hours! No, it doesn't always take me that long because normally I do split body parts. Today I just wanted to feel the burn!

Monday- I ran 5 easy miles around my hood. All in all it was a good run albeit slow. Still don't have my mojo back. Then again, it wasn't like I was trying to push the pace or anything. After work I took Paul to the gym. Instead of just reading in the car, I did some hip/glute stuff as well as some abs. It took me about an hour and my abs were burning!

Donkey Kicks- 5x20
Bicycles- 5x40
Hydrants- 5x20
Stability ball knee tuck- 5x15
Captain's Chair 5x20 (owwww!)
Kick Backs- 5x20
Planks- 5x60 seconds
Stretching

Tuesday- Another 5 easy miles around an 8:40 pace. I was feeling so pokey and was totally questioning my marathon goals. What a great time to do that, right? Before training even begins. 

Wednesday- I woke up at 2:59 and couldn't fall back asleep. I laid there until 4:05 and then I got up. I was out on the road before 5:00. The roads are always open. I was angry about not getting sleep and I was angry about work stuff. Angry runs are the best and I effortlessly ran at a sub 8 pace for 6 miles. There's something about anger that fuels me like nothing else. I had lots of time to stretch and do my glute/hip exercises after.

Thursday- I lifted chest at home while I geeked out to Survivor podcasts! I did things in a different order than normal which sort of threw me off.

Push Ups- 10x10
Donkey Kicks- 5x20
Chest Press- 2x6x30lb, 4x10x25lb
Bicycles- 4x40
Hydrants- 5x20
Shoulder Press- 5x10x20lb
Kick backs- 5x20
Sit ups on stability ball- 5x15x15lb
Tricep Dips- 5x15
Stability ball knee tuck- 5x15

Friday- 6 easy miles in my hood. I ran around an 8:30 pace. After work, Paul wanted to go to the gym so I figured I could do some back stuff.

Asst. Pull Ups- 5x8 w/ 16lb asst.
Cable Row- 15x40lb, 15x45lb, 15x50lb, 12x55lb, 10x60lb
Bicylces- 5x40
Captain's Chair- 5x20 (owwww!)
Lat Pull Down- 5x8x80lb
Asst. Pull Ups (neutral grip)- 4x8 w/ 16lb asst.
Band Asst. Pull Ups- 1x5
Donkey Kicks- 5x20
Hydrants-5x20
Push Backs- 5x20

So I haven't done pull ups at the gym in a long time and I realized that using 16lb of asst. is more than what my band provides me at home.

Here's my last set of pull ups I did with a band on the monkey bars because some idiot decided to take his rest breaks ON THE MACHINE. Gym etiquette 101: When you are resting, step off the machine!!!

How were your workouts this week?

Friday 5!

Today's Friday 5 theme is Fitness (per the rules of the Friday 5 Link Up), so I thought I'd share with you 5 of the strangest races I have run.

Meg's Strange Races...

1. Hydroworx Underwater Marathon. Hydroworx is a company that makes underwater treadmills. This race raised money for the Eagle Fund, which helps wounded warriors. I ran a relay leg of this race in a huge tank of water in the parking lot of Troeg's Brewery in Hershey. Talk about a strange experience!

2. Dark & Dirty 6.66 mile nighttime trail run. I never ran a race at night before I did this one. It was strange but SO FREEING to run in the dark and up and down a mountain. Actually I can't believe I came out of this unscathed! 

3. Last Man Standing. This trail race was a 1.6 mile loop. The first loop had to be completed in 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the second loop started and you had 19 minutes to complete it. And so on, and so on. I was able to complete 8 laps. I ran this race with my dad, which made it super fun! Recap here.

4. Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. The reason this marathon was so strange was because it was actually longer than a marathon! 26.45 miles, to be exact. (My first ultra!?) There was a fire on the course very early in the morning so they had to divert the runners. This was in the days before everyone had a Garmin, and I certainly didn't have one. I remember Mile 22 seemed to go on foreeeever. We learned after the race what had happened and everyone ended up getting their times adjusted.

5. HARRC in the Park. This trail race was around 9 miles. The reason this race was so strange was because it was the only time another runner was outright nasty to me. Let me tell you the story...

At the time, I was a pretty decent trail runner, so I was flying through the course. I wasn't sure what place I was in and didn't really care, I was just there for a challenging run. With about 2 miles left, I passed a woman who had stopped and walked for a minute. She had blood on her knees so it looked like at some point she had taken a topple. I asked her if she was okay and she said yes. I could tell she was annoyed.

I ended up being the 2nd woman and the lady I passed was the 3rd woman. After she finished, she walked over to me and in a very irritated voice said, "If this was a road race I would've beat you."

WTF????????

I did not even know how to respond to this woman. I had never (nor have I since) experienced another runner being so nasty! I can't remember what I said back... something like, "You did a good job." I just didn't have something sassy to retort because I couldn't believe she was so rude!

Has another runner ever been nasty to you?
Tell me about the strangest race you ever ran!

Today, I'm linking up with the DC girls for Friday 5!