Saturday, July 7, 2007

Toys and Stuff

I really thought that running was a cheap endeavor. You buy a pair of shoes, lace them up, put on shorts and a t-shirt and get started: left-right-left-right.

Initially, we invested in a really good treadmill. The run-of-the-mill 'mill wouldn't cut it for my former extra-extra-extra-large frame. So we did.

Next I needed some workout clothes. No big deal, I had t-shirts, just needed a couple extra pair of walking shorts that weren't falling apart at the seams. For the first four or five months -- most of last half of last year, things were fairly simple. Mostly new workout wear, which I could find relatively inexpensively.

Then came registration fees. I was able to negotiate a 3 for the price of 4 discount with the Jingle Bell folks, but there was no official discount for the kids. Then another for the Columbia 5k. Okay, I can deal with this.

With the first outdoor runs, I'd need some music too. MP3 player for me. Well, the family would have to have their players, too. Make that 4 MP3 players.

Soon, I found out that the longer the race, the higher the fees. Add up the fees for Delaware, Annapolis and Philadelphia. Oh yeah, time for a new pair of running shoes, too.

When Dave and I were on our Delaware trip, he suggested that I get a lap timer with a heart monitor for outside running. After watching prices for a month, I took delivery this week on a Garmin Forerunner 305. Are there any toys left? Did I mention my new bike stuff?

Hey, who said running was cheap?

The results, though: PRICELESS!

L'Chaim!

7 comments:

J~Mom said...

I am getting ready to buy my first real bike and so I totally understand!! You will LOVE your Garmin!! It makes such a difference in training!

bigmike600 said...

I have told my wife from day 1.... You can not put any price on the feeling of fitness. Oh the garmin, man you will not believe the difference it makes in your running world. You will want to run twice a day now just to upload the data. Keep going Jeff you are doing a great job.

The Pensive Turtle said...

What better to spend your money on though, right? It's a great 'addiction' to feed :)

Unknown said...

It's cheaper than a heart attack.
Any hobby you take on will cost you for the wanna-haves as well as the must haves.
(I knew bigmike was gonna give you that "can't put a price on fitness" line..... I usually hear it when he is window shopping for $5000 tri-bikes....... )
BTW- my Garmin is my favorite toy ever. You are gonna love it!

Anonymous said...

Think about your family heritage, starting with your zayde, and say again how surprised you are that your new lifestyle has created a bunch of new "must have" toys. The acorn, as they say, doesn't fall far yada yada yada...

Roger S said...

Zayde? Toys?

Anonymous said...

Thanks bro! Saw that fancy schmancy thing on your wrist and started looking into options for my bike... $200 later (after the power bar rebate you told me about) and I'm staring down at my Garmin Edge 305 keeping my eyes everwhere BUT the road. It is nice though to play the ride back and watch my heart rate climb to 99% over and over again.

Oops... gotta go. More data to record. :-) Let me know when the new models come out so we can updgrade together.