Big Budget Buster

Have you ever signed up for a running event? I am not an athlete, and it is a huge mind game for me to get a long run in. I have run two marathons, but it still feels like a chore to go out and run. I am a procrastinator of all procrastinators.

But I found one way to get myself out there, and it's by signing up for races. My very first one was the Race For the Cure. My sister and I were living together at the time, and we bought a new book called Running For Women and followed the 10-week program in the book for training for a 5k. We did the once-a-week long runs together, and were well-suited to run the 5k side-by-side. The whole way. Without stopping. 3.1 miles. At the time, we felt very important and athletic, and couldn't believe all the free stuff we got afterwards.

That race was huge incentive for training and becoming healthier. But later on, as I started adding longer races, I had to stop signing up for the shorter ones because of the expense. You may get plenty of bagels and a T-Shirt and other free stuff, but definitely not $30 worth!

These days I compromise and sign up for the occasional race to give myself something to look forward to. And I will probably do the Race for the Cure this year for old times' sake. I have also started donating the T-Shirts to a local shelter. It is just occuring to me now, but I should also ask my tax guy if I can write them off as a charitable donation.