I managed to get out this morning and get some miles under my belt, but not as many as I wanted. I woke up relatively on time, around 5:50, and turned on the TV to see what the temperature was outside. Unfortunately, the Weather Channel sometimes doesn't give me my local forecast but instead gives me the three day forecasts for other large cities. It's pretty much worthless. If I'm traveling to Des Moines, I probably already know the weather forecast or I've watched the weather people tell me the forecast prior to this time which is supposed to be dedicated to my local forecast. Why do I care about the weather in other cities? Oh wait, I don't.
So, I turned to the local news, but their temp readings are either from BWI, which is always colder than downtown, or from their station, which is about 10 miles outside Baltimore. Again, worthless. So I sat in bed for too long trying to decide if it was too cold to run or whatever. Eventually I got out the door late again, later than on Tuesday, in fact. I didn't start running my route until after 6:30! I was so pissed for making myself late. I only got 3.5 miles in as a result. But they were fine miles and primed me for my 11 miler tomorrow morning. I'd like to get out the door by no later than 8 so I can get it done and get on with my errands I need to run in the early afternoon. My reward for completing my run will be picking up my race packet for the Shamrock 5K and getting my super awesome green Brooks technical running shirt. If it's really awesome, I may make that my second racing shirt (I have a bright yellow shirt that I like because it's bright and makes me easily identifiable). Anything that's different from the usual whites, blacks, reds and blues that most people wear to races. I was going to buy myself a Live Strong running shirt, but those things are $40. And you know you're only paying for the Live Strong and Nike brands. I got my own Champion brand yellow shirt that looks almost exactly the same (sans the Live Strong, of course) from the Baltimore Running Festival's Health & Fitness Expo back in October for all of $10. Boo-yah! I'm a professional bargain hunter; don't try this at home, kids.
Some of my other bargain running purchases:
- A normally $45 long sleeve technical shirt (Green) with a nice collar to protect me from the wind. Found it at the Sports Authority and got it for $19.99.
- Brooks long sleeve running shirt. Found it at Falls Road Running's Winter Post Marathon sale. Normal price was around $60. I got it for $35.
- I got my Road I.D. (a must-have for anyone running on roads) at a nice 20% discount.
- Black Nike Dry-fit cap. I found it at Dick's Sporting Goods in Cincinnati, OH for $24.00. Not bad.
- Running gloves. Got these bad boys in my Baltimore Running Festival race packet and they've worked great! A pleasant surprise. Since I didn't have to pay to register for the race (my firm's parent company is a major sponsor), I got these babies for free, which is an infinite discount!
- I got free shipping on my online order for already discounted compression shorts and running tights. Thanks Amazon!
- And finally, my crowning achievement to date (aside from the infinitely discounted running gloves): A blue REI winter shell that is a Lycra/spandex mix. Originally over $70. Discounted to $50 and then discovered by yours truly during their winter clearance sale at an additional 50% off! I ended up spending about $25 for that shell, which is a roughly 64% discount.
So, while I love running, I generally refuse to pay ticket price on anything running-related other than entry fees. Even then, I'll spend 41 cents on a stamp to save on the $2.00-$3.00 service charge that Active.com tacks onto each online registration. I'm saving anywhere from $1.59 to $2.59 per race! Even if I include a self-addressed stamped envelope and request a confirmation letter back, I'm still easily beating the system.
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