Friday, May 26, 2017

Runfessions: It's May...

Here we go again...it's the last Friday of the month and its time for Runfessions. Marcia hosts this monthly sole (yes, pun intended) cleansing for runners. You can share all your running transgressions and not even get a penance. It's a pretty good deal.

So what do I have to runfess this month?



With a long holiday weekend looming and since I'm feeling so much better, I wanted to find a race to run. I usually do a local 10k, but for some reason, it was canceled this year. I thought this would be the year for me to do the Soldier Field 10 miler. I've heard nothing but good things about this race and the medal and shirt looked great! I checked the website this week and it wasn't sold out. I filled out the registration form and entered my payment info. When I got to the total, I stopped. The race was $95 and there was a $5.62 "processing fee". Processing fee? For a race that costs $95? For a 10 mile race? I don't know if it was the race fee or the processing fee that bothered me more, but I runfess that I closed out the page before finishing my registration.


I recently saw my rheumatologist for follow up. I'm pleased to share that I got a good report. I'm getting better! All my blood work results were good. Except that my liver function tests were slightly elevated. Crap! One of the medications I am taking can affect the liver, and I won't lie, even knowing that, I've been enjoying my nightly glass or 2 of wine. The irony of all this is that I really do eat and live very clean. Wine is my one vice. Besides Ben and Jerry's, that is. Seeing those results made me very sad. I runfess that I had a huge sense of relief when my rheumatologist told me not to worry about those results. "You can have your wine", she said.

Besides helping me accomplish my planned distances, doing run/walk intervals while I recover from my RA flare has made it much easier to channel my inner Mrs. Kravitz. When I'm moving slower, I see so much more. Last week, I saw one of my neighbors riding his lawn mower along the frontage road. I thought that was kind of odd, and then I saw him dumping his lawn clippings in the ditch. He saw me watching him. While lawn clippings aren't the worst thing he could be dumping, it's against the law. Dude. Bag it up. One of my other neighbors works for the village and I runfess that I may have shared this story with her.


When I'm out running, I'm not always focused on the run. There are so many distractions. On Sunday, I saw a suitcase sitting on the sidewalk in front of the gas station. There was no one nearby. My oldest son asked me if I looked to see what was inside. Um, no? But I did wonder where it came from. A few weeks ago, I came upon this sign. Ok, I know what it meant, but I runfess that my thoughts may have wandered to the juvenile section of my brain. I giggled for the rest of my run.


While I was preparing Wednesday's post, I was looking through old race photos and I couldn't find any from my 2014 Chicago Marathon. I thought I accidentally deleted them. I contacted MarathonFoto and the photos were still available. When I looked through them, I realized that I had only purchased one from that race. I runfess that this time, I bought the whole digital package. I mean, it was a marathon!

So worth it to preserve gems like this!
How high is too high for a race entry fee? What is a processing fee? Do you buy race pictures? Seen any interesting things on the run? Got any runfessions to share? 

I'm linking up with Marcia's Healthy Slice for Runfessions as well as Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for the Friday Five!



72 comments :

  1. I'm so happy to hear that you are feeling better!

    $95 for a 10 mile race + a registration free. Umm...no! I would have closed the page too. Unless the race entry came with a new pair of sneakers, that's insane!

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    1. I'm pretty sure that's why it's not sold out. Greedy race promoters (the Hot Chocolate people, no surprise).

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  2. Im glad you can still enjoy your wine! Thats pretty much my only vice as well. Im happy to hear that your results were positive!

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    1. Fingers crossed (and I can still cross them!) that we continue in this direction!

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  3. Soldier Field is a gimmick. Unless you found $100 on the ground while running (because you are running slower), and in that case it would be a sign to go and run it, or to buy a new pair of running shoes.

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    1. I'm a sucker for a gimmick. But not that much of a sucker. What else do you expect from RAM?

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  4. I paid $129 for my half in CO... I thought that was super high... but it was CO. ;) glad you're feeling good and THANK GOODNESS for wine! I've been in s funk lately so I enjoyed your post friend.

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    1. Sorry about the funk. I get it. I hope you heal up and get to run Grandmas! Maybe I shouldn't sent you that shirt...

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  5. Even the bargain basement pre-season price is high for SF IMO. I think if that race were priced fairly it would be sold out. Processing fees just tick me off.

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  6. I've never bought a single race photo...is that weird? I feel like I always either look really weird or like I'm going to pass out.

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    1. I usually will buy one from a half, but for my marathons, I'll buy the package. Except for my first.

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  7. $95 (plus the fees) is ridiculous for a 10-miler. I was considering CHI R'n'R, until I saw it was over $100 (probably also with extra fees).....now I'm probably just staying home. ;-(

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    1. Those RnR races are pricey! But you'd get to hang with Marcia and me! Come on, say you'll come!

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  8. I think $75 is my price point for a 10 miler, but I can't swear I didn't pay more for that for Denver. I think the processing fee goes to the company that manages the registrations - they seem to be unavoidable these days. At the CUCB dinner, they were reminiscing about the days when the lottery was done by people mailing in Self Addressed Stamped Envelopes that would get returned to them if they got picked. :-)

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    1. I think if a runner REALLY wants to run then the sky's the limit for registration fees. But I was just looking for a 10 miler...

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  9. $100 for a 10K?? Yikes. I don't pay that for a half marathon.

    Photo fees are crazy high. I would probably buy for a marathon and I did buy for my first half.

    I think they all should be downloadable esp since most of them are not flattering.

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  10. I am so glad you are feeling better! and I agree, please don't make me give up my wine! Processing fees= crazy! They are already getting $95! WTH! I love me some free race photos- charge me $5 more upfront and let me download one for free, I will never know! :-) Have a great weekend! XXOO

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    1. I wish they'd just incorporate the processing fee into the race fee--then we'd be none the wiser!

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  11. I'm so glad you can still have your wine and that you're feeling better! I threw a couple of weeds over my fence into the parking lot behind us. I felt bad when I did it.

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  12. So glad you are getting better Wendy!! That's wonderful news! And yay for wine! Lol! I had a little Pinot Grigio last night. I've had to keep dropping to drier white wines for less sugar. The sugar makes my heart go nuts. Grrrr. I bought a lot of race photos from Princess weekend last year and luckily some race photos down south are free!!

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    1. I can only drink dry wines--I can't stomach the sweet one.

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  13. As you may remember, I had a liver function scare earlier this year. Boy was I grumpy for the entire time I waited for the re-test and results. Ha! I've gotten to where I like the less desirable race photos as much as the good ones. So happy you are feeling well!

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    1. Lucky me, I get to drink right through mine liver scare! :p

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  14. $95 for a 10-miler?!? And those processing fees are always ridiculously high - I think I would have closed that registration page too!

    So great to hear that you're feeling better...and that you can still have your wine ;) (I runfess it's my one vice too!)

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  15. The processing fees have stopped me from registering for a few races - but like your race, they were usually on top of an already high race fee. I'm getting much pickier about what I'll pay for a race; there's an organizer in town who seems to keep raising his fees, and you know what? Attendance has dropped...go figure! Greedy.

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    1. Exactly! The race organizer for the race in question is the same one who does the Hot Chocolate. And there you go.

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  16. I don't blame you for not registering for that race! I can't stand processing fees! Haha! That sign made me giggle too! Glad you were able to recover your Chicago pics! Have a great weekend!

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  17. So glad you can still have your wine! woohoo! $95 seems like a lot for a 10 mile race! That's more than what a half marathon costs here! Crazy talk! I have bought race photos from bigger races that I've done - both Ironmans for sure + all my Boston marathons but that's about it I think. Oh and from my first two marathons. Had to have those immortalized because one was my first and the other I ran with my hubby who was my boyfriend at the time and there was a great shot of us together, which I still have framed somewhere. :)

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    1. I guess, bottom line, it's all what is important! I just wanted to run a race this weekend. But not a $100 race.

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  18. I would have plugged the plug on registering for a race that expensive. Haha, I was going to register for a 5k recently but it was over $60 and just felt it wasn't worth it

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  19. I die a little inside when I pay more than $100 for a marathon! By comparison, my local 10 miler is $20.

    The "processing fee" is paid to the online registration site. Most races have those, however, the race does have the option to pay that fee themselves. I direct a trail race in just over a week (eek!) and hate paying an added fee myself so I rolled it into the registration cost when I set the price and when runners check out, I hope they're pleasantly surprised there's no additional fee.

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    1. I've paid more than $100 for halfs and all my full marathons. I still struggle with paying more than $100 for a half. The fulls, I get it. I'm ok with that.

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  20. Dude, $95 + $6 in fees? For a 10 miler? Um, no. I draw the line at like, $25. But I'm a cheapskate. ;)

    I'm so glad you're feeling better. It must be such a huge weight lifted!!!

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    1. It is, but I still worry about the "unknown". I'm taking it one day at a time!

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  21. I have logged out of registrations with high registration fees !! The fees need to be included in the registration, no extra stuff!!

    Mmmm wine! I haven't had wine in a while !

    I love the race picture with the eyes closed !!

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    1. I'm starting to like those crummy pics more than the good ones! LOL!

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  22. How about the Elgin Fox Trot? 10 mile, 10k, or 5k - $55 for the 10 miler.

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    1. Thank you for the suggestion! I checked it out, but it's tomorrow and I just don't think I could swing it. If only it were Sunday...

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  23. I'm glad RA hasn't taken away your wine. :)

    I don't really see many odd things on my runs. Then again, I tend to be rather oblivious.

    Hmm, 10 miles is 3.1 less than a half, the most I've ever paid for a half was $125 I think, oh well I suck at math. It really just all depends!

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    1. It isn't so much the distance. There are a lot of factors that weigh in...how badly I want to do it, where it's at (that was a big factor for the Soldier Field 10), the bling...you know.

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  24. I runfess that I am super cheap about race fees. $10/mile? Nope! I can run 10 miles for free. (I'm typing this 20 minutes after spending $$$ on tickets to see Postmodern Jukebox w/Straight No Chaser, the irony is not lost on me.)

    I saw a snake yesterday, luckily I was riding my bike. I was close enough to see that it was not a rattle snake so I did not run over it.

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    1. I don't know that I could run over a rattlesnake without wiping out! And what if it lashed out and punctured my tire?

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  25. Right? Altho I don't know if I'd even pay $100 for that!

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  26. For some reason it looks like you were photoshopped into that Chicago Marathon photo! Though I suppose if you did you 'd use a smiling photo. ��

    I hate how expensive races are these days! But almost $100 for a 10 mile race is over the top. I remember when I complained about the LA Marathon when it went up to $45. Okay, I runfess that was over 20 years ago!

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    1. Maybe I am living in the past? But it seems like $95 is an awful lot to run 10 miles!

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  27. That does seem rather expensive for a 10 mile run! Seems like all the races have processing fees now I wish they would just factor that into the race cost and not point it out that way. Yay for fabulous test results! We all knew this would not hold you back for long :)

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  28. LOL! Great runfessions this month (as always). Glad you still get to enjoy your wine. :-)

    I don't think I've ever paid for race photos. I'm way too cheap for all that, but that is quite a gem you got from the package. ;-)

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    1. I'm starting to enjoy that bad race photos more than the good ones. What does that say about me?

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  29. Blogger ate my comment from my phone. :(

    I've gotten super picky about which races I'll pay a lot for. It pretty much has to be a half marathon in a new state for me to pay more than $100, with the exception of MCM. That has gotten super pricy, but I run it anyways...

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    1. It seems like all the big races (Chicago, NYCM) have gotten really pricey. I guess I don't mind as much, since those are big marathons and bucket list races for a lot of people.

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  30. I hate processing fees--I always feel so cheated (especially when whatever I was buying was already pretty effing expensive! >:[ )!

    I'm super glad to hear you're getting better! <3!

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    1. I just wish they'd absorb those processing fees into the race fee--then we'd be none the wiser.

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  31. Okay, that is a hysterical sign! There's a facebook page I'm a member of that you need to join. It's called "Things I found on my run"...you need to post this!!

    I hate processing fees as well! Sometimes, for local races, I'll just print out the entry form and mail it in to avoid that annoying processing fee. :)

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    1. I'm actually in that group, but I keep forgetting about it!

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  32. Three cheers for feeling better and really good bloodwork! I feel the same frustration as you at sign-up prices for my events, but I think you probably have more runs than I have of skating events. Signing up for a competition is often at least as expensive as your race, if not more. Then practice ice at $20 a whack feels about as good as the registration fee you encountered.

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    1. I've heard skating is a really expensive sport! I do realize it's all relative.

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  33. I am so glad to hear you are feeling better!
    My first races were Disney races so I had no idea how much "regular" races cost! I will admit to not worrying about the cost of an out of town race (plus fees), but I runfess I guess I am a little stingy when it comes to local races. They don't offer as much so they shouldn't be expensive. I will drive across town to give a check just so I don't have to pay the silly processing fee. It's just the principle of the matter...know what I mean?

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    1. My first pricey race was WDW and while I didn't hesitate to sign up when I got in, I was stunned at how expensive it was! Races around here can vary from really cheap to what I encountered when I tried to register for that 10 miler. That's "life in the big city" as they say!

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  34. That is an expensive 10 miler. Happy you got a pretty good report from your RA. Hope the meds don't affect your liver too much and happy you are feeling better!

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    1. I need to cut back on my wine. But I don't want to.... (whine!)

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  35. That sign is hilarious!!! It made me giggle too.

    Yeah, $95 is a lot for 10 miles. I don't think I would have signed up. I hate knowing that I have to pay a processing fee. I'd rather the company include it in the registration fee and call it a day.

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    1. So did you get your entry free? Or how much did you pay to run it?

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  36. So happy to read that you are feeling better. 95+ fees for a 10 miler... I would have closed out of that as well. My local 10 miler is 70 and I think that's a little steep :-)

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    1. I paid $55 to run the one in March--that race had a ton of perks, so that's kind of my standard of measurement. Altho this one starts and ends in Soldier Field, where the Bears play, so I would have gone up a little more...

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  37. May is a wonderful month for running! I enjoy reading your posts!

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