Running ain’t cheap

Being ill really sucks. I couldn’t believe that I woke up Monday morning, after getting back from North Wales the afternoon before, feeling incredibly sick. I thought it was just something I ate but as the day progressed I just felt worse and worse. Luckily (?) I had the day off from work anyway so I just laid on the sofa in a miserable state of achiness and lethargy.

All that fresh air and I get ill! Unbelievable. Well it took until Tuesday evening before I felt human again. Ben woke up feeling rough on Tuesday as well so we had a day off work together, both pathetically lying on the sofa. At least we’d recently signed up to Netflix so we just watched a lot of Breaking Bad (sooooo good).

I went to work on Wednesday feeling much better. We had another RR10 race that evening and had planned on going but I got stuck in ridiculous traffic (how many times have I moaned about my commute??). I think this was actually probably for the best as I’m still gently getting back into running and decided to do a solo run on my own instead when I got home.

As soon as I got moving I knew I felt terrible. My legs felt like they had weights on the bottom of them. Everything just felt so hard. I guess I wasn’t fully healed from my illness. Ho hum. I just hope I start feeling a bit better for Sunday as we have a 5 mile race (the Beer and Cake race – we did it last year and loved it. Here’s my recap). I know I need to adjust my expectations for it though as I am no where near the shape I was in last year.

Interestingly Ben had a very similar run to me on Wednesday evening. He decided to go for the RR10 (he got home in time – the joys of only working 20 minutes away). He said he felt very lethargic and it was a rubbish run. Guess we both need to take more time before jumping back into running post illness!

Before the illness swooped down and knocked me over, on Monday morning Ben and me headed out to buy some trails shoes for the RR10 on Wednesday (thinking I was going). We got buy one get one free on trainers so Ben got another pair of road trainers and I got some racing flats.

Lots of new trainers

This means recently we’ve bought new road trainers, new trail shoes, racing flats and walking boots for us. Four pairs of new shoes each!! I cringe at the cost of all this…Don’t tell me running is a cheap sport!

In a month these are the things Ben and me regularly buy or spend because of running:

  • New running gear – whether that’s trainers, socks, tops, shorts, runderwear, etc.)
  • Race entries – this year we’ve entered a total of 14 races each and this is likely to increase as the year progresses. Some are local and cheap (£9 what a bargain!) to Jesus are you serious (hello, Great South Run – over £40!)
  • Physio and massages – thanks to seeing Kyle and him being so damn convenient it’s very easy to have a massage every week to keep our legs fresh and cheerful. But then the bad times mean serious physio visits to fix injuries, which are more expensive (£40 a pop).
  • Gels and hydration – we’re big fans of High5 gels and water tablets and when we get into marathon training we’ll be getting through them again (though I plan on avoiding too many gels this time around, more on that another time).
  • Food – more running = more food needed. I am like a food (cake?) machine when it comes to running longer distances and higher mileage weeks. And Ben (and maybe me…) just rinses out our chocolate fridge shelf (everyone has a chocolate shelf right?).
  • Plasters – for every run Ben uses two blister plasters for his nipples (he’s going to kill me for putting this on the blog). Don’t get me wrong, they’re not expensive but do you know how many boxes of blister plasters we get through?? They have to be specifically blister plasters as well – normal ones won’t do apparently!
  • Cross training – road bikes, gym memberships, swimming sessions, etc.
  • Misc – cost of parking for races, petrol to get to races (flights & hotels even), cups of tea after Parkrun in the coffee shop, Vaseline/chafing stuff, the amount of extra washing we do with running gear, going for a meal after a big race…

Yeah it isn’t cheap. Oh sure we could knock a load of stuff off that list but at the moment it’s OK. We don’t have children, don’t plan to have children for a fair while, and we both have decent jobs. I suppose you could say we work to run!

But it’s our passion. We don’t go out boozing every weekend and we don’t spend lots of money eating out regularly. We’re fairly boring in that we like to run, so we run a lot. And that’s just the way of life for us right now.

What passion do you have that isn’t free?

Do you spend a lot of money on workout gear?

Do you workout when you’re ill?

16 Replies to “Running ain’t cheap”

  1. I used to be terrible for working out when I was ill but now I know better! I desperately need some new gym trainers and I already have a list of workout gear I want to get after the baby comes! I don’t mind spending a bit, especially when I wear workout gear so much, although I have been loving Primark recently 🙂

  2. Oh my God – I’m so jealous of your shoe stash! Before my latest injury I was running on shoes that literally had no tread left on them at all. No wonder my knees are shot to…sh…I mean, sugar 😛

    Running is very expensive indeed. I tend to only go for a couple of ‘big’ races in a year and make up the rest with small, local ones. It’s the shoes that really do add up for me though – when you heel-strike as badly as I do they wear down ridiculously quickly. I ended up seeing my GP about my hamstring injury because I can’t afford a physio right now…luckily he’s a runner and seems to know his stuff.

    Best of luck for Sunday!

    xxx
    Jess recently posted…ConfessionsMy Profile

    1. It’s just ridiculous how much the big races can charge. I suppose there’s a lot of organisation etc, but when the local races organise so well and charge pennies it does make me think.
      I think GPs are a good way to go when money’s tight as physios are SO expensive for the time you get. Hopefully yours is getting you sorted!
      AnnaTheApple recently posted…Here we go again…My Profile

    1. Hehe runderwear is essential running underwear. Ben has a pair of special boxers that are made specifically for running and wearing underneath his gear. I suppose sportsbras count too. And running knickers!
      AnnaTheApple recently posted…Here we go again…My Profile

  3. Sorry to hear you weren’t well- love the shoe collection though!
    I think running can be cheap if you literally just run (esp if you run a few miles at a time- no need to gels/ hydration things etc), but once you start with races and getting technical gear it an add up so much. I am like you though- I never drink and we don’t go out clubbing or pubbing or anything- we see friends for brunch or have meals out occasionally, but are not generally big spenders so I don’t mind spending money on a hobby I love so much. The GSR is such a rip off- I know it is local to you, but I had the worst experience there so would never do it again.
    The washing is a pain but the worst is storing all the stuff- I have one drawer for running kit but it is very full, and now I have new and old trainers, plus trail shoes, plus trainers I wear for pump there just is not enough space on our shoe rack so they end up piling on the stairs.
    Maria @ runningcupcake recently posted…3 run weekendMy Profile

    1. Yep I use my old trainers now for ‘dirty’ outside jobs like gardening (ha, like I do any!) or muddy walks.
      I had to expand my running drawer as it was one of the smaller ones. So now it has a huge drawer all of its own.
      AnnaTheApple recently posted…Here we go again…My Profile

  4. That beer and cake race sounds great! If only there was something similar near me… 🙁
    I had a race the Winter before last where I got stuck in traffic, the satnav sent me the wrong way and I literally ran up the road to the start line whilst pinning my number on my vest (need to practice this for future incidents!) before a 10 miler. I did make it in time. Just! So frustrating when getting to a race doesn’t go to plan.
    Hope you’re both feeling better again now.
    Mary recently posted…A confidence boostMy Profile

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