Paris vs. Marathon
- By Lora
- 9 January, 2013
- 14 Comments
Last night I had a dream that the agent at the airport accidentally rebooked our flight as a trip to Paris (?) and we were no longer going to be able to get to Houston for the marathon. She ended up being to switch it but the important thing to note is: marathon > Paris. Always. Unless its the Paris Marathon.
I think I would like to go to Paris someday… although from what I’ve heard from other people, it’s better as a one-day excursion within another trip rather than a whole trip dedicated to it.
Taper phase is loved and hated by most runners… I mean it’s great because after weeks of pounding, your body finally gets the rest and break that it needs. But, it’s hard NOT to feel antsy, bored, undertrained, drained, etc. because that’s all you can think about. “Why is this part of my leg hurting? Does that mean that I can’t make the race?” and “I can’t believe these pants are so hard to button… they slipped on so easy a few weeks ago” are common thoughts that run through my mind during taper. (The above craziness can be attributed to taper, too.) It’s important to remind yourself of the bigger picture: Marathon Day.
Taper will be much appreciated once you hit that 20th mile and are beginning to see the wall form in front of you. Your entire body will appreciate the few weeks “break” that taper provides.
Anyways, as a consequence of taper, my mind also starts racing for other things to do. And one of the things I was thinking about is I have plans to be more physically fit this year and I even have goals that help to expand my horizons. I have been addicted to reading Alex’s Healthy Living on the Cheap series and more recently stumbled across And Then We Saved which has super good tips. I think I need to focus on becoming financially fit, too.
Overall, I feel like we are in a pretty good place — we are pretty good at menu planning, we have a debt snowball, money goes into savings, etc., etc. but I think there’s always room for improvement. I am a sucker for online shopping. I probably get 47 emails a day about the latest sales and while I always tell myself its window shopping, it always isn’t the case.
So! That means new goals and a new challenge for myself… 
- Limit myself to $100 “fun” spending a week (this does not sound like a lot but given that M-Th I just try to get home at a normal hour, this shouldn’t be too bad). This will rollover into the next week (only spent $50 for one week, have $150 for the next)
- If it’s a purchase over $50, must think about it for a week (stolen from And Then We Saved)
- Limit credit card use unless it’s absolutely necessary
Updates coming soon… Off to jury duty!
If you visited Paris, what did you think about it?
Do you have any goals to be “financially fit” this year?
Copyright © 2013
Enjoy jury duty.
I’m good at saving but want to make sure I’m putting more into my retirement account.
Oh, I will have to check out the website, And then we saved. I feel I usually do well with my spending, but I never feel like I’m saving enough. I’d love some tips on saving!
I’ve been to Paris with my sister. We flew in Saturday morning and out Sunday night. We did a lot in that time period, but could easily have used another day. We spent the majority of our second day in the Louvre though. An open top bus tour is the way to go and see a lot though. A friend of mine here in MN is actually running the Paris Marathon this year!! Good luck in Houston Lora!
Great goals! I especially like the one about limiting the credit card. We try to take money out of the bank because it is a lot more tangible than just throwing a credit card down on the table! Good luck with your challenge
I’m excited to hear about how it goes for you!
Are you are Supreme Court for jury duty? I am there all the time! Beautiful building!
P.S. – Thanks for the shout out!
Good luck at jury duty! I’m excited for you to run Houston! I would love to run but I didn’t sign up in time. Best of luck
Thanks!
The registration is super early in the year (I think June) so it's hard to commit that far in advance!
We are definitely saving like mad over here! Kyle is buying a house
so anything we save now is for the house, then we’re buckling down to pay off debts. We already follow a pretty strict budget so it couldn’t be too bad.
That's awesome!! So exciting that you are getting a house soon.
Paris is amazing!!!
I went in HS with a class trip and it was awesome. I think I would appreciate it much more now tho. I had a friend who ran the Paris Marathon while he studied abroad. So cool.
And financially fit? no. haha i wish so much. ugh student loans
That's awesome!! I think running the Paris Marathon would be a good way to explore the city.
I hear you on the student loans!! I wish the gov. would create a stimulus package to pay for some of them!
Definitely working on my saving habits as well!! It’s tough!!
I agree, especially trying to break bad habits!!
I would love to go to Paris- especially for the marathon!
I am also limiting my credit card use and hope to have it entirely paid off by June. I don’t even know what I was using it for, but I really racked up some expenses. Mostly clothes and stuff I probably didn’t need.
That's a great goal and a wonderful way to start the year!
That's how I am, of course it felt like I absolutely needed it at the time!