$$$ Adding up the Numbers $$$

So Jennifer and I have been adding up the numbers, Number Signs that is, and we've decided to make a few changes to our race schedules this year.  Why are these races so expensive?  Is it the goodie bags?  I doubt it.  Is it all the staff?  I thought most of the people were volunteers.  Is it for the insurance?  But I thought I signed my life away on the waiver.   Oh well.  I guess I don't need to whine about how expensive it is and either suck it up and pay the $$ or just rearrange this year's schedule.

The first change that we're making is on Leon's World's Fastest Triathlon.  It looked like it was going to be an awesome tri, but it was a little pricey.  I think it would be well worth the money if you had the cash and wanted a super nice race.  For the two of us (knowing our budget and the other events we'll be doing this year), we decided that it would be a little too much money.  First of all, just registration was $125 for this olympic distance triathlon.  Secondly, the water's going to be freezing cold, so we'd have to do something about wetsuits.  Since there are two of us, this race started to get out of hand.  So we did a little switcheroo.

We found another olympic triathlon that is roughly the same distance away.  It's called the Bear Lake Traithlon and is up in Miskogen, MI --about 1 hour and 45 minutes away.  We're even thinking about taking our camper up to the KOA campground that is super close, so we can make it a whole weekend trip.

Don't worry, it's got A/C, so we'll sleep well the night before.  Anyway, this triathlon is only $65 for registration.  That's half of the cost.  Then, we're figuring out the whole wetsuit thing.  It looks like it's about $45-$50 to rent a suit.  I'll be doing at least 2 triathlons this year including the Steelhead HIM, so it might just be smarter to buy one for me.

Yesterday, I was searching for a wetsuit, and I found one that got pretty awesome reviews for an entry level suit.  It's made by Xterra and is called the Volt.  Here's the link to the website (HERE)  It sounds like a pretty awesome deal for $99.  I'm talking with a guy on Craigslist about his Quintana Roo wetsuit, so we'll see what pans out.

The other money saving change that is going to happen this year is my marathon.  I had wanted to sign up for the Chicago marathon, but it's pretty steep too.  Now the race is sold out, which I'm ok with, but I've got to find another marathon that I want to run.  Any suggestions?  I've thought about the Detroit Free Press Marathon.  It looks pretty cool.  I guess I just need to read a bit more on some other options.  If you've had a good experience with a marathon, let me know what you think.

On a training note, I hit the bike pretty hard yesterday (on the trainer of course), and ended up riding for two 30-minute sessions.  The second session rocked, and I came out of the saddle stoked.  I can't wait for summer and dry roads, especially since it's been pretty nasty here the last few days.  Today is rainy, so I'll probably spend some more time on the trainer.  This weekend is going to be psycho with a weekend intensive for school.  I may even have to push my 11-mile run to Monday.

Thanks for reading!