Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for all of YOU who have offered me words of encouragement and followed me on my adventures this year. Hope you and your families have a wonderful day!
-HaeWon
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Life of a Working Couponing Mom
It's been a busy weekend! There are two main drugstores I shop - CVS and Walgreens. Both have their own reward systems. I shop them in spurts depending on what's on sale. Both stores broke early Black Friday ads this Sunday, meaning they released most of their Black Friday deals in this Sunday's ads. Good for me because I'm working on Black Friday. Not so good for the Black Friday shoppers because there probably won't be any product left by the time the second sale ad breaks on Thursday.
So here's how it works...
CVS has Extra Care Bucks or ECBs. Fake CVS money. You can earn ECBs by buying certain things. They print at the bottom of your register receipt after buying said item. ECBs expire 30 days after you get them. You have to have CVS's ExtraCard to earn and use your ECBs and they are tied to your card, meaning you can't use the ECBs that you find in the parking lot or the ones your friend gives you. There is a limit on how many times a sale item can give you an ECB. Most of the time it's just one, but sometimes it's more. You can also scan your ExtraCare card at their card reader/price checker when you enter the store and it will spit out CVS coupons. You can use both a CVS coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on the same item.
Walgreens is a bit more complicated (in my opinion). Their reward system is called Balance Rewards (BR). You can earn BR points by buying certain items that are on sale that week. Once you earn a certain number of points, you can use them to pay for your purchases. 1000 BR points equals $1.00. You cannot earn BR points if you use BR points in that transaction. Your BR account is kind of like a gift card account since your points do not expire. You need to sign up for a Balance Rewards card to take advantage of their sale prices and rewards. They also have something called Register Rewards (RR). Some of their sale items will spit out a coupon with your receipt called a Register Reward. The RR is for a dollar amount that is good for a future Walgreens purchase - so it's fake Walgreens money. You do not need a card to get RRs. Only one RR will print per transaction for a specific item but there is no limit to how many times you can get the RR. If you use a RR to pay for an item, you cannot earn a RR on that same item.The RRs expire 14 days after printing. I don't like the RRs as much because 14 days is not a lot of time to "roll" the RR into another deal. Sometimes there just isn't anything to buy at Walgreens the next 2 weeks after you earn the RR so you just end up spending it on a full price item.
Both CVS and Walgreens have a bunch of items this week that are "free" after either ECBs or RRs - meaning you pay X but will get an ECB or RR for that same amount when you check out. Both stores have also been known the last few years to run a boat load of "free" item sales on Black Friday then have crappy sale ads for weeks afterwards so it's hard to roll the ECBs or RRs into other deals and people just get stuck with them. That being said, I can see the upcoming ads for the next several weeks on most of the deal sites so I can plan out what to do with my ECBs or RRs.
So enough background. Here's my last couple days...
Saturday
My day off. My younger daughter G and I spent Friday night at my in-laws house in Columbus so we could go to a Christmas Art Show Open House in the morning. One of my mother-in-law's friends is an artist that was selling paintings at this Open House. There were glass artists there too. I like art glass. G likes art in general. The Open House was from 10 am to 4 pm. G had Nutcracker rehearsal from 3-6 pm in the afternoon so we decided to go at 10 am when they opened.
Got up. Checked my email and coupon sites while G got ready. I found out that there are specially marked Eggo waffle boxes at Target where you buy 4, enter the KFR (Kellogg's Family Rewards) code inside the box on the KFR site, and you get a $5 Target gift card. Eggos were on sale for $2 that week - meaning I had to buy them Saturday for the sale price. Also realized the Quaker Warm and Crunchy Granola boxes go off sale that night too. They were on sale for $2.50 (normally $3.99). There is a Target coupon for $1 and a manufacturer's coupon for $1, so only $0.50 a box after coupon stack.
Went to the Art Show. Drove an hour back to Greenwood. Hit CVS on the way home and bought 4 newspapers ($5.00). I always get 4 copies of the weekend Daily Journal on Saturday. The Daily Journal doesn't come out on Sunday so all the Sunday ads and coupons are in the Saturday paper, plus the coupons are better and it's less expensive than the Indy Star.
Ran home long enough for G to change clothes and grab food, then it's back in the car to drive to an hour to Carmel for Nutcracker rehearsal. Today was parent observation - the one open studio rehearsal the parents get to see - so I was obligated to sit and watch the 3 hour rehearsal.
6 pm (umm... where did my day go?) Done with rehearsal. Another hour back to Greenwood. We ran through Target on the way home. I found the specially marked Eggo boxes and got 4.
Home. Fed everyone. Went to the KFR site and entered my codes and boom, $5 Target gift card in my email. Kids devoured an entire box of Eggos. I decided this was a pretty good deal.
Kellogg's Family Rewards is another rewards point site. You enter codes from the inside of Kellogg's products. The codes give you points. You redeem the points for stuff. I think you have to redeem an exorbitant number of points for their stuff but, a couple times a year, they have "sales" on their point items and then it's a deal. I always redeem my points for high value coupons.
I searched my coupon database for Eggo coupons. There are no printable or regular insert coupons out at this time. There are, however, Eggo coupons that I can redeem points for at the KFR site. I redeemed 1000 points for a $1.50 coupon. I can print 2 copies.
9 pm. My older daughter needs driven to a friend's house. I drive her over and hit Target again. This time I get 4 Eggo boxes and use two $1.50 coupons. So $5 for 4 boxes. I also remember to get the Quaker. Had to do 2 transactions, used my own bag both times so got another $0.05 off each time.
End result. 8 boxes of Eggos, 2 boxes of Quaker Warm and Crunchy Granola. Spent $13.90. Got $10 in Target gift cards.
Sunday
I'm scheduled to work 6:30 am - 3:00 pm. I have an hour drive each way.
Up at 4:30. Left the house 15 minutes early so I could hit the 24 hour Walgreens that is on my way to work. I am starting Walgreens this week with nothing to roll. So basically starting with just the coupons I have.
Walgreens: Got Swisse vitamins - $10, used a $5 coupon. Gelusil antacid tablets - $3, used $2 coupon. Paid $6.91, Got $10 RR for Swisse and $3 RR for Gelusil.
Worked from 6:30 am to 4:00 pm. We were busy so I ended up staying an hour over. I had to pick up G in Carmel from Nutcracker rehearsal at 6pm. Hit Walgreens again on my way North.
Walgreens: Got another Gelusil ($3, used $2 coupon), Tums Freshers ($4.50), 2 Grape Nuts cereal ($1.99 each, used 2 $1.00 coupons), 2 Glad Cling Wrap ($2 each, used 2 $1.00 coupons), Reeses PB cup ($0.59). Used the $10 RR from the morning to pay plus $0.92, Got $3 RR for Gelusil and $4.50 RR for Tums.
I had to buy the Reese's as a "filler". Your pre-tax total has to be greater than the amount of the RR you want to use. Without the $0.59 Reese's, my total was only $9.48. The Reese's pushed it to $10.07. The rest of what I paid was for tax.
Hit the CVS that was on my way too. I am starting CVS this week with $1 ECB. Got 2 Sparkle paper towels ($1 each, used buy one get one free coupon), Colgate toothpaste ($3.00, used $2.50 CVS coupon and $0.50 manufacturer's coupon), theater box Whoppers ($1.00), Orbit gum ($0.99), 2 Starbucks Double Shot Espresso cans ($1.50 each).
Paid $5.41. Got $3 ECB for Starbucks, $2 ECB for Sparkle, $1 ECB for Whoppers, and $0.99 ECB for Orbit.
Got G in time. Came home. Fed everyone and passed out.
Monday
Scheduled to work 6:30 am - 3 pm again. Up at 4:30. Left 15 minutes early again to hit Walgreens.
Walgreens: Got Swisse vitamins ($10, used $5 coupon) and candy $0.29. Used $4.50 RR from Tums purchase, paid $1.51, got $10 RR for Swisse.
I had to buy the candy as another filler. At Walgreens your coupon count has to match your item count. I had a $5 manufacturer's coupon for the Swisse and wanted to use a $4.50 RR. The RR reward counts as a coupon so, without the candy, I would have 2 coupons but only 1 item so the register will not accept the second coupon. The candy was the cheapest thing I could find.
Worked from 6:30 to 4 pm. Busy again. Hit Walgreens on the way home.
Walgreens: Got Max Freeze muscle rub ($7, used $2 coupon), Tums Freshers ($4.50), and a Reese's PB cup ($0.59). Used $10 RR from the morning, paid $0.94, got $5 RR for Max Freeze, $4.50 RR for Tums.
G had dance practice at her local studio at 5:15 pm so drove up to my house, she hopped in, and we drove to the studio. G had a duet rehearsal that just lasted an hour so I dropped her off and did some more shopping.
Walgreens: Swisse vitamins ($10, used $5 coupon) and candy $0.29. Used $5 RR from Max Freeze, paid $1.01, got $10 RR for Swisse.
CVS: box of Kraft Mac and Cheese ($0.99), pack of 5 Gum ($1.00). Used $0.99 ECB and $1.00 ECB, paid $0.07 for tax.
Picked up G. Went home. Fed everyone and passed out again.
Tuesday (today, at least when I started writing this!)
It's my day off. Time to wrap up these deals.
"Slept in" until 6:30 am. Drove J to school. Checked my email and my deal sites. KFR sent me a birthday email yesterday. Got a code for 100 bonus points and a $20 Shutterfly credit. Also read on a deal site that KFR is giving double points for your codes on Black Friday and then having a "sale" from December 2-8. I'll hang onto my birthday code til Friday and see if it will double. Also found out that My Coke Rewards (MCR), another rewards point site I frequent, is having double points from now til 11/28. I enter my coke codes I've been saving. I always hold onto them until they have a double points event. I am a Diet Coke addict.
8:45 am. Drive G to school then go to Walgreens.
I need to start converting my RRs to BR points because I'm done buying the stuff I want this week. Walgreens has a deal this week where you can earn 10,000 BR points for buying 2 Nexxus hair products. 10,000 BR points equals $10. I have $5 Nexxus coupons. Conversion problem solved!
Walgreens: 2 Nexxus conditioners ($9.99 each, used 2 $5.00 coupons) and candy $0.29. Used $10 RR, paid $1.69, got 10,000 BR points.
CVS: 2 GUM toothbrush twin packs ($2.00 each) and 20ct CVS pantiliners ($0.99). Used $3 ECB, $1 ECB, and $0.99 ECB, paid $0.35 tax, got $4 ECB for toothbrushes and $0.99 ECB for pantiliners.
Home again. Clean. Eat. Make dinner reservations for Shula's for tonight through OpenTable.com. Open Table gives me points for making dining reservations and I can redeem points for dining credits ($ to use) at any Open Table restaurant. Plan the rest of my day. One more trip out to get everything done.
I need to drop off my recycling, go to the post office and the bank. Luckily there is a Walgreens and CVS on almost every corner where I live. I basically drove a big square to run my errands and there was a Walgreens and CVS on 3 of the 4 corners of my square. So...
Walgreens: Swisse vitamins ($10, use $5 coupon) and candy $0.29. Used $4.50 RR, paid $1.51, got $10 RR.
CVS: Kraft Mac and Cheese ($0.99), GUM toothbrush 2 pack ($2), 2 bags York peppermint patties ($3.99 each, on sale for buy one get one free, used $2.50 off 2 CVS coupon and $1.10 off 2 manufacturer's coupon). Used $2 ECB and $0.99 ECB, paid $0.81, got $2 ECB and $0.99 ECB
Walgreens: 3 boxes Grape Nuts ($1.99 each, used 3 $1.00 coupons), 2 Nexxus (9.99 each, used 2 $5.00 coupons) and 2 candies ($0.29 each). Used $10 RR and $3 RR. Paid $1.97, got 10,000 BR points.
CVS: 2 bags York peppermint patties. Used same coupons as above. Paid $0.67.
DONE with my deals this week!
Here's my summary:
Walgreens: Total paid out of pocket $16.46, got all this stuff - some of the candy got eaten already - still have $3 RR and earned 20,000 BR points worth $20 - $22. 1000 BR points = $1 but you can cash in 18,000 BR points for $20
CVS: Total paid out of pocket $7.31, got all this stuff - kids already snagged the 2 Starbucks, Orbit gum, and the toothpaste - still have a $4 ECB, $2 ECB, and $0.99 ECB. I'm not too worried about hanging onto the ECBs since I have a month to spend them.
My husband and I had a fabulous dinner at Shula's tonight!
My dinner - Caesar's salad, Filet Oscar (a filet mignon topped with lump crab, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce), roasted corn, sparkling water, MacMurray Ranch Russian River chardonnay, key lime pie. Pretty much had to roll me home. They even gave me this but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to eat whatever's inside!
So here's how it works...
CVS has Extra Care Bucks or ECBs. Fake CVS money. You can earn ECBs by buying certain things. They print at the bottom of your register receipt after buying said item. ECBs expire 30 days after you get them. You have to have CVS's ExtraCard to earn and use your ECBs and they are tied to your card, meaning you can't use the ECBs that you find in the parking lot or the ones your friend gives you. There is a limit on how many times a sale item can give you an ECB. Most of the time it's just one, but sometimes it's more. You can also scan your ExtraCare card at their card reader/price checker when you enter the store and it will spit out CVS coupons. You can use both a CVS coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on the same item.
Walgreens is a bit more complicated (in my opinion). Their reward system is called Balance Rewards (BR). You can earn BR points by buying certain items that are on sale that week. Once you earn a certain number of points, you can use them to pay for your purchases. 1000 BR points equals $1.00. You cannot earn BR points if you use BR points in that transaction. Your BR account is kind of like a gift card account since your points do not expire. You need to sign up for a Balance Rewards card to take advantage of their sale prices and rewards. They also have something called Register Rewards (RR). Some of their sale items will spit out a coupon with your receipt called a Register Reward. The RR is for a dollar amount that is good for a future Walgreens purchase - so it's fake Walgreens money. You do not need a card to get RRs. Only one RR will print per transaction for a specific item but there is no limit to how many times you can get the RR. If you use a RR to pay for an item, you cannot earn a RR on that same item.The RRs expire 14 days after printing. I don't like the RRs as much because 14 days is not a lot of time to "roll" the RR into another deal. Sometimes there just isn't anything to buy at Walgreens the next 2 weeks after you earn the RR so you just end up spending it on a full price item.
Both CVS and Walgreens have a bunch of items this week that are "free" after either ECBs or RRs - meaning you pay X but will get an ECB or RR for that same amount when you check out. Both stores have also been known the last few years to run a boat load of "free" item sales on Black Friday then have crappy sale ads for weeks afterwards so it's hard to roll the ECBs or RRs into other deals and people just get stuck with them. That being said, I can see the upcoming ads for the next several weeks on most of the deal sites so I can plan out what to do with my ECBs or RRs.
So enough background. Here's my last couple days...
Saturday
My day off. My younger daughter G and I spent Friday night at my in-laws house in Columbus so we could go to a Christmas Art Show Open House in the morning. One of my mother-in-law's friends is an artist that was selling paintings at this Open House. There were glass artists there too. I like art glass. G likes art in general. The Open House was from 10 am to 4 pm. G had Nutcracker rehearsal from 3-6 pm in the afternoon so we decided to go at 10 am when they opened.
Got up. Checked my email and coupon sites while G got ready. I found out that there are specially marked Eggo waffle boxes at Target where you buy 4, enter the KFR (Kellogg's Family Rewards) code inside the box on the KFR site, and you get a $5 Target gift card. Eggos were on sale for $2 that week - meaning I had to buy them Saturday for the sale price. Also realized the Quaker Warm and Crunchy Granola boxes go off sale that night too. They were on sale for $2.50 (normally $3.99). There is a Target coupon for $1 and a manufacturer's coupon for $1, so only $0.50 a box after coupon stack.
Went to the Art Show. Drove an hour back to Greenwood. Hit CVS on the way home and bought 4 newspapers ($5.00). I always get 4 copies of the weekend Daily Journal on Saturday. The Daily Journal doesn't come out on Sunday so all the Sunday ads and coupons are in the Saturday paper, plus the coupons are better and it's less expensive than the Indy Star.
Ran home long enough for G to change clothes and grab food, then it's back in the car to drive to an hour to Carmel for Nutcracker rehearsal. Today was parent observation - the one open studio rehearsal the parents get to see - so I was obligated to sit and watch the 3 hour rehearsal.
6 pm (umm... where did my day go?) Done with rehearsal. Another hour back to Greenwood. We ran through Target on the way home. I found the specially marked Eggo boxes and got 4.
Home. Fed everyone. Went to the KFR site and entered my codes and boom, $5 Target gift card in my email. Kids devoured an entire box of Eggos. I decided this was a pretty good deal.
Kellogg's Family Rewards is another rewards point site. You enter codes from the inside of Kellogg's products. The codes give you points. You redeem the points for stuff. I think you have to redeem an exorbitant number of points for their stuff but, a couple times a year, they have "sales" on their point items and then it's a deal. I always redeem my points for high value coupons.
I searched my coupon database for Eggo coupons. There are no printable or regular insert coupons out at this time. There are, however, Eggo coupons that I can redeem points for at the KFR site. I redeemed 1000 points for a $1.50 coupon. I can print 2 copies.
9 pm. My older daughter needs driven to a friend's house. I drive her over and hit Target again. This time I get 4 Eggo boxes and use two $1.50 coupons. So $5 for 4 boxes. I also remember to get the Quaker. Had to do 2 transactions, used my own bag both times so got another $0.05 off each time.
End result. 8 boxes of Eggos, 2 boxes of Quaker Warm and Crunchy Granola. Spent $13.90. Got $10 in Target gift cards.
Sunday
I'm scheduled to work 6:30 am - 3:00 pm. I have an hour drive each way.
Up at 4:30. Left the house 15 minutes early so I could hit the 24 hour Walgreens that is on my way to work. I am starting Walgreens this week with nothing to roll. So basically starting with just the coupons I have.
Walgreens: Got Swisse vitamins - $10, used a $5 coupon. Gelusil antacid tablets - $3, used $2 coupon. Paid $6.91, Got $10 RR for Swisse and $3 RR for Gelusil.
Worked from 6:30 am to 4:00 pm. We were busy so I ended up staying an hour over. I had to pick up G in Carmel from Nutcracker rehearsal at 6pm. Hit Walgreens again on my way North.
Walgreens: Got another Gelusil ($3, used $2 coupon), Tums Freshers ($4.50), 2 Grape Nuts cereal ($1.99 each, used 2 $1.00 coupons), 2 Glad Cling Wrap ($2 each, used 2 $1.00 coupons), Reeses PB cup ($0.59). Used the $10 RR from the morning to pay plus $0.92, Got $3 RR for Gelusil and $4.50 RR for Tums.
I had to buy the Reese's as a "filler". Your pre-tax total has to be greater than the amount of the RR you want to use. Without the $0.59 Reese's, my total was only $9.48. The Reese's pushed it to $10.07. The rest of what I paid was for tax.
Hit the CVS that was on my way too. I am starting CVS this week with $1 ECB. Got 2 Sparkle paper towels ($1 each, used buy one get one free coupon), Colgate toothpaste ($3.00, used $2.50 CVS coupon and $0.50 manufacturer's coupon), theater box Whoppers ($1.00), Orbit gum ($0.99), 2 Starbucks Double Shot Espresso cans ($1.50 each).
Paid $5.41. Got $3 ECB for Starbucks, $2 ECB for Sparkle, $1 ECB for Whoppers, and $0.99 ECB for Orbit.
Got G in time. Came home. Fed everyone and passed out.
Monday
Scheduled to work 6:30 am - 3 pm again. Up at 4:30. Left 15 minutes early again to hit Walgreens.
Walgreens: Got Swisse vitamins ($10, used $5 coupon) and candy $0.29. Used $4.50 RR from Tums purchase, paid $1.51, got $10 RR for Swisse.
I had to buy the candy as another filler. At Walgreens your coupon count has to match your item count. I had a $5 manufacturer's coupon for the Swisse and wanted to use a $4.50 RR. The RR reward counts as a coupon so, without the candy, I would have 2 coupons but only 1 item so the register will not accept the second coupon. The candy was the cheapest thing I could find.
Worked from 6:30 to 4 pm. Busy again. Hit Walgreens on the way home.
Walgreens: Got Max Freeze muscle rub ($7, used $2 coupon), Tums Freshers ($4.50), and a Reese's PB cup ($0.59). Used $10 RR from the morning, paid $0.94, got $5 RR for Max Freeze, $4.50 RR for Tums.
G had dance practice at her local studio at 5:15 pm so drove up to my house, she hopped in, and we drove to the studio. G had a duet rehearsal that just lasted an hour so I dropped her off and did some more shopping.
Walgreens: Swisse vitamins ($10, used $5 coupon) and candy $0.29. Used $5 RR from Max Freeze, paid $1.01, got $10 RR for Swisse.
CVS: box of Kraft Mac and Cheese ($0.99), pack of 5 Gum ($1.00). Used $0.99 ECB and $1.00 ECB, paid $0.07 for tax.
Picked up G. Went home. Fed everyone and passed out again.
Tuesday (today, at least when I started writing this!)
It's my day off. Time to wrap up these deals.
"Slept in" until 6:30 am. Drove J to school. Checked my email and my deal sites. KFR sent me a birthday email yesterday. Got a code for 100 bonus points and a $20 Shutterfly credit. Also read on a deal site that KFR is giving double points for your codes on Black Friday and then having a "sale" from December 2-8. I'll hang onto my birthday code til Friday and see if it will double. Also found out that My Coke Rewards (MCR), another rewards point site I frequent, is having double points from now til 11/28. I enter my coke codes I've been saving. I always hold onto them until they have a double points event. I am a Diet Coke addict.
8:45 am. Drive G to school then go to Walgreens.
I need to start converting my RRs to BR points because I'm done buying the stuff I want this week. Walgreens has a deal this week where you can earn 10,000 BR points for buying 2 Nexxus hair products. 10,000 BR points equals $10. I have $5 Nexxus coupons. Conversion problem solved!
Walgreens: 2 Nexxus conditioners ($9.99 each, used 2 $5.00 coupons) and candy $0.29. Used $10 RR, paid $1.69, got 10,000 BR points.
CVS: 2 GUM toothbrush twin packs ($2.00 each) and 20ct CVS pantiliners ($0.99). Used $3 ECB, $1 ECB, and $0.99 ECB, paid $0.35 tax, got $4 ECB for toothbrushes and $0.99 ECB for pantiliners.
Home again. Clean. Eat. Make dinner reservations for Shula's for tonight through OpenTable.com. Open Table gives me points for making dining reservations and I can redeem points for dining credits ($ to use) at any Open Table restaurant. Plan the rest of my day. One more trip out to get everything done.
I need to drop off my recycling, go to the post office and the bank. Luckily there is a Walgreens and CVS on almost every corner where I live. I basically drove a big square to run my errands and there was a Walgreens and CVS on 3 of the 4 corners of my square. So...
Walgreens: Swisse vitamins ($10, use $5 coupon) and candy $0.29. Used $4.50 RR, paid $1.51, got $10 RR.
CVS: Kraft Mac and Cheese ($0.99), GUM toothbrush 2 pack ($2), 2 bags York peppermint patties ($3.99 each, on sale for buy one get one free, used $2.50 off 2 CVS coupon and $1.10 off 2 manufacturer's coupon). Used $2 ECB and $0.99 ECB, paid $0.81, got $2 ECB and $0.99 ECB
Walgreens: 3 boxes Grape Nuts ($1.99 each, used 3 $1.00 coupons), 2 Nexxus (9.99 each, used 2 $5.00 coupons) and 2 candies ($0.29 each). Used $10 RR and $3 RR. Paid $1.97, got 10,000 BR points.
CVS: 2 bags York peppermint patties. Used same coupons as above. Paid $0.67.
DONE with my deals this week!
Here's my summary:
Walgreens: Total paid out of pocket $16.46, got all this stuff - some of the candy got eaten already - still have $3 RR and earned 20,000 BR points worth $20 - $22. 1000 BR points = $1 but you can cash in 18,000 BR points for $20
CVS: Total paid out of pocket $7.31, got all this stuff - kids already snagged the 2 Starbucks, Orbit gum, and the toothpaste - still have a $4 ECB, $2 ECB, and $0.99 ECB. I'm not too worried about hanging onto the ECBs since I have a month to spend them.
My husband and I had a fabulous dinner at Shula's tonight!
My dinner - Caesar's salad, Filet Oscar (a filet mignon topped with lump crab, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce), roasted corn, sparkling water, MacMurray Ranch Russian River chardonnay, key lime pie. Pretty much had to roll me home. They even gave me this but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to eat whatever's inside!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Shopping Portals
I am continuing with my holiday deal shopping theme this week and letting you know about my favorite shopping portals. And let me warn you, I put all my referral links in here too. That's what a blog's good for isn't it?
So what's a shopping portal you ask? It's a website where you start your online shopping. You "click thru" the "portal" (website) to get to the site you want to shop. In doing so, the portal site will give you something (like money) back by clicking thru their site. Got it?
My absolute favorite site is Ebates. They have a huge list of participating stores and also have the stores latest coupon codes. Ebates will give you a percentage back on what you spend. It can be anywhere from 1% to 50% (not kidding!) The best part, at least from my perspective, is Ebates doesn't care how you pay for your stuff.
Here are my most recent Ebates transactions:
I used a gift card for my Best Buy purchase...
...so I paid nothing out of pocket. Ebates though will give you money back on whatever your product subtotal was. I got 1% of my total purchase price back
If you look at my Vera Bradley receipt here, I paid $75.11 out of pocket. My subtotal though before I used my $30 off $100 coupon was $100.20 and Ebates gave me 3% of that money back.
It's a couple dollars here and a couple dollars there, but in the end it all adds up.
At the end of every quarter they will send you a Big Fat Check.
So what's a shopping portal you ask? It's a website where you start your online shopping. You "click thru" the "portal" (website) to get to the site you want to shop. In doing so, the portal site will give you something (like money) back by clicking thru their site. Got it?
My absolute favorite site is Ebates. They have a huge list of participating stores and also have the stores latest coupon codes. Ebates will give you a percentage back on what you spend. It can be anywhere from 1% to 50% (not kidding!) The best part, at least from my perspective, is Ebates doesn't care how you pay for your stuff.
Here are my most recent Ebates transactions:
I used a gift card for my Best Buy purchase...
...so I paid nothing out of pocket. Ebates though will give you money back on whatever your product subtotal was. I got 1% of my total purchase price back
If you look at my Vera Bradley receipt here, I paid $75.11 out of pocket. My subtotal though before I used my $30 off $100 coupon was $100.20 and Ebates gave me 3% of that money back.
It's a couple dollars here and a couple dollars there, but in the end it all adds up.
At the end of every quarter they will send you a Big Fat Check.
I also like Ebates because it is an automatic double dip for me if I use my credit card. I get credit card points for using my credit card plus I get money back from Ebates. Depending on where you shop, you can even make it a triple dip or quadruple dip. For instance, my Expedia purchase was for our Bites of Nassau Food Tour that we took on Fall Break. I got credit card points, Ebates cash back, plus I got Expedia rewards points. When we went to Costa Rica on Spring Break, I started out at Ebates, went to Expedia, then got airline tickets for United. I got credit card points, Ebates cash back, Expedia points, and United airline miles - a quadruple dip - credit for four different programs for the same dollars spent.
If you are interested in signing up for Ebates my referral link is HERE. I get $5 for any referral that spend $25 through Ebates this quarter. You can also go to their website and put in my email on the sign up page.
So my next favorite portal is MyPoints. MyPoints is not only a portal but a rewards site. You earn points per dollar spent for your purchases if you shop through MyPoints. You can also earn points by doing surveys or simply visiting other websites through links that MyPoints will email you. You can also earn points by printing coupons through their coupons.com link and you will get 10 points for every coupon redeemed. You can then redeem your points for gift cards... and go shopping through Ebates!
Since I don't automatically get cash back, I use MyPoints only when Ebates doesn't have the site I'm shopping. What I mainly do at MyPoints is earn points by printing coupons, doing surveys, and clicking thru their emails. I usually cash in a bunch of points in October for gift cards to do my holiday shopping.
If you are interested in MyPoints and want me to get some credit, I can send you a referral link. I get points for that too :)
Some of the gift cards you can earn at MyPoints
Although not an online portal, another site worth mentioning again is Plink. I talked about it HERE. This is a new site and they are adding new merchants every day. The merchants are automatically connected to your registered credit card so you automatically get credit when you buy from your selected merchants. The limitation at Plink is that you can only have 3-4 merchants in your "wallet" when you start. You can "unlock" more merchant sites by referring friends or downloading their free app. You are free to switch your merchants around in your wallet at any time though so if there is a merchant that you are planning to shop from that's not in your wallet, you simply remove the one you don't want and add the one that you do want.
You can actually do a triple dip pretty easily if you want to buy something from a Plink merchant online and you get credit card points because most of the Plink merchants are also on Ebates.
My Plink referral link is HERE. You will get 300 points for signing up. I get to unlock another slot in my wallet or get 100 points or something like that. It seems to change from time to time! 500 points will get you a $5 gift card.
Well, I suppose that's enough self promotion for one night. I hope you learned something. My philosophy is that if I'm going to spend money, I want the biggest bang for my buck; I want something back!
Happy Holiday Shopping! I'm doing most of mine from my couch. How about you?
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Birthday Deals
First off, I ran 3 miles today. Indoors. Around the track at the fitness center. It felt great. Now my heels hurt. Crap.
Then I weighed myself. So all year I've been weighing myself on the same scale at the fitness center. I'm not actively dieting or trying to lose weight, I'm just curious. Anyway, I lost a whole 5 lbs from January to when I ran my marathon. Today I'm down another 1.5 lbs. Go figure. I don't think I lost that in muscle mass in 2 weeks.
Moving on...
I have always loved getting mail. When I was a kid, I signed up for all the birthday clubs that sent kids freebies on their birthday. As an adult, I discovered that birthdays clubs weren't just for kids. In fact, you can get some really nice gifts from your favorite stores on your birthday!
So next week is my birthday. My email is full of birthday gifts already! I think the best part about having a November birthday is that I can often use my birthday freebies with the holiday sales and score some really great deals.
Most of my birthday gifts are from stores where I have set up an account or belong to their free rewards club. Some stores I only frequent once a year for my birthday freebie but they send me a gift every year. Here are some of my favorites...
Starbucks - register a Starbucks gift card to get an account. You earn "stars" for your purchases and rewards with your stars. You will get a free drink loaded on your card for your birthday.
Godiva - sign up for their rewards program. Get a free piece of chocolate every month from their store. Get a $10 coupon for your birthday. You can get $10 of loose chocolate free at their store or use it towards something else or use it online. They tend to run their best deals online on Thanksgiving Day.
Kohls - sign up for their rewards program. Get a $10 coupon for your birthday. I just used mine combined with a sale and a 30% off coupon and got a pair of $54 Nike running tights for less than $30.
Vera Bradley - sign up for an account. Their birthday gifts vary. They have sent me coupons for $20 in the past. This year I got 40% off any one item. You can use it on a sale item. Don't ever pay full price for anything Vera.* They have rotating sales online every day. If you want something, I guarantee it will go on sale for 40% off or more at some point.
Shula's - join Team Shula. You will get a coupon for a free entrée with purchase of an entrée for your birthday. Their entrees are in the $30 - $40 range so this is a great deal. Date night for me!
Landry's Select Club - this is the dining club that includes Morton's Steakhouse and McCormick and Schmick's here in Indy. You get a $25 dining credit loaded onto your card your birthday month. Another lunch or dinner date for me at a fancy restaurant!
Coldwater Creek - sign up for their rewards program. Get a $10 coupon for your birthday. $10 might not seem like a lot but they have crazy deals in their outlet and there are free shipping codes all the time. I have gotten numerous tops there for less than $2. Sometimes they will also just send you a coupon for $25 off anything - usually about once a year.** Admittedly, one year, I went a little crazy and bought a bunch of stuff after Christmas when everything online was 70% off (happens every year). A couple weeks later I got an email asking if I wanted to secretly shop their store. Heck ya! They sent me a gift card to shop the store.
Sephora - sign up to be a Beauty Insider. You can pick up a nice product every year at the store for your birthday. It varies year to year. I've gotten Philosophy body wash, FRESH sugar lip treatment sets, and similar freebies. My other favorite thing about their program is that every year at the end of November you get a coupon for $15 off a $50 purchase. I use this to get my Philosophy fix for the year. I usually cash in some of my reward points from my Citicard Rewards in October and get a Sephora gift card to use for the balance.
Blue Mile - they will send you a coupon for $10 off $50.
Dunkin Donuts - sign up for their Dunkin update. You get a coupon for a free beverage for signing up and a free beverage for your birthday.
*
Then I weighed myself. So all year I've been weighing myself on the same scale at the fitness center. I'm not actively dieting or trying to lose weight, I'm just curious. Anyway, I lost a whole 5 lbs from January to when I ran my marathon. Today I'm down another 1.5 lbs. Go figure. I don't think I lost that in muscle mass in 2 weeks.
Moving on...
I have always loved getting mail. When I was a kid, I signed up for all the birthday clubs that sent kids freebies on their birthday. As an adult, I discovered that birthdays clubs weren't just for kids. In fact, you can get some really nice gifts from your favorite stores on your birthday!
So next week is my birthday. My email is full of birthday gifts already! I think the best part about having a November birthday is that I can often use my birthday freebies with the holiday sales and score some really great deals.
Most of my birthday gifts are from stores where I have set up an account or belong to their free rewards club. Some stores I only frequent once a year for my birthday freebie but they send me a gift every year. Here are some of my favorites...
Starbucks - register a Starbucks gift card to get an account. You earn "stars" for your purchases and rewards with your stars. You will get a free drink loaded on your card for your birthday.
Godiva - sign up for their rewards program. Get a free piece of chocolate every month from their store. Get a $10 coupon for your birthday. You can get $10 of loose chocolate free at their store or use it towards something else or use it online. They tend to run their best deals online on Thanksgiving Day.
Kohls - sign up for their rewards program. Get a $10 coupon for your birthday. I just used mine combined with a sale and a 30% off coupon and got a pair of $54 Nike running tights for less than $30.
Vera Bradley - sign up for an account. Their birthday gifts vary. They have sent me coupons for $20 in the past. This year I got 40% off any one item. You can use it on a sale item. Don't ever pay full price for anything Vera.* They have rotating sales online every day. If you want something, I guarantee it will go on sale for 40% off or more at some point.
Shula's - join Team Shula. You will get a coupon for a free entrée with purchase of an entrée for your birthday. Their entrees are in the $30 - $40 range so this is a great deal. Date night for me!
Landry's Select Club - this is the dining club that includes Morton's Steakhouse and McCormick and Schmick's here in Indy. You get a $25 dining credit loaded onto your card your birthday month. Another lunch or dinner date for me at a fancy restaurant!
Coldwater Creek - sign up for their rewards program. Get a $10 coupon for your birthday. $10 might not seem like a lot but they have crazy deals in their outlet and there are free shipping codes all the time. I have gotten numerous tops there for less than $2. Sometimes they will also just send you a coupon for $25 off anything - usually about once a year.** Admittedly, one year, I went a little crazy and bought a bunch of stuff after Christmas when everything online was 70% off (happens every year). A couple weeks later I got an email asking if I wanted to secretly shop their store. Heck ya! They sent me a gift card to shop the store.
Sephora - sign up to be a Beauty Insider. You can pick up a nice product every year at the store for your birthday. It varies year to year. I've gotten Philosophy body wash, FRESH sugar lip treatment sets, and similar freebies. My other favorite thing about their program is that every year at the end of November you get a coupon for $15 off a $50 purchase. I use this to get my Philosophy fix for the year. I usually cash in some of my reward points from my Citicard Rewards in October and get a Sephora gift card to use for the balance.
Blue Mile - they will send you a coupon for $10 off $50.
Dunkin Donuts - sign up for their Dunkin update. You get a coupon for a free beverage for signing up and a free beverage for your birthday.
*
This was my last purchase. The unit price is the regular price. They had a deal where you got 25% off all the sale items when you put it in your cart. Shipping was free after $75 and you got a free bag if you spent $125. The shipping and free bag were based on the sale price of the item before the extra 25% off. I got two items that were on sale. Then I used a coupon code for $30 off a $100 purchase. End result, 3 items with a regular price of $232 for $75.11, shipped free to my door. Like I said, don't ever pay full price for Vera.
**
Gotta love free!
Looks like I'm not going to have any long runs any time soon so I'm prepping for holiday shopping deals instead. More deals to come this week!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Hot Yoga
I took the plunge and tried hot yoga. So far so good...
I tried my first class last week. The studio is literally a hole in the wall at a strip mall. It took me forever to find it. Class was at 7 pm. I got there and the place looked closed. I tried the door and it was open. Hmmm... we did yoga with the lights off.
So there were space heaters set up all around the studio to warm the room. Once the lights were off, the only light in the room was the orange glow of the space heaters and what little light came through the glass storefront (which was the size of the door) through the sheer curtain.
I don't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I had no idea what I was doing. I was peeking around at everyone else and the instructor to see what the poses looked like and it was really hard to see in the dim light. Then again, no one could see me making a fool out of myself either!
The next day, I was sore in a whole bunch of places that I didn't know could be sore! I went back today for my second class. This time I could see exactly what was going on since it was at 10:30 am and it was daylight out. Class is definitely a lot of core work and the room gets really hot. I felt like I got a good workout in and was dying towards the end - like praying the hour would be over soon.
My legs are starting to feel better. I might venture a short run in the morning.
Have you tried yoga?
I tried my first class last week. The studio is literally a hole in the wall at a strip mall. It took me forever to find it. Class was at 7 pm. I got there and the place looked closed. I tried the door and it was open. Hmmm... we did yoga with the lights off.
So there were space heaters set up all around the studio to warm the room. Once the lights were off, the only light in the room was the orange glow of the space heaters and what little light came through the glass storefront (which was the size of the door) through the sheer curtain.
I don't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I had no idea what I was doing. I was peeking around at everyone else and the instructor to see what the poses looked like and it was really hard to see in the dim light. Then again, no one could see me making a fool out of myself either!
The next day, I was sore in a whole bunch of places that I didn't know could be sore! I went back today for my second class. This time I could see exactly what was going on since it was at 10:30 am and it was daylight out. Class is definitely a lot of core work and the room gets really hot. I felt like I got a good workout in and was dying towards the end - like praying the hour would be over soon.
My legs are starting to feel better. I might venture a short run in the morning.
Have you tried yoga?
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Scaring the Cr@p Out of Myself
"Do one thing every day that scares you."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor should be proud of me. I decided on a fitness plan for the next couple months and, truth be told, my ambition scares the cr@p out of me. Can I stick to it?
Here's what I signed myself up for...
This is a Russian Kettlebell class run by Marty Mills, head strength and conditioning coach at Center Grove High School. He is suppose to be the #1 kettlebell instructor in the country. I signed up for a 3 month membership that starts January 6th.
The scary part...classes are at 5:15 or 6 AM!!! Am I going to be able to haul myself out of bed on a cold January morning? Well, it's paid for and I need to do some core work so that's what I committed to. There are evening classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I am generally running kids around if I am not at work so I guess I'm going to have to learn to be one of those people and haul myself out of bed to work out.
I guess I can always go back to bed after working out!
2. Derby Festival Marathon
April 19th, 2014. That's the date I chose for my next Boston qualifying attempt. I chose this race because it has a 3:50 pace group. I considered the Carmel Marathon on April 12th but it did not offer a 3:50 pace group. Carmel went from 3:45 to 3:55. I didn't want to push it and try for 3:45 but I didn't want to chance missing my time with the 3:55 group either.
I've never run in Louisville before. Looks like there's a hill halfway through the race (gulp). I am going to use Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 marathon training program again. The 18 week program will start on December 15th. That gives me a total of 6 weeks rest from the Monumental Marathon to the start of the new training cycle. I am hoping my hamstring and my heels are better by then. I still feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck when I wake up in the mornings.
3. Hot Yoga
I want to try something new. What better to do on a cold day than Hot Yoga! I found a Living
Social deal at The Body Sanctuary - 10 Hot Yoga or Mat Pilates classes for $59. I am going to my first class on Thursday.
Until my new training cycle starts, I'm trying to stick to non-weight bearing exercises. I haven't run in a week and it's making me nervous. I'm going to try some shorter runs soon. My last race of the year will be a 5K (Reindeer Romp) on December 14th. I think that will give me an idea of what kind of shape I'm in before I start the new training cycle the next day.
Want to join me in any of my endeavors? Go click the links and sign up to exercise with me. I'd love some company - especially at 5:15 am! I asked my husband if he would do the kettlebell class with me and got an "absolutely NOT" answer. He did, however, agree to go down to Louisville with me.
Have you scared yourself lately?
The scary part...classes are at 5:15 or 6 AM!!! Am I going to be able to haul myself out of bed on a cold January morning? Well, it's paid for and I need to do some core work so that's what I committed to. There are evening classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I am generally running kids around if I am not at work so I guess I'm going to have to learn to be one of those people and haul myself out of bed to work out.
I guess I can always go back to bed after working out!
2. Derby Festival Marathon
April 19th, 2014. That's the date I chose for my next Boston qualifying attempt. I chose this race because it has a 3:50 pace group. I considered the Carmel Marathon on April 12th but it did not offer a 3:50 pace group. Carmel went from 3:45 to 3:55. I didn't want to push it and try for 3:45 but I didn't want to chance missing my time with the 3:55 group either.
I've never run in Louisville before. Looks like there's a hill halfway through the race (gulp). I am going to use Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 marathon training program again. The 18 week program will start on December 15th. That gives me a total of 6 weeks rest from the Monumental Marathon to the start of the new training cycle. I am hoping my hamstring and my heels are better by then. I still feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck when I wake up in the mornings.
3. Hot Yoga
I want to try something new. What better to do on a cold day than Hot Yoga! I found a Living
Social deal at The Body Sanctuary - 10 Hot Yoga or Mat Pilates classes for $59. I am going to my first class on Thursday.
Until my new training cycle starts, I'm trying to stick to non-weight bearing exercises. I haven't run in a week and it's making me nervous. I'm going to try some shorter runs soon. My last race of the year will be a 5K (Reindeer Romp) on December 14th. I think that will give me an idea of what kind of shape I'm in before I start the new training cycle the next day.
Want to join me in any of my endeavors? Go click the links and sign up to exercise with me. I'd love some company - especially at 5:15 am! I asked my husband if he would do the kettlebell class with me and got an "absolutely NOT" answer. He did, however, agree to go down to Louisville with me.
Have you scared yourself lately?
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Back in the Game
I feel like I'm back today. The sun is shining and I have a plan...
I spent the last couple days in a funk about what could have been on Saturday. Then I just laid around and ate bad food for a couple days, the whole time panicking about all the fitness I was losing by sitting around and eating bad food. Let me tell you, I couldn't eat on Saturday but I have eaten everything that wasn't nailed down the last couple days!
So here is my dilemma... I want my legs to heal. I'm tired of pain being the norm. In order for them to heal, I have to rest them but I feel like I'm losing all the work I've done the last couple months by resting. I finally came up with a plan - try to keep my cardio but don't do anything that causes pain; also work on some core strength because I think I'm really lacking that right now.
I am looking into some local strength programs. I'll update when I commit to one. I went to the fitness center and rode the bike hard for 30 minutes today. It was actually on an easy spin speed but I worked up a good sweat. Covered 8.95 miles, average speed 17.9 mph, average rpm 94. Back in the spring I think the bike helped me improve my leg speed/turnover and it's a non-weightbearing activity that doesn't hurt my hamstring.
I also got a good grocery shopping trip in today. I haven't had a good "deal" trip in awhile but there have been some really great coupons lately so I finally put something together. I am really trying to eat better but I needed to stock up on some convenience foods so that I'll quit going through the drive-thru on my busy days.
So here's my take today at Meijer...
I spent the last couple days in a funk about what could have been on Saturday. Then I just laid around and ate bad food for a couple days, the whole time panicking about all the fitness I was losing by sitting around and eating bad food. Let me tell you, I couldn't eat on Saturday but I have eaten everything that wasn't nailed down the last couple days!
So here is my dilemma... I want my legs to heal. I'm tired of pain being the norm. In order for them to heal, I have to rest them but I feel like I'm losing all the work I've done the last couple months by resting. I finally came up with a plan - try to keep my cardio but don't do anything that causes pain; also work on some core strength because I think I'm really lacking that right now.
I am looking into some local strength programs. I'll update when I commit to one. I went to the fitness center and rode the bike hard for 30 minutes today. It was actually on an easy spin speed but I worked up a good sweat. Covered 8.95 miles, average speed 17.9 mph, average rpm 94. Back in the spring I think the bike helped me improve my leg speed/turnover and it's a non-weightbearing activity that doesn't hurt my hamstring.
I also got a good grocery shopping trip in today. I haven't had a good "deal" trip in awhile but there have been some really great coupons lately so I finally put something together. I am really trying to eat better but I needed to stock up on some convenience foods so that I'll quit going through the drive-thru on my busy days.
So here's my take today at Meijer...
$36.67 after coupons
I took advantage of their 10/$10 get the 11th item free sale plus I picked up ingredients to make this Chicken and Mushroom Stew (check out the link for the recipe - thanks Isabelle!)
Ended up with...
3 Palermo Flatbread pizzas (2.33 each after coupons)
8 El Monterey breakfast burritos (0.50 each after coupons)
- these have 9 grams of protein each and I am trying to eat more protein for breakfast
6 Green Giant frozen veggie boxes (0.80 each after coupons)
4 Hormel pepperoni packages (0.50 each after coupons)
3 packages of mushrooms (1.00 each but got 2 for free as my 11th item)
10 candy bars (0.25 each after coupon)
- I need candy like I need another hole in my head but I couldn't pass up the deal
- I'm hiding these for "later" when I'm sure I'll have some kind of candy bar emergency
bread (1.00)
celery (2.00)
3.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs (10.66)
bag of egg noodles (1.50)
All of the coupons I used are available to print at www.coupons.com.
Now I'm making my meal plans for this month. My work schedule has me hardly working early in the month but then it gets really busy at the end of the month so I'm trying to plan better.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Falling Back
Hope everyone in Indiana is enjoying their extra hour today (due to the time change)!
I slept in, got Dunkin' Donuts for donuts and bacon for breakfast, then walked a mile to get my legs loosened up.
I got up this morning and couldn't figure out why my left arm was so sore. Then I realized I had had my arm clenched with my fingers digging into my palm for several miles yesterday when my left leg was killing me. My hamstrings are still pretty tight and my knees feel a little creaky but, otherwise, I'm no worse for wear.
I couldn't eat yesterday. I had a peanut butter sandwich and banana at 6 am, then a gel pack at mile 7 and 14. I had planned to eat one every hour. I never had my third one because I wasn't exerting myself anymore once I started walking. After the race I just had no appetite. It was the usual kids' Saturday after that... pick up G from Nutcracker practice, then get groceries for J's Halloween Party. My older daughter had friends over til 10 pm. I finally got around eating a stuffed pepper and went to bed.
I got up this morning and decided I could eat anything I wanted. Donuts, bacon, and coffee it was. Now it's catching up on emails and relaxing until I go to work. I haven't been to work since Thursday. This weekend was Halloween, IU's homecoming, plus daylight savings ended last night so the hospital computers were down for several hours last night for time change. I am expecting to walk in to the aftermath of anarchy.
Happy Sunday!
I slept in, got Dunkin' Donuts for donuts and bacon for breakfast, then walked a mile to get my legs loosened up.
I got up this morning and couldn't figure out why my left arm was so sore. Then I realized I had had my arm clenched with my fingers digging into my palm for several miles yesterday when my left leg was killing me. My hamstrings are still pretty tight and my knees feel a little creaky but, otherwise, I'm no worse for wear.
I couldn't eat yesterday. I had a peanut butter sandwich and banana at 6 am, then a gel pack at mile 7 and 14. I had planned to eat one every hour. I never had my third one because I wasn't exerting myself anymore once I started walking. After the race I just had no appetite. It was the usual kids' Saturday after that... pick up G from Nutcracker practice, then get groceries for J's Halloween Party. My older daughter had friends over til 10 pm. I finally got around eating a stuffed pepper and went to bed.
I got up this morning and decided I could eat anything I wanted. Donuts, bacon, and coffee it was. Now it's catching up on emails and relaxing until I go to work. I haven't been to work since Thursday. This weekend was Halloween, IU's homecoming, plus daylight savings ended last night so the hospital computers were down for several hours last night for time change. I am expecting to walk in to the aftermath of anarchy.
Happy Sunday!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Monumental Marathon
Well, what can I say, it just didn't happen today...
I ran really well for almost 16 miles. Then I collided with another runner at a water stop. It wasn't even a full on collision but I had to stop suddenly and my left hamstring immediately seized up. After that, I tried to run on it but it got tighter and tighter to the point where I was grunting with every step. I knew it was all over at mile 17 when I had to start walking.
My leg hurt so bad I looked around to see if there was a way to drop out of the race. I have never DNF'd a race but I was afraid I was going to rupture my hamstring or do some kind of permanent damage if I kept running on it - it hurt that bad. Problem was, there was no one around. Lots of runners but no race official looking people. The water stops at this point were mostly manned by little kids and their parents. I'm sure if someone fell to the ground with a true medical emergency they could get someone, but I was still moving - just in a lot of pain. I knew there was a SAG wagon that would pick up stragglers but since I had been moving at a 8:45 pace, I figured I could crawl across the finish line before the wagon caught up with me as they were picking up people that could not maintain a 15:00 mile pace, so I just kept moving; I didn't know what else to do!
So here's what happened...
The PLAN had been to go out with the 3:50 pace runner (8:46 pace) and stick to him like glue. Problem was that I got pushed so far back at the start that I couldn't even see the 3:50 pace runner anymore by the time I crossed the starting line. I knew that if I caught up with the pace runner, I'd actually be a little fast since I started behind him. I also realized I'd have to run faster to catch him but I told myself I just wouldn't go crazy fast; it was more important that I caught up with the pace runner to run WITH him.
Mile 1 - 8:38
Mile 2 - 8:44
Mile 3 - 8:27
I caught up with the pace runner at this point
Mile 4 - 8:33
Mile 5 - 8:46
Mile 6 - 8:47
Mile 7 - 8:34
I feel great and I think running with a pacer ROCKS!!
Mile 8 - 8:45
Mile 9 - 8:43
Mile 10 - 8:45
Mile 11 - 8:39
Mile 12 - 8:44
Mile 13 - 8:53
Mile 14 - 8:44
Mile 15 - 8:46
Still feeling great...
Mile 16 - 9:04
I collided just before the 16 mile marker
Mile 17 - 10:57
I tried to keep running. The whole course is pretty flat but the only slight rise in the road also happened to be at this point and I had to start walking. I knew my qualifying time was gone the minute I started walking.
Mile 18 - 14:25
Now I'm trying to figure out how to drop out...
Mile 19 - 13:17
... still trying to figure out how to drop out
Mile 20 - 14:29
Now I'm on White River Parkway. It's a pretty desolate stretch. The only other people around me are other runners, many who are in the same situation I'm in. We stretch, then slog, then walk, then stretch some more. The other problem I had was that once I stopped running, I got really cold. The weather today was PERFECT, as long as you were running. I was so frustrated. There was nothing wrong with my heart or lungs. I hadn't even started sucking air when my hamstring seized up. When I started getting cold, my right hamstring decided it was going to tighten up too... then my feet decided to join the mutiny and started cramping up. Arghhh!!
Mile 21 - 11:50
The 4:15 pace group passed me at this point and I tried to move and keep up. I couldn't keep up. I had a really really short choppy "stride" if you can call it at this point but I was determined to keep moving. I just wanted to be done!
Mile 22 - 11:04
Mile 23 - 10:45
My leg FINALLY started loosening up.
Mile 24 - 10:37
Mile 25 - 10:36
Mile 26 - 9:42
Last 0.2 - 2:59
Official time - 4:20:07. Average mile pace - 9:56
Yes, I'm very disappointed. I did, however, have 3 goals for this race - 1) qualify for Boston (3:55), 2) if not, break 4:00, and 3) if not, run a PR (personal record).
Today I lowered my PR by a little over 30 minutes. My previous best had been 4:50:18 at Chicago in 2011.
Plan now is to rehab my legs and try again in the Spring. I was not tired at all when my leg seized up. As I said, heart and lungs felt great. My legs just didn't want to participate!
The day didn't turn out like I wanted, but overall, I had fun. I am walking away today ready to do it again. Some other things about today...
I started the race with my friends Trena and Bob. Trena ran her first marathon 3 weeks ago in Chicago and blew it away in 3:48 (check out her blog HERE). She ran 3:39:44 today and qualified for Boston (her qualifying time was 3:40). Her husband Bob ran a PR 3:49:05. He and I ran together for awhile after Trena left us in the dust.
It's good to have connections. Trena has a friend that ran the half. He also happens to work at the State Capitol building right by the starting line. He let us in the building this morning so we stayed warm and had real bathrooms all to ourselves to frequent multiple times before the race.
The Monumental is not nearly as big or crowded as the Mini. I got to my favorite parking garage at 6 am like I do for the Mini. Me and the 50 other people that were just as anal as I sat in our cars and napped for an hour. The race started at 8 am. The other cars started filling the garage at 7.
I crossed the finish line and was greeted by my former high school cross-country and track coach... or at least I'm 99% sure it was him. I was a bit glassy-eyed after running 26.2 miles and I had my name plastered on my race bib but he said my name without hesitation, grabbed my hand for a handshake, and we just held on a bit longer than usual in recognition. I tried to talk to him after I got out of the finish corral but he was still busy catching runners as they finished and shaking their hands.
My chiropractor was working the massage tent. I went to see him and he gave me a longer than usual complimentary massage and tried to get my leg unknotted. I'm glad I waited around to see him!
How was your Saturday?
I ran really well for almost 16 miles. Then I collided with another runner at a water stop. It wasn't even a full on collision but I had to stop suddenly and my left hamstring immediately seized up. After that, I tried to run on it but it got tighter and tighter to the point where I was grunting with every step. I knew it was all over at mile 17 when I had to start walking.
My leg hurt so bad I looked around to see if there was a way to drop out of the race. I have never DNF'd a race but I was afraid I was going to rupture my hamstring or do some kind of permanent damage if I kept running on it - it hurt that bad. Problem was, there was no one around. Lots of runners but no race official looking people. The water stops at this point were mostly manned by little kids and their parents. I'm sure if someone fell to the ground with a true medical emergency they could get someone, but I was still moving - just in a lot of pain. I knew there was a SAG wagon that would pick up stragglers but since I had been moving at a 8:45 pace, I figured I could crawl across the finish line before the wagon caught up with me as they were picking up people that could not maintain a 15:00 mile pace, so I just kept moving; I didn't know what else to do!
So here's what happened...
The PLAN had been to go out with the 3:50 pace runner (8:46 pace) and stick to him like glue. Problem was that I got pushed so far back at the start that I couldn't even see the 3:50 pace runner anymore by the time I crossed the starting line. I knew that if I caught up with the pace runner, I'd actually be a little fast since I started behind him. I also realized I'd have to run faster to catch him but I told myself I just wouldn't go crazy fast; it was more important that I caught up with the pace runner to run WITH him.
Mile 1 - 8:38
Mile 2 - 8:44
Mile 3 - 8:27
I caught up with the pace runner at this point
Mile 4 - 8:33
Mile 5 - 8:46
Mile 6 - 8:47
Mile 7 - 8:34
I feel great and I think running with a pacer ROCKS!!
Mile 8 - 8:45
Mile 9 - 8:43
Mile 10 - 8:45
Mile 11 - 8:39
Mile 12 - 8:44
Mile 13 - 8:53
Mile 14 - 8:44
Mile 15 - 8:46
Still feeling great...
Mile 16 - 9:04
I collided just before the 16 mile marker
Mile 17 - 10:57
I tried to keep running. The whole course is pretty flat but the only slight rise in the road also happened to be at this point and I had to start walking. I knew my qualifying time was gone the minute I started walking.
Mile 18 - 14:25
Now I'm trying to figure out how to drop out...
Mile 19 - 13:17
... still trying to figure out how to drop out
Mile 20 - 14:29
Now I'm on White River Parkway. It's a pretty desolate stretch. The only other people around me are other runners, many who are in the same situation I'm in. We stretch, then slog, then walk, then stretch some more. The other problem I had was that once I stopped running, I got really cold. The weather today was PERFECT, as long as you were running. I was so frustrated. There was nothing wrong with my heart or lungs. I hadn't even started sucking air when my hamstring seized up. When I started getting cold, my right hamstring decided it was going to tighten up too... then my feet decided to join the mutiny and started cramping up. Arghhh!!
Mile 21 - 11:50
The 4:15 pace group passed me at this point and I tried to move and keep up. I couldn't keep up. I had a really really short choppy "stride" if you can call it at this point but I was determined to keep moving. I just wanted to be done!
Mile 22 - 11:04
Mile 23 - 10:45
My leg FINALLY started loosening up.
Mile 24 - 10:37
Mile 25 - 10:36
Mile 26 - 9:42
Last 0.2 - 2:59
Official time - 4:20:07. Average mile pace - 9:56
Yes, I'm very disappointed. I did, however, have 3 goals for this race - 1) qualify for Boston (3:55), 2) if not, break 4:00, and 3) if not, run a PR (personal record).
Today I lowered my PR by a little over 30 minutes. My previous best had been 4:50:18 at Chicago in 2011.
Plan now is to rehab my legs and try again in the Spring. I was not tired at all when my leg seized up. As I said, heart and lungs felt great. My legs just didn't want to participate!
The day didn't turn out like I wanted, but overall, I had fun. I am walking away today ready to do it again. Some other things about today...
I started the race with my friends Trena and Bob. Trena ran her first marathon 3 weeks ago in Chicago and blew it away in 3:48 (check out her blog HERE). She ran 3:39:44 today and qualified for Boston (her qualifying time was 3:40). Her husband Bob ran a PR 3:49:05. He and I ran together for awhile after Trena left us in the dust.
It's good to have connections. Trena has a friend that ran the half. He also happens to work at the State Capitol building right by the starting line. He let us in the building this morning so we stayed warm and had real bathrooms all to ourselves to frequent multiple times before the race.
The Monumental is not nearly as big or crowded as the Mini. I got to my favorite parking garage at 6 am like I do for the Mini. Me and the 50 other people that were just as anal as I sat in our cars and napped for an hour. The race started at 8 am. The other cars started filling the garage at 7.
I crossed the finish line and was greeted by my former high school cross-country and track coach... or at least I'm 99% sure it was him. I was a bit glassy-eyed after running 26.2 miles and I had my name plastered on my race bib but he said my name without hesitation, grabbed my hand for a handshake, and we just held on a bit longer than usual in recognition. I tried to talk to him after I got out of the finish corral but he was still busy catching runners as they finished and shaking their hands.
My chiropractor was working the massage tent. I went to see him and he gave me a longer than usual complimentary massage and tried to get my leg unknotted. I'm glad I waited around to see him!
How was your Saturday?
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