Financial...erm...scratch that...Fitness Friday

In my head, there is a battle. 

To iPhone or not to iPhone.

If I did, I would choose the $50 out of date iPhone3.  So what's the big deal?  The $25 a month extra for a data plan terrifies me.  Sure its not a lot on a monthly basis, but I hate the idea of being tied down to charges each month.  That's over $300 a year (over half our monthly mortgage payment) to have Internet on my phone.

The reason this isn't going to be a financial Friday post where I ask for your advice is that I already know what you're going to say.  You'll tell me to go for it.  That its no big deal.  We've got the money might as well enjoy it.  Welcome to 2010!

(Yes I realize its 2011, but I'm only getting the phone for $50 because its soooooo last year!)

You'll all tell me to go for it.  Well everyone but Live Simply - Live Well.  She'll tell me to run far, far away - clutching my 2005 Razr tightly.

So instead, I'm going to tell you about how (and why) I spent $150 today to prove that I'm better than my husband.

Last year I was involved in the Mountain Man Memorial March.  A friend's husband was serving in Iraq and she wanted to form a team to walk in honor of him.  We started training in January for this even, doing long walks every other weekend. 

My darling husband made fun every step of the way.  Sure its 26.2 miles, but its just walking.  Why do you need to train for that?  You could do it tomorrow and be just fine.

What he failed to realize was that it wasn't just a marathon walk.  It was, as the name suggested, more of a march...a hike.  Military types traveled to G-burg in order to  participate in this even.  Most wore 40 pound packs and were dressed in full military gear.

This event isn't "just" anything.

So at the end of last year as he was massaging my tired little tootsies, he made a bold move.  My husband challenged me to a race.  He & I would both compete, but this time as individuals, racing against each other. 

If he wins, he gets 300 points.  Sorta like a token at Chuck E. Cheese.  Not really worth anything until you get enough. 

The system is fairly complicated, but if we ever get to +300 I get to go on a $300 shopping spree.  If we ever get to -300 points, he gets a TV in the bedroom.  There are various things that can earn points, but this will be the single largest batch of points awarded.

He currently needs over 400 points to get his TV.  On the other hand, I only need 150 or so before I hit my shopping spreed.  Winning this event will be the equivalent of putting cash in my hand.  He's that confident that he - a couch potato who thinks 5K is a "long run" - can beat me.

I've given him a 0.6% chance of winning.  I'm that confident, although as it approaches my confidence is waning. 

Since I'm a list person, let's break out the bullet points to see in who's favor the odds lie.

Reasons he could beat me:

• He's legs are longer than mine.
• He's got stronger quads for climbing those steep inclines.
• He's determined.
• He always is faster than me running, even with zero training.
• He's a man, and sometimes they just suck like that.

Reasons I will win:

• I've completed the 26.2 mile distance twice: once in the march last year, and once running the Disney marathon.
• I've been training.
• He thinks 5K is a long run and gets bored easily.
• I've study nutrition needs for endurance running & walking.  I know what and how much I need to put in my back pack for what will probably be a 7-8 hour jaunt.
• I have already told him that I'm not packing snacks for him like I typically do on hikes.  He's on his own.
• I have good shoes that are broken in.  His shoes are worn out and cause blisters. (& he's too cheap to buy new ones.)
• The most distance he's ever covered was on this hike with breaks along the way, including completely stopping for lunch at the top.  Yes he did better than me.  Yes I wanted to stab him along the way, but I was probably anemic at the time.
• He's a mutant.  The chances of him pulling a muscle that hasn't been exercised in over a month is great.  Cold of me to say, but over and over I've begged him to train for this.  Then I asked him to call it off because he hasn't trained.  I've done my part and am washing my hands of it.  Until of course its time to drive him to the hematologist.

Now the countdown begins.  In 4 weeks we'll know the answer to the question that's burning in every one's mind - who's the better endurance athlete in the Mutant family!