Friday, October 15, 2010

Friday Random Bullets

    Just me and my shadow, out for our long run
    
  • I've been somewhat sick *cough cough* this week; I actually had to take a couple days of legit illness sick days.  I like to save those for guys for um, personal long run days, dangit.
  • Ryan ran his last XC meet last night, beating out several strong JV runners and placing 10th overall on the team and 1st, by far, of all freshmen.  He dropped 4 minutes on his 5K time since the start of the season and has come a long way in perfecting his running form, which used to mimic something of a flailing crazed person running from a fire. Will be interesting to see how he progresses over the year.  The men's team, as a whole, are now ranked #3 in the state.  Incredible!
  • Insurance update:  Denied.  Final Word.  I won't go into the whole illogical and irrational explanation they provided me, I don't want this blog to be a tyrant about what's wrong with health care in this fabulous country of ours, but I am done!  A good lawyer friend of mine in Chicago told me to fight it, they are legally in the wrong, but I can't.  To fight it will take many, many months and I have wasted 7 precious ones already impatiently waiting because I believed in the system.  I no longer do and I don't want to lie awake at night anymore wondering.  I have some things brewing that will bring me some insurance - not the insurance I want, and it may involve a job shift at school, which I do not want, but at least it's insurance.  Stressful to say the least, but I now have my answer and I know to move forward, however painful it is. 
  • While I'm on a roll of all things wrong with the world, here's another gem.  Everything was squared with my daughter's college tuition: scholarship, grant, financial aid and my checkbook had us all paid up to date for the year.  So I thought.  A couple weeks ago I started getting love letters from the Bursar's office stating we still owed $9900.  I got to spend 2 of my quality sick days this week on the phone figuring out that someone, somewhere, somehow forgot a 0 (that's a "zero") when entering her scholarship funds so instead of $11,000 she was awarded, the school only certified $1100.  "Ms Runwithjill, if you would please deposit $9900 in your daughter's account, we will investigate this further and see if we can figure out how to obtain that money that is apparently no longer available and refund you if said funds become available again."  Hahahahahahahahahhahahahaahaaaaaa.  That's so funny!
  • Ever have one of those long runs where you knew ahead of time it was going to be in the toilet?   Or am I the only blessed one?  As mentioned, not feeling very well this week, barely ran since that lung gagging 2-mile race last weekend, not sleeping much left me totally lethargic on today's 15.  And for that precious cherry on top, mile 12 had my heel, the one that's been behaving for awhile now, totally paralyzing me.  LOVELY! 
  • 'Twas a gorgeous autumn day in Denver, though, with spectacular views of fresh snow on the front range, which I got to look at while I contemplated cutting my foot off with nothing but my fingernail.  I never tire looking at these babies.


A little off center, but this is the trail I run on frequently; probably a huge source of my sinus issues!

  • A HUGE "GOOD LUCK" to my friend, and business partner (better, Andrew?), Chris, who is running the Des Moines Marathon on Sunday.  This is his first marathon and only his 3rd race in the incredible one year he's been running.  I am so excited and won't even care about my desolate run today when he crosses that finish line in one marvelous time!  Click here and wish him well - and it's his birthday - woohooo.
  • Another honorable shout-out to Andrew, my newest addition in the business world, GO ANDREW and ROCK that 10K!!!!!  10K's in Canada are the same here in America - in case you all were wondering?! I'm really excited for him, he's just started running this summer and I love all his questions.  Questions means knowledge and as a girl who drove my old trainer up the wall with her incessant inquisitions, I get it! 
  • Sunday is the Denver Marathon (sorry Beth :( ).  I will be attempting to reel in, and keep on pace, my neighbor and dear friend, Jim, as he attacks the race that left him miserably dehydrated last year.  I'm a wee-bit worried I'm going to fail - I am FAR from his pace anymore.  JIM, please don't make me run uphill at a pace starting with an 8!!  The COOL thing, though - tomorrow is a blog meet-up lunch with Adam (I am boring), Beth (Shut up and Run) and Tara (Colorado Runner).  Looking forward to meeting Adam, and praying for him that the lack of O2 molecules don't mess up his kick-ass pace!! 
  • Sorry for the double dot spacing....me and blogger are not good friends.
Happy Miles this weekend to all.  And luck and hugs to those racing: Katie A and Rad Runner Girl going for the full in Long Beach; L.B, Glenn and Slomo in the Long Beach half; Anna Marie and Bethany and Ryan doing the Baystate full; Marlene doing the Toronto Marathon; Marcia doing the Grand Rapids Half; Adam, Tina, Aimee, Jim, and my friend Craig in the Denver full; Shana and her hubby in the Denver half; and of course, Chris in Des Moines!  Go get 'em, guys!!  (sorry, I am way too lazy to link their blogs!  Feel free to wish them well here and I'll pass along the message :) ).  Woosh, that's a lotta racing this weekend!

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm the first commenter!!!!!! I can die happy!!!!!

of course now i have nothing to say because i'm under such deadline pressure ...

Running and living said...

Sorry about all the hassles. You have a ton on your plate. I love the pictures of your running trail. Beautiful!

Emz said...

I love the double bullet spacing. Works for me.
Yay to Ryan! Awesome!!
Bummer. Huge bummer on insurance. Hate dealing w/insurance companies. Uggg.

The photos are amazing!!
Enjoy your weekend!!

Anonymous said...

hope you're feeling better! and UGH insurance! i work for a clinic where all the patients are without insurance and getting them the access to stuff they need is a nightmare. i feel your pain! and i hope that *something* works out for you

Andrew Opala said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Questionably Texan said...

Sorry about the insurance denial.
I've had problems with competency in the administration of higher education. Missing a zero? Clearly it was your fault, so hand over the cash!

Katie A. said...

Would you be pissed if I swore on here? Because I want to scream, Fu*%ing insurance company! Sheesh! I'm sorry!

12 miles pain free, that is a huge improvement - really, it is! You're doing so much better than back in July! I'm proud of you!

Good luck pacing Jim - I'll text you as soon as I'm done!
Love you!
xooxoxoxo

DRog said...

Way to go Ryan! 4 minutes wow
Best of luck to you on your job and insurance situation, that just TOTALLY sucks
love the spacing:)
-Derek

HappyTrails said...

Just send them a check for $990 and then tell them you missed a zero :-0 And the single track - that is your source of comfort and running enjoyment. Your sinus trouble comes from all the asphalt and pollution in D-town....

Marlene said...

Sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling great... I hate using sick days for... sick! What a waste. :P

Have fun at the race and good luck to your peeps!

ShutUpandRun said...

Excited to see you as always!! I'll bring my medal.

Nathan said...

Yeah. Insurance would be nice.

And if you got that mess with financial aid figured out in two days, you accomplished what most can't get done in 4 years ;)) Woo-hoo!!!

Sorry about your run, but those photos are beautiful!!

Andrew Opala said...

Jill, you have just put the pressure on me soooo much ... if I do what you say - I'll beat my training PR by 6 minutes!

You've trusted me so far I'll need to trust you back and just do as I am told for each mile of the race!

Thanks for being so kind even with all the junk going on in your life!

Heather said...

Sounds like you've had a rough week - hope the weekend brings better things for you!

Char said...

Well done Ryan. That's an awesome pb.
Good luck with that marathon Jill

The Green Girl said...

Urgh. I hate insurance companies. I'm going to try to get insurance again when I get back from Greece. ::sigh::

Andrew didn't beat me too hard for forgetting him. ::wink::

Patrick Mahoney said...

man oh man I hate seeing "denied" and "insurance" in the same sentence. And I love the guilty until innocent line you got from the school. Not.

Anonymous said...

Wow Jilly Beans, you have a lot on your plate. Kudos to Ryan and his huge improvement this year! Someday we can compare insurance horror stories. I have an $8,800 hospital bill I am fighting insurance over for 2 years now, my wife went in with chest pains and insurance wouldn't cover it because we didn't pre-certify the heart attack, good one BC/BS, funny. Just got a call from UAB Thursday that we owe $1,500 that wasn't covered in loans, grants, ect. Life, never dull. Bubble Boy

Chris K said...

Andrew asks questions? Really? That's so surprising. Since I'm a newbie here, I don't know the insurance saga, but I just cannot stand being "wronged". It eats me up. I really hope it works out.

Kate Geisen said...

Gorgeous pics! Congrats to your son, hope you're feeling better soon, and insurance companies suck.

Good luck to all of your friends!

I definitely have those runs where I go into it already thinking it's going to be meh at best. Sometimes I'm surprised by a good run, but often the only positive thing to say is that it gave me an opportunity to push through. Here's hoping there are many less of those runs for you!

Zaneta @ Runner's Luck said...

Im sorry about the insurance and messed up financial aid for your daughter! That is so frustrating!! Love your pic of the range! it's gorgeous! :)

Velma said...

Can I kick the insurance's ass? That would make me feel better. You are so good with keeping everything in stride. I would just curl up and be cranky. Enjoy the weekend

ajh said...

Yeah to Ryan! He must get it from you!
That is so AWFUL about the scholarship! It is so not right!
Love the pictures. Laughed seriously hard at the "cut off my foot with my fingernail remark!
Hang in there!

KovasP said...

MAJOR bummer about the insurance, but as you stated, at least you know. Nothing that some knitting won't help.

Anonymous said...

Flailing arms, running like a crazed person from a fire is not proper form? Who knew? hehe. Good thing his mother is a coach! Ryan did awesome! I'm sorry to hear things have been a little tough Chicklet. The insurance and tuition "surprise" suck. I hope things look up for you soon.. if not, there's always the wolkswagen...Hugs from RC

Glenn Jones said...

We *really need* insurance reform. My premiums are going up 30% next year to about $1300 a month for a $7000 deductible plan. Wow.

Thanks for the well wishes Jill!

RunToTheFinish said...

good luck on sunday!! I think RNR denver should be great.

taking an actual sick day really sucks :) seriously those days are for random errands and shopping

Lindsay said...

so i think i'm the only one not racing this weekend... haha.

sooo they really aren't going to just fix their own typo?!? WTFFFFFF. some girls i know (from volunteering) are college freshman and talk about how they are going to join "chi delta omega" aka college dropout. just an idea... ;)

Karen R said...

I absolutely love the pictures! What a beautiful place to run. And it is nice that despite your current troubles, that you are able to take pleasure in the small things.

I feel for you on that scholarship issue with your daughter! I had a similar problem my 3rd year in law school Nightmare. Good luck to you :)

Anne said...

How frustrating about the insurance and the financial aid mess-up!!! ...and sorry about your heel acting up again, it was doing so well. Hope it calms down again.

Good luck to everyone racing...have fun on your bloggy meet-up...and Go Andrew!

Anne said...

Oh! Congrats to Ryan...that is serious improvement!!

Tara said...

Yay for bloggie meetups. I had a lot of fun!

Damn insurance companies (I'm sure you don't want me to get started on that again). I hope that heel is working out ok for you this morning.

Anne said...

So sorry you lost the insurance battle. We did too in an effort to get our 23-year-old grad student back on our policy. Our insurer has instead decided to take the huge fines rather than comply with federal law.

Oh, and make sure that data entry error doesn't show up on tax forms you submit to the IRS next April. We had something similar and spent a few week successfully challenging it with the IRS. No fun!

Anne said...

The date entry error refers to your college kid's tuition reimbursement. Sorry...my mind skipped ahead of my fingers.

Jennifer said...

Bummer about the heal and all the insurance woes. Gosh it makes me so angry to deal with them. Congrats to Ryan! Keep up your good attitude Jill! Hugs!

LMC said...

Congrats to Ryan! That's pretty cool for him. I am sorry about the insurance and tuition hassles. I'll keep my fingers crossed that both work out somehow. Good luck with work too! Oh yeah, try to keep the fingernails away from the foot. OK?! :)

Julie said...

Hi Jill,
You know how much I love the random posts:) That is such a cool picture of you running with your shadow! Denver looks so pretty right now and even though we don't want to think about the snow...it is coming:)

I am so sorry to hear about the insurance issues....that sucks! Hopefully something can be done soon.

Holy races this weekend....tons of people running:)

Take care Lady!

Matty B. said...

Money issues are NEVER pleasant to deal with; I hope that you are sleeping. Whenever something like that comes up I am a nervous ball of anxiety.

In the fall, I loved doing the Red Rocks trails and also the Mt. Falcon loop. So gorgeous.

Have a great start to your week!

Sherri said...

Whoo Hooo for Des Moines Marathon!
How fun to watch your son finish up cross country! I love to watch cross country races, and can't wait for my girls to be old enough!
Sorry about the insurance and scholarship messes...the bad news is probably only going to get worse in years to come! I don't see our insurance getting any better...and yet it is getting more expensive! =(
Fall has been beautiful this year...and Pella would love to have a visit from JILL!!! =)

Molly said...

I thought you were playing some kind of cool bullet blogger thing that I wasn't clued in on.

ugh to the insurance, after all that you've dealt with it, all I can say is UGH.

hope this week brings better things Chickie...

: )

Jamie said...

taking an actual sick day to deal with college money mishaps = no good. sick days are meant for laying around the house or running errands.

hope you had a great time at the denver marathon this weekend! and congrats to your son!

Anonymous said...

I feel like I will be fighting with RU for the rest of my lift over tuition issues! So frustrating!!!!!

Unknown said...

Fall in Colorado is gorgeous, it's all PALM TREE here, oh well!!
Sorry about the insurance stuff and tuition, I love it that they assumed you could just deposit a million dollars into your account, IMMEDIATELY. Geesh, it's 2011, HELLO!!??!!
I hope you had a nice weekend, you sounded busy and happy!

Irene said...

Your pictures remind me of the opening shots of the TV show "Little House on the Prairie." I always love your pictures -- makes me want to go to Colorado.

Come up for air sometimes! Busy lady!


*HUGS*

Petraruns said...

44 comments! Why aren't CHOO the most popular gal in town!

First off sorry about this but that insurance thing STINKS. Won't go all political on you but man oh man. I complain about the NHS but I know that my son and I wouldn't get insured if we lived in the US. Girl you have my support.

Admin error re scholarship? What a gigantic waste of time and oh - I'm sure you had 9900 dollars lying around you didn't know what to do with?

Well crap crap crap. I'm sorry my sweet. Look up and look out. The view where you are looks incredible! And I'm sending a hug your way - catch it!