Well, I only logged 12 miles last week, and my motivation seems to be waning. Although, I did run 4 miles tonight after work, and it felt really good. I wanted to sign up for either the Big D half-marathon in Dallas or the Capitol 10k to keep me motivated; however, both are on April 3rd which is the morning after a friend's wedding (so I'll be hungover).
Luckily, my employer is sponsoring another "train for a 10k" on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 6:00 am. It seemed to be pretty motivating for me last time, so I think I'll try it again (although they raised the price to $60). The class doesn't start until March 21 and it culminates with the Texas Roundup 10k on April 30th. I wasn't even aware of this race as I don't think it is on the RunTex website...maybe I just missed it. Anyways, it seems like it is for a good cause, "a statewide effort to encourage Texans of all fitness levels to incorporate daily physical activity and healthy choices into their lives."
Did you know that one of the top concerns of Chief Financial Officers, according to one of my Finance trade rags, is spiraling health care costs? To my employer's credit, they have really been focusing on wellness not only to promote work-life balance but also to reduce health care costs. The running classes are a result of this. Anyways, human resources showed a pretty startling graph that showed that about 4% of the chronically ill employees (or their dependents) made up about 75% of the Company's healthcare costs. The converse of that was that the healthy folks made up only a fraction of the costs. I may not have the numbers exactly right, but it is basically the ol' 80/20 rule, or something close to it.
I used to believe in the "to each his own" philosophy. If you want to smoke, go right ahead. It doesn't affect me...or does it? Now, I do care because it does affect me. I am going to have to pay for your quadruple bypass surgery in the form of increased insurance premiums, and I'll probably have to work at Wal-Mart in my golden years just for the health insurance benefits. I know that I am somewhat of a hypocrite because I have been known to overindulge in some unhealthy habits like drinking and overeating. But, at least I am trying to make healthier choices and to live each day a little healthier than the last. That's why I think the Texas Roundup is a good cause.
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2 comments:
Incredible.
Why do so many employers still provide vending machines with nothing but crappy junk food and soda (with corn syrup). Sure, I eat it and would probably grumble if they took it away but what if the vending machines only offered fruit, water, and unsweetened tea? You want junk food? Bring it from home. Just like my employer doesn't have cigarette machines, they should do away with vending machines that are stocked with nothing but junk food.
Sorry David ... you actually can't count on Wal-Mart to give you health care. They are way too cheap for that - all those senior citizen greeters (and most of their other employees for that matter) are hourly just so that lovely company can offer them no benefits at all. (Catching up on your blog ... it is great btw!) -Georgia
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