Daily Archives: January 5, 2015

Harvard health costs

Cry me a river.  Don’t get me a wrong.  Employees should always advocate for themselves, and I don’t blame Harvard employees for doing so.  However, anyone who works in the private sector will have little or no sympathy for Harvard professors being forced to pay $20 co-pays and have a $250 deductible.

My benefits cost has gone up, and my actual benefits have gone down year after year.  This is at least in part due to Obamacare provisions that, in some cases thankfully, don’t benefit me – 1 million lifetime max being made illegal, healthcare for kids 21 to 26, and no longer being allowed to deny people with pre-existing conditions.  I don’t oppose any of these provisions, but you don’t get anything for nothin’.  If you factor in healthcare, while I got raises, some years, the healthcare cost negated that raise completely.  However, it’s hard to call it a paycut, because Blue had to shell out a lot of extra money as well to cover the 80%/50% (individual/family) share of the premiums.

Five years ago, I had excellent health coverage.  Now I’d describe my health care coverage as OK.  Thankfully, no one has had a serious illness to really test it.  It’s certainly not cheap on Cobra.

cold and wet running attire

We have a lot of inclement weather in Seattle, famously of course.  I’ve been getting out and exercising more lately, and I’m rediscovering my cold weather and wet weather running gear.  There are a couple of items that stand out.

First, I love my Patagonia Flyer Gore-tex running jacket.  Let me count the ways!  It is so amazing.  It’s ultra-light weight and I don’t feel like I’m wearing a rain coat at all.  It’s slim fitting, so given that I found the right size (M) it doesn’t flap around like a lot of looser rain coats.  A looser rain jacket is great for casual wear, but for running, I love the slim fit.  It doesn’t have a hood, which again is idea for running.  I have no interest in running in a hood.  I find a baseball cap is perfect for keeping the rain off my face.  They discontinued it for a while, but it looks like it’s being sold again.  It’s regularly available on eBay for about $100.  I have it in silver.

Patagonia Women\'s Light Flyer Jacket - Tailored Grey TGY-303

Second, my sister bought me some Sugoi Women’s MidZero Tights.  I’d always thought of Sugoi as a biking company, but their running tights are rock-awesome in cold weather.  These are warm tights – strictly for 42 or 43 degrees and colder – and then only in overcast, rainy or windy weather.  I haven’t been pushing too hard on my runs lately since my cardiovascular system is in better shape than my muscular/bones/joints (due to lack of weight-bearing exercise during pregnancy).  If you’re pushing hard, they’re ideal for low 30s and colder.  Anyway, they’re super-soft and stretchy and work really well on my non-curvy shape.  If you are hour-glass shaped, these may not be the best choice.  If you have a large waist and don’t like to be cold, these are fabulous.

I loved these tights so much I bought a pair of Sugoi Jackie Capri Tights, hoping I’d like them as much.  I was not disappointed.  They are by far the most comfortable of the capri tights I’ve tried, though admittedly, I haven’t tried that many.

I’ve never bought a long-sleeve running shirt, but once I run my first 5K, I plan to reward myself with one, probably Sugoi.  I ran 2 miles yesterday and today, so I’m slowly and painfully making my way back to fitness.  Today’s run was no picnic with 43 degrees and steady rain and of course my neighborhood hills.