Still trying...

Well, I just got home from shopping for an elliptical machine for my house. I went to the same store where I'd bought my treadmill 8 years ago and was very excited to see that they carry the same model that I've recently been using (and fallen in love with) at my gym. I guess its not really an elliptical though. Precor is calling it an AMT because the movement is a little different than the traditional ellipticals (which might explain why I love it so much). However, as excited as I am about the opportunity to buy the same machine that the gym uses, my system got a bit of a jolt when I saw the price was ONLY $8000.00 !!! Yes, I said EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS! Ouch!!!!! Now u know how it is when u really want something... if its outlandishly expensive (I'd call this outlandish, yes) then u blow it off, know u can't get it, and look for something cheaper and more reasonable. However, sometimes, and I repeat SOMETIMES, you want it so bad you convince yourself that its not really that expensive , is it? So instead of blowing off the machine and moving over to the the lesser priced items, I keep hovering by this beaut of a machine. I get on it. I turn it on. I pedal till I sweat (which for me, only takes 2 seconds-u know its true if you've ever worked out with me before). I continue to talk to the guy about it, even though I know I should be walking over to the other models and talking about those. I even give him my name in case a loaner comes up available soon (only $4500, instead of $8000), but alas, no loaners are expected back soon. So anyway, I leave. I am happy I found the machine I love. But in the back of my mind I know its too expensive. How can I convince my husband that this is a good deal, I think to myself. If I remember correctly, the treadmill we bought 8 years ago was only $2000-and at the time we thought THAT was a lot of money! So how can I convince him to spend 8grand?? Can I convince him to buy it for me and it will be my mother's day gift, birthday gift, anniversary gift and Christmas gift for the next 1,2,3 years??? Wait a second, he'll use it too, he likes ellipticals. Maybe just maybe, it could be the Christmas gift for BOTH of us! Do you think he'll go for it? Well , this is what happened...
I call him at work on my cell as I'm driving home and

I say "Hey hon, I need you to bring home $8000 today"

"Why", he says. (he's so sweet, he doesn't even freak out...yet)

"Because I found the elliptical that I want, anditsjustliketheoneat thegym, youknowtheonethatIlovesomuch.Thatissuchagoodworkout,thatitevenhurtsmyarms.OK?" (notice I said all that real fast)

...and he says, "Nice try. Love you. Talk to you later" click.

No, I don't think he fell for it, do you?





However, some time passes, and he calls me back and informs me that he has talked to a guy he's building a house for who co-owns a gym. He's asked him how much they pay for their equipment. The guy says their ellipticals are about $25oo. Dan tells him about the $8000 dream his wife has, and the guy says NONE of the equipment in their gym is that expensive. (This conversation is not helping my cause as u can tell).
However, he does say that most fitness equipment has a 50% mark-up. So Dan asks me to get all the specs on the machine and he will give it to this guy to see if maybe he can get a better price through his suppliers and we can avoid the mark-up of the retail store.
Isn't my hubby sweet!!!???? Even though this is insanely expensive, he doesn't just blow it off, he tries to see if there is another route that will make it work. I love him for trying!

Even so, I'm not so out of touch with reality to think we'll ever pay $8000, so I do have a back-up model in mind. But since that one is $5000, I think I'll still need some help in the "convincing department" don't you? (Can't fault me for trying!)

Anyway, on to a bright spot in this adventure. While I am at the store I notice that the heartrate monitor straps by the machines are the same one I have at home that came with my treadmill. I always assumed it only worked with that one treadmill, but I notice the brand on the strap is the same as mine, (but its not the same as the treadmill) so I realize (and confirm with the salesman) that my strap at home will probably work on all the machines at the gym, so I can just wear that instead of grabbing the handles every once in a while to get a HR check. If I wear it , it will be continuous and that should be better. Cool, I can't wait to try it tomorrow.

On a similar note, I was researching HRM watches this weekend. I narrowed it down to the one I want and my husband bid on it for me on ebay. I'll know tomorrow if I got it or not. I hope I did, because I want to wear it during my group classes at the gym to see how many calories I'm burning in those classes. (I have the Garmin 405 for running, but unfortunately I can't get it to work inside for this purpose, it uses GPS so it needs to be outside to get accurate readings for speed/distance/calories/HR/etc. I love it for running though.)

Time to go, I'll talk more tomorrow.