Crossing my fingers too. 
@deb922, here’s my take on the golf pro situation. First, any trainer or pro should have their pricing structure clearly stated on their website or brochure. If the configuration of the lesson format a client desires is not specifically addressed, when the session is booked, the instructor should inform the client what the cost will be but if the instructor does not, then the client should ask to avoid surprises. That being said, I don’t think the price structure you were charged was out of whack with typical price structure for a couples lesson. It is not at all unusual for a couple to be charged 2x the single rate minus a discount for a given unit of time. None of the trainers I know, nor I, charge 2x a “half unit” rate for a couple’s “full unit” of time. The reason for this is that having a couple for an hour really does require more work than having 2 singles consecutively for a half hour each. First, the trainer must program the session for a full hour for each person, not a half hour, and if each person is at a different level, it gets even more complicated. There needs to be more structured content for each person to fill the hour. Second, the trainer, if doing their job correctly, is keeping an eye on both persons even if they each have different programming and the trainer is shifting hands on instruction between the 2 of them. In this respect, it’s very much different than having a singles lesson. In stead of observing only one person to discern corrections, prevent errors and figure out appropriate instructive interventions, the trainer needs to watch two people at the same time even if shifting back and forth in hands on instruction. If the going rate in your area is $70/hr for a singles lesson, then $105 for a couple’s hour seems reasonable to me.
@ohiopublic, have you seen the new Garmin Edge 520 and 820 bike computers! You might find them very enticing. They provide VO2 Max calculations, FTP calculations if you have a power meter, calculate recovery intervals, will build training programs based on your fitness level, will structure training rides and much more. One very interesting feature is that they will sync with your cell phone and send a distress text message with your location to a designated contact if you have a crash. The essential difference between them is the mapping functions for navigation. Very neat sports technology.
Thanks Michael, great explanation!
Michael - How much did you just cost me?
Interestingly enough, I have ditched the bike computer the last three times out. I was thinking that it was “limiting” me in hitting higher avg. mph. In fact my top end speed has increased 2 mph faster since I ditched it and think it helped me go faster in Sunday’s triathlon. I view the time after it is over on the Garmin. I might stop looking at the watch when running.
Fallgirl–hope the medication you have does the trick and gets you back to your fitness program.
Lol, Ohio, the 820 lists at $399 for just the computer and then you need to add in the hr strap, speed and cadence sensors. The basic 520 is $299. There are packaged bundles which I think are $70 for the add ins. I didn’t need the add ons since my older Edge 800 uses compatible sensors. Discounts are hard to come by but my LBS, because of the relationship I have with them, gave me 15% off.
For the time trial leg of your tri’s, I wouldn’t pay much attention to speed during a race either. The terrain from course to course varies too much. I would ride the leg based oh heart rate and wattage ro make sure I was riding as hard as I could for the distance without risking blowing up. When I’m doing time trial training, I frequently ride the same course in the same housing development. Under those circumstances, I do pay attention to speed during each interval since it’s a reliable measure of performance under the circumstances of “closed loop” repeating course.
Last night I had a good workout with my trainer and this morning was a great 3.5 mile run with Back on My Feet. We have several new members and one of them joined our faster-paced group of runners. He was running an 8:30 pace pretty effortlessly and we were talking about the big race in Indy in November - he said he had signed up for the full marathon. I asked him if he had run many marathons previously and he replied that he has never even run a 5K! He said he did lots of running in the Army and he is clearly in very good shape, but I thought it was pretty funny that he signed up for a marathon without ever having run a single race in his life!
This afternoon we are headed up to Chicago for one of my favorite races tomorrow morning, the Big10K. It is such a fun event with everyone wearing their Big 10 shirts and lots of friendly school rivalry throughout the race. The crazy mascots run the 10K also and some of those mascot costumes must be incredibly hot to run in! It’s an early 7:00 am start, so we should be OK with the heat.
Michael - enjoy your vacation! It sounds like a lot of fun. I hope you get caught up on your sleep!
BB - Yay! Glad to hear that you may be feeling signs of improvement! I sure hope this has brought you relief. I’m glad to hear that you plan to still take it easy for a bit.
Did weights and other similarly nice stuff last night.
Made protein flapjacks pancakes for breakfast to “spoil” my little niece. She is recovering nicely, knock on wood. I know she should be severely limiting sugars, but now it is not the time. She needs to get as close to 100% as possible first.
Yikes - what happened to your niece?
PE. 
The BC pills she was put on to regulate her periods almost killed her!!!
Bunsen, that’s awful! So glad she is recovering.
Oh wow, that is scary. My niece was hospitalized for several days a few years ago for blood clots in her lungs that were a result of BC pills. It is frightening. My niece was on coumadin for a while afterwards but then transitioned off it. She’s fine now but will never take BC pills again. I hope your niece is doing OK now!
Oh no, BB that’s awful! Both of my girls have been on BC for horrible cramps - I’m afraid to ask what happened to your niece! Best to her.
C3, have fun in Chicago and with that race!
Wow, C3Baker. I learned that she should have never been put on BC in the first place because she is genetically predisposed to have clots. Her paternal grandfather had a part of his lung taken out when he was young due to a clot. It is very, very scary. I am so glad it happened when she was in the city, surrounded by people who could watch her while the ambulance was on the way. She was whisked to a hospital right away. The nurses could not get her blood test going… It was clotting too fast. She did not have any DVT, just a clot in her lungs. Of course she had been put on warfarin shots… She does not want to drop out of her classes and is fighting for good grades. We told her to heck with classes… Nope.
Too many providers prescribe BC as if it is a sugar pill. It is not. For the people who have blood clotting disorders and PCOS, BC pills can be deadly and should never be prescribed in the first place. I was shocked to find an entire Reddit forum devoted to PE, and there are so many young (under 25 posters) who had it. Awful!
That’s terrible, Bunsen! I didn’t know that happened. I’m glad she is recovering.
C3B- Have a good Big race!
We are heading to NC for my daughter’s goal half-ironman tri. The event’s food truck cancelled, so we will have to bring our own food/drinks in for the long day. I plan to run 10 miles while she does her bike leg, if all works out well. I think I can get out on the run course and not be in anyone’s way and be finished before any athletes hit the run. It’s in western North Carolina and will be cooler and pretty.
I must have been too distraught and forgot to say why I was so frazzled last week… Yeah.
C3B, have a speedy and fun race!
Happy racing to your daughter, MOfWC!
@BunsenBurner – hope your niece makes a smooth recovery and also hope your hip thing is on the route to recovery as well. Too much happening at once in your neck of the woods.
Hopped in the pool today for a short swim and realized it’s getting easier and easier. I was listening to NPR Science Friday while grooming the dogs before I went swimming, and they had this discussion of the physics of swimming: http://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-physics-of-the-fastest-swim-strokes/ . So I tried swimming with my hands open and my fingers slightly spread–and it was much more relaxing and I felt smoother, too. No idea if I was actually any faster, but I loved losing the tension in my hands.
Thanks, all! Fingers crossed that things will be on the mend from here. Niece perked up when I mentioned shoe shopping this weekend.