Do you belong to USAT?

[HillSlugger]

I joined when I decided to register for a second USAT triathlon since it was hardly more than 2 single day memberships. Turns out the thing that has made it a good cost measure is their group discount rate for hotel reservations.

[Lise]

Hey, KN! I do belong to USAT. It feels good to support the organization. As Tri Girl said, the magazine is somewhat crappy, but they're working on improving it. As I'm looking at cost-savings measures, I've stopped subscribing to Triathlete, so this is my only tri publication.

I'm racing far less this year, and I may go back to just paying for the one day membership when I do race. But I think the insurance alone sounds like a good idea for you you to join.

[KnottedYet]

I joined, and I also applied for the athlete's accident insurance. The event coverage is part of the membership, so I'm covered there. Doubly-covered, cuz I'll also have the athlete ins on event days.

That athlete accident insurance kicks in July 1. which is also when I hope my catastrophic medical coverage starts. (the stuff that specifically says it WON'T cover sports training or events)

Meanwhile, I'm still afraid to train for my tri until I have some ins. Guess I'll just walk the dog until July 1? Can I be ready for the tri with only 6 weeks to train?

If not, I'll just volunteer.

All of this could've been avoided if my former employer would have let me buy COBRA or if they'd told me they wouldn't sooner than my next-to-last day at work. Or if I'd just been pragmatic and when they kept saying "oh, we haven't found out yet if we can let you buy it or not" if I'd've just got on the stick right then and found my own insurance, pre-existing conditions and all.

[Tri Girl]

Meanwhile, I'm still afraid to train for my tri until I have some ins. Guess I'll just walk the dog until July 1? Can I be ready for the tri with only 6 weeks to train?

Sounds kinda crappy of your former employer- and even crappier that your insurance doesn't cover sports training or racing. Geez- could insurance cover us any less??? I'm glad you have the extra insurance for that very reason.

And yes, 6 weeks to train will be plenty of time!!! Surely you can still run and swim during June, but the bike is probably the biggest liability when it comes to risking injury. Can you ride the trainer or stationary bike in the meantime?

[tangentgirl]

All of this could've been avoided if my former employer would have let me buy COBRA or if they'd told me they wouldn't sooner than my next-to-last day at work.

Is that legal? I thought employers had to let employees buy COBRA on the way out the door. Maybe it's different by state? That doesn't sound legal, although cobra's no picnic - it's super expensive, but still. </ot>

Safer ways to train while you wait for your insurance:

• Spin Class (no cars!)
• Run on a track (no cars!)
• Swim in the pool, not the open water (no sharks!)
• Run on a treadmill at the gym (no cars or sharks!)
• Bike on a protected path, if you have one nearby

Oh, and I think you can apply the one-day license from races in the past year to your new USAT membership. Don't know if it works retroactively, but perhaps you can do that in the future, if the opportunity arises.