5k... 10k... I think I'm just cheap!

There are so many different 5k's (3.1) and 10k's (6.2) around that you could probably run one every weekend all year round. Every town has one and everybody and their brother runs them. I always see them, think about it and say to myself "why would I pay to run less than I do everyday?" Every running magazine, book and blog say it's a good idea and can give you insight into your training. The question is, if each one costs 20-60 dollars and your already training for halfs and fulls, is it really worth it to spend the money?
Sure, sweet medals are always a great thing. Finding a way to puke at 8 am on a Sunday is always fun. Getting there extra early so your not at the back of line or bump into everyone while your trying to sprint is lovely. These races always sound like fun. A 5k is pretty much a dead sprint. Go as fast as you can and pray you don't trip. I've done two 5k's, the first I was just barely running and it wasn't the sprint it would be now. It took me a little under 40 minutes and it was tougher than any of the three marathons I've participated in. Those 3 miles felt like an ultra and I felt so defeated at the end. I look back now and think that was a pretty big accomplishment. I had been running for only 3 months and most of that was run walking. It should have proved that I could handle what was to come. The second 5k I ran was bandit, the BAA 5k, 2 days before the marathon. Unofficial time was 21 minutes. I had taken my shakeout run of 3 miles and decided to do 3.1 more. I had to start at the back and spent most of those twenty+ minutes running on the grass trying not to knock people over. It was a really stupid idea but actually a ton of fun and a good practice for the marathon. I learned about cup carpets and weaving in and out of people. In my 3 marathons and 2 halfs I've consistently ran my 5k at about 26 minutes and 10k at about 45 minutes. These are at my marathon pace versus my sprint pace if I ran them alone. In a long distance race your 5k is your warm up so it's really not a good measure of your speed but knowing your split times (pace per mile) is always good.
These races are fun but they can add up. I run over 8 miles per day and maybe if I was loaded I would race every weekend. The other question is training schedule. If your supposed to run 12-15 miles on a Saturday or the race is on long run Sunday which can be up to 20+ what do you do? Do you run at some ungodly hour then head over to the race and finish out. Some of the point of running these miles is to get your body used to running these miles consecutively. You need to get your body used to running for hours at a whack. Splitting up the mileage is not always the best plan. Maybe this year I'll run one right after Paris or my fall marathon but probably not. I'm to cheap and it will be time to save up for my next full, which ever that may be... 95 days to Paris and a little less than 3 weeks until my half in NYC.