In the meantime, I worked on finding a strength-training program I'd like and seriously considering my options for running in the winter. After a long talk with the hubby, he convinced me that it was worth our money to buy me a treadmill. Plus, if I spent the money on it, he knew I'd feel too guilty not to use it. I'm an accountant - I hate wasting money. So when I buy something, I always try to get my money's worth out of it, and I'm assuming he knew a treadmill wouldn't be any different. :o) Sneaky sneaky....
Saturday was my birthday (we won't get into how old or young I turned!), and by some miracle, my husband actually had the day off, so we were able to spend the whole morning and afternoon together before I had to head to a volunteer event in the evening. (Yes - I know. But at the time I volunteered for the event, I didn't know the date of it was going to be on my birthday! Haha!) Anyhow - I digress. We slept in (since I run in the evenings, this isn't an issue!), and then headed to a casual lunch of my choosing. After lunch, we decided to head across the street and check out the treadmills. Just to see what was out there.
An hour later, we were heading home with my birthday present - a floor model treadmill for less than half of the original price. Now, I'm the type of person who commonly has buyer's remorse - or more accurately, buyer's freak-out. When I make bigger purchases, I tend to start second-guessing myself the minute I walk out of the store or the second the loan agreement is signed. I can't help it. I'm a worrier. I wouldn't say I'm pessimistic - just unreasonably aware of ALL the things that could potentially go wrong with EVERYTHING. And then they keep me awake at night and stressed out during the day. So I think the bigger the purchase, the more magnified my freak-out. So I had my freak-out, but after a great deal of elbow grease, sore muscles, and scuffed walls, the treadmill made it safely into the basement. Whew.
Now just to find out how well it works and how well I like it. Today happened to be a rather nice day though, so I wasn't going to stay inside and run just because I wanted to try it out. So I laced up those shoes and headed out the door, happy to be back on the trail after my week of rest. I'm not going to lie - I started out too fast after taking a break, and my splits showed it. Each of my 3 miles got increasingly slower. Overall, though, my time wasn't too bad - I still averaged exactly 10 minutes per mile for the 5k route I ran, so I couldn't be too disappointed. The disappointment is in the fact that my foot still hurts now that I started running again. I'm sitting here with my trusty ice pack on it right now, hoping that I didn't start up again too early. I guess I'll see how it feels tomorrow!
By the time I got back home from my run, it was after 7:30pm and pretty dark (how depressing - I loved the nights where I could start my run at 8:00pm and it wasn't even dark by the time I was done). I was starving, and my husband would be coming home from work pretty soon. After a birthday weekend, I was actually craving something light and healthy. Hmmm....that screams fish in my mind!!! As much as I never used to eat fish, I've come to embrace it. Not only is it healthy with all the protein and omega 3's, etc., but it's light, and oh so quick in the oven compared to meats and chicken. I consulted my golden recipe box of healthy recipes on Pinterest and in my Weight Watchers cookbooks I'd purchased, and decided on Tilapia Oreganata (except I only had cod - good enough!). Here is the link to the recipe: Broiled Tilapia Oreganata
Now, my fish did not looks anything at all like the fish in the recipe's picture. Here's mine:
Not nearly as cute or fancy looking. However, my husband and I were very pleasantly surprised. This was great! And tons of flavor! It quickly made its way onto the "make again" list of new recipes. So I guess it doesn't have to look good to taste good. :o)
It may have been yet another long crazy day, but I still managed a pretty successful run and a great-tasting dinner (even if we did eat it at 9:15pm). And I got a nice little confidence booster today when I returned a call from a friend who'd left me a voicemail during my run. I called her back and apologized for missing her call, explaining that I was out running at the time - and in response, she proceeded to tell me how proud she was of me for doing this and really sticking with it. That certainly brought a smile to my face and was something I needed to hear today!
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