Cod, Catfish and Jogging

When we looked through the cookbook, we saw a recipe that was based on cod. We haven't had cod in a while, so we put it on the menu. But I was in the mood for something different. When I went to the grocery store, I saw fresh catfish fillets. I bought some of each.

The side dishes were simple (steamed red quinoa, and a garlicky sauteed spinach.) I made a quick and easy pesto (2 Tablespoons dried basil, 1 clove garlic crushed, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 Tablespoons water.  Microwave for 1 minute and let it rest for 3-4 minutes.)

I rubbed the pesto on the cod and sprinkled a salt-free seasoning on the catfish (Penzey's Forward).  I heated my skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil and fried the fish about 4 minutes on a side.

It was an easy meal.  Everything was finished in the 15 minutes it took to make the quinoa.

Pesto Cod

Pan-Fried Catfish

That was the meal. But what about the jogging in the title of this post?  I am learning how to jog. Sounds crazy, right? What's to learn? Just go out and run low. It is as simple as that.

But for the longest time, I thought that I had no stamina to run. Signing up for the Bellin Run was an act of faith, because I wasn't able to run far at all. How was ever going to make 6.2 miles?

I was basing that opinion on faulty information. When I would take Ozzy for a walk, sometimes I woujld challenge him. We would run. Believe it or not, pugs can run pretty fast, and I was trying to keep up with him. I couldn't. I failed at it.

Then I tried to jog alone. Same result. Failed before I made it to the end of the block. Wow. The Bellin Run was going to be a fiasco. But yesterday I tried our treadmill. I set the speed at 5.5 mph and was able to stay on it for 0.4 miles. Today, at 5 mph I lasted 0.52 miles. My earlier problem was that I didn't know how fast I should be jogging. I was sprinting instead of jogging.

My point is if you want to extend your abilities, sometimes you need guidance and help. In my case, a simple treadmill was the answer. But don't assume that just because you can't do something right now, you will never be able to accomplish it. Time, practice, effort and learning the proper techniques will result in success!