A Run For My Money

Starting the week after Christmas I began the search on Craigslist for a treadmill. I've wanted one for awhile for those freezing and/or snowy mornings when leaving the house to go for a run just seems like a really undesirable thing to do. I mean, when the thermometer reads "1" the motivation plummets and my cozy bed wins out every time. I had some birthday money to use, so it seemed the time to buy one. But I didn't have a lot of birthday money, not a lot at all, and I have made us a pretty tight 2011 budget to get rid of our debt. No, my new treadmill could not be a pricey treadmill.

As I looked, I was plagued by disappointment. Not surprisingly, because I have felt for a long time that listings on Craigslist are mostly huge ripoffs, people seem to think that used treadmills should cost only $20 less than they cost when they were purchased new. On the rare occasion that one would pop up in the reasonable range, I quickly discovered that I was not the only one seeking a reasonably priced treadmill. I was never the first to contact the seller, even if it had only been a couple of hours since the posting. OR if one that I could afford was actually still available when I contacted the seller, I would search the internet for reviews on the treadmill in question and I would discover why it was still available..."breaksdown," "cheap parts," "bad brand," and so on, so I let those go. I was so diligent! But then I got desperate.

This weekend I discovered a few in my price range. I made some phone calls, but no, they were all taken. Except for the last one. And it was close to home, even better! So I drove myself over to take a look and give it a little practice run. It was definitely ghetto, a little loud, but that was OK. For my price range I knew I wasn't going to be buying a "high performance" treadmill. Bottom line: It satisfied the basics. It functioned, it had an incline, it folded up for storage, it's top speed was fast enough, and it seemed like it would do the job. So I bought it on the spot. Oh, I am dumb! Yikes! Later in the night, when I was home and had a few moments for my brain to settle into the quiet of the evening, I realized that I had forgotten to do my search for treadmill reviews on this particular model. I kid you not, the very first review I read said, word for word, "If you find one of these for sale on Craigslist, DO NOT BUY IT." Sweet. Too late for that! I felt a little sick to my stomach.

BUT I had a good 3 mile run this morning on the DO NOT BUY IT treadmill. It's still loud, but it does work. As long as I don't pay attention to the fact that the speed monitor doesn't stay constant, rather, it fluctuates .5 up and down. I don't know what that means. I've never run on a treadmill that didn't stay put at one speed! Although I think it WAS staying put at speed; I didn't notice the actual machine slowing or speeding up, it was just some quirk on the monitor. So it might just mean that the pace per mile will be off a bit. Fun! What's a cheap treadmill without its quirks, am I right?

I finally made myself feel better by telling myself that as long as it works well for 2 months it will have been cheaper than 2 months of membership at the Y. But I sure hope it lasts longer than that! One day I will be able to afford a $2,000 Nordic Track treadmill, but for now I have my DO NOT BUY IT treadmill and I sure hope it gives me a run for my money!

**Who am I kidding, I probably will never be able to afford a $2,000 treadmill.**