The Whole Half - Week 12

Well, folks, the insanity has begun. If my blog posts start to get boring and I cite references within my stories (Matchell, 2004), you'll know that grad school has taken over my life and the Corrie you used to know no longer exists. She will have been replaced by a technically correct, APA following robot. But for now, I'm still here! My first class started today, which means that I completed the first part of my assignment last Saturday as soon as I had access to the course materials. Don't make fun of me, there are reasons behind my overachieving! First, I want to get ahead now so that if/when I fall behind I have a buffer zone. I know me, eventually I'll get lazy and not want to work for a day or two .. or seven. The buffer allows me some guilt-free relaxation time when life gets overwhelming. Second, I'm not too familiar with how this whole online class thing works and I wanted to make sure I had a chance to read every bit of material before jumping into this course. Third, I'm a nerd and I'm super excited about learning! You can make fun of me for that; I'll allow it. I'll keep you all updated regarding my master's progress. But now onto the running fun!

My knee was still acting up last Sunday, so I only ran 3-4 miles instead of my long run of 7. I was discouraged and concerned about that, because I didn't want to get set back when I was making such great progress toward my goal. So I buckled down and found exercises that were supposed to help my knee. I rubbed Tiger Balm all over my knee, I took ibuprofen every day, I iced that sucker every time I sat down, and I taped it up even when I wasn't running. The thought occurred to me that maybe my knee was mad at me because I was only running long runs once a week and had (more or less) given up on my short runs throughout the week. So I took to the road Tuesday afternoon for a short run. Tuesday was a beautiful day. It was sunny and around 50 degrees. Perfect weather for a run.

After the run I was feeling super productive so I jumped in my car to run a few errands. While I was out I decided to stop by Red Coyote Running and Fitness. Seriously, guys, this place is awesome! They were voted as one of the top four running stores in the country. That's legit. Confession - I still feel self conscious around other runners. I'm pretty sure that people look at me and think, "What is she doing in here? She's not a real runner. Just go get your shoes at Payless. You disgrace the name of running with your bad form and your slowness. Only we cool runners belong here." And I know that's just my crazy acting up, but it's how I feel ... usually. But the sweet sales girl at Red Coyote didn't look at me like I was crazy or a loser even once! Not even when I told her that the socks I got for Christmas were "Ball - go" Socks. She just thought really hard and said, "Oh, Balega? Ok!" Yeah, I felt dumb. Anyway, I ran on the treadmill where they analyzed my gait (awful, please don't ever show me running in slow motion on a big screen TV!) and suggested some good shoes for me. I tried them on, found a pair I liked, and before I knew it THESE  were in my possession!

She also suggested another kind of sock that might help with my blisters, so I bought them too. Christine, I still like the socks you got me better, even if I didn't know how to pronounce them! These new ones feel like straight jackets for your feet! Not only did I get an awesome pair of new shoes, but I also got 10% off because I used my Keep It Local card. Awesome deal, huh? Yeah, it was. I saved more on that purchase than the card cost me. I love Oklahoma City!

My new shoes are supposed to help counteract my pronation, so running yesterday with them (and my straight-jacket socks) felt very different. I'm pretty sore today, but it's that kind of sore that lets you know you did something right. It's a good sore. I'm hoping that once I get used to these shoes my blisters will subside and I'll be an all-around more awesome runner than I am right now. Who knows, maybe my knee pain will go away too. Crazier things have happened! I'm looking for new routes to run around the OKC area that minimize the danger of being mugged or run over, so if you have any good suggestions, throw them my way. Until then...