One shoe.

I wanted to buy one shoe today, but I knew that would be impossible. After so many months of limping, I noticed that my left running shoe looks almost new, and my poor right shoe is completely flat. It died. There's no way to replace one shoe at the Boulder Running Company, so I had to purchase a new pair. I ended up with some Adidas, which kind of disappointed me. I hate Adidas, simply because I think their products generally suck, but hopefully the shoes will last longer than their socks. I once bought Adidas socks, and my cheap generic socks lasted several years longer than the "Three Stripes" brand. I'm rolling my eyes, in case anyone was wondering. I think I went three months with those socks before they were too full of holes to be of any use. At least the shoes are comfortable.

While I was shoe shopping, I took a look at the running shorts. I'm in desperate need of new running attire, as I'm getting a reputation for wearing what my friend calls Heinous Wear, by Lize. I tend to wear what's comfortable, even if it's pajama bottoms that are more holes than material, cut to make shorts. I couldn't believe the "running" clothing available though. Where are the 80's style, totally old school running shorts? I don't want zippers, draw strings, pockets, triple layers or a skirt. God, who the fuck runs in a skirt? OK fine, it's a fashion statement, but how uncomfortable. It's shorts with an extra layer of material over the front. What's the use in that? No thank you. I'll take a simple pair of running shorts. Oh that's right- they no longer exist! CRAP!! I'm thinking a trip to a used clothing store is in order. grrr.

Speaking of shopping, I tried on this ultra sexy, chic white and black striped dress at Goldmine. It was a tad too form fitting, but man, it was HOT! I was thinking maybe I might be able to pull it off, and then I exhaled. Oh yikes! I'm really impressed and glad that some people can feel comfortable enough to buy something like that anyway, but I couldn't do it. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me, but I couldn't see myself either sucking in my belly all day or letting it protrude for everyone to see. Maybe I needed the next size up or something. Unfortunately, the only size available was small, so I will never know. All that stuff about horizontal stripes making you look fat wasn't true in this case. Not buying the dress had nothing to do with the stripes. It was simply too tight. Sigh.

I ran up NCAR road this morning, and then about died in a harder bike session. I was having one of those days where I wasn't convinced that I wanted to do anything hard. I kept wondering if I could get through what I had planned. I did, but just barely. It was a sloppy, difficult mess. My mind was a million miles away, and my bike started squealing, which was horribly annoying. I think it might need some oil or something. I've had it since high school. There's paint all over it, and I have to tape my feet to the pedals, because the clips fell off long ago. Also, my shorts kept slipping, making my underwear go up my ass. This sucks when running, but with biking, it's downright distressing. I got through though, and I'm calling the trip on foot up the road my first real run, even though I was still wearing the brace.I even passed an older guy on his bike. He was super nice, and told me I was looking good. I'm out of shape for running, but I can sense some fitness in there from all the biking.

I'm in a complaining mood today, even though things are going pretty well in my life. I generally don't read too many blogs, especially running blogs, but there are a few really good ones out there. 80 out of 100 running blogs read like this: I got up, ate a banana, and put on my shoes. On my run, I felt OK. The first mile was hard. During mile two, I saw a squirrel.  <------------------- (this is an exciting and quite unexpected addition to the norm. Hooray for the squirrel making things less dull!) Then I got a side stitch. It hurt. Blah blah. Speaking of squirrels, last year I swear there was a squirrel conspiracy. They were out to get me! Twice I almost got bombarded by pine cones "falling" out of trees RIGHT as I was running underneath. I looked up to see a squirrel, sitting smugly BOTH times. Oh I am onto those little critters. Randomly falling pine cones, my ass. I know what's going on here. Books on anorexia can also read like a diary: Tuesday I ate a carrot. Wednesday I ran five miles, and then I ate a pea for lunch. I like more substance. I have no idea where my blog fits in. It often seems like a ton of "me, me, me" ramblings to me, but I'm hoping it's not a complete bore. Here's a blog I love. It's more than a running blog, for sure. I already mentioned the Angry Runner blog as a favorite, and there are quite a few others worth a look, but this is one I never get tired of reading:

Races Like A Girl 
Julie has it all- a great style, smart witty observations and the ability to keep anyone interested.

I shouldn't be so critical when it comes to running blogs. Sometimes even someone blogging like a diary can be interesting. I think it all depends on how it's written, what the deeper meaning is and how it relates to things outside running. By the way, I found this little "book" I had done when I was about 6 years old. I called it the dbook. I assume that because I was dyslexic, I couldn't decide between d and b, so I used both. On the cover is a cute little drawing with a lion on a hill and a few rabbits below. The story goes like this: One's (I think I meant once) a (I drew a lion, instead of spelling it out) was sitting on a hill. He had never seend land beefor. The hill was so hi he did not see land. The dbook end. haha. Oh shit, I was a messed up kid. I can't figure out what was going on in my head when I wrote that, because the lion was already on land. I must have imagined this lion looking out over the ocean or something, not realizing that there was flat land below. Who knows?? I have no idea why I mention this, but hopefully I have become at least a little bit better in the writing department.

Ahh well. I can't wait to get more fully back into running. I'm excited to see what I can do without the limiting pain. I have no idea when that will be, as my foot still gets swollen and sore at the end of the day. I'm now wearing tape, so that I can wear more normal shoes during the day. I was walking around a little bit like Frankenstein at first, but I'm getting the hang of it. Man, it does feel good to be in something other than running shoes! I'm not ready yet for sandals or heels, but hopefully that won't be too far off in the distance.