Gettin' ready for the Crim!

Gettin' ready for the Crim 10 mile next week! I'm excited as it is my first road race in over two months (the Warrior Dash was fun but not the same) and my first race over 3.1 miles. I wish it would have been today, but, alas, I must wait another week.

Did a 7 mile run today in a different direction than normal. I liked the loop I ran, though I did have a long stretch of sidewalk running. I don't like to run on concrete as I think it has less give than asphalt and wears legs out faster. I've heard other runners say the same, but I'm not sure if it really matters or if is just a mental thing. At least it was a fairly new and level sidewalk...

I ran ok. About a half mile into my run, I noticed that I had my tennis shoes and not my running shoes on. I felt good, but something just felt off. These tennis shoes are definitely not suitable for running, but I decided to press on. About 4 miles in, my feet felt like bricks. Hopefully, it will be like using a weighted ring on a baseball bat and it will help me later. :)

I didn't end up going quite as fast as I would have liked, but I think it was caution on my part not to hurt or strain anything before the Crim more than anything. While my legs were getting a little tired, I had lots left in the tank when I was done.

Not ever running a 10 mile race, I shouldn't make predictions or announce my goals publicly, but what the heck! If I go under 1:40 next Saturday, I'll give myself an 'A', under 1:45 a 'B', under 1:50 a 'C'. Anything over 1:53 or so would be a failure in my eyes, especially since I have done that just training. My plan is to establish a 9:30 min/mi pace and try to stick to it throughout. As I have never really done that before for that distance, I'm giving myself a little wiggle room. 1:40 is a 10 min/mi pace and if I can do that, I'd be really happy.