Run in The Country

Lewis and I are in Sadler celebrating Christmas. We ran about 4 miles today. The weather was nice - lower 50s but it was really windy. It was a challenging run with several hills and lots of curves. Lewis enjoyed watching the geese coming off a pond as we ran by. Great scenery.
We both had a good run.

Time to really get back into shape this last month of training. Good luck everyone!

Jen & Lewis

12 Miles (Steven)

Felt good today. Weather was good. I was ready to try my new shoes, Asics Gel Nimbus 12s on a long run. And, I had a Gu Gel 15 minutes before the run. It was kind of nasty and I had a couple of nasty burps through the first 5 miles, but I think it helped. I didn't have to take another one because I was feeling good. So, I completed 12 miles in 1:43:06 (8:35 per mile).

I was really happy with my time, and happy that my shoes worked out. I think this pair is the winner. I was also glad to get the run in before the Christmas festivities. I will be attempting 20 miles next weekend if the weather is OK. The marathon is creeping up. Craziness.

Back to the Pavement

I've taken a few weeks off due to my foot 'injury'. I saw a sports medicine doctor last Friday to take a look at my right foot. He basically said I have tendonitis due to lack of support under my arch. I think my right foot arch must be higher than my left.

I ran 3.2 miles in my new shoes (that I got before the 5K a couple of weeks ago). I like the new shoes. More support all the way around and more toe room at the ends. My foot felt okay, but not great. I think I will try the orthodics that the doctor recommended. Dr. Scholls, here I come! :) I also have a topical anti-inflamatory gel to put on my foot, and I think that's helping.

All-in-all, after 2 weeks off, my run went fine. I was concentrating on pacing and improving my running posture. My pace ended up being very close to my 5K pace, only, today, I ran my LAST mile faster than my first 2. That's what pacing's all about! I ran that 5K so fast in my 1st 2 miles that my last mile took almost 15 minutes! And, I felt horrible at the end. Today, I feel fine...definitely like I could've kept going.

I hope to get an 8 or 10 mile in next week. We'll see.....it still being a holiday week. Maybe we can get 6 in while we're in Sadler. I'll keep you posted.

5 weeks to go! Keep it up!

TODAY:
3.2 miles
36:45 (11:29/mile)

Jen

18 miles (Steven)

In order to prevent injury, I decided to stop my 18 mile run around 3 hours, so I stopped at 2:56:29 and when I got home and plotted the intricate GMAPS route, I found out I ran 18.02 miles. How's that for feeling out the course? So, my stats for my longest run so far is:

18.02 miles
2:56:29 (9:47/mile)

I left my IPOD at work, so I ran without out, and it wasn't too bad. I was able to zone out better. I ran with my old shoes today because my right foot arch had been hurting. The shoes worked great to not hurt my arch, but they hogged the ends of my feet too much. When I finished running, I had to walk about 1.5 mile back to my car and my left big toenail was killing me. It felt like I dropped a brick on my toe nail. I think I will purchase new shoes that are not stability (because that's what hurt my arch) and make sure the new shoes don't hog my toes too much. Check out the GMAPs link for my run. You probably need to zoom out to see the whole run. WOOHOO!!!

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4191414

5K Thoughts

Jen gave details of the race. I too started too fast. Mainly to get around everyone at the crowded beginning so as to not hurt myself. But I felt the rib tightness and had to let up a bit. Then I just cruised with a comfortable pace and about halfway through this woman passed me, so I decided to keep pace with her. When I got to the final leg I was running behind her and a fireman. I could have punched it and beat both of them, but I thought there was no point, and they did provide my pace. So, I finished behind the 1st place woman by 3 seconds! That was funny, but the number one guy was 18 minutes. I was happy to beat my personal best and get under 8 minutes a mile. I wasn't really tired afterward and the pancake breakfast and coffee was good. It was a fun race with great weather. I wore my old shoes today and didn't have much problems. I will be attempting a 18 mile run this weekend. Hope the foot heals fast for you Jen. Good job McCrays!

5K Race

Steven, Lewis & I ran a 5K race in Friendswood this morning. We were supposed to run a 10K Thanksgiving weekend, but they changed the date at the last minute & we were unable to run it, so we were ready to do a race! We ran this race last year in nasty, nasty weather (cold & sloshy/wet). This year, we ran in 65+ degrees and sunny. Actually, we all got a little bit hot about half-way through the race.

Steven & Lewis did great & beat their fasted times. Steven's pace was 7:48 a mile, which is awesome! (I hope he posts with his own account of the race!) He was 15th overall and, we think, 3rd in his age group. They only gave out top awards to top male & females in each age group & they still haven't posted results. Lewis ran his race in just under 30 minutes and did great. He was due for a long run this weekend, so he actually ran on home after the race (which was about 2 more miles). So, he got a semi-long run in this weekend...with a little breather between the 5K and the rest of his run.

Then, there's me. I was so dissapointed today. It's funny how your mentality about these races changes after you've been doing this for a year - you go from wanting to finish to wanting to improve your time or your pace or your mentality.... My goal today was to beat my own best time, but it didn't happen. Last week, I actually hurt my food during the end of my 10 mile run. It didn't bother me until the end of that run, and I just figured my feet were "tired". But, my shoes were shot and I couldn't even put them back on my feet all week. I bought new shoes on Monday, which seemed to work okay today during the race. But, my foot started hurting pretty badly in the last mile. It hurt more and more as I continued....and I was tired because I started too fast. It just wasn't a good combination.

I ran my first mile in 9 1/2 minutes - my fastest mile EVER. I was at 20:15 at mile 2. Fatigue and my foot kicked in just after mile 2 and I finished with a time of 35:14. 15 minutes on that last mile. So disappointing.

Lessons learned - wear good shoes, don't start too fast, pacing, pacing, pacing. I thought this race would be a breeze since I'm capable of running 10 miles now. But, it wasn't easy. It was a race....I forgot to pace myself. I ran with a hurt foot. And, I finished with a time I wasn't thrilled about. BUT, I finished and the race environment was lots of fun, like always! So, that part was AWESOME!

On another note, Steven won a door prize! I joked just before they drew his name. The drawing was for a gift card to, what we thought was a hair salon. I said, "watch Steven, you'll win this one!" The guy drew the name - "Steven Magsig" - everyone sitting at our table was cracking up since I had just made that comment. It turns out this place is actually a day spa and I think Steven needs to send Lisa down for a spa day after her crazy Christmas work schedule is done! That'll be fun!

Well, we got a race in. Great job, Steven & Lewis & I'm glad I ran and finished. I'll keep you all posted with my foot. I will probably head to the doctor this week because I don't know what's wrong & I can't self-diagnose. I need to find out if I need to take some time off or if I need to work through it. We'll see!

Happy running! -Jen

5K Results:
Steven - 24:12
Lewis - 29:55
Jen - 35:14