Expert running advise

Thanks for these great tips, Kate!

1. Don't forget to stretch:

2. Let nothing stand in your way.

3. But don't be over-confident!

We have officially seen the close of the cross country season with the final Awards Banquet held at the coach's house.

Daniel and Coach Nelson.

Daniel received the "Rookie of the Year" Award!

One last shot of those crazy guys.

Inverness Jingle Bell 5k

Ran the Jingle Bell 5k in Inverness today. It was nice and cool but the sun was shining enough to get a big sweat going!
3 Gandees ran this race today: Me, Daniel(14) and Jaret(11)
Jaret did a great job on this tough course with a time of 27:05. He has only been running steadily for 2 weeks for this race. He did awesome!
Daniel was 1st place in his age group and had a good time with his cross country buddies.(and he refuses to let me get any pictures!!)
I was the 3rd overall female to come in and also the first female over 40 to come in so that means I was the Master Female Winner. Yippee! This was my course record at 22:32.

Mom and Jaret

Some friends...

One of my faithful running partners, tina.

Connie and Brooke

Joanne and Connie

Jacqueline...Kerri...Chloe! We missed you!

Half Marathon

Up at 5am, meet up with the gilrs, drive to Gainseville, a bit nippy....very tired.

We made it to the Tom Walker Half Marathon and we had a great time. (I don't know who Tom Walker is)

Kerri and I both grabbed third place in our age goups. Jacqueline had an awesome run as well and was fourth(we're in the same age group) We all made it in less than 2 hours!

Here we are:

Kerri, Jacqueline and Me(post run and looking it)

Jacqueline's daughter, Chloe, is running the state meet today in Dade City! She's only in 8th grade and is the top runner in our county and is ranked pretty darn high in the state!

13.1, here I come.

Today I ran my first 11 miles. It was grueling. Jacqueline and I started out a bit faster than usual and we were certainly toast by the end of it. We're shooting for the half-marathon coming up in 3 weeks. Our goal is to knock this thing out in 2 hours. We shall see...

I beat the Sheriff! But I did not beat the deputy...

Do you just love this guy!!

What a gorgeous morning for a race! It was nice and cool and about 250 people came out in support of Jessie's Place again this year. I think this is my favorite race in Citrus County. Maybe because it's 5 minutes from my house right there at the courthouse and there are real bathrooms available. I like that. I just love the whole small town feel around the courthouse, seeing all the familiar faces-young and old alike.
I wasn't really sure how it would turn out for me today but I was pleased. I did get my best time at 21:35 and I did get1st place in my age group. I was the 6th female overall, but most importantly I finally caught up to a friend of mine who I've been chasing for a few years! We had a good laugh about it. She knows it's been a big goal of mine to pass her up but I won't get used to it. She said now she's really going to train. Another tidbit...she ran 4 miles before showing up for the race this morning....ugh. So did I really beat her?!?!
I wish I had some pictures to post of the races but it seems so vain to ask someone to take my picture! Oh well.
Congratulations to Tina for beating her time and getting 2nd place in her age group!! Hooraa!
While I was at the Sheriff race, Daniel was running at his Cross Country Meet. He got his best time as well: 18:54! That's crazy! He ran for the varsity team today and I think that made him go faster! You rock, Dan!

New Shoes!

Yippee!! My feet will be so pleased! I got a pair of Asics Gel Equation 2. Such fancy names! They were on sale for 50 bucks, normally 70. Can't wait to break 'em in!

Red Mule Labor Day 5k

Was that Daniel??? He's a blurr in blue shorts! 1st mile down.

Coming in around the 2nd mile...got him this time.
Finally...through the shoot at 20:20. Didn't beat his best time of 19:29 but he's going to be working hard at it now that Cross Counrty has begun!
This is Jaret, Daniel and Ben, a friend on the team.

Great job, Ben for his sub 19:00! (Ben's a senior!)

Just a note...the first overall male--an insane 15:33!!

Feet Soaking

I ran 4 miles today after taking a whole week off completely. I'll be heading to the mall soon to get those new shoes that I need so desperately and in the meantime I decided my feet needed a break. The top of my foot still hurts a bit even after all this time. I'm going to try to soak my feet in ice water after my runs to see if that helps at all. I find the ice water to be extremely painful and hate it!
The run today was a treadmill run. Tropical Storm Fay is blowing through this week and she forced me onto the belt! Did a nice, easy run.
I don't think I'm going to be ready for my 5k next Saturday that's on the calendar. I had to skip the last one! I'm not too happy about it all but I really need to listen to poor, neglected body!
God is good...I still have a body to listen to, eh?

I desperately need new shoes. I've got well over 800 miles on my current Asics. I should be ashamed of myself. I know that this only increases my chances of injury. As it is, my feet have been so sore and feeling like somebody stomped on the top of my foot. I've been running my regular courses and mileage so I guess it's my poor tortured Gel Kayano 13s that are begging me to give them a much needed retirement. Replacing them is the issue at the moment. I don't want to grap up any old sneaker from Walmart(which is actually all I can afford!!) so I've been looking for some good deals online for my current shoe. Meanwhile, I've taken off a couple days to give my Barney Rubble feet a break!

Finding it hard to post about my runs!

What else can I say?! All is well. My feet are still attached to my ankles. My knees are still in their right place. My hips are working. I'm blessed beyond all measure!
It's hot and it's been raining every day! So the runs have been a little bit tricky to squeeze in. I had to hit the treadmill once and I'm not a big fan. So I chose to try some hills-my legs were rubber the next day. I've definitely got to do more hills!
I think I'm due for some new shoes! I have 739 miles on my Asics. Oh boy.

Great race--

Daniel and I ran the Scope it Out for Colon Cancer 5k today in Lecanto. It was a very well put together race. There 300 people there, walkers and runners. Great food afterwards and plenty of water. The course ran around the buildings out at the Lecanto school complex. Some slight hills, just enough to make me scream.

I didn't take my camera. Dummy....

Anyway, Daniel beat his time with a 19:29 which gave him first in his age group and 6th overall. That's amazing. I also beat my time with a 21:49 for 1st place in my old lady group. I was the 4th overall female to cross the line, which I was thrilled about. But what I was most excited about was passing up an old friend just for a second but then she passed me up a second later. I've been chasing her for a few years! Well, this was the closest I've come anyway!

Time for a nap!

Still putting one foot in front of the other...

Well, I guess I'm just too busy running to blog about running...
I've been running about 20 miles a week lately. I've been trying to us a Spring Training Schedule by Hal Higdon which would have me running up to 30 miles per week with an 8 mile long run on the weekend. I can't seem to get beyond the 20!! Something always gets in the way! Life, kids, school...oh well. What can ya do? This is why there's a bunch of 60 year olds out there running marathons! Their kids are all grown and gone and they have the time!
So, I'll be running a 5k next Saturday in Lecanto. That's the plan. Trying to beat 22:23!

Shamrock-Tough Run-22:21

I can't believe the number of people that came out for the race today. Even a three-legged dog joined the 318 runners. And what a wide range of folks aged from 8 to 80. It's so fun to see the familiar faces out for the runs in this small town and to cheer each other on.

We're so proud to report that Daniel set a goal and surpassed it. He was shooting for 20 minutes but instead ran it in 19:30 and he won first in his age group. He was the 11th runner to cross the finish line out of 318 people!

Here he is with Dad and a friend from his track team who won third in the same age group. Dan beat his time by 2 minutes and set a new personal record and was very pleased. He's looking to up his weekly miles soon...maybe a marathon in the future!

Jenny's one our faithful Sunday morning running buddies. She was there when I started this whole running thing. I've learned so much from her and she has been an awesome motivator! She just had a baby 4 months ago and still kicks butt. Awesome race, Jen.Jenny and her little guy.

Here's the clan. But check out Suzie on the left! She's over 80 and still going strong and she always has the most festive outfits! Here's the gold! Daniel and I placed first in our age groups. My time was 22:21-a personal best! It was a great course. Some slight hills that felt like mountains because of the pace I was moving. I hit the first mile at 7 minutes. I thought, "Oh no, I went out way too fast." But my goal was to get this done in 22:30 so a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. The rest of the day I was a worthless bag of rags. I slept, slept and slept some more. Totally spent...good stuff.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

The Shamrock 5k is Saturday, March 15th! I love the countdown to a good race. Kate,watcha doin'?! Are ya coming? Dan and I are hoping to break some personal records on this one. Daniel will be out there, too. Tomorrow he has his first real track meet and he's been running most days for a while now so he should do great. I hear the schools are sending out alot of younger kids, too. It should be a great crowd. The energy is really great when there's lots of folks out. Hope it's not COLD!!

8 1/2 miles?

Whoa,

Jenny, Jacqueline and I ran 85 minutes this morning! I'm not sure why but we did it! The plan is usually to get out there and do 6 or 7, but my schedule said I should do 80 minutes today so that was the goal. After all, it's on the schedule...it needs to be checked off. We decided to follow the 2.4 mile trail at the end to reach our goal but ended up at 8.4 miles instead. Man, the last 5 minutes were pretty tough. My hands were beginning to tingle and my knee was beginning to talk to me. Not screaming at me yet but wanting to be heard. It was a great run, but next week I think we'll take it a little easier. Great run girls!! And even greater chattin'!

Hubby's a running fool!

Well, Dan and I ran 7 miles at the park Sunday morning. That was the longest run we've ever run together and it was great. He's definitely going to beat his 5k time at the Shamrock in March! We may do the Chinsegut 5krun in Brooksville coming up on the 16th. I hear they give out unique prizes instead of medals. I'd love cash, that works.

took a break...feels good

I've noticed something this week. Since taking almost a whole week off last week in DC, I feel like my runs this week have been really great. I haven't really gone any faster or longer, nothing different. It just seems like the runs have felt very refreshing and energetic. I guess I stored up lots of energy even though we walked miles and miles in DC!
Anyway, feeling good and working on an 8 week 5k program to get me ready for the upcoming Shamrock 5k in beautiful downtown Inverness!

Katy, come on up!!

My Dear Husband is after me!!

Dan has been running his heart out for the past few weeks and he's not going to stop until he catches me!! He's been using a Hal Higdon 5k schedule, building up his weekly mileage and increasing his long runs. He's running 5 miles for his long run and logging 15-20 miles per week! His 5k time is getting better every time he runs! Next week he's going all out and running 6 miles for his long run. It's been fun to run with him again. But if I'm not careful, he'll pass me up and we can't have that!