I need new running shoes!

I picked up Donna Marie around 8, and we headed out to Smithville. It's the LAST LONG RUN (or walk) before the KC 1/2 Marathon! So, Bill, Kim, Donna (my momasita) and I all hit the trail. Side note - the paved trails in Smithville are SO nice! The one we were on today ran along the lake, for the most part, with a mile or so stretch winding through the camp sites. It was another gorgeous fall morning, and the smell of campfires (and food) made me want to go camping!
I decided at the start today that I would run each mile, and walk for 1 minute at the next mile marker. We were planning to run 10 miles. That shouldn't be a big deal at this point in the training, provided you've actually been doing all the training. I have not. My last long run was the one I blogged about weeks ago, and it was 9 miles. I haven't run more than 4 since then. Ok, anyway, I didn't expect great things today, but started out nice and easy. The first mile passed really quickly, then 2, then 3...this was going great. I couldn't believe how good I was feeling. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop - it never did. I had an absolutely great run. I felt strong throughout, and my time per mile was dropping the longer I ran. We ran an out n' back, so I got to see Bill and Kim on my way back and chatted with them a little bit. Seemed like we were all having a pretty good day. I finished the big 10 and ended up back at the car for some water/cliff bar. I walked back into the trail, thinking I would run into Bill and Kim...nope, didn't see them. So, I headed back toward the car again. I came up on this fella messing with the wheel on his bike. As it turned out, the tire was overlapping his wheel. I offered to help and since we were so close to my car, we just went over to the car so I could get my bike pump. I ended up changing his tire for him. His wife came up as we were working on the wheel...she was nice too. I told them they need to come visit me at Epic.

After the tire changing, I walked back into the trail. Finally - I saw Kim, Bill and Mom off in the distance. Bill and Kim had gone back to walk with mom. So, we all ended up walking back to the car together. A good job by all!

Oh yes, and to the comment on "I need new running shoes"...my knees were really tight as I was running. That's not normal for me, so I started pondering why they felt that way. It hits me - I've had these shoes since before the St. Louis Marathon! That mean - at a minimum - I've run 2 marathons in them! Ok, time for new shoes!