Cooler weather, new shoes, training for the 10 miler and goals

There are only 82 days 'til the 10 miler! Every time I think about this upcoming race, I get butterflies in my stomach. Some friends of mine who are runners, some of which have run this race before, have offered a variety of advice. I am sorting through their advice and what I am researching as well. In addition to the physical preparation left in the coming weeks of training, I still need to tackle the mental battles of the training and the race. My mind is my most challenging battlefield.

I am up to 10Ks in my long runs and totals between 12-15 miles per week. I miss running on the trails where the miles are clearly marked. However, because I have been running early in the AM (starting between 5:30-6 AM) I do not feel safe running alone on the trails through the wooded areas. I have been sticking to a fairly busy and well-light road with sidewalks. I like the relative coolness of the AM runs (this morning it took me 45 minutes to lose the red-faced look & feeling from the 73 degree 10K run.) I like the summer sunrises before 6 AM but I will also be glad to get back to the 45 degree and below winter days! I am very thankful for these past weeks with many days of temps below 90 degrees.

My dh got me a gift certificate to the local running shop so I could purchase new shoes. I have began running last August in a pair of leftover, many years old cross trainers that I picked up at Sam's Club. Months later after a couple of 5Ks, I purchased my first pair of shoes just for running--a pair of men's Reeboks for $17 from Sam's Club. Now I have a pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus 10. They are very nice although it took me several days to get over the sticker shock. I have NEVER paid that much for a pair of shoes before. I know I need good shoes for running.

My goals to accomplish prior to the 10 miler:
1. Drop another 8-15 lbs(from my current 179) to make it easier on my joints
2. Run the race course in its entirety at least twice
3. Run a 5 mile race on July 19th in 58:00 or under (This will be my first race as a 45 year old---seems like the 45-50 year old women run faster than the 40-44 year olds ---go figure!)
4. Learn to pace myself better in the first 1-1.5 miles
5. Figure out what nutrition works for me best on race mornings
6. Run a regular 10:30 mile in longer runs--I am currently struggling to break the 11:15 mark.