Remember when I ran the Princess Half and felt disappointed when I only had a 22 second improvement over my Wine and Dine time? I’d been taking it way too easy and it showed. I vowed to start doing the work- speed work, that is- in order to run a faster race. Well, now I have something to show for five weeks of tempo runs (I tried 400s on the treadmill once before returning to my old favorite).
Last Sunday, I ran the Storm the Campus 10 miler at UCF and not only was it a PR (by default, since I’ve never run a race at that distance), but I also bested my Princess average pace per mile by almost a minute. My smile on Sunday was huge!
This race benefitted the Sport Business Club at UCF and for a small race (about 200) in its inaugural year, it was very well organized. Sara and I both plan to run it again next year.
“Do the work” was my mantra this month. 6am workouts during spring break, speedy treadmill runs while gabbing with friends at the gym, and my regular long runs with Sara.
My short-term goal is to chase Vic through the streets of DC. (Long term is still to best my current half PR but realistically, that isn’t happening until this fall.) The flip side of being determined to speed up in a short amount of time is that I’m now dealing with some mild shin splints. Ice, rest, and stretching are my friends this week as I look ahead to the AC half marathon on Sunday. My plan is to treat it like an easy training run, and racing is secondary to hanging out with my girls anyway.
Any recommendations for shin splints? I’m thinking about trying some KT tape. What should I pack for cold weather? Help a Florida girl out!
Well done! And, good luck in AC! Sorry about the shin splints…hope you find something that works. And as far as packing….LAYERS! Enjoy!
Wish I were going to see you, Megan! Thanks.
Congrats on the 10 miler – you rock and it’s definitely a fun distance! I can’t wait to see you this weekend and it’s not going to be THAT cold. I mean, there won’t be snow or anything, which is a bonus. 😉
PS – those shirts are AWESOME.
We layer up for 70 degrees, Mer! I will try to keep my mouth shut about it though, haha.
So excited!
Rock on! So happy for your PR! I really need to get back at the tempo runs and pushing my pace. I’m blaming it on the weather.
Hope your shin splints feel better soon, and have fun in AC! <3
Thank youuuuu!
I enjoy a tempo run on the treadmill because it means less time on the treadmill. 😉 I’d like to work more on the track style workouts though because I think that’s more beneficial but SO HARD.
I blame everything on the weather.
Awesome job, I love your message, to speed up you have to put in the work! And it worked for you! What great results!
Thanks!