New PRs!

I fell off the posting wagon, but I'm back with good news and bad news. The good news is that I have 2 new PRs under my belt! I've been working on upping my mileage, and I think it's been totally beneficial to my pacing. If you aren't doing tempo runs and speedwork, you're missing out! I've been following the advice of a fellow blogger and runner - here - and trying to train in a smarter way. If you are doing all your runs at breakneck speed, you might want to read what she has to say. I've read this advice in multiple reliable sources, and I'm convinced that slowing down has helped me speed up- as counterintuitive as that may sound.

On to the PRs! I ran my second half marathon on March 20, and set a new PR by 11 minutes! My new record is 2:18:xx. Is it bad that I can't remember the second count? I guess that's what happens with more races under my belt. I'll attempt a recap on here later this week. I will say that it was an incredibly tough course. I was forewarned, but I didn't think it could be any tougher than the Athens Half. Wrong! I swear it was endless hills. I didn't entirely enjoy it, and I would only run it again to see if I could best my time from this year.

My second PR was set 6 days after the half at a local 5k. I was told not to expect to PR in a race that close to a half, but I kicked ass! I beat my last 5k PR by 46 seconds, and I still felt a little sore from the half. My new record for 5k is 28:14! I managed to place second in my age group! This is why I love local races. I would never place in a larger 5k. To be fair, there were 10 ladies in my age group, so I think 2 out 10 isn't too bad. I think my goal of a 25:xx 5k may be possible this year, especially considering that my first 5k of the year was 31 minutes. I'm making fantastic progress.

Now for the bad news. I'm injured. It sucks. I'm in pain. I think the injury was caused by either too many track runs or too many treadmill runs. My self diagnosis is peroneal tendonitis. It started as a soreness on the outside of both ankles last week, which was after pulling 9 miles out on the treadmill. I'm convinced that my form is so horrible on the treadmill that I injure myself if I put too many miles on it. The pain wasn't enough to stop me from running 10 miles last week, though. I put in 3 easy on Monday and a 5 mile tempo on Wednesday. My ankles were sore after the tempo, so I took 2 solid days of rest. I was scheduled for 10 miles on Saturday, but I decided to push it off until Sunday and get in 2 easy miles to see how my ankles felt. I made it through the 2 miles, but I woke up yesterday to stiffness and a very painful right ankle. I currently have it wrapped and have been resting and taking Celebrex. I have a 5k this Saturday, and I was really hoping to get it in in 27:xx, but that is looking iffy now.