May Running Recap

If you've ever lived in Florida, you'll know that May is the unofficial start of summer. Some parts of the US are still worried about snow but we're all ready to wrap up the running season. I still have the runDisney virtual shorts to do this summer but May saw my last official road race until September.

So the first weekend in May saw the Eat My Crust 5k. It was a really pretty point to point course with a pizza theme and an awesome spinning pizza medal. I didn't PR but I did have a really strong race. It was a lot of fun and I celebrated by going out for allergy pizza for dinner with some friends that evening. I would definitely run it again.

The next weekend, I ran a great 8 miles. I switched to a 45 45 interval instead of my usually 60 30 and it really helped me handle the heat and humidity. I love running when I feel strong and this was definitely one of those runs. It was also great running just for the love of it and not for any specific training plan.

Then, I got the itch to run a Spartan obstacle course race so I started training right away. Obstacle course races are a whole different animal. I knew that I had some serious weaknesses in the strength department so I got working on upper body strength and grip strength. I also decided to run the causeway for my long run since, even in Florida, Spartan seems to find some hills for its courses. We also went hiking at a local park so I could get some off road experience.

I finally officially registered for a Spartan Sprint race (3-5 miles 20+ obstacles) and kept upping my strength training. Will and I decided to go to Trinity Fitness, a faith based gym that offers CrossFit style workouts. I cut way back on my strength training when I started seriously training for races last summer and even though I tried to take it easy, the workout really kicked my butt. I only had to run 6 miles Memorial Day weekend, but my legs were very sore from weighted squats and it wasn't a great run.

I'm really excited for the different training the Spartan race is going to make me do. As a new runner, I definitely need to focus on running for the 2018/2019 running season but I am really excited to see what new challenges my body can handle. My summer goal is to stay 10k ready (6-8 mile long runs) but to really focus on upper body strength and doing more adventurous/fun work outs once a week.