Track and Field Blogs - Melissa White

Well I'm back from Japan and training in Michigan again. We have had some great training during the last several months. After Houston we went down to Florida for a week. This was a nice mental break from the the winter mix in Michigan, and it was a chance for us to really see where our fitness levels were. Florida really helped our confidence because once we got some clear footing and a little sunshine our workouts really picked up. A few of us ran a 3k at the beginning of February. I can't remember being so nervous for a race. I haven't raced indoor since college and I really couldn't even remember what a 3k felt like. My PR in college was 9:50 for the 3k and I really had no idea what to expect so when I ran 9:10 at Grand Valley I was pleasantly surprised. It was nice to see that I actually have some speed left in my marathon legs. After the 3k I took off for Japan to run with Desiree Davila, Carrie Messner, Allison Grace, Samia Akbar, and Stephanie Herbst Lucke. I was glad to be part of the final Yokahama Ekiden and get another experience to race internationally. I think my decision to skip a marathon this year has definitely worked out to my advantage because it has allowed me work on the shorter distances without trying to recover from the marathon distance. I just feel better while training in general and i'm feeling stronger during workouts and everyday runs. I feel like I am finally accomplishing some of the goals I have been thinking about for a long time. It feels great to be setting PR's in the shorter distances again and it makes me excited for my upcoming events. We will be off to the Gate River 15k and the Stanford 10k in March.