Te’Shon Adderley is taking a break from running.

The Gophers senior has been training and competing since August, and earlier this month she placed fifth in the 800-meter run for the Bahamas, her home country, in the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Former Gophers teammates Alena Brooks and Todea-Kay Willis joined Adderley at the CACs in Mexico.

Brooks anchored the gold-medal winning 4×400-meter relay for Trinidad and Tobago and will advance to the World Championships in Moscow in August. Willis placed fifth in the long jump for Jamaica.

“I was glad to be able to compete for my country,” Adderley said. “I ran my second-fastest time for the season, so I was proud of myself.”

And after 11 months of work, the break will last all of two weeks before Adderley returns to her training regimen.

After her break is up, Adderley said she’ll return to running a mile a day until the cross country season starts.

The track and field star trained with the cross country team last fall and will continue this year. She said she’ll run at least a few full races this year, which can span 6,000 meters.

“I’m afraid,” she said, “but I’m looking forward to it.”

Gophers women’s track and field and cross country director Matt Bingle said training with the cross country team helps Adderley build her strength so she can handle her more intense workouts better in the track season.

“She is a coach’s dream,” Bingle said. “She wants to do exactly what she needs to do.”

Last year was Adderley’s first in the Big Ten after she transferred from Iowa Central Community College.

In the spring, she placed fourth in the 800 at the Big Ten outdoor championships. She followed that up with a 16th-place finish at her NCAA regional, running the third-fastest time in school history (2:06.38).

Adderley said she hopes to break the school record in the 800 next season. She’s more than five seconds behind the mark of 2:01.05 and has yet to crack the top 10. She also wants to attempt to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Bingle said Adderley, a former sprinter, has the speed to achieve her goals. He said Adderley’s experience in international meets like the CACs helps her prepare for future big events.

“Anytime you can run with that caliber of athletes,” Bingle said, “… the better you’re going to be and more comfortable you’re going to be.”