#Sub5orBust: Week 14 Training Update (January 21 - January 26, 2020)

Tuesday, 1/21 → Rest

Wednesday, 1/22 → 7 mile run (treadmill) + stretch

Thursday, 1/23 → Rest

Friday, 1/24 → 35 minute run (treadmill) + phase 3 lift + stretch

Saturday, 1/25 → 10 mile run
Sunday, 1/26 → Rest

Third to last week of training is COMPLETE! ✔ I'm not sure why everyone says they get "taper crazies" because honestly I'm really enjoying the extra time in my schedule to hang out with Brett, read, and do normal things that I haven't had time to get to while I've been training! Maybe I'm weird? Haha. 😂

I did my FINAL DOUBLE-DIGIT RUN of the training cycle on Saturday morning! I went out for 10 in the morning and while it was a chilly one, I felt really motivated to try and beat my 10 mile run from week 3 of training. I wanted to see if I could see any difference 11 weeks later, and I definitely did! I pushed myself harder than I think I would have if I didn't try to beat this time, but I managed to shave off a whole 4:46 of my 10-mile time! It definitely was tough (dem hillz) and my legs and lungs were burning like crazy for most of the run, but I beat my time by almost 5 minutes. I LOVE seeing results of my training written out in black and white!

I'm not sure I've ever seen that average pace over that many miles! 😱

Crazy splits as usual. You can probably tell which miles had long stretches of uphill running. 😂 

I also love that Garmin gave out a Lunar New Year badge! 🐭

I'm honestly really proud of myself for this training cycle, and I think that's the first time I've been able to say that about any marathon training cycle. I really put in a lot of hard work this time around. I really fought against making excuses and lack of motivation. There were a lot of times where spending hours at the gym or on the roads was the very last thing I wanted to do, but more often than not I pushed through. My training was by no means perfect, but I can say that I've tried my very hardest and I'm going to continue trying my hardest moving forward. My attitude has shifted when it comes to training and I can't wait to continue to see what I do as a runner.

This week I have a 3-miler, a 5-miler, and two 7-milers on the schedule. The good news I'm now done with strength training so I can just concentrate on my runs! I also plan to do lots of stretching and foam rolling (I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME 😂 ) and some research on pre-race diet. These next two weeks are critical in getting muscles stretched, diet right, and mind in a good place to toe the line on race day. We're firing on all cylinders, people!