#Sub5orBust: Milwaukee Marathon Week 4 & 5 Training (January 11 - January 24, 2021)

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Milwaukee Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

The last two weeks blogging has really been put on the back burner - sorry about that! Once I got back to work on the 11th I went right back to full steam ahead with my job and creating content has been the last thing on my to-do list. However, I've still been training away for Milwaukee! Also in exciting news, I've officially booked my flight AND my Air BnB, so the trip to Wisconsin is feeling more real every day! My fingers and toes are still crossed and will be crossed until I toe the starting line on April 10th. You can never be too sure these days, I guess! 😂

Week 4 I really started to feel the fatigue of training, as I always do. I always struggle when it comes to eating enough while I'm training, so I'm just tired a lot. Add on these gloomy winter days and finding the motivation to not hibernate is my biggest challenge. I went into this week wanting to continue to incorporate my training since my mileage was fairly low, but honestly I let my tiredness get the best of me and I ended up skipping all of my strength work outs. 😑 I'm really happy that I still hit my mileage, though!

Week 4: January 11, 2021 - January 17, 2021

Monday, 1/11 → Rest

Tuesday, 1/12 → 6.12 mile run @ 10:23/mile

Wednesday, 1/13 → Rest

Thursday, 1/14 → 5.13 mile run @ 10:36/mile

Friday, 1/15 → Rest

Saturday, 1/16 → 3.1 mile run @ 9:46/mile  + 1.09 mile walk

Sunday, 1/3 → 7 mile run @ 10:05/mile

Total weekly running mileage: 21.35

Last week was FRIGID. Guys... I hate the winter so much. 😂 Honestly getting out the door on days that had a real feel of 16 degrees (Saturday) and 11 degrees (Sunday) was next to impossible. BUT I DID IT. And I can't wait until the world finally warms back up. This weather is TERRIBLE. 😖 I'm hoping for a beautiful spring day in Milwaukee in April. Maybe if I envision it hard enough it will come true? 🤞

Week 5: January 18, 2021 - January 24, 2021

Monday, 1/18 → Rest

Tuesday, 1/19 → .75 mile walk + 2.11 mile walk

Wednesday, 1/20 → 5.07 mile run @ 10:19/mile

Thursday, 1/21 → Rest

Friday, 1/22 → 5.12 mile run @ 10:46/mile

Saturday, 1/23 → 3.01 mile run @ 9:46/mile + strength

Sunday, 1/24 → 12.01 mile run @ 10:09/mile

Total weekly running mileage: 25.21

The weather for week 6 isn't going to be much better than the last two weeks, but I am just telling myself that running in these conditions will make me a better runner when it comes to race day. I'm not sure how true that actually is, buuuut we can dream! Including this week, we only have 11 more weeks of training to go before race day. Are longest mileage weeks are all ahead of us, but these are the weeks where I can really see what my body can do and start to mentally prepare for that 26.2 mile haul. My goal for this week is to complete my 2 days of strength training and stretch, stretch, stretch. I'm definitely feeling the tenderness in my legs and need to be better at recovery!

Video: 2021 Running Goals & Race Plans (Updated!)

Last week I posted an UPDATED 2021 Running Goals & Race Plans video to my channel! You might have seen my Race Plans blog post from a few weeks ago, but I've added and changed a few things to this list, so make sure you watch the video for the most up-to-date version of my 2021 race plans. I'm looking forward to running all the miles in 2021 and sharing them all with you! 🏃‍♀️

I'M IN!!!: IMT Des Moines Marathon 🌽

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the IMT Des Moines Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

In case you missed the announcement over on my Instagram, I am *officially* registered for the IMT Des Moines Marathon!!! I'm headed to the mid-west this October to run this race as a part of Team BibRave and I can't wait to join in on the fun! This is a race that I've been eyeing for Iowa as part of my 50 Marathons in 50 States challenge, so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to run this race in 2021! Additionally, the IMT Des Moines Marathon is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021, so I'm sure that it's going to be even more fun than I can imagine! 🎉

In 2021, the race organizers are offering both an in-person and virtual option so that runners can decide what they're most comfortable with. Of course, we can't know what the world will look like in October, so I really appreciate how thoughtful they are being to accommodate everyone who is interested in running their race. I'm personally going to go for the in-person race - you know I'm dying to get across another in-person marathon finish line! I'm keeping all of my fingers and toes crossed that this race can actually happen!

The route is something that I'm ultra excited about. It looks like there are very few parts of this course where any of the runners will be by themselves. There are so many out-and-back sections where I'll be able to see other runners, which always keeps me in good spirits! The hills during the first 2/3 of the race will definitely be a challenge, but I'm happy that the last few miles are fairly flat. This seems like it's going to be an excellent run with so much to look at!

In addition to running the IMT Des Moines Marathon, I'll *also* be taking on the I-35 Challenge! This means that during that weekend I'll be running the Garmin Kansas City Marathon on Saturday, and the IMT Des Moines Marathon on Sunday. This will be a HUGE undertaking but a challenge that I am excited to take on. This will be my first ever double marathon weekend, so this summer training is going to be SO critical. It will be so tough, but I think I can do it. Fingers crossed for me, y'all! 🤞

Did you know that the IMT Des Moines Marathon is one of the BibRave 100's Best Races of the Decade? To celebrate, they're running special prices for all of their races through January 24th! Make sure you head over to desmoinesmarathon.com to register before the 24th to get the best possible price! 🧡

📥TBR In & Out 📤 // December 2020

To wrap up my slumpy fall, I continued to NOT gravitate toward my books in December as well. I'm hoping to turn over a new leaf in the new year and get back on my reading game. There are so many incredible stories on my shelves that I and dying to get to! Luckily in December I only acquired two books and they were both gifts from Brett 😍 I always swoon when he gifts me with books! He's not a reader himself, but he knows that it makes me super happy and that's all that matters to him. I'm one lucky gal! I'm proud of myself for not buying any books of my own last month, as well as skipping out on my Book of the Month for December. It's become a lot easier to NOT buy myself books lately, and I hope to continue that trend through all of 2021. We'll see how long that lasts! 😅

TBR # ON DECEMBER 1, 2020:

147

BOOKS ACQUIRED:

+2

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

The Toll by Neal Shusterman

OWNED TBR BOOKS READ:

-3

The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren 

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

TBR # ON JANUARY 1, 2021

146

#Sub5orBust: Milwaukee Marathon Week 2 & 3 Training (December 28, 2020 - January 10, 2021)

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Milwaukee Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Hi folks! I'm back with another #Sub5orBust training update. I was planning on sharing my training for week 2 last Wednesday, but then, ya know, a coup attempt at the US Capitol happened and it just didn't feel exactly right to talk about my training then. 🙃 So I decided to combine weeks 2 and 3 in this update so you can see how training is going all in one spot!

Week 2: December 28, 2020 - January 3, 2021

Monday, 12/28 → Rest

Tuesday, 12/29 → 4.21 mile run @ 10:11/mile + 2.2 mile walk

Wednesday, 12/30 → 6.5 mile run @ 10:07/mile + 0.7 mile walk

Thursday, 12/31 → 3.02 mile run @ 10:15/mile

Friday, 1/1 → Rest

Saturday, 1/2 → 1.14 mile walk

Sunday, 1/3 → 8.12 mile run @ 10:00/mile

Total weekly running mileage: 22.99

During week 2 I was still concentrating on finishing my #RunMA Challenge miles, so the beginning of the week was kind of all over the place with my distances. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know that I was able to complete the challenge, and I'll share my thoughts in a separate blog post in a few days. Once I finished the challenge, I wanted to give myself a little break from running, so I took a rest day on Friday and Saturday before hopping into my official training plan on Sunday with an 8 mile long run. It feels good to have a bit of the pressure to run taken off, and to get to enjoy some rest days again!

Week 3: January 4, 2021 - January 10, 2021

Monday, 1/4 → Rest

Tuesday, 1/5 → 5.03 mile run @ 9:50/mile + 1.52 mile walk

Wednesday, 1/6 → 1.01 mile walk

Thursday, 1/7 → 5.09 mile run @ 9:41/mile + Phase 1 lift

Friday, 1/8 → Rest

Saturday, 1/9 → 3.03 mile run @ 9:47/mile + Phase 1 lift

Sunday, 1/10 → 10.02 mile run @ 10:03/mile

Total weekly running mileage: 23.17

First full week *officially* on the training plan! I think this week's runs went really well, despite my absolute dread of going out and running in the cold. 😩 It was CHILLY last week and I just can't wait for these cold months to be over with. Unfortunately I'll have to be training in this weather for the majority of this cycle, so I just have to suck it up. 💀 I also started incorporating my strength training this week, which has felt good! Brett has been helping me out a lot with combining the strength training plan from Runner's World and giving some of his own recommendations as his amazing personal trainer self. (One of the many many reasons that I'm lucky to have him around!) Everything seems to be clicking right now, which I am of course super happy about!

Shout out to my four-legged running buddy, who helped me on many of these runs!

This week will be a lower mileage with a 6, 5, 5k, and 7 on the calendar. I'll probably work with Brett to make the lifting a little more challenging this week and take advantage of the down time to rest and stretch. Pretty soon mileage will start to spike and I gotta savor these days while I can! 😂

🧡Don't forget! You can save 10% on your Milwaukee Marathon registration (any distance!) by using code "BR10" at check out! Head over to runmilwaukee.com to register today!🧡

Favorite Books of 2020 📚

It's finally time to share my favorite books of the year - one of my favorite lists to put together! I kind of did my favorites lists in two parts in 2020, which isn't something that I've done before but might continue to do moving forward. It's interesting to see what my highlights are from the first half of the year vs. the second half! Below you'll find my 12 favorite books of the year, including links to their GoodReads pages and the video in which I talked about them so you can find out why I loved each book. Here's to many more favorite books in 2021!

Favorite Books January - June 2020

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Startup by Doree Shafrir

Beach Read by Emily Henry
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Favorite Books July - December 2020

Scythe by Neal Shusterman (+ Thunderhead, as a bonus! This series is great!)
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Video: One Second a Day // 2020

I recorded one second every day during the year 2020! I've been wanting to do one of these videos for such a long time and I am so happy that I did so this year. It's so cool to look back and see 2020 captured in a 6 minute video. Every frame will be something that I remember about this year and that is so special to me. I am going to try and complete another year of this project in 2021, because this is so cool to have! Happy New Year, everyone!

Vlog: Happy Vlogidays 2020 {Week Three} & {Week Four}

Happy Vlogidays 2020 {Week 3}This week we travelled south to Florida for the holidays! We spend a couple days in the car, I run the Dora Double Challenge at the Mount Dora Half Marathon Weekend, and do some final preparations for Christmas!

Happy Vlogidays 2020 {Week 4}In the final installment of Happy Vlogidays 2020, we celebrate Christmas with my family, head back north, I finish up the #RunMA Challenge, and discuss what I hope my 2021 will look like.

Focus of 2021

Happy New Year, folks! I hope everyone had a safe New Year's Eve and a restful start to 2021. The new year inevitably brings about the conversation of new goals, resolutions, and intentions for the new year, which can be quite overwhelming. Honestly, 2021 is not going to be a year for me to ~do big things~ or make massive changes. I have been feeling so burnt out for such a long time that the idea of giving myself hoops to jump through or goals to meet really causes me unnecessary stress instead of motivating or exciting me to become a better version of myself. I really need to take a year (maybe more) to reevaluate what makes me happy and what will bring me peace when I've felt so much turmoil for so long. So this year, I want to focus on a few things without setting myself a specific goal. Here's what I'm envisioning for myself in 2021:

Self care - This is priority number one for me. The end of 2020 was another pretty rough patch for me mental health wise, and holding it together has been really challenging. I need to focus on what feels good, and be okay with whatever that is. If it's more alone time, great. If it's exercising more, great. If it's getting off of social media for a while, great. Overall, I just want to take the pressure off of myself. I have enough external pressure (good and bad) to meet certain expectations, that putting additional pressure on myself is not a smart idea mental health wise. I just want to take it easy this year and figure out where I'm at. Feeling less foggy would be an excellent bonus to 2021.

Creativity - I got a fantastic new sketchbook and marker set for Christmas, which made me think about how my crativity has been put on the backburner for years. Drawing and painting was once so important to me, and I have been so out of practice for so long. So with my new sketchbook, I'd like to dedicate time each day (or as often as possible) to drawing in it, with the overall goal of filling the sketchbook by the end of 2021. I hope this will help with finding my creative self once again, and improving on my (very) rusty drawing skills.

Running - I'm really happy with how my running has transformed in 2020, and I'd like to continue on the same path. I'm still aiming for a sub-5 marathon and I hope to achieve that this year, but I think my ultimate focus in this realm of my life is to keep dedicating time and effort into becoming a better runner overall. I'm in a good place as a runner currently, and I'd like to keep it that way through this year. 

Reading - Probably in direct response to my mental health, reading toward the end of 2020 also took a back seat and I am reading far less than what I have in past years. I'd still like to make sure I'm dedicating time to reading, and am setting my reading goal for 2021 at 52 books, or one book a week. This is MUCH lower than the goals I've set for myself in the past, but in the spirit of taking the pressure off of myself, I think that this is a very reasonable thing for me to achieve this year!

Movie watching challenge - This is probably the closest thing I have to a ~resolution~ or a goal for the new year! It's kind of a running joke in my life of how few movies I've seen, especially movies that most other people have seen and consider to be really important films. I don't really consider myself a movie person, as I tend to prefer watching short-form entertainment, like TV shows or YouTube videos. I had the idea a few weeks back of crowd sourcing a list of movies and trying to watch as many as I can to up my movie knowledge and find a new appreciation for this form of entertainment, so that's exactly what I'm doing! I have a list of over 100 films in a spreadsheet (and growing every day as I receive more recommendations) and my goal is to watch at least one per week, coming out to at least 52 movies watched in 2021. I'm really looking forward to this project, and will be updating you here each month on what I watched!

What are you focusing on in 2021?