Happy April 25th! The perfect date. Also happy humpday! I hope you had a great Tuesday! It's been almost a year since I began blogging and will be doing some updates to the website over the next few days so make sure to check back and see all the great stuff I'm planning on adding! Also PS- It's Wayfair's Wayday, so you know I'll be (hopefully) scoring some great deals on there today.  We're in desperate need of a new couch (#adulting) and also looking for a great new headboard/ footboard for our bed! I honestly cannot believe my relay begins in 26 DAYS! I'm excited for this for sooo many reasons (days off of work/ getting fresh air EVERYDAY/ seeing so many beautiful sights by foot/ seeing my mom (hi mom!) / finishing my relay in the rockies stadium)! I just looked at my training schedule for the next 3.5 weeks and only have 2 weeks of "longer runs" left and then I'm tapering! It is so insane to me! Some of my long runs include 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening (I think I only have this on my schedule twice), so knowing that there's the light at the end of tunnel is SUPER helpful. How do you push past mentally tough training weeks?

Last week I took 2 rest days off IN A ROW (I know, I'm a total slacker...kidding!) and focused on getting a bunch of sleep/ hydrating/ good nutrition (that will continue to play a BIG role in my training the next three weeks)! I also PR'd my marathon time and *almost* had a negative split race! I held back considerably (look back on Friday for a full RECAP!) during the first half and never really pushed myself beyond a comfortably hard pace. My legs felt a bit tired on Sunday, but nothing like the soreness I usually feel after a marathon! I did 10 miles (5 mile walk with Stella to loosen everything up, then 5 mile slow recovery jog on the treadmill later that day at ~10:50 pace) the day after the race! I did two strength training sessions and focused on foam rolling twice a day and icing any areas that bothered me!

Monday: 6 miles easy @ 10:00 ; 20 mins strength & foam rolling --> totally inspired by the Boston Marathon!

Tuesday: 5 miles easy @ 10:26 677' elevation gain

Wednesday: 6 miles easy @ 10:00 pace after work (varied incline between -2% to +2%); 25 minutes of strength training. Also got up to holding my planks to 3:31! Hoping to get up to 5 minutes soon!!

Thursday: REST DAY... legs up the wall!

Friday: Had 3 miles on the schedule, but wanted to sleep in and then didn't end up getting to SLC until 7pm so decided that not running was better than getting the mileage in!

Saturday: RACE DAY! 26.5 MILES (going off my garmin like I do for other training runs...plus I did a few pit stops along my race... i.e. to the bathroom and to see Alex!)

Sunday: 10 miles --> 5 mile walk with Stella & 5 mile recovery jog @ 10:50 pace on the treadmill 0% incline. Epsom Salt soak & lots of foam rolling/ stretching!

53.5 miles total! 

Positive Splits:

• PR'd my marathon!
• Focused on recovery/ icing/ nutrition throughout the week
• Easy paced miles focused on running form
• Got in 2 strength training sessions!

Negative Splits:

• Didn't quite get that negative split that I was hoping for, but still so close (~2 minutes!!). Most of my previous marathons have a positive split of well-over 10 minutes!

How are you spending your perfect weather day today?!? --> Jumpboard Pilates during lunch and rest day from running!