My last Boston Marathon training update was around week 5 of my 16-week program and I was feeling strong. Training hadn’t taken over my life, I was enjoying it, eating lots, and I was excited for more. At the same time, however, I was remaining cautious.

I knew that the highest mileage weeks and the toughest workouts were yet to come. Hanging on to my healthy mindset and balanced lifestyle would only become more of a challenge, and I needed to be on high-alert for any signs that I was slipping into the dangerous place that I’ve been in before.

As I sit here writing this, I am halfway through week twelve. And am happy to report that I have, in fact, kept the balance. I’ve had tough runs. Runs where I was counting down how many miles I had left and where I couldn’t wait to be done. But those have been few and far between, and I know better than to judge my fitness off of a handful of tough days.

Overall, I’ve been happy with my mindset, my increased endurance, the lessons I’ve learned in fueling on-the-run, the time I get to spend exploring my beautiful city by foot, the challenge of the hills I’ve climbed and the views from the top, the company I have on my long runs (shoutout to James for riding his bike alongside me), the post-run stack of chocolate chip pancakes, and the life I’ve continued to live outside of my training program (traveling around southeastern USA, spending time with friends & family, checking more breweries off our list, taking MasterClass courses, working, reading, down time, the bachelorette party I have coming up next week).

I know it’s not over yet, but I’m two weeks away from starting to taper and believe that I can maintain the balance and continue having fun. I ran 20 miles on a treadmill last weekend thanks to the snow & ice storm that hit Asheville, and still managed to smile.

I have two long runs left, and then it’s time to slow things down and be sure I show up at the starting line with excitement, fresh legs, and knowing that I can do it.