In preparation for the next week being my final week of training, I went all out for week nine. I started the week by running until I got tired and then walking until most of my energy had returned, but by the end of the week, I challenged myself to run until I was out of breath and then only walk for 15 seconds. This was challenging for me because I am always blocked by what my mind thinks I can do, so I wanted to push past that mental block and see how far I could go.

I found that when I pushed myself past what I thought I could do, I could actually do a lot more than I previously thought. I found that I was able to run for over a minute at a time and only needed minimal time to recover, which was the opposite of what I originally believed about my abilities. By the end of the week, I was running far longer than I was resting, and I felt confident in my progress. I knew I was ready for my final week.