
Show Notes
Welcome to Episode 148 — the end of a chapter. 2025 wasn’t about going viral, chasing trends, or “fitness for the sake of fitness.” It was the year thousands of women returned to themselves. A year filled with emotional strength, identity shifts, boundaries, growth, courage, and choosing a better life — sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly, always powerfully. This episode is a celebration, a reflection, and a bridge into everything we are building in 2026. If you want to understand the future of Slay — this episode is where it begins. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why strength is the most reliable identity-building tool for women Why so many women started before they felt ready How strength became emotional regulation Why boundaries became protection, not punishment The rise of the strong woman identity
The Moments We'll Never Forget • Women lifting heavy for the first time • Emotional breakthroughs — relationships, careers, relocation, healing • Community wins inside the studio, SAC, and beyond 2025 prepared you. 2026 is going to transform you.
🖤 A MESSAGE FROM LOUISE If you’re listening to this, you’ve already stepped into something bigger than yourself. You showed up. You stayed. You learned. You grew. You chose strength — and strength always chooses you back. 2025 was the year you returned to yourself. 2026 is the year you rise into your strongest self yet.
More from SLAY
This is it. Twelve weeks of training. Long runs. Strength sessions. Early mornings. Fuel. Recovery. Self-doubt. Progress. And now there is only one thing left to do: Race.
You're TWO WEEKS away from your half marathon. And suddenly you're questioning everything. Did I train enough? Was my longest run long enough? Why do my legs feel terrible? Should I run this week? Should I carb load? How many gels do I need? Can I walk? What if I can't sleep? What if everyone starts faster than me? And the biggest question of all... What if I can't finish?
You've spent weeks training for your half marathon. And now that race day is getting closer... Your training plan is telling you to do less.
You’ve been training for weeks. You’re running further. You’re lifting weights. You’re fueling properly. You’re recovering better. So why aren’t you getting faster every week? And if your pace hasn’t changed… is your training actually working? In Episode 10 of the SLAY Stronger Runner Series, Olympian, coach and SLAY founder Louise Hazel explains why pace is only one measure of running progress, and why you could be becoming a significantly better runner without seeing a dramatic change on your watch.
You’re training for 13.1 miles. But does that mean you actually need to run 13.1 miles before race day? And if you haven't… how can you possibly know you'll finish?