Marathon training: Week ??

It’s July 4th, Independence Day.

I have a 7 mile long run to get in today, but it’s been raining and I’m watching my kids.

I can’t leave them alone, even though they’ve proved capable of taking care of themselves, sometimes.

We just did three 5k in three days. And we’re now trying to cram two days worth of cleaning into six to seven hours.

I really need to run. I just need a break from the yelling, fights and other kid stuff. I would like to stop adulting, but if I do, chaos will ensue.

Of course, the kids are being good right now, playing together and getting ready for their epic fireworks battle with plastic army men.

I’m hiding in a corner of my bedroom hoping I can write this before they start destroying things.

I have been running, many of the runs have been negative splits.

I’ve also been dealing a lot with inner and outer critics, those who say I don’t really run or question my ability to do anything. They also make training for a marathon very hard.

For every run, there is a pang of guilt or maybe even a casual conversation with one of the Mountain Kids that ends with “Your mom’s not really good at anything except (insert a worthless skill here).”

Mentally it’s a hard obstacle to get over. I want to prove them and myself wrong, but at the same time, I don’t want to risk injuring myself in the process.

So I do my best, trying to make each training session count more than the last one. 

I hear the rumbles getting louder downstairs. The minions are stirring.

I will have race recaps of the four recent races we had posted soon. I need to write this out for my sanity. You need to find out about this awesome stuff in Appalachia.