What's It Going to Be? Sink or Swim?

I borrowed part of this blog post title from today's post at RLAM because it's so apt. After 11 weeks of (relative) marathon training success (though you wouldn't know it from the posts here, as I tend to bemoan my failures more than I celebrate my successes), I've hit a few roadblocks this week and last. Looking back--because I have to look back to move forward--I think it's fair to say my training has been relatively on track. Sure, I didn't always hit my mileage goals for each week. But I've been faithfully getting the long runs in, and honestly, as a mom of two little ones with a full-time job and a part-time freelancing gig, I'd say that I've done what I could. There have been weeks where I worked three (or four) nights instead of two, where the temps have climbed into the seriously dangerous range, where family vacations or camping trips or extracurricular activities have made it necessary to be pretty creative with my training plan. And I've gotten it done--for the most part. The trouble with motherhood is that it takes a back seat to nothing. So while Ella has been surprisingly supportive about my running lately--even asking "How was your run?" when I get home, it is still not cool for me to, for example, skip an AYSO soccer game so I can get my long run in (which is my plan for this Saturday regardless). Or to miss Back to School Night even if does fall in a week where I'm supposed to log some serious miles and have already lost two days for legitimate reasons that couldn't really be helped.

The girls got me sick last week, and though I suppose I could have tried to run through it, the end result probably would have been that I ended up sicker. So instead of running the 36 miles on tap for last week, I managed 12. Yeah, it's not ideal. But I guess I should count myself lucky that I've hit week 12 without any of the myriad injuries that tend to befall runners in the throes of marathon training. Maybe my lower mileage weeks are to thank for that. This week I'm supposed to run 40 miles. Had to count Monday and Tuesday out. Yesterday's run was a wash what with a delayed lunch hour and no socks (again!). I did run, but the mileage doesn't count toward anything substantial. So here we are at Thursday already with only a lunch hour available and Back to School Night + a three-hour work shift tonight. I'll log three at lunch and hope to get in another four this evening if work is quiet (which means it won't be). It will have to be good enough because what other choice do I have? I'm supposed to run 5, 5, 10, and 20 this week. The 20 has to happen. But beyond that--I'll do what I can do. I think it's the only fair thing I can ask of myself. I can choose whether to sink or swim. That much I have control over. As for the rest of it, I guess I just have to take the waves as they come and hope that a strong 20-miler this weekend can bring with it some of the confidence that two weeks of subpar training have eroded. Thankfully, too, I realized next week isn't really the beginning of true taper. So there's still time to log some meaningful miles. And as of now, next week's schedule looks pretty clear--if you don't count AYSO on Monday and dance on Tuesday and work on Wednesday and Thursday.