I love to run, for me it is a great way to relax, clear your head and get some good exercise. It is for these resons that I think it is a great option for a mom who rarely gets a chance for some quiet time. To me running is as much mental as it is physical. Running long races such as halfs and marathons put you out on the road for several hours leaving you plenty of thinking time. You have to train your mind to attack this type of solitude. Keeping your mind busy is key. I spend a lot of time calculating and recalculating my finish time with my current pace. I often save some of my bigger thinking issues for my long training runs so I can think them through. I have redecorated rooms, worked on Science Fair project concepts, thought up business plans, and worked out the family budget all during runs. It is important to keep in mind that depending on your pace, your training runs and the race can be long and you are going to want to keep your mind busy so that you do not allow it to focus on the pain, heat, thirst, etc. This is all part of the training of the mind. On the training runs, when I find myself starting to focus on the negative, I try to as quickly as possible come up with a new topic to ponder for a while.
It can also be helpful to run with a partner and chat during your runs but beware, this plan does not always work, you must make sure that you and your partner are compatible runners (run at close to the same pace, have the same type of running plan, and both like to chat). If you are not the same type of runner or your partner is always focused on the negative it could bring your mental state down and lead to a bad run and hurt feelings.
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