I'm sorry. Did you say a 12 week full marathon training schedule? Yes, I did.Maybe I'm a little crazy or maybe it's something else, but a few weeks ago when I found out that I had missed the registration deadline for the St. George marathon in October - the race I had been dreaming of and planning for - I was devastated. I was furious! I was absolutely not going to accept my oversight as anything except an obstacle that needed to be navigated. I am going to run a marathon this year...no matter what!So I went searching for another race. It had to be within a reasonable traveling distance and not too late in the year. I found one. The Desseret News Classic in Salt Lake City. There was just one thing...the marathon is in 12 weeks!Ladies and gentlemen, at this point the farthest I have ever ran in my life at one time was 9-ish miles...once. But let me tell you, whatever it is that is driving me toward completing this goal has so much more to do with life than running. It's about the process. What I've found as I've had to commit in a way I hadn't before is a depth of understanding of myself, my purpose, and my potential. That's pretty deep for a post about running, but true none the less.I've done 3 things that I can tell you right now have increased my strength and capabilities at a rate much quicker than I could have done otherwise:

A few years ago I started running. I ran track in high school a little as a sprinter, but no long distance for me! I'm not sure what changed, but I saw all these other mom's running miles everyday and loving it! They claimed it made them a better mom, helped them refocus, recharge..."ridiculous", I thought.Of course, I had to see what they were talking about. I started running. I worked up to a few miles and my competitive spirit was giddy with excitement prompting me to run a 5k or two. I surprised myself by taking 2nd in the overall women's category in my first race and 1st in my age group in my second. My oldest son ran the second race with me. He told me after the race that I had slowed him down a little. He could have run it faster. Haha! The apple didn't fall too far from the tree I guess.So it was true. Somehow this repetitive motion - the rhythm of your feet beating on the cement and your heart drumming in unison has an unusual effect. Maybe it's because you're forced to breathe deeply and concentrate on yourself and clear your mind for a few miles. For women and mothers this is especially valuable.For years since my on-again, off-again relationship with running began I've wanted to run a marathon...someday. Recently as I went for a quick run I realized that I didn't have any valid excuses why I shouldn't run a marathon this year.Oh, dear. Here we go again.

Sore. So. Very. Sore.I have felt nothing but stiff and sore in places I didn't even know could hurt. I'm not just talking about the physically hard part of the past two weeks - my first two week of CrossFit. It's a psychological workout too. This sport demands more than the amount of weight I put on the bar (which isn't much by the way). I couldn't believe I could experience so many emotions in such a short period of time - anticipation, determination, excitement, frustration, relief, embarrassment, energized, exhausted, angry, rewarded... And that's just during one workout! I honestly never knew I could suck so bad at something and still want to come back for more.If you're wondering why I'm putting myself through this then read Part 1 of My 8 Week CrossFit Challenge.ChallengesThe competition is fully underway now. With weekly challenge WODs (workout of the day) that earn your team points for doing the prescribed amount of weight at the fastest time. Honestly, I know my limits. I know where I can push myself and where I need to just take it at my own pace. In other words, the parts of the competition that involve running, rowing, or jump ropes I can power through. I'm not even close to being the fastest, but I can hold my own. Anything that involves lifting a weight higher than my knees...well let's just say I'm taking baby steps. Since this is my first time doing any kind of weight lifting I'm being smart and safe and only practicing the lifts with minimal amounts of weight (or sometimes just a PVC pipe) to learn the proper technique.So far this experience has done a pretty good job of exposing all my weaknesses. I guess it has for everyone. I'm not the only one digging deeper to find that extra resolve to keep going. For many, it's not the workouts that are the hardest part, it's the diet. (Although, don't get me wrong - the workouts are hard!)  Thankfully that's one area that I'm feeling good about. Having a plan and and creating good eating habits now will prove very helpful as we approach that time of year where sugar filled goodies are served in abundance.