Rest = Goal Setting

I'm in the middle of a recovery week. I have been fighting two distinctly different colds, nursing a sore lower back, and quizzically staring at a scale that is being nasty to me. It was very clear to me that if I did not take this time off, I would end up in a bad situation. So, rest has become my focus. And in these moments, I have had the chance to look at the current status of my health and the upcoming year of fitness goals.

I mentioned that nasty scale because it is evident from that little piece of machinary, that my body is changing. After reaching a low weight of 178# right after my last marathon in October 2007, my weight has slowly creeped up. Now, of course my body has changed too with my focus on strength training through CrossFit, but I don't think all of that weight is new muscle. Sugar, ladies and gentlemen, is my weakness, and The Zoneis my answer. I have attempted The Zone before, but I have never stuck to a strict Zone diet. One of my favorite movie quotes is when Bill Murray talks about "Baby Steps" in What About Bob? So I am going to start taking baby steps to break this sugar addiction. And what better time to do it than during this season of Lent.

My mind has also been occupied with what I want to accomplish this year in the fitness realm. The past three years have been focused on marathons and half-marathons. There is something extremely satisfying about running and finishing a marathon, but the training is so time consuming. So this year's focus is going to be on shorter races and the continuation of CrossFit. The plan: 1 marathon with minimal training, an assortment of 5Ks (my goal is to break 24 minutes), 1 Urbanathlon, and 1 more year of CrossFit training. I plan on working on Level Two of the Level4 Challenge produced by CrossFit Seattle. So, wish me luck, and pray for me!*Photo courtesy of Carrie Klumpar at CrossFit Seattle. Maybe I'll adopt that motto for the year!