2014 Goals

I love setting annual goals. Specifically I prefer to set both short term and long term goals for the upcoming year, and a mantra to keep me motivated.

2013 Goals 11 hour ironman, Cast Iron Club
2012 Goals 5k speed and 300 days of yoga
2011 Goals Turn Iron and single digit body fat
2010 Goals Ironman prep year, my first iron week
2009 Goals First half iron, first marathon, first oly triathlon

Wow, I've been blogging a long time. Some years I really miss my targets, and sometimes I really nail it down.  Even if I completely blow a short term goal (sub 20 minute 5k anyone?) I can still nail the long term goal, like 300 days of yoga. Man that was a fun challenge.

Mantra: Long and Lean in 2014
Keep the bodyfat low and don't waste effort on too many short course races. Sure, a 5k or two won't hurt anything, but marathons and Ironman is the real focus.

Short Term Goals:

• 4 hour revenge: Last time I did Myrtle Beach Marathon in 4:08, this year I want to break 4 hours. If not MB, then some other marathon.
• 11 hour finish at Rev3 Cedar Point. Finish Rev3 Cedar Point full iron distance.
• Finish another Marathon Maniac streak. We're already signed up for 2 marathons only 14 days apart for another 1 star streak, but I'd like to get more than 1 star.
• Pick an "alternative" race. Mud run, warrior dash, offroad triathlon, do something besides just all road racing.
• a single 5k swim (race or in the pool)
• a single 50 mile run week

Long Term Goals:
Financial: Pay off the rest of our debts and sell this last rental property. The profit from the house sale should be enough to pay off the last credit card and fluff the kids college savings funds a bit. Everything else is already done. And being able to afford things like another destination Ironman or triathlon bike kind of hinges on this last house selling and the debt going away.

Travel: I have two old friends in Ohio that I want to visit if we make the trip for Cedar Point. They are both in Columbus. Since I didn't get my Atlanta trip in 2013 make a social trip to the dirrrty too.

Running:

• 1200 miles on the year is 100 miles per month. My highest year ever is 1100 in 2011 thanks to a run-heavy IMFL training plan. But going Long and Lean in 2014 should make 1200 possible. 
• 4 marathons on the year. 6 would be better, and it would be best to knock at least 2 more states off of my marathon list. I'm seriously considering making a go at the "full marathon in all 50 states" thing. I've already got 5 states done, and Ironman marathons count in that list too.
• Volunteer at more races. Already I've got IM Raleigh, Umstead 100 and a race with Bigun's IP tribe on that list. Really want to volunteer at IM Chattanooga and Rev3SC as well, and there's a 100 mile ultramarathon in Spartanburg SC that would be a good one to volunteer at.

One idea to throw out there. Brad Tripp is a local guy in my tri scene. Brother is seriously fast, usually top 3 overall in my races, and he swims on my RAM team. He's also meticulous about keeping his training logs. So maybe in 2014 I'll be able to match his volume from 2013:

Swim 200 miles (110 RAM practices)
Bike 5000 miles (10 hours a week for 30 weeks)
Run 1600 miles (133 miles per month average)

Let's put those in the 'maybe' pile.

Other things I'm looking forward to in 2014
May 3 is my brother Morgan's wedding. I love Martha to death and couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law. To say I'm looking forward to their wedding is an understatement. Make it official! Morgan passed the CPA exam in 2013 and got engaged. Finally seeing my baby brother hold a position as an established, stable, professional, adult and family man is really cool.

The next two weekends after Morgan's wedding I'm taking the kids for each of their spring outings. Usually it takes me about a month to recover from one spring outing. But having both of them in the program this school year is incredibly "rewarding", and getting both spring outings on back to back weekends is going to be really challenging. Taking off three Friday's in a row from work, all in May, is going to be extra special. 

Rev3 Cedar Point is September 7th. In a perfect world we'd be able to drive up to Ohio, do the race, and spend a few more days at the amusement park and visiting friends. The very next weekend is IM Chattanooga, and more than a few friends are going up there - both local and internet-only peeps. These types of events are legendary for meetups, and getting to spend time face to face with people that I've only been able to facebook or tweet to before. So if I can work it all out, an epic Ironman family vacation will include me running an Ironman one weekend, then hanging with my friends and volunteering at another Ironman the next weekend. Then I can sign up with the volunteer preferences for IMNooga 2015. That would be epic.

So from the Myrtle Beach Marathon on February 16 until IM Nooga September 16 is going to be a giant blur, if all goes right. That still leaves the fall for more marathons, and I'd really like to run the City of Oaks marathon here in Raleigh this year. Every year it seems to fall into a bad date, or be too close to another major race. I would really love to knock this one out next year. Ohio will be a new state for the 50 state list, and I'd also love to get a fall marathon in Virginia or Maryland knocked out as well.

So it's going to be a wonderful year. I'm starting 2014 with an optimistic viewpoint, hoping for the best. Hoping that I can set goals that I can achieve, and achieve the goals that I set. Come race with me!