I stole this and modified only slightly...Here's to 2014.

The Cave:

No words survive here, only echoes. Echoes of our hopes, of our plans, of our failures. What we thought we might do when we came here is little more than a shadow; it flickers on the walls for a moment and when we turn to look, it is gone. Doubts swell up and bounce off the walls until they become so loud they can no longer be heard.

Once we’ve entered, we can not return the way we came; the only way out is to descend into the darkness and through to the other side. When we emerge, we will breathe a new life, one where we are able to push a bit harder, and suffer a bit more. It is a better world, one with opportunity. One where we can make things happen because we have discovered a new limit of our will.

Pushing deeper into The Cave is learned over time. When we first enter, we will find ourselves in a small cavern with no apparent exit. As we train and explore its darkest corners, we discover a passage. We gather our courage and slip into a larger, darker cavern to explore. Beyond that, there lies another. Each holds its own unique strain of suffering, but with it comes also a degree of control; the choice to enter is ours and ours alone.

When I’m strong, my mind yearns for the cleansing qualities of The Cave. I feel almost the master of my pain, that I command its ebbs and flows. Even on days that don’t require it, I will hurt myself just to prove I can. When I’m chasing my fitness, however, I approach it with the same reluctance I had as a child when made to eat my vegetables. The suffering flows over me in waves and I am at the mercy of its current.

My training this summer has been erratic and unstructured. I’ve had some great periods, and just as I’ve neared a goal, either illness or travel unexpectedly reared up before me and interrupted my progress. A week away from the training means another two weeks before I find myself back to where I was. Two weeks of drifting like a leaf in the current. Two weeks of knowing what lies beyond, unable to reach it.

Then the breakthrough, and into the next cavern. It is only through contemplating the darkest corners of The Cave that we discover its deepest passages and it is within the deepest passages that we may discover our purest selves.

Have courage and follow the path into The Cave.

I would steal that not-pay-for-alcohol thing, but I'll also have to stay out of the bar where I'm a regular. The bartenders will comp my beer just to screw with me.

 

Goals:

 

Boston Marathon: 2:08

Fall marathon to be named later: 2:04

Not sure what I'll be racing at shorter distances, but I figure some soft PRs will get knocked off along the way.

 

We're moving from Georgia to Seattle in June, so it looks like my first west coast marathon will be in the fall. I'm already excited about some of the races that will be within easy traveling distance. Unfortunately, the Monkey will no longer be one of them.

Forget alcohol...you may need a different drug to bust out a 2:04...just sayin...

Me, I'm not going to set any goals right now.  I need to focus on getting back in shape, nailing down consistency, and defeating the injury bug.  If I lay down a couple good months with all cylinders firing, I can think about goals.  Right now I won't even sign up for a race in advance (or anything longer than a HM) because there is a significant chance it won't happen.

I am pretty close to this right here.  I really just want to get myself to the point where I am exercising every day without breaking down.  How much of that will be running I don't know.

I spent a good part of 2013 doing nothing.  It is not really a case where I felt sorry for myself.  I just got tired of fighting the injuries so I just threw my hands up and gave up.  I have no idea how many miles I ran but I am sure that it was most likely the lowest total in the last 10 years.  That cannot continue.  I became a grandfather last year which is a blast and I want to get healthy and fit so I can enjoy it as long as possible.

Finally get my weight back under control.

Run lots.

And lots more.

Monkey again...Finish better than last time.

Goals?  I don't need no steenking goals.

 

I'm old, bitter, disillusioned and I just don't give a shit and I'm just gonna run this year.  It'll be the best year ever.

I'm going to steal this one, it's so much better than mine.

Goals?  I don't need no steenking goals.

 

I'm old, bitter, disillusioned and I just don't give a shit and I'm just gonna run this year.  It'll be the best year ever.

Don't sell yourself short. Not giving a shit can be surprisingly hard.

Goals?  I don't need no steenking goals.

 

I'm old, bitter, disillusioned and I just don't give a shit and I'm just gonna run this year.  It'll be the best year ever.

+1

I'm the new chick over here.  Newish runner - started in 3/2012.  I've run only two races, both marathons, since I started.  I'm weird like that.

I'm hoping for a steady improvement (i.e., 2 PRs): one in Boston and one in whatever second race I decide to run later this year (CIM, most likely; Chicago if that ends up to be too expensive - I live very close to Chicago).  I ran a 3:09 in Green Bay in May, then was hurt over the summer/early fall, so I couldn't race.