Monday, March 9, 2015

The List

It might be the roughest winter ever for marathon training, but that is not stopping me from having fun with it and challenging myself. This past weekend I went ice climbing in New Hampshire with North Ridge Mountain Guides (Yes, that's me in the photo). It was amazing. Just one of the many items on my "To-do" list. I don't call it a bucket list because I think that's morbid. It's just a list of things I want "TO DO" so it's my "to-do" list. I also managed to get in my 14 mile training run yesterday and let me just say, running after a day of ice climbing was extra challenging, my whole body aches today.

Anyway, the list started when I originally lost weight. I've mentioned it before. At first it was just things that I couldn't do because I was over a weight limit or things I wasn't comfortable doing because of my size. Now it's grown into a little of everything, simple tasks that I always say I need to get done but somehow never do them and amazing adventure vacations I'd like to take someday, but maybe can't afford right now. I talk about it a lot and share it with anyone that will listen. Mostly because it's fun to hear what is on other people's lists and it's great when people see my list and feel inspired to start their own.

Anyway, it's been a while since I published the list for everyone to see, so I thought I would post it here and share. Maybe you've done some of these things or maybe you'd like to or maybe the list will help you come up with your own things. Either way it's fun to think about, so here it is:

1.                              Get a Passport
2.                              Be in a parade
3.                              Go skinny dipping
4.                              Get tongue pierced
5.                              Get a tattoo
6.                              Sing Karaoke
7.                              Go to a burlesque show (suicide girls) √
8.                              Build a piece of furniture √ (hockey table)
9.                              Knit a sweater
10.                          Knit a pair of mittens
11.                          Sneak backstage at a concert
12.                          Meet the US President √√√
13.                          Climb the Bunker Hill Monument
14.                          Go to Las Vegas
15.                          See Cirque du Soleil
16.                          See the Hoover Dam
17.                          Ride a cable car in San Francisco
18.                          See Alcatraz
19.                          Ride in a horse drawn carriage
20.                          Run up steps at the Philly Art museum
21.                          See a Broadway show in NYC
22.                          Go to the top of Empire State building
23.                          Go on “the Ledge” in Sears Tower
24.                          Save a life √ (girl at UNH)
25.                          Adopt a shelter animal √√
26.                          Draw/paint a mural
27.                          Complete a Triathlon
28.                          Write a blog
29.                          Boston Marathon  √√√
30.                          Maine marathon Oct2010
31.                          Half marathon in less than 2 hours
32.                          Marathon in under 4:30
33.                          Chicago marathon √√
34.                          Do the Boston Stair Climb √√√√√
35.                          Do the Goofy Challenge √√√√√
36.                          Win an award √ (best costume Devil’s Chase)
37.                          Finish Tough Mudder 07May11 √
38.                          Go on a Century bike ride
39.                          Get published √ (Huffington Post article)
40.                          Write a book
41.                          Go Kayaking 04Sep11 √
42.                          Complete a ½ Ironman 11Sep11 √√
43.                          Do a polar bear plunge 01Jan12  √
44.                          Learn to snowboard 14Jan12 √
45.                          Sit in a Jacuzzi in the snow
46.                          Zombie Preparedness Class 24Jan13 √
47.                          Try snowshoeing 09Feb13 √
48.                          Ride in someone else’s limo Feb2013 √
49.                          Boston Trapeze School 22Mar13 √
50.                          Pay off my college loans 22Mar13 √
51.                          Take a glassblowing class 26Mar13 √
52.                          Wine tour in Carmel Valley 26Apr14 √
53.                          Big Sur Marathon 28Apr13 √
54.                          Run RTB Relay Ultra team 17May13 √
55.                          Mt. Washington road race 15Jun13 √
56.                          Take a Pole Dancing class 25Jun13 √
57.                          Go to Walden Pond  17Jul13 √
58.                          Get a caricature drawn of myself 27Jul13√
59.                          Go skydiving √ 25Aug13 √ 08Sep13
60.                          Berlin Marathon 29Sep13 √
61.                          See the Berlin Wall
62.                          Drink a beer at Oktoberfest 01Oct13 √
63.                          Learn to ride a horse 19Oct13 √
64.                          Donate a lot of money to charity 24Oct13 √
65.                          Take an aerial silks class 12Nov13 √
66.                          Paint n Sip wine tasting 21Nov13 √
67.                          Learn to cartwheel 03Dec13 √
68.                          Taza Chocolate factory tour 06Dec13 √
69.                          See the Nutcracker in Boston 19Dec13 √
70.                          Dopey Challenge Jan2014 √
71.                          Go cross country skiing √ 09Feb14
72.                          Be on the cover of a magazine (Sports Illustrated) April 16, 2014 √
73.                          Plant a vegetable garden 12May14 √
74.                          Go to Provincetown, MA 10May14 √
75.                          Donate my hair 20Jun14 √
76.                          Swim with Sharks 21Jun14 √
77.                          Duck boat tour in Boston 25Jun14 √
78.                          Go Zip lining 20July14 √
79.                          Replace garbage disposal Sep2014 √
80.                          Wineglass marathon 05Oct14 √
81.                          Make a 6 figure salary 20Oct14 √
82.                          Get a psychic reading 25Oct14 √
83.                          NYC Marathon 02Nov14 √
84.                          Join a CSA 05Nov14 √
85.                          Pay off my Visa bill 10Nov14 √
86.                          Print and frame a photo I took 10Dec14√
87.                          Take a self-defense class 11Dec14 √
88.                          Take a stained glass class 20Dec14 √
89.                          See Blue Man Group 27Feb15 √
90.                          Go Ice Climbing 07Mar15
91.                          Flying Pig Marathon (03May15)
92.                          Buy a stranger a meal
93.                          Give a stranger a $100 bill
94.                          Compete in the human dogsledding race
95.                          Paint the trim in my house
96.                          Retile my kitchen
97.                          Do a snowshoe race
98.                          Do the USATF Mountain Goat Series
99.                          Sell a piece of original artwork
100.                      Give a loan on Kiva
101.                      Climb Mt Katahdin
102.                      Run the Bay to Breakers race in SF, CA (May)
103.                      Do the Freedom Trail run in Boston
104.                      Go to the USS Constitution
105.                      Go to the Boston Tea Party museum
106.                      Try ‘funambulism’ (tight rope walking)
107.                      Learn to ride a unicycle
108.                      AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) training
109.                      Nantucket
110.                      Martha’s Vineyard
111.                      Run Beach to Beacon
112.                      Walk on stilts
113.                      Catch a fish and eat it
114.                      Take a pottery class
115.                      Take a blacksmithing class
116.                      Take a dance class
117.                      Take ballet class
118.                      Learn to Surf
119.                      Learn to play a musical instrument
120.                      Learn to speak another language
121.                      Professional pin up style photo shoot
122.                      Recreate an iconic photograph
123.                      Play the tambourine with a band live
124.                      Open a B&B or Bakery or restaurant
125.                      Have coffee/tea/beer with a celebrity
126.                      Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
127.                      Learn to fly fish
128.                      Go on a blind date
129.                      Finish a crossword puzzle in pen
130.                      Inspire people
131.                      Organize a road race
132.                      Do a ride along with the police
133.                      Ride on a fire truck
134.                      Slide down a pole in a firehouse
135.                      Go to the 4th of July Boston Pops concert
136.                      Invent the next pet rock
137.                      Learn to shoot a bow and arrow
138.                      Do an unassisted pull up
139.                      Fall in Love
140.                      Play bingo and win
141.                      Try stand up paddle boarding
142.                      Buy a farm
143.                      Buy a stranger’s groceries
144.                      Do a high ropes course
145.                      Take Masters swim lessons
146.                      Do the Peaks to Portland swim (2.4m)
147.                      Learn to sail
148.                      Learn to row crew
149.                      Participate in a cook off/bake off
150.                      Be a seat filler at an awards show
151.                      Spend a week “off the grid”
152.                      Play in a Roller Derby
153.                      Get SCUBA certified
154.                      Accept a dare
155.                      Give a bag of food to a beggar
156.                      Try country line dancing
157.                      Ring the opening bell at the NYSE
158.                      Cut a ribbon at an opening ceremony
159.                      Try fencing
160.                      Attend opening day at Fenway
161.                      Create my family tree
162.                      Ride on an elephant/camel
163.                      Read at least 10 of the top 100 novels
164.                      Learn to start a fire with flint
165.                      Take a basic navigation class
166.                      Try boxing/train in a boxing gym
167.                      Learn to juggle
168.                      Go to Culinary school
169.                      Act in a play
170.                      Be an extra in a movie
171.                      Have a speaking role in a movie
172.                      Shoot a rifle/handgun
173.                      Publish book and donate 26.2% to DFMC
174.                      Go deep sea fishing
175.                      Learn to fly an airplane
176.                      Play Polo (Stage Hill Newbury, MA)
177.                      Do a Ghost tour
178.                      Go Hang-gliding
179.                      Have dinner at the Top of the Hub
180.                      Participate in Pillow fight day
181.                      Go white water rafting
182.                      Complete an Ironman triathlon
183.                      Run an ultra-marathon
184.                      Qualify for the Boston marathon
185.                      London Marathon (April)
186.                      Paris Marathon (April)
187.                      Marathon in under 4:00
188.                      Philly Marathon (November)
189.                      Route 66 Marathon (November)
190.                      Little Rock Marathon (March)
191.                      Catalina Island Marathon (March)
192.                      Moose’s tooth marathon (August)
193.                      Newport Oregon Marathon (May)
194.                      Nike Woman’s Marathon SF (October)
195.                      Outer Banks Marathon (November)
196.                      Niagara Falls Marathon (September)
197.                      Medoc Marathon (Bordeaux, France)
198.                      Portland (OR) marathon (October)
199.                      Napa Valley marathon (March)
200.                      Complete a marathon in all 50 states (7/50)
201.                      Run on all 7 continents (2/7)
202.                      Do a winter triathlon
203.                      Win a race
204.                      Empire State Building Stair Climb (February)
205.                      Do the Dempsey Challenge (October)
206.                      Norseman Extreme Triathlon (Norway)
207.                      Do Reykjavik marathon (or half)
208.                      Do the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon
209.                      Do the Vermont 50 miler (September)
210.                      Do the JFK 50 miler (November)
211.                      Ironman Lake Placid?
212.                      RUN The Great Wall of China (May)
213.                      Do the Bermuda Triangle challenge
214.                      Run the grand canyon rim to rim
215.                      Wife Carrying Championship
216.                      Skydive Ultra marathon (Florida)
217.                      Drive across the US
218.                      Dude Ranch trip
219.                      Mardi Gras in New Orleans
220.                      Carnival in Rio de Janiero 
221.                      Tomato fight in Spain (outside Valencia)
222.                      Maldives Islands
223.                      See the Tour de France in France
224.                      Swim in the Mediterranean Sea
225.                      Stand on 4-corners (4 states at once)
226.                      Eat a beignet in New Orleans
227.                      Kentucky Derby (May)
228.                      Longleat hedge maze (England)
229.                      Gondola ride in Venice
230.                      Stonehenge at summer solstice
231.                      Bathe in the geothermal spa (Iceland)
232.                      See the Aurora Borealis
233.                      Easter Island
234.                      Zip line in Costa Rica
235.                      Climb an active volcano
236.                      Graceland (Memphis, TN)
237.                      Statue of Liberty
238.                      Area 51
239.                      Redwood national park
240.                      Yellowstone National Park
241.                      Sydney Bridge climb in Australia
242.                      African Safari
243.                      Machu Picchu, Peru
244.                      Coliseum in Rome
245.                      Taj Mahal, India
246.                      Grand Canyon
247.                      Niagara Falls
248.                      Great Pyramids
249.                      Eifel tower
250.                      Carnival in Venice
251.                      Running of the bulls Pamplona, Spain
252.                      Mount Rushmore (South Dakota)
253.                      Pearl Harbor (Hawaii)
254.                      Pike Place Seattle, WA
255.                      Hollywood sign in LA
256.                      Space Needle Seattle, WA
257.                      Wave Canyon Arizona
258.                      Glacier National Park Montana
259.                      Florida Keys
260.                      Hike all of the 4000ft mountains in NH (48)
261.                      Watch a sunrise and sunset in the same day
262.                      Try 10 types of exotic ethnic cuisine
    1. Ethiopian
    2. Moroccan
    3. Burmese Aug2014
    4. Liberian Aug2014
    5. Vietnamese
    6. Portuguese
    7. Armenian
    8. ????
263.          Ride a Segway
264.          Take a cooking lesson
265.          Host a dinner Party
266.          Try caviar
267.          Play a round of Golf
268.          Write my Will
269.          Organize a poker night
270.          Organize a scavenger hunt
271.          Make pasta from scratch
272.          Send a care package to someone randomly
273.          Host a theme party
274.          Buy something for a stranger off their registry
275.          Use a valet service
276.          Go to the highland games in NH
277.          Do something that terrifies you
278.          Eat something really crazy
279.          Buy something at an auction
280.          Go to a book signing
281.          Learn origami
282.          Write a letter to yourself to open in 10yrs
283.          Start a gratitude journal
284.          Make something out of paper mache
285.          Give up TV for a week
286.          Make homemade pickles
287.          Sew something wearable
288.          Learn sign language
289.          See the Tonight Show LIVE
290.          Be on the Price is Right
291.          Try water skiing (again)
292.          Ride a double decker bus in London
293.          Participate in a competitive eating challenge
294.          Throw out the first pitch
295.          Go to Plymouth Plantation
296.          Try escargot
297.          Go to Bar Harbor
298.          Run the Mount Desert Island marathon
299.          Quoddy Head Light Lubec, ME
300.          Go dog sledding
301.          Go Curling
302.          Add a lock to a lovers bridge
303.          Cook all the recipes in a cookbook
304.          Eat a “brownie” in Amsterdam
305.          Eat Fish and Chips in London
306.          Learn a burlesque routine
307.          Build a gingerbread house from scratch
308.          Build an awesome treehouse
309.          Walk across hot embers/fire

310.          Dye a portion of my hair pink

So, what's on your list????