Summer of non-running fun continues

I was just catching up with a friend yesterday and reviewing all the things I have been up to this summer and it occurred to me that this has been the "Summer of non-running fun". Don't get me wrong there still has been a few races and running, but it's been kind of crazy. Almost every single weekend from May thru mid-September has had or does have something scheduled.

It started out with some running in May, just another little 26.2 mile run through Cincinnati, followed by a pub run, and the first of many mountain goat series races, then the Run to Remember half marathon. The first non-running fun was on my birthday weekend, I went to check out the 'Lawn on D' an open space in the city with live music, food trucks, art installations, and rotating other events.

June was also jam-packed with fun. I went to my very first Scooper Bowl, a local fundraiser for cancer research that serves up all you can eat ice cream for a $10 donation. I ran another mountain race up Pack Monadnock. Went on a little adventure to Vermont and scored some Heady Topper (IPA beer) and stopped at the Ben and Jerry's factory for a tour and a mini Vermonster. Finally got around to running the Freedom Trail in Boston. Then I flew a plane! Still can't believe that happened. Ran another half marathon. Went to a good friend's wedding up in NH. Saw the Barenaked Ladies play on the Maine State Pier in Portland and then celebrated my brother's 40th birthday.

 

July, with an extra week to work with and a holiday thrown in, I managed to do even more fun stuff. I went sailing in Boston harbor. I hiked the Franconia Ridge trail in NH. Ran 2 more mountain goat races and a half marathon. I went to the Lawn on D for a special exhibit of giant inflated bunny rabbits. I took a Stand Up Paddle board lesson. Went to a minor league baseball game in Lowell and partied at Folkfest. And I went to the Boston Tea Party museum.

August is not even half way over and I feel like I have accomplished a lot. I ran the Beach to Beacon 10K, a very popular race in Maine that sold out in a matter of minutes. I rode on the green way carousel in Boston as part of 'free fun Fridays' in the city. I learned how to play polo (yes, like on horses). Went out for Ethiopian food with a friend that had never tried it. Then most recently, I rappelled down an 80ft waterfall in NH in the pouring rain. I have to keep looking at the pictures and video because it was so unreal and so much fun I seriously can't believe I did it and I kind of want to do it again.

I thought skydiving was pretty awesome and would be tough to top, but I think the combo of all the crazy things I have done this summer might come close. Summer is almost over (only 25 days until Labor Day) and I am trying to squish just a few more adventures in. I have a triathlon this weekend that I am totally not ready for, haven't been on my bike since the same race last year. Then I am doing a wine tasting on a sail boat next week. Either this weekend or next I need to use a Groupon for a high ropes obstacle course at a local ski mountain. Then I am going up to Portland for a weekend of fun. Then Labor Day weekend I fly to California for the Dumbo Double challenge and my Coast to Coast medal from Disney. Somehow mixed in with all of this I need to train for Niagara Falls. I've done a few 10 milers, but need to be getting up into the 16-18 mile range soon.

Invasion of the funsuckers

Over the past few years I have noticed a change in my environment and my interactions with many of my running friends. It is getting difficult if not impossible to find time to see my friends that I used to see quite regularly. Some friends moved out of the neighborhood to larger homes far away, some friends have become very busy and/or unavailable. No one can book fun race vacations anymore. In 2014, I actually went to Disney World by myself because all the people that used to go and said they wanted to go bailed.

There is one common denominator to all of these issues – my friends all had babies (which I now call “funsuckers” because they instantly suck the fun out of a person’s life, and by association they suck a little fun out of my life). Friends can’t do that race unless they allow strollers, can’t run that day because they don’t have a babysitter, can’t have an adult conversation at dinner because the funsucker is cranky/tired/hungry/needs a diaper change, can’t even meet for drinks to talk about how much fun it used to be to run together because they have to put the funsucker to bed promptly at too-effing-early-o-clock.

I don’t even feel like I have anything in common with my friends that have had funsuckers. I don’t care about breast feeding or formula or rice cereal or day care drama or potty training or how many words they know or the cutest little outfits and activities they have. I want to talk about restaurants and recipes and books and movies and adventures and races in far off places and even common running topics like “going” or “not going” pre-race or God forbid having to “go” in the middle of a race.

I get it that I am at the age where that is the normal thing for people to do. I am happy for my friends and their adorable families. I DO love that all my friends are awesome, smart, healthy, active types that will raise awesome, smart, healthy, active kids. And I know it is extremely selfish and maybe a little rude, but I WANT MY FRIENDS BACK (without funsuckers). I’ve realized that I have no interest in taking care of a helpless little human copy of half my DNA and the little funsuckers my friends have while they were cute at first kind of really annoy me now. Not because they individually are bad kids or do anything particularly annoying, only for the single fact that they rob me of time with my friends.  

I’ve tried to branch out and meet some new running friends, but the only runners without funsuckers are 20-somethings without my 30-something metabolism that can eat and drink whatever they want, maintain a lean body and clock in an 8 minute mile easily and say “ugh, I feel so slow.” Meanwhile I’m over here swearing at my scale and giving it the middle finger trying to remember what the eff did I eat this week that made me gain 2 more pounds and why do all my runs feel like I am sprinting up a hill with a sled full of sand bags tied to my waist. When I think I actually ran pretty fast and I look down at my Garmin and it says the last mile was 12:09, I just stare in disbelief. It has to be broken.

I’m in a funk lately and I think that makes me even more irritated by the funsuckers and absence of my old routine with my running friends. It’s not their fault. Several things contributed to it. Getting hit by a car on my bike made me stop riding and running more which I think kind of burnt me out and made me not want to run as much, then I got laid off from my job last summer, took a while to find a new job, and the new job is not as close to good running routes, and we had the worst winter ever which made it all too easy to slip back into my couch potato Fatty McFatterson habits. I know these are all just excuses and I have no one to blame but myself. I am struggling to find my groove again and I need to find the motivation I initially had to do it all on my own and get back to a place and a pace where I feel comfortable. I need to get back on my bike and I need to increase my mid-week mileage and I need to cut back on beers and burgers and get back on track. I know what needs to happen and I know I CAN do it because I did it before, but it has been really hard lately. 

Where does the time go?

I officially started training for my next marathon this past weekend. Just a nice easy 8 miles although it was embarrassingly slow and sluggish. I got it done. 16 weeks to train for the Niagara Falls International marathon. It took me forever to decide on a fall race and I was torn between a few different races, but I think this one will be really cool. I mean I get to run across the border into Canada and finish near the Canadian side of the falls.

I have been kind of slacking as far as running goes and I blame that for my slow sluggish pace and the 10lbs. I've probably put on. I'm lucky if I get 20 miles in each week. I need to get back up to the 40-50 miles a week range to get my speed and weight back to where I want it to be. But I am having an amazing summer and living life to the fullest doesn't even begin to capture the amount of awesome I am cramming into every moment.

Quick recap of the things I have done since I last posted: 3 more mountain goat races (Pack Monadnock, Loon, Cranmore) each one a little tougher than the previous one, one of them included a 48% grade hill. 2 half marathons. Ran the Freedom trail in Boston, Flew a plane, saw the Barenaked Ladies, went sailing for the first time, hiked the Franconia ridge trail across three 4000+ footers solo, and tried stand up paddleboarding. Oh and I ate frog legs and crickets. Here are a few highlights:

Up next on my "to-do" list: Run Beach to Beacon 10K, learn to play Polo, go waterfall rappelling, do a high ropes course, and maybe a few other things thrown in there too.

How did it get to be June already???

My birthday month is over, I guess that means I have to stop celebrating. It was a pretty great month. Here's a quick summary of all the awesome things: Marathon #20, Cinqo de Mayo drinks at my favorite Mexican place, dinner in Boston at the new Mario Batali Pizzeria "Babbo", Lawn on D night out with friends, Pub run in Waltham, road trip to Vermont to do my first mountain goat series race, my first DNF (a giant ice cream sundae, not the race), lots of unexpected birthday cards and gifts, volunteering for the Run to Remember, 2nd race in the mountain goat series, half marathon in Boston the next day, built myself a nice little patio for after work wine drinking, and enjoying that patio.

The Lawn on D thing was really cool. It's a open space a few blocks away from where I work in Boston and they have food trucks, live music, games, and various art installations including light up swings that are pretty fun. I went for the opening night and it was amazing.

Then the Sunday before my actual birthday I continued my tradition of doing something crazy and fun on my birthday weekend (duathlon, stair climb + marathon, ultra relay, 3 races in 3 places) and I ran my very first mountain trail race. I made a day of it and my friend Emilee joined me for the road trip. It was a 10K in Vermont called Sleepy Hollow and it was insanely challenging. I basically ran up and then back down a small mountain 3 times. The 3rd mile was such a steep slope that it took my 25 minutes to run it. After the race Emilee and I stopped at the Ben and Jerry's factory for ice cream. It was early afternoon and we hadn't eaten lunch yet so naturally we ordered giant ice cream sundaes. We both got the mini-vermonster, It was 4 scoops of ice cream, brownie chunks, hot fudge, and whipped cream. I am sad to say it was my very first "DNF". I "Did Not Finish" the sundae.

The following weekend I had another mountain race (part of the mountain goat series I'm doing this summer). It was a 10K up and then back down Wachusett Mountain, about 1000ft in elevation up for 3 miles and then right back down. This time instead of trails it was on paved road which I think made it a little easier. No thick mud and uneven terrain to deal with. The last 2 miles or so were on grass and gravel ATV trails, but they were dry so it wasn't bad at all. I felt great and finished the race really strong (I even beat a guy I chased for the last mile, even though he tried to kick past me in the last 50 meters). The next day I had the Run to Remember half marathon in Boston and I had very low expectations considering I run up a mountain the day before. The weather ended up being perfect and I felt really good. It wasn't a PR by any means, but I finished feeling great and was able to enjoy the rest of the day and the rest of the Memorial Day weekend not dehydrated or ridiculously sore and tired.

Monday I even did some yard work and removed a giant tree stump from my garden and placed a few pavers down creating a lovely patio space next to my porch. I got a nice bistro set with a table and two chairs and sat outside almost every night of the week with a glass of wine and a book just soaking in the sun and listening to the birds.

Although I didn't run that many miles in May, only just over 68 miles, I was too busy having fun to really notice I kinda slacked off. I need to get back into a solid routine of running and my goal this summer is to get back on my bike and get over my fear of being hit by a car AGAIN. I have 4 more races in the Mountain Goat series to complete and a couple of half marathons coming up. I'm also planning on checking off a few more items from my "to-do" list this summer. Coming up soon, I will learn to fly a plane. I might even learn to ride my unicycle or try walking on stilts. I have to look at the list again and see what sort of silly stuff I can accomplish on the days that I am not running. I'm still narrowing down my choices for a fall marathon and have a few ideas, but struggling to pick one so who knows maybe I'll do more than one or maybe I'll do something else entirely. I can't decide.

Flying Pig recap

Really, the only "hell" we went through for the Flying Pig Marathon was the winter we had to train in, then getting a 75+ degree day for the race. Other than that, the race was amazing!

So many people asked me over the weekend, "why did you pick the Flying Pig Marathon?" The short answer is I'm addicted to marathons and hadn't done this one yet. The longer answer is I was looking for a spring marathon after I finished NYC last year and I had a short list of races I was considering and at the same time I was trying to convince my friend Lisa to run her first marathon. We had done many shorter races together and she trained to run Boston as a bandit in 2012 and bailed at the halfway mark because of the heat (wise decision). I knew she had it in her and I knew she really wanted to run one. We could have done a local race, but I told Lisa that her first marathon should be a big deal (or as it turns out a "pig deal"). Many of the local races were smaller in size, capped at 5000 runners tops. Would have been fine for me, sometimes smaller races have a lot of charm and really cool swag. But for her first marathon I told her she should run a race with 20,000 other runners and go to a giant expo and get a finishers jacket and have tons of crowd support along the course and see a new city that she had never been to. So, at some point in December I finally registered and then forwarded my confirmation email to Lisa with the words "YOUR TURN" typed at the top of the email. She hesitated and it took a little more convincing, but she finally registered too.

So, we were all signed up and now we needed to train. I planned it all out. We had 16 weeks from the time I got back from doing the Dopey Challenge in Disney and I designed a training schedule with a few micro-cycles of building mileage and then recovering. While I was in Disney running 48.6 miles I gave Lisa a homework assignment to ease her into the training and ensure she was ready to get going when I got back - run 6 miles, nice and easy, we'd done it a million times before. I did Dopey and came back and asked her how the 6 miles went....she skipped it. She said life got in the way, she was too busy. I told her training for a marathon is a big commitment and life has to sometimes take a back seat for a bit. I sort of wondered if she was really up for the challenge and if she really knew what she signed up for. It's not just a race, it's months of preparing for that race.

So, the next weekend we did 8 miles on the Newton Hills in sub-zero temperatures with a ridiculous wind chill that froze my water bottles and my face. It was tough but we got it done. Lisa worried about the time it took us to drive to Newton and then run and drive back and wanted to run closer to home the following weekend to save some time. I figured an hour travel time total for a safe place to run was not too bad and our long runs were only going to get longer and take more time. All part of training for a marathon in my book. Saturdays are not for running errands and getting things done, they are reserved for long runs, followed by a nap and maybe some food and beverages.

Anyway, the next weekend began the most epic winter of snow dumping on New England EVER and we didn't get to run at all so travel time wasn't an issue. For the next three weeks in a row, we got over a foot of snow and no end in sight. Roads were not clear and snowbanks were like mountains. Lisa began to worry about the training and I started to worry a little too, but I just revised our plan and removed a few recovery weeks and reassured her that we would be fine. We still had plenty of time. If we needed to we could even take out one of the two 20 milers and still be ready for the race in time.

It didn't really stop snowing, but it stopped snowing in huge ridiculous total accumulation amounts so we were able to get out and start our training over again. We did a continuous build with no recovery weeks 10-12-14-16-18-20. In those 6 weeks of training we ran in every type of precipitation possible. Snow, sleet, rain, torrential down pours and blizzard conditions. It was brutal. We got one recovery week and one more 20 miler in before the taper and then we were ready to race. We got one really beautiful day to do our last double digit run. 14 miles of hills. I told Lisa to use the taper to start to mentally prepare for the race. Practice visualization and mentally plan out the race, break it into small manageable chunks and think about a positive experience and a strong finish.

 

As the race got closer, the taper madness set in. It was sort of fun to watch it happen in someone else. I'm kind of used to it by now and don't get that nervous. I get more excited than anything. Lisa started to panic about what to wear, what to pack, what to eat. All normal things. Training her and talking her through all of it was like re-living my first marathon. It was so fun. Race weekend finally arrived and it was time to go. The forecast was less than ideal, 75 and mostly sunny, but we kept telling ourselves that the race started at 6:30am and we should be almost done before it gets real hot.

We explored a little of Cincinnati and the surrounding area, met some other runners and went to the Expo and got Lisa her official finishers jacket (not to be worn until after she finished). We had our pre-race dinner and got to bed early and planned to meet in the morning to walk to the start. I met Lisa in the lobby of her hotel at 5:15 to walk to the start area, she was checking and double checking that she had everything and hadn't forgotten anything. I said, "do you have sneakers on? Clothes on? A positive attitude? yes? there's nothing else you need."

We walked to the start and found our corral (or "Pig Pen") and used the port-o-potty one more time and then talked with some of the other runners in our pig pen. There was a cute older woman there running the half marathon from St. Petersburg, FL. She said she had done the full marathon before and the course was nice. Then she pointed to a tattoo on her calf and said she did the Ironman in Kona too. She was AMAZING. I love all the people you meet at races. It is so fun to hear everyone's story and to share your own. I tried to make the whole weekend all about Lisa. It was her day. Her first marathon and I was determined to make it awesome. I told everyone that would listen, "It's her first marathon today!" She must have felt like a celebrity.

Before we knew it, we were moving....it was time to run. We got to the start line, right at the front of our pig pen and then fireworks went off and we were running. My 20th marathon and Lisa's first. I told her not to get sucked into the excitement and bolt out of the start, just hold back and settle in. It was just another long run. The sunrise was amazing and the miles flew by. We crossed into Kentucky and then back into Ohio in a flash.

The course was so much fun. There were bands on every corner and spectators everywhere. They had "feed stations" with various candies and snacks all along the course. People had the best signs, some typical ones like "worst parade ever" and "Go random stranger" and some really funny ones like "I like PIG butts and I cannot lie" and "Humpty Dumpty had wall issues too". By far, the best part of the entire race was the biggest hill on the course between mile 7 and 9ish. There was a guy on the side of the road in camo pants with a bullhorn handing out wooden pink painted letter F's and telling people to "GET THE F UP THE HILL". It was hilarious and awesome!

 After that hill I thought the rest of the course was supposed to be mostly flat with some rolling hills. It was NOT. The rolling hills were abundant and some of them were pretty steep. The miles still went by pretty fast and we felt great. We kept a good pace and even met up with the 5:30 pacer around mile 18 and hung with him for a bit. Since we started before him I figured we were still on track to be under 5:30 and he even said he was 2 minutes ahead of his pace. Then we got to mile 20....

The only way I can describe it is it felt like someone magically switched on a heat lamp right at that point. I knew the last 10K would be tough, but when it got hot and the sun was almost directly above us and there was no shade to be found, it was beyond tough.  I had to stop and walk and pour water over my head at each water stop. I put ice in my armpits. I did everything i could to keep my core temperature down and it would spike right back up as soon as we started running. The water stops were not close enough together and I felt like I was cooking form the inside out. At one point they handed out wet towels and I draped it over my shoulders. That helped a lot, but it quickly evaporated and was a dry crusty towel.

We kept moving forward and I kept telling Lisa to go on without me if she felt strong. She insisted we started together and we would finish together. I tried to put the miles into perspective for her and give her landmarks from home and all our training runs to remind her how far we had gone and how little was left. We could do it. She reminded me of other races I had done in the heat and completed and tougher challenges I had faced. We were an unstoppable pep talking pair. One at a time we checked off mile by mile. And finally, I could see the "FIN.." of the Finish line banner. I told Lisa to dig deep we were almost there and almost done. I could see some shade that we could get into immediately and I pushed a little harder. One step at a time, we made it! We crossed the "Finish SWINE".

I completed my 20th marathon and Lisa completed her first marathon in 5:44. (which given the weather, was exactly where I expected us to be, somewhere between 5:30 and 5:45). It was not easy, the last few miles were a struggle, but the struggle makes the accomplishment that much more amazing and gratifying. All the months of training in snow and wind and rain, finally rewarded with an impressively heavy medal placed over my head and around my neck. We DID IT!

Now I need to decide what's next......stay tuned. I'm not sure what it will be, but I know this for sure, it will be AWESOME.

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 4^th 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????