It's almost here, so let's ignore it

In exactly 48 hours, I hope to be hobbling my way 2 blocks down the road to my local bar to celebrate the completion of my next big endurance challenge with all of my wonderful friends who supported me (whether from near or far).  With the upcoming half-Ironman looming over my head, I have a laundry list full of worries coursing through my brain.

But I've done my training to the best of my physical, mental, and time-constrained ability.  I put in my best effort.  I gave what I had to give.  I even put in my time practicing changing tires.

I broke a total of 3 levers in the process, but I can now take
the tire off the rim, remove the tube, replace the tube, and
then replace the tire in 5 minutes and 13 seconds.

#proof.

I also scared the crap out of my poor little pup
when I opened the valve on the tire and the air
came hissing loudly out.  It took quite a while to
coax her (and by "coax," I mean pick her up and
remove her) from the kitchen.

So with all of it said and done, what will be will be.

I have just one goal for this race:  Finish!

Actually, I lied. Two goals:  Finish and have fun!

Instead of regaling you with the awful and graphic details of everything I'm freaking out about right now, I figured...let's just ignore it.

Instead, let's talk about something that has absolutely nothing to do with triathloning or marathoning (well, it might sneak in there, but only just a bit).  I want to talk about turning 30.

Lately, my Facebook newsfeed and overbooked calendar seems to be filling up with 30th birthday celebrations.  I've already been to a few.  As as I think about my encroaching 30th birthday (in just over 4 months), I can't help but be cheesy and reflect back up on these 30 years of living.  And as I do, I start to wonder just what exactly is it I have left to do before I'm 30.

So being the person that I am, I decided to set a challenge for myself.  Because after this race is over, I'm not going to be training for anything in particular for quite some time.  I'm going to have some spare time on my hands where it won't be the end of the world if I don't go for that run just this once.  I'd like to fill that time with other productive and useful things.

Here's the new challenge:

30 Things I'd Like to Do Before I'm 30 that I've Never Done Before

I started thinking about formulating this list a while ago and have had some stray thoughts in my head for a few weeks.  However, whenever I tried to actually formulate a list, I found it pretty difficult.  I could come up with a quick 10, but after that I was lost.

And I have to admit that I'm pretty proud of having a hard time coming up with 30 things I've never done.  That means I've done a lot.  Which is a testament to how I've chosen to live these 30 years of life.  For example, some things that I couldn't add to my list of "things I've never done" include:

1)  Move across the country for no other reason except to find happiness
2)  Find a job that you love and are fulfilled by
3)  Run a marathon (or 5)
4)  Do something that terrifies you (see items 1 and 3)

All in all, I'm pretty proud of how I've lived these near 30 years.

But I'm not done.

There's so much left to live and so much more to do.

So as I was planning my list and realizing that it was going to be quite difficult, I turned to Facebook for help.  Because people are always so willing to provide suggestions on Facebook.  The only limitations I set: ideas must be reasonable and achievable in the next 4 months.

I got some interesting suggestions (my favorite being "buy a toaster," which did make the list--see this post for an explanation if you need one).  I got some that were just funny, some that made me feel uncomfortable, and some that were quite frankly simply unaffordable (unfortunately, when I found that job that I love and am fulfilled by, it didn't really pay much).  But I also got some pretty good ones.  I added them to my own, and here is what I ended up with:

1) Do a half Ironman.  This may be cheating because it was already on the books, but I count it.
2) Get my tattoo.  I tried to this summer, but the place/artist I chose has been really disappointing.  So now I'm looking elsewhere for quality work/service.
3) Take a cooking class.  Simple enough.
4) Volunteer at a women's and/or homeless shelter.  Community service is good for me.
5) Take a road trip to somewhere new.  Ideas?
6) Publish a short story to the blog.  I wrote some this summer.  I need to work up the nerve to make them public.
7) Ride the Ducks in Seattle.  I've ridden them in Boston, but not here.  I've heard they're a hoot.
8) Run the Golden Gardens stairs.  This sounds horrible, miserable, and torturous, but it is something I feel the need to eventually do.
9) Do a mud run.  Pineapple Classic, anyone?
10) Buy a toaster.  Mentioned above.
11) Take a dance class.  I love being spun around the dance floor.  Any tall men out there want to be my partner?
12) Get 8 hours of sleep every night for a week straight.  This one was my idea.  I want to know if it's humanly possible.
13) Get rid of horrible commute/be brave and start a new job.  Yes, I've already done this but I think it's recent enough and life changing enough to warrant making the list.
14) Walk a dog at a dog shelter.  I know just which TNT coach I'm going to talk to about making this happen.
15) Make a delicious baked item.  I love cooking.  I simply don't have the patience for baking.  I'm going to steal some of my "teaching patience" and give it to my "baking patience."
16) 30 random acts of kindness.  I think this is going to be harder than it sounds.  What qualifies as a random act of kindness?
17) Be a coach for TNT.  I think I've got this one in the bag.
18) Go to the top of the Space Needle.  I've lived in Seattle for over 5 years and have yet to do this.
19) Hike to Camp Muir with Yanni.  Yanni is an amazingly strong, fabulous, and sparkly cancer survivor that I will be racing in honor of this weekend.  I want to hike 10,000 feet with her.  I just hope we can find that time before the weather turns gloomy.
20) Cook something new.  Perhaps this will happen simultaneously with the cooking class?
21) Make a list of 40 things to do before I'm 40.  With 10 years ahead of me, that could be a much more interesting list than this one.
22) Run one more half marathon.  I've done 9.  Why not round it out at 10?  Seattle Amica half, here I come.
23) Try a new sport.  This might be hard considered the gloomy days of Seattle will be fast upon us.  I'm surprised they aren't already.  Suggestions for this are welcome (and I'm a snowboarder who has also tried skiing, so neither of those work). Oh, snowshoeing!!  Who wants to go snowshoeing??  Speed walking was suggested, but I think I'd have trouble keeping a straight face.
24) Try a new cuisine.  I've eaten quite a large variety of cuisines.  I'd be interested to see how I can expand my palate.  Must be "mostly vegetarian" friendly.
25) Watch a meteor shower.  I looked this up.  There's one that peaks the night of January 2nd.  I'm on winter vacation so it's totally doable.
26) Volunteer for Make a Wish.  I would love to volunteer to this organization and help kids in a different way from my everyday role.
27) empty
28) empty
29) empty
30) Skydive!!  This is last on the list because it is the one that I absolutely want to do the most and is the only costly one that I'm willing to put in the investment for.  I won't be doing this by myself.  Who's with me?

So there it is.  The project I have set before myself for the next 4 months.  And there are three empty slots.

Here's what I need from you:  help!  Whether you help fill those 3 empty slots with ideas or volunteer to have fun while accomplishing one of these oh-so-burdensome tasks with me, I need help.  I don't want to do any of these things alone.  That just wouldn't be any fun.

Leave a comment--either here or on Facebook or Twitter or whatever social venue is out there.  Volunteer for an excellent cause :)  Help me cross every one of these things off my to-do list!

Thirty better watch out, I'm coming in strong.