As 30 approaches (one week from today!), let’s look back at how I’m doing on my 30 Things to Do Before 30 List. Not everything has been done, nor will it be by May 1st, and that’s ok. I’ve got my life list of things to do and some of these items will move on over there. Just because I didn’t do them before 30, doesn’t mean I won’t try to do them. Instead of focused on what I haven’t done, let’s look at what I’ve accomplished:
1. Run a marathon: In 2013 I ran the NYC marathon and it was an amazing experience. I did a decent job training, did all of my long challenging run and when race day came, I felt ready. I can’t say that i loved training, putting all those miles in takes its toll on your body, but it’s 2 years later and I signed up for (the lottery for) another marathon. I had a goal of a sub 4 hour race and came close-ish with a 4:07 finish. I was super proud and happy with that time even though I fell short of my big goal.
2. Hiking and camping trip: I’m counting this as completed although it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. In my mind, I’d wear a giant backpack, hike, set up camp and spend the night there before hiking on. Oh, that’s much harder and more expensive than I knew! No, I don’t have any of the necessities for that type of experience. I did go camping and go on a mini hike, so that counts.
3. Go to New Orleans: In October 2014 I went to Nola for a friends (amazzzzing) wedding and got to visit and stay with one of my best friends from high school. I loved New Orleans. We totally did it up, ate an insane amount of delicious food, saw the sights, partied the night away, you know the drill. If you haven’t been, put it on your to-do list.
4. Volunteer: I’ve gotten involved in a few volunteering opportunities over the past two years. I did some work with Girls on the Run but unfortunately haven’t kept up with it. It’s time consuming and I haven’t been able to give it the focus I’d like. Hopefully I can get more involved in the future. Another big volunteer experience was with Cycle for Survival. For the last two years I’ve captained teams and instructed the huge fundraising rides.
5. Watch every film nominated for Best Film before the Oscars: I did this two years in a row and it’s a bit expensive paying to see all those films (luckily I snagged some screeners and freebies) but it makes watching the Oscars so much more fun! You actually know what everyone is talking about and can form your own opinions on who should take home the statue. I definitily suffered through a few of the films but it paid off, one year I won the office Oscar pool!
I’ll be back in next week with 5 more items that have been checked off my list!
