30 things while 30!!

*EDIT TO ADD: I have decided to keep updating this entry as I accomplish things!!*

 So generally, I try to keep this as a running-specific blog. However, I'm going to venture outside that for a minute (although a lot of this is running-related and I could argue that it's all wellness-related and, well, it's MY blog and I can do what I want!) Apparently there are a few of us in the blogosphere who are turning 30 within a couple of months of each other, which is how I came to hear about the idea of making a list of 30 things to do while you're 30. I googled others' lists for inspiration, asked a few friends, and I'm pretty happy with what I came up with. I even have three days to spare! :) So here are my 30 things, with a bit of commentary.

1. Run a Marathon  DONE - 9/17/11
2. Do a half Ironman
3. Do a trail race
4. Do a century ride
5. Get my PCC-S license - Stands for Professional Clinical Counselor Supervisor. Technically, I'm eligible in March, and I'm currently supervising an intern at work to meet that part of the requirements. I just have to find 18 affordable, very specific hours of continuing ed. Groan.
6. Do an unassisted pull-up - I've never. Ever. Ever. even come close. September update: I've been using the assisted pull-up machine at the gym....sometimes. I can do one with only 40 lbs to counterbalance, which is an improvement from the 60 it used to take. This is with very little actual work on my part.
7. Do a sub-30 5k   DONE - 8/13/11
8. Do a sub-60 10k
9. Grow a veggie garden - Now that we have a house, I can start on this in the spring! Yay!
10. Take swim lessons - Technically I have - when I was eight. I want to improve my form for this triathlon thing. Not that I care about placing, I'd just like to not be last out of the water again!
11. Visit a new country - My bro-in-law is going to be deployed overseas in March and we're already talking about saving up to go visit him, my sis-in-law and my nephew. I'd tell you where, but they're not telling anyone outside of immediate family at the moment. It'll be a good trip, though, and somewhere I've never been.
12. Pay off my car - Easy. It's due to be paid off two months after my birthday next year anyway.
13. Donate hair to locks of love - 10 inches is the minimum. I'm not sure what that actually looks like, but my hair is a few inches past my shoulders as it is, and it grows fast, so I'm sure I'll have enough to donate this year. I'll ask for more info next time I get a trim.  September update: I asked. I could donate 10 inches right now...if I get a pixie cut, which I'm afraid will make me look like a 12 year old boy. More growing is in order.
14. Learn to change my own oil - Always wanted to do this. Talk about a money saver.
15. Learn to play and accompany myself on at least 3 songs - I went through a guitar phase for a while. I still have an acoustic guitar, but I all but forget how to play it. I took piano as a kid and I've talked about getting an electric keyboard for a while. Not sure if the gimpy finger will let me play guitar until it's healed, but I could probably do piano. Anyway, I think I've mentioned before, I love to sing. While I don't think I'm winning American Idol anytime soon, I've always thought it would be really fun to be able to accompany myself on some instrument.
16. Do an out-of-town race - Dayton and Columbus don't count. If one can feasibly drive there on race morning, it doesn't count. I basically want to take a mini-vacation that includes a race.
17. Get boudoir pics done - 'Cuz I ain't getting any younger here, people. Gotta remember what 30 looks like.
18. Do something with wedding pics - I have scrapbooks that people got me. I have wedding pics in a box. This needs to be rectified. I need to enlist the help of a scrapbooking friend and make myself sit still for a few hours.
19. Bench press 100 lbs for 3 reps - I can do three sets of  10 at 70 now, probably up to 85 max. I'm kinda stuck there. This means I'll have to do more strength training.
20. Run the Flying Pig
21. Get concealed carry permit - I do not yet own a gun, and I'm still slightly scared to shoot them, although I have. But I've talked about this for years too. September update: husband now owns a S&W .45. I have shot it and got over the panic attack caused by the loud noise it creates. I figured that was probably smart in case I ever need to use it for protection. I actually came to enjoy it. I now have a gun I can use for a CCW class if I should so choose.
22. Ride a segway
23. Take a belly dancing and/or pole dancing class - Who's in with me??? I guarantee that it's impossible to have less grace and coordination than I do, so you wouldn't be embarrassed!
24. Organize school papers -  I have all my notes and handouts from grad school, still. Many of them are helpful, and I've been told to hang onto them in case licensing requirements change and/or I pursue an out-of-state license. Especially since my school wasn't accredited, I could need to prove the content of my classes. I was doing really well and got some of them organized into a notebook. The rest....in a box. I graduated 2 1/2 years ago. I should fix this.
25. Complete a knitting project - I know how to knit, but I've only ever completed two things - a scarf for my husband that was too short (ran out of yarn and couldn't find the same type/color again) and a scarf for myself that unraveled. I haven't knitted in a couple of years now, ever since I started a blanket that, you guessed it, never got finished!
26. Visit a new state - Possibly in conjunction with #16
27. Visit an out-of-town friend
28. Go vegetarian for a week - I will have to enlist my husband's cooperation since I cook 95% of the meals, but I think he'll go along with it. Honestly, though, I don't think I'll attempt it until after the USAF marathon. I'm in the training stage where I pretty much swallow everything in the fridge whole after a workout and I'm not going to try to mess with my diet that much. (It's true. Marathons take your appetite to a whole other level. Last night I ate half a sleeve of ritz, cold meatloaf, a heaping spoonful of peanut butter and then a handful of pickles. Then I made popcorn. Then Huz was eating saltines and pb so I had some too. It wasn't even after a run. It was after a measly 5 mile bike ride. You'd think I was pregnant. <--I'm not!!)
29. Do something nice and unnecessary for myself once a month - Like manicures, pedicures, massages, etc. I actually made this vow to myself after we went on a cruise earlier in the year. I forgot it for a few months but I've done it for a couple of months in a row now. I want to keep it up.  
1. August - mani/pedi/30 minute massage the day after my birthday
2. September - pedi and new tattoo 
30.  Create a signature dish - I love to cook, and I love to watch Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen and the like, where they always have to make a signature dish to present to the judges. Huz always asks me what mine would be, and I'm stumped. I have a year to figure it out. September update: I kind of have an idea to work on now. It involves comfort food and bacon.

And then I even came up with a few extras, just in case something on the list doesn't get done (although for the most part, they're very doable and realistic). These are a few I came up with that seem a little less doable in the next year, but that I still want to do in my lifetime:

Honorable mention 1: Learn to ride a motorcycle. Something I've always wanted to do, just don't know if the budget will permit a chopper this year.

Honorable mention 2: Get LASIK. Probably doable, provided that I can build my HSA back up and I don't have to blow it all on running/biking injuries again.

Honorable mention 3: Get something published. Besides this blog, I mean.


***Things I didn't think to put on the list but I accomplished this year:

9/3/11 - first urban adventure race