Personal Check-Offs: Marathons and the Grand Slam

Run A Marathon: I ran the Top of Utah Marathon in September 2009...my first marathon ever! I thought I'd never run one, but after I placed first in my division at my first 1/2 marathon 3 weeks beforehand, I decided to just go for it. My finishing time was 3:50.

Compete in the Utah Grand Slam: Okay, so being a marathon newbie I decided to push myself a bit in 2010 by signing up for the grand slam. This is a four-marathon competition between those in your gender and age division category (a much bigger age division competition than regular race standards). First up was the Ogden Marathon (pictured above). Finishing time was 3:46.

The next marathon was Utah Valley...in the rain!!! Finishing time: 3:45.

The third and the hardest of all the marathons was Park City. It's full of the most challenging hills which sometimes makes it difficult to enjoy the scenery. Plus it didn't help that my bf and I broke up the week of this race. My finishing time was 4:11...not the best time in the world, but I'll still take it.

The last marathon in the grand slam series was St. George. It was definitely a challenge, but a great experience overall (thanks to my awesome friends, Michelle and Justin Anderson). I accomplished a few things in this race. First, I finished it in 3:31; second, I qualified for the Boston Marathon (another bucket lister); third, I completed the grand slam competition. I ended up coming in third in my division, and above is a pic with the slam medal and the St. George one along with the grand slam shirt.

Visit the Rockies

Now this would be a sad one not to cross off the list seeing as I live in UTAH! However, visiting the Rocky Mountains is on themasterbucketlist.com so it's an easy check-off. Gotta love those gorgeous mountains!

Travel to Italy

Now, this is another one that gets a half check on the bucket list. Why? There are other parts of Italy that I still need to explore...hello, Rome is calling! However, one of my favorite places in the world has got to be Venice. I know that it isn't the cleanest city in the world, but it definitely gets points for uniqueness. I loved all the canals, architecture, and overall ambiance. I had the chance to ride a gondola (how can you not), but my pics don't really show the actual gondola. I watched a "glass-blowing" demonstration which was pretty interesting. My group and I dined in a cute little Italian place and the food was excellent. The dinner was going pretty good until our waiter offered to show me "the gardens" outside of the restaurant. I realized that English wasn't his first language, but I'm just hoping that he really only wanted me to see actual "gardens." Needless to say, I didn't take him up on his offer.

Lake Lugano was such a gorgeous, romantic place. It had that summery, (new word again) vacation-like atmosphere. It's the perfect spot to enjoy a gelato while enjoying the scenery.

Build a Snowman/Sand Castle

I've been involved in a few snowman constructions in my lifetime...kind of a hard thing to miss out on when you live in Utah.

I figured that building a sandcastle would also fit in this bucket list category. This was taken in St. Augustine, Florida. My mom, sis, grandma, and I all worked together to create this masterpiece. Up next, maybe a combination of the two...a sand man.

Jungle Treking/Tubing

So I think that this is an on-going Bucket lister because there are other jungles that I'd like to trek. However, I have visited a couple of jungley (yep, a new word) areas that were beautiful. Above is a pic from a jungle trek in Hawaii (Oahu). I was "smart" enough to not actually climb the vine I'm posing with, but someone else in the group lacked, well how do I say it nicely..."intelligence." He climbed the vine, it broke, he fell, and I laughed (I probably should've been more helpful and concerned before I started cracking up...oops!). We eventually hiked our way to some beautiful waterfalls...wish I had a great pic of those.

My sis and I did a mini jungle trek in Belize. Our main jungley (addicting word now) adventure was tubing down the river. Since the water levels were a little low, we did have to stand up and push ourselves every now and again. At one point, our guide asked us to come close to one of the bushes on the side if the river. As soon as we were all positioned right along side it, our guide shook it and tons of bats came flying out. It freaked us out a little, but not so much that we started screaming and trying to frantically paddle our tubes away.

The Louvre, Eiffle Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe

Now, I feel like I'm cheating just a little bit here. The Louvre is next on the Master Bucket list, and although I did see the outside, I have yet to go through the inside. I was only in Paris for a short time and I chose to cruise the River Thames, climb the Eiffle Tower, and visit the Arc de Triomphe. I guess that the Louvre is still technically on the list, but the others are crossed off. My dream is to run the Paris Marathon one day. One of my friends that ran said it was her favorite because it was incredibly scenic. I would definitely have to hang on to a camera while running so I could snap some pics along the route. I'm sure that by the time I can run it there will be some cool, compact, hands-free camera that I can attach to myself.

More Personal Check-Offs

THE SWISS ALPS: Now if I had just skiied down them then I could really cross this one off the list. Still, it was beautiful...I think I could live in Switzerland!

STANDING IN A BALLOON-FILLED ROOM: This wouldn't be on the list if I hadn't experienced it firsthand. Let me just say that back in the day I had some boyfriends that really knew how to impress me. Rushing to the airport to see me off, sending flowers for no reason, dancing in the parking lot, breaking into my car (carefully) and leaving gifts inside, placing messages with glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling, and filling my room with balloons. Such a cool feeling, but I'm trying to remember if I popped them immediately or if I slept in that chaos. If I did then I'm sure I had some fun hair the following morning thanks to static electricity.

OLD WESTERN PHOTO: Everyone should do this at some point in their life. This one was taken at Lagoon when I was 18 or 19. I also did one with my family a few years prior to this one, too. I'd love to do one with Hayden...he'd make a cute little cowboy!

EMBARRASS MYSELF...IN ANOTHER COUNTRY: I really embarrass myself everywhere I go, but I guess it's only as embarrassing as you allow it to be. This was at a hotel in Paris and I'm doing the "Tootie-Tat" dance with some other ladies. If I've ever had any one's kids in my kindergarten classes then they are probably familiar with this one. We did some other things too like the "Electric Slide" and, do I dare admit it, the "Macarena."

BECOME A LIFEGUARD: I did this job for three summers (15-17 years-old). I realize that I look super serious in this picture, but hey, I took my job seriously. If nothing else, it made for an incredibly busy summer with an awesome tan.

JEEPING AND HIKING IN MOAB: So how often does a SLC girl get a chance to go to Moab...haha, j/k. I decided not to post the jeeping pics for personal reasons, but here's a fun one with my sis. Gotta love the Red Rock!

VISITING THE MAYAN RUINS: This happened on my first trip to Cozumel. I didn't know that I was in the picture or else I would have, you know, smiled a little! It was such an amazing experience to see these ruins plus I rode a moped for the first time, and had to use some of my Spanish speaking skills (not sure that anyone understood me, but I can pretend).

PEARL HARBOR: Wow, what an emotional day this ended up being! The thing that tugged at my heart strings the most was reading the letters the soldiers had written to their families. It just added an element of reality to this historical tragedy. The lives of those who were lost became more human after deciphering a bit of their character that came through those letters. Another big "Thank you" to all those men and women who make sacrifices serving our country so we can all enjoy our daily freedoms.

SEE THE ANCIENT GREEK RUINS: This trip was LEGEN...wait for it...DARY! Yep, that's a HIMYM reference that really has nothing to do with Greece. However, there were a lot of famous or "legendary" sites along the way. See, I can somehow tie it together (just one bunny ear at a time). This pic was in Athens, home of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. I also had the chance to visit other famous places like Olympia, Delph and Mycenae.

HOLY METEORA: So this may not fall on everyone's bucket list, but I suggest you add it. These cliff top monastaries in Greece are absolutely magnificent! People used to have to use the pulley system to get things up to the top of these monastaries, but I chose to take the stairs (quite a lot of them). The view from the top is BREATHTAKING and worthy of some picture taking, too.

LONDON: This was taken in front of Buckingham Palace. I also had a chance to see Westminster Abby, Big Ben, and the Tower Bridge. London has kind of its own "Times Square" feel and this is where some friends and I caught a couple of theatrical productions ("Art" and "Rent"). Another must is visiting the National Gallery. Since taking an Art History class I was completely engrossed in seeking out certain artists and studying their work in person as opposed to textbooks and slides. Plus I was taking an art course at Cambridge during this time which just heightened my artistic interests that much more. Now what else can you do in London? So glad you asked. There's plenty of shopping, but one of the best places I shopped was in Soho. It's pretty much the Chinatown of London. There was lots of cool European stuff and so much bartering to be done. If you're really looking for something off the beaten path, you can look for the blue door from the movie "Knotting Hill." My friend Ashley and I searched for it, but never found it (although we did find some fantastic deals on clothes...yep, I'm a girl).

EDINBURGH CASTLE: Loved this beautiful castle in Scotland! My friends and I took a self-guided tour and enjoyed exploring everything in and outside this castle.

IRELAND: The trip getting here is enough to make the bucket list (cab, train, train, ferry...lost, then a cab, and a bus). This weekend trip ended up being great despite the travel complications. We toured Dublin on a Double Decker Bus and went on a 25-mile bike ride around Hoath.

SLEEP IN A HOSTEL: Nothing about this experience is glamorous, inviting or tempting. However, it's one of those things you just have to do. I mean who doesn't enjoy sleeping in a room with ten sets of bunkbeds, being one of two girls in the room, and sleeping with your valuables in your shirt and your backpack tied to your ankles.

See a Broadway Play

I did get a chance to see Les Miserables on Broadway and it was amazing!!! My mom, sis, and I had been listening to the music for weeks leading up to the trip.

A couple of nights later (or the next night...I can't quite remember) we saw the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.

Taking a Break from the Master List

So, I'm breaking away from themasterbucketlist.com to throw in a few of my personal bucket list accomplishments.
FIRST KISS...So we all have first kisses (ok, most of us), but this one happened on my 16th birthday by Frankenstein. It was probably some old guy underneath the costume and make-up so it's a good thing it was just a kiss on the cheek.

PUNTING ON THE CAMBRIDGE RIVER: I promise that I'm happy, but it was a little bright so I'm squinting. Can I just say that I had the best time and met the coolest people on this trip!

TEA TIME IN ENGLAND: Here we are enjoying afternoon tea (well, I was at the stage in my life when I only drank water so I enjoyed the scones that went along with the tea).

RED TELEPHONE BOOTH PICTURE: I actually made my first international call from this booth, too.

KARAOKE: My first karaoke experience was to the tune of the B-52's "Love Shack." Luckily, my sis sang with me.

PUBLIC SPEAKING: I never really thought about this one until it popped up on a different bucket list that I found in my search. This has been the largest audience I've spoken in front of (about 7,000 people). Yes, my shoes are on (total inside joke, but good info nonetheless).

HAVING A TWIN: My then bf made this replication of me to take to a friend's wedding while I was out-of-town. So far, it's the only twin I know of.

WINNING A COSTUME CONTEST: Wow, this goes way back to my dancing days. That's pretty much what I had to do to win (nice way to earn $75, though). On a side note, this was also the first time I ever got pulled over (not sure if that should make the list or not). My two friends (Geri and Cami in the pic above) took my car afterwards and turned on the driving lights. While driving on the well-lit state street, I didn't realize that my headlights weren't on. Hence why the police officer pulled me over. However, no ticket! I'll attribute it to the costume instead of my "almost-in-tears-typical-17-year-old-girl-reaction."

DISNEYLAND: Here I am with Hayden on his first visit to the happiest place on earth.

DISNEY WORLD: This trip was with my mom, step-dad, and sis. We also visited Sea world and I've done Universal Studios in both Florida and Cali. Good times! I love family vacations!!!

OWNING MY DREAM CAR: Or in this case, my dream jeep! I had this Wrangler for about five years until Hayden got too big for it. Oh, how I miss it!

LAS VEGAS, BABY!: This time I'm on another vacation with the fam.

TOP OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: I'm not sure why I have a face that has "attitude" written all over it. Either I was mid-sentence or being a typical teenager. My sis looks slightly scared, but at least my step-dad looks good.

THE TODAY SHOW: We got up super early to hang outside for "The Today Show." We ended up on TV, and at one point, Katie Couric told me I could have her job (in response to my sign).

I don't even know what to title this pic! It's just one of those things you pay five bucks to do in Hawaii.

FEEDING A TIGER: It's not everyday you get the chance to bottle feed a baby tiger. If you're ever given the opportunity, definitely do it (just make sure it's really a baby one though).

FEEDING THE SQUIRRELS: Okay, when I see this picture I laugh for two reasons. One, I totally look like a boy! I blame that on the eighties! Secondly, there's a scene in "The Office" where Daryl is feeding squirrels just before the Race for the Cure (for rabies, that is). Oh, the irony!

Camping

I've been camping a few times...yes, I harbor certain "feelings" when it comes to camping. This pic was from Hayden's first camping trip. Behind us is Bryce Canyon which also deserves a spot on the bucket list.