27 Things To Do Before 27

It was just over a year ago that I started okAWESOME. I had just turned 25 and my life needed to change. At first it was hard to write down and share my thoughts. However, it didn’t take long to break out of my shell and feel comfortable sharing my experiences on this blog.

My intention for this blog has been the same since day one, to chronicle my journey from fat to fit. One of the things that I did early on was to make a sort of bucket list. I say “sort of” because looking back at it, it really wasn’t much of a bucket list.

So, I’ve created a new list. The focus of this new list is to do the 27 things on the list before I turn 27. That gives me 350 days, as of this posting, until my next birthday to complete the list.

Without further ado and in no particular order here is my 27 Things To Do Before 27 list:

1. Run a 10k without stopping
2. Beat my time of 1:24:20 for a 10k (my time for the 2010 Underwear Affair, my first 10k)
3. Run a total of 100 miles
4. Hike the Chief and the Grouse Grind
5. Complete the Grouse Grind in less than 1 hour
6. Get another tattoo
7. Go skydiving
8. Bike a Century (100 miles in one day)
9. Host a dinner party with the menu being comprised only of recipes from Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite
10. Compete in and finish a triathlon
11. Read one novel a month (any suggestions?)
12. Create a healthy meal plan that doesn’t include any processed food
13. Go on a blind date
14. Learn how to ice skate properly
15. Ride in a hot air balloon
16. Solve a Rubik’s Cube
17. Become an Adobe Certified Expert
18. Bench press my own weight
19. Wear a superhero costume
20. Eat dinner at Lumière
21. Become a Big Brother
22. Take an awesome self portrait
23. Go paintballing
24. Make a cookbook of my favourite recipes
25. Watch a movie in a drive-in theatre
26. Go bungee jumping again, but jump forwards instead of backwards
27. Reach my goal weight

Preparing for Race Day

Well, tomorrow is the big day. My first 10k. Actually, it’s my first official race of any kind.

The race is called the Underwear Affair and it is a 10k run or 5k walk to raise money for cancers below the waste. I thought this would be a great opportunity to raise money for a good cause while crossing something off my own bucket list. With the help of family and friends, I have raised almost $400.

Another thing that caught my attention to this race is that they encourage you to dress up. It’s not required, but how often do you get to run around town in your underwear or a costume?

You’ll have to wait until race day to see what I’m going to wear, but I will not disappoint.

Training for the race has been tough. The longest training run I have done is 10k, and I only did that once. Even though I won’t be leading the pack or setting a record, I will be lining up at the start line and giving it my best effort.

I also made a playlist to keep me going during the race. Here are the tunes that I will be rocking during my race:

• Against Me – I Was A Teenage Anarchist
• Against Me – Piss and Vinegar
• B.o.B. – Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)
• Breaking Benjamin – Give Me A Sign
• Bush – Machinehead
• DJ Champion – Perfect In Between
• Coldplay – Life In Technicolor II
• Disturbed – Prayer
• Disturbed – Stricken
• Green Day – Burnout
• K’naan – ABC’s (fear. Chubb Rock)
• K’naan – If Rap Gets Jealous (feat. Kirk Hammett)
• K’naan – Wavin’ Flag
• Metallica – Fuel
• Mudvayne – Scream With Me
• The Offspring – Have You Ever
• The Offspring – All I Want
• Ozzy Osbourne – Let Me Hear You Scream
• The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
• The Prodigy – Omen
• Rise Against – Injection
• Slipknot – Left Behind
• Soundgarden – Ty Cobb
• Weezer – Don’t Let Go

As you can see, there is a lot of loud music on this playlist that will keep me pumped throughout the race.

So, my plan for the rest of today and most of tomorrow is to stay hydrated and eat properly to make sure I have enough energy for the run. I’m nervous, but excited. Wish me luck.

Oh yeah, tomorrow is also my birthday. :D

My Snowboarding Jacket

A few years ago I worked on one of the local mountains. During my time there I took up snowboarding. I even went out and bought all the necessary equipment, including a very nice snowboarding jacket.

This was a nice jacket. It was comfortable, warm and it fit.

You can probably guess what happened to that jacket. It sat in the closet for almost four years. The ticket on the zipper confirms this as it says January 06 was the last time I went snowboarding.

I did try on the jacket once last winter. The results were pretty embarrassing. I couldn’t even zip it up. That was seriously one of the lowest points in my life. It was very upsetting that this jacket didn’t fit anymore.

Well, the good news is that I don’t have to go out and buy another winter jacket because it fits again. I think I might just have to celebrate by going snowboarding.