Life List #4 - cross something off a friend's life list together
One of the things that has been most interesting to people who've listened to me talk about my list is the wildly variable nature of ideas it includes. So many people here "bucket list" and immediately jump to the most extreme of adventures - summitting the highest heights, diving to the deepest depths, a superlative-laden list of almost-impossibilities.
I didn't go that route - I chose some adventures that may never happen, but I also intentionally included things that I truly wanted to do, but felt that if I didn't write them down, it was unlikely I would ever accomplish them. As I went along, I also thought about the inherently self-centered nature of making such a list, and tried to add things that would broaden it to including people who are important to me, too.
That's essentially how "cross something off a friend's life list together" came to appear on the list. I didn't know who it would be, what it would be, when or where it would be - in fact, at the time, I only knew one other friend who had a list even written down. Since then, I have exhorted others to take the time to do so; I have shared my own list and hopefully that has encouraged some to do so. I'd like to think maybe my own list helped push my cousin Suzanne to create her "35 before 35" list - which came right back to me when I had the opportunity to do her #1 idea with her!
Granted, it wasn't too much of a stretch: running marathons is kind of a thing that I do. It was written down, though! When she shared the list with me, and I immediately volunteered to do that one with her - I figured not only would I get to cross something off of my own list, but it would be so much fun to do that with her, and it was pretty good accountability for both of us. Win-win, shall I say?
We went back and forth on different options for races, with my one request that it be in a state I hadn't yet run (again with the marathons in 50 states thing, it's the list list task that may truly take me an entire lifetime). If I remember correctly, we looked at Colorado, and I panicked about the altitude. Then we looked at Wyoming and Idaho, and those weren't really in the spirit of what Suzanne had in mind.
Looking at time to train, weekends that worked, and locations with somewhat simple travel options, we ultimately landed on the Surfer's Path Marathon in Santa Cruz, California on May 23, 2016. What a fun weekend it was!! Suzanne and her boyfriend, Dana, came out from Colorado; I flew in from Arkansas; and her brother/my cousin Jay flew in from NYC! We'd found a great little rental bungalow right near the beach, which gave us plenty of room to relax, hang out, and be ready to go for race morning. We managed to get a picture at the start line, which turned out to be only a few minutes before the race actually started. We weren't even ready when the gun went off, which I found hilarious!
As I tend to do, I went out too fast and then suffered a bit in the back half. Given how beautiful the course was, though, and that I didn't really have a time goal in mind, I didn't hesitate to slow down, enjoy the scenery, and even take pictures along the way.
By the time I finished, I was glad to be done, as it had gotten pretty sunny and warm. I wasn't sure where Suzanne was, though I had seen her a couple of times along the way. As she came into the finisher's chute, though, I was delighted to see a big smile on her face! She had a great race, and a great finish time, too.
I didn't go that route - I chose some adventures that may never happen, but I also intentionally included things that I truly wanted to do, but felt that if I didn't write them down, it was unlikely I would ever accomplish them. As I went along, I also thought about the inherently self-centered nature of making such a list, and tried to add things that would broaden it to including people who are important to me, too.
That's essentially how "cross something off a friend's life list together" came to appear on the list. I didn't know who it would be, what it would be, when or where it would be - in fact, at the time, I only knew one other friend who had a list even written down. Since then, I have exhorted others to take the time to do so; I have shared my own list and hopefully that has encouraged some to do so. I'd like to think maybe my own list helped push my cousin Suzanne to create her "35 before 35" list - which came right back to me when I had the opportunity to do her #1 idea with her!
Granted, it wasn't too much of a stretch: running marathons is kind of a thing that I do. It was written down, though! When she shared the list with me, and I immediately volunteered to do that one with her - I figured not only would I get to cross something off of my own list, but it would be so much fun to do that with her, and it was pretty good accountability for both of us. Win-win, shall I say?
We went back and forth on different options for races, with my one request that it be in a state I hadn't yet run (again with the marathons in 50 states thing, it's the list list task that may truly take me an entire lifetime). If I remember correctly, we looked at Colorado, and I panicked about the altitude. Then we looked at Wyoming and Idaho, and those weren't really in the spirit of what Suzanne had in mind.
Looking at time to train, weekends that worked, and locations with somewhat simple travel options, we ultimately landed on the Surfer's Path Marathon in Santa Cruz, California on May 23, 2016. What a fun weekend it was!! Suzanne and her boyfriend, Dana, came out from Colorado; I flew in from Arkansas; and her brother/my cousin Jay flew in from NYC! We'd found a great little rental bungalow right near the beach, which gave us plenty of room to relax, hang out, and be ready to go for race morning. We managed to get a picture at the start line, which turned out to be only a few minutes before the race actually started. We weren't even ready when the gun went off, which I found hilarious!
It's hard to beat a race where you can put your tired feet in the cold water of the Pacific at the end, cooling off with a million dollar view. Such a great way to spend time with people I love, doing something I love to do, and feeling the elation of accomplishment for us both.
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