The Shortest Hour and 14 Minutes of My Life

#3: Participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run.
Of all the 99 goals on my list, this one might be the one that most intimidated me. I've mentioned before that I've never been a very athletic person, but once I tried running, I was hooked. In spite of that, I didn't feel very prepared for the Bridge Run when I signed up in December because I'd done a really bad job of making time for training, and that was a struggle right up to the day before the race.

Well, the Bridge Run was this past Saturday, and I survived! I ran as much as I could (maybe about 20% of my total time) and walked at a pretty good clip the rest of the time. My overall time was 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 19 seconds. For my very first time doing a race like this, I don't think that's half bad! I really have to brag on my husband, though...it was his first ever too, and he finished in under an hour! Here we are after crossing the finish line.

(Thanks, Mom, for taking this picture! My mom is a speedy one too; she walked the entire thing in 1 hour, 24 minutes!)

It really didn't feel like it took that long to finish, honestly...time flies when you're having fun, I guess. The race was challenging (to put it mildly), but I loved it; there are very few things that have made me feel as accomplished as crossing that finish line. I'm definitely doing it again next year, and I am determined to be prepared to run the whole thing. Wow, I can't even believe I'm saying that. Me? Run a 10K? Then again, two years ago, I had a hard time believing that I could even walk a 10K without keeling over. Anything is possible!

The list is complete!

No, not THE list, unfortunately...

#28: Watch every Best Picture winner since 1961.
So, the Oscars were on last night. You know what that means...all of the movies on my list have now been revealed. Welcome to the list, Argo! Of all the movies that were nominated this year, the only one I've actually seen so far is Lincoln, and I really thought that would win because it was fantastic, but I guess we'll see if Argo is even better. (At least Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor; if he hadn't, it would probably go down as one of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time.)

In honor of the Oscars, Netflix has made a bunch of Oscar-winning movies available for instant streaming, including Ordinary People! It's been in dry-dock ever since Tom and I got Netflix, so I was more than a little excited when I discovered that I could finally watch it without even having to wait for it to come in the mail. And the verdict? It was...good. Not one of my favorites, but definitely not terrible. The ending was a little unsettling, but when you think about the title of the movie, it made sense: In real life, not every situation gets finished off with a nice, neat bow. Yes, I just revealed that the ending isn't exactly a happy one. Hey, the movie's been out for over 30 years; you've had plenty of time. So anyway, that's 48 movies down, and just 5 more to go...I think I might actually meet this goal!

#3: Participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run.
Speaking of goals I'm on my way to meeting, the Bridge Run is just over a month away; Tom and I are good and registered, and our packets arrived last week! I'd love to post a picture, but we had our stuff sent to my parents' house, so I haven't actually seen it yet...! Unfortunately, though, I don't think I'll be able to run it. I restarted the Couch-to-10K plan a few months back, but the holidays really slowed me down, so I won't be done with the program by the time the Bridge Run rolls around. Maybe I'll run as much of it as I can, and then walk the rest...we'll see. In any case, I am doing it, so in my mind this goal is as good as checked-off already!

Two New Recipes...And That's About It

#1: 100 new recipes.

I love chocolate chocolate chip cookies, and thanks to Pinterest, I've found a way to make them at home using a box of brownie mix as the base...genius! I made them for our friends' Super Bowl party yesterday, and they were a big hit! I can see myself making these for lots of occasions in the future...or, you know, for myself...

Meatless Monday has recently become an institution in our home. This week's MM dinner was black bean burgers, and they were delicious, though I ran into a bit of snafu along the way. (Is it just me, or has that been happening a lot lately...?) You may notice that it looks more like a pile of mush than a burger. I blame the Magic Bullet...details in the cooking blog.

And now, on a slightly less upbeat note...I can't make it to Charleston for the Bridge Run this year, but what's even sadder is that it makes no difference, because I wouldn't have been ready anyway. I have not stuck with the Couch-to-10K, or any running plan, for that matter. I know I have another chance to do the Bridge Run next year, but it's hard not to feel just the slightest bit defeated. When I first started this list last year, I really hit the ground running (no pun intended). But after looking over it again at the beginning of 2012, I realize that I've left a lot of things hanging, not just my training. More than 1/3 of my time is already up...I've gotta get a move on!

Ready to Run

#3: Participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run.

As of this past Monday, I am officially in training! The Bridge Run is the last day of March next year. My mom's done it a few years in a row now, but this time I think I'm finally ready to get in on the action too. (Sad, though, I lived in Charleston my entire life until last year, and when I finally decide to do the Bridge Run, I don't even live there anymore...!) I think I want to run it, not walk it, so I wanted to start getting ready as early as possible. I'm not much of a runner. Heh, I feel silly even saying that because it seems so obvious. I'm not built like a runner, and I always feel like I look stupid when I'm doing it. But other than that, I actually really like it. Running just feels less like work compared to other kinds of exercise. I'm following a 13-week Couch to 10K plan to get me started, and it's been great so far. Up there is a picture of it printed out and posted on the fridge! (I wanted to put it in a place where I'll be sure to see it often, lol.)

Another great thing about running is that your vacation doesn't have to keep you from doing it. Nice thought, because we're headed to San Antonio for a few days next week, and I don't have to put my training on hold!