Mind over Matter

"Running is a mental sport...and we're all insane!

Learn to run when feeling the pain: then push harder!"

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can Say I have finished. There is a lot of satisfaction in that."

The above two quotes pretty much some up how I feel about running. Initially, I picked up running to lose weight for my wedding. To help me reach that goal, I joined a running group "Snail Pacers" to help me train. Back then I could barely run a mile without having to walk, by the end of my 3month training program, I was able to finish an entire 5K race. Woohoo! Now, have I fallen in love with running? NOPE! I still HATE running!! Why not quit and pickup a different sport?! Well, it's quite simple, I've trained long and hard to reach this point in my running. Not going to throw all this hard work out the window. I might still despise and hate running. Finishing a run...the pain, the satisfaction of overcoming the desire to quite. It's quite gratifying.   Perhaps one I will come to love running, but for now I will continue my Love/Hate relationship with this sport. A sport I picked up 1.5 years ago. 

Fingers Crossed!

Keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully, I'll be able to cross one of my 2010 goals of the list! It's been a long and frustrating road! They do say patience is a virtue. Unfortunately, that particular virtue is non-existent in my body. =/

souce: flickr user: sodapop curtis

 

source: I-love-cartoon.com

souce: unkown. Forgot where I got it from. 

Let me know if it is yours.

Bucket List

Oh my, I'm soo behind in blogging. Perhaps this weekend, I will be able to catch up on some of my blog post. I'm way over due. Anyway, I've been wanting to join the project 101 Things in 1001 Days. Basically it's unique way to challenge and to inspire yourself to achieve your personal goals in life. To read more about the project, just click on this link.  Well, since I haven't set up my 101 goals, I decided to do a similar project just on a smaller scale this year. Everyone knows that I have a big milestone birthday coming up in June. I'll will  be turning the big 30. Woohoo! Ok, ok, ok, I'm not quite excited about turning 30, but you have to make the best of every situation, right?! And thankfully, most folks don't think I'm 30 anyway. Yippie! But back to what I was saying, before I got side track about my own soapbox of aging. For this year 2010, I will attempt to complete 30 goals, that I've set for myself, in honor of my 30th birthday. At first, I wanted to have these 30 things completed prior to my birthday. A tad bit unrealistic, right?! Of course, it would be since we are almost into March already. Only 3/4 months time to complete my list. I don't think so. Besides, we all know I'm a bit more on the negative side, than optimistic. That trait falls upon J.  So enough of my babble on to my list:

1. Complete another 10K 
2. Complete a 2nd Half Marathon
3. Travel to Boston
4. Travel to Vancouver, Canada
5. Sign up for Photography Class
6. Learn a new foreign language (Italian or an Asian language)
7. Try to have one paying photography gig
8. Sign up for a Triathlon and complete it (signed up for one in Feb, but had to drop out since I'm still with out a bike. And you can' really compete in a triathlon without a bike)
9. Go wine tasting in Napa Valley
10. Walk across the Golden State Bridge
11. Watch the sunrise and sunset on the same day
12. Hike up Half Dome 
13. Have my High School weight back
14. Scan my old photos, and put all my negatives onto cds.
15. Read 10 books this year, 5 books have to literary classics
16. Turn of my cellphone/email for the entire day (this might be a hard one)
17. Attend a concert at the Hollywood Bowl
18. Payoff my Student Loan
19. Pay for someone else's order at Starbucks or a drive thru or during lunch at a restaurant [It's all about Pay It Forward =) ]
20. Photograph the same location, at the same time, during all four seasons. 
21. Take a Capoeira Class (Capoeira: Afro-Brazilian art form, that combines martial-arts, music and dance)
22. Volunteer at Soup Kitchen for a day
23. Find a new hobby, Photography doesn't count. (Perhaps mountain biking, since it's J. favorite thing to do)
24. Triple the amount in my/our savings account
25. Donate $20 each month to a charity
26. Get down to a 9minute mile, even better if it was an 8 minute mile
27. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity
28. Love, love, love Dahila. Learn how to and grow Dahlias
29. Buy a new lens for my camera
30. Travel to NYC and attend a Broadway show

So that's my list! Shouldn't be too hard right, all goals seem pretty attainable. What do you think? Will I succeed?

Reflection & Changes

Two more months left, we will be in 2010. Hard to believe. Got to start on my 2010 goal list. This past New Years...instead of doing New Year's Resolution(which barely lasts a day), I decided to set up goals. Well, I can proudly say that I completed two items on my 2009 goal list. My list wasn't very long to begin with but, I'm nonetheless satisfied that I exceeded my goals. Not only did I run a 10k, but I also completed my first Half Marathon. Not too shabby, for someone, who just picked up running as sport a year ago. Still don't enjoy it, but it's a great work out. Oh, and I signed up for my very first mini triathlon. =)
As for the other two items, I'm still actively searching for a new job and have begun to shoot a lot more, too. I haven't been able to take a class, simply because there isn't enough time in the day with my commute, work out routine and studying for my insurance.