In Progress "Things": #20: Run a Half Marathon and #21: Learn a Second Language

While many of the items on my list are discrete things that can be accomplished in a single day, there are also several items that actually require a bit of preparation, be it mental, physical or both, to see through. These include #20: Run a Half Marathon and #21: Learn a Second Language, as well as a few more, like learning to ballroom dance or play golf. For now, I've set myself up on a course to tackle the former two, and wanted to write an introductory post as I plan to update the blog every now and again with my progress on these items. Let's start with the first one:

#20: Run a Half Marathon
I'm not sure when the running phenomenon started, but I must have been living under a rock somewhere, because all of a sudden I move back to Florida and everyone I know runs. Friends at work are constantly posting Facebook pics from races of all lengths and obstacles (something called the Warrior Dash looks particularly interesting) and every time I look out of my apartment window I see someone running down the street. Old, young, fit, fat -- it seems that no matter their story or physique, everyone in the world is out there pounding the pavement except me.

Now, I'm not usually much of a follower in life (if anything, I have a tendency to rebel from things that are too trendy), but I figured that if everyone was running, there must be something pretty fantastic about it. Not to mention, I've been carrying around an extra spare tire for the last who-knows-how-many years, and I very conveniently read that the first place one loses body fat from when beginning a running regimen is none other than the gut! So I said, what the heck, this stuff can't be all that hard! I'm going to join the group of running people so that I too can post fun Facebook pictures of me panting like a dog, sweating like a banshee and running at full speed when I'm neither being chased by a serial killer nor a scary dog. Sounds like a party, right?!

Needless to say, in a moment of insanity, I registered myself for the Disney Half Marathon in January 2012 (to the tune of $100), because of course, it's go big or go home! I figured that if I was going to start running, I needed some sort of goal to keep me from quitting day two because it's either too hot in Florida or I'm just too darn out of shape. Plus, 13.1 miles seemed a little more reasonable than the full 26.2, which I still can't fathom. It's less than 26 miles from my home to the Orlando International Airport, and I can't imagine getting on the 417 and running to catch my flight. That's a looooooong run.

In my fervor, I rushed to the mall and immediately purchased an expensive pair of running shoes from a cute salesman named Travis -- now that I am a "runner," my regular old sneakers just would not do! $200 in cute running clothes from Target later (if I'm going to be out there looking like a piece of lard trying to exercise in full view of cars driving down the street, I better at least be dressed fashionably!) and I was ready to begin my training.

It's funny because there's a whole lot that actually needs to happen between being "ready" to start training and "actually" starting training. You see, I did all this massive research about half marathon training programs and running for beginners, and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM says that you have to be able to run for 30 minutes consecutively PRIOR to starting your marathon training. Hey folks, what happened to the BEGINNER part of the phrase "beginning runner." I haven't gotten a true session of exercise in for, eh, three and a half months, and you expect me to put on my running shoes and be able to just go for a full half an hour? I'm lucky if I can run continuously for 30 seconds without passing out. I think this was the point when I realized this was going to be a lot more challenging than I thought.

The good news is that I can actually make it through a 2 mile exercise session relatively easily. The bad news is that I spend very little of that 2 miles running. Most of it is more equivalent to a fast walk with short periods of jogging thrown in until I feel like my chest is going to explode along with my burning, tight calves, and then I walk some more until the pain subsides. The worst news is that I've still been making excuses as to why I can't get out for a run as often as I should, and thus my progress hasn't really progressed any since I started this path a couple of months ago.

I think part of my problem is that in the back of my head, I know I have 6 months to train for this half marathon, and most of the programs I've seen involve about 12-17 weeks of training, meaning I've got more than enough time to get my butt in shape. Of course, when I signed up for the half, I had 8 months to train, and we've seen how far I've gotten in the first two months, so this mentality obviously doesn't bode too well!

Regardless of the obstacles, I'm not giving up, and I've gotten some great advice from fellow runners as to how to tackle the "getting started" hurdle, which is apparently the hardest one to get over. I've been told that there is something called a "runner's high" where you get to a certain level of physical fitness and all of a sudden you are able to zone out in a sort of meditative state and just run, feeling this cathartic calming sensation washing over you. It is my goal to find out what this feels like!

In the meantime, I could use some advice from those who run in the following areas (please leave your answers below, if you would, or send me some other form of communication if you'd prefer not to share your thoughts with any and all that read this blog):

• What kind of arm band do you use to hold your iPhone/iPod while running so that you can listen to your motivating/pump-you-up music? I bought one for $3 off eBay and it is the itchiest thing EVER, plus it slides down your arm, making it more of a nuisance than anything.
• If you are a glasses-wearer, how do you run while wearing your regular glasses? Once I start to sweat, these babies slide right off my nose leaving me blind. Not good.
• What are the best stretches to do before and/or after a run?
• How do you run at a pace that allows you to carry on a conversation? Anything faster than a power walk and I'm winded. Is this something that comes with time? All of the training books tell me to run slowly, but I'm not sure I actually know how to run "slow" unless I'm copying the gait of a prancing unicorn, which isn't what I imagine they mean.
• How do you really know if the running shoes you've purchased are good for you/your feet? Should your feet feel completely 100% comfortable in them the entire time you run? Or are tingly feet and aching arches par for the course no matter the distance or speed?

Naturally, any and all other advice is always welcome! And since this turned into a longer post than I originally expected, I will leave thee for today and save my progress report on learning a second language for another day. However, I will say that I am getting "somewhere" a lot faster on the language front than I am on the running front. Ta ta for now!

#30: Swim with Dolphins

Swimming with the dolphins is something I've wanted to do for years, but admittedly was always too cheap to pony up for. The price/value equation just never quite seemed to work in my favor at prevailing cruise tour operator prices of $150+ per person. Needless to say, the method I took -- spending a day at the limited-admission "water park" Discovery Cove -- was still not cheap (I got a Florida Resident rate for $199 per person), but somehow I felt better about opening my wallet knowing that I was not only getting a full-day experience, but also the chance to swim with stingrays, eat breakfast and lunch, and imbibe in as many alcoholic beverages as my heart desired. When my best friend since high school -- Aynsley -- agreed to be my co-conspirator, I threw out all remaining procrastitory excuses (is that a word, procrastitory, because I like it...) and took the plunge (literally and figuratively).

Since the item on my list specifically had to do with the dolphins, I'll start there and will then backtrack to give you my full review of Discovery Cove (for those who are interested in potentially taking a trip there).

The experience began with a short "instructional" session with one of the trainers. Basically, this included a 5-minute "romancing" video about the beauty and intelligence of dolphins, followed by a quick Q&A session. As the animal lover, I was quick to ask whether the interactions we were about to experience would hurt the dolphin at all (hey, they tow people through the water and we all know that many tourists are a bit...rotund). They, of course, said no, that if the dolphin doesn't want to participate or is uncomfortable he or she will just swim away. Obviously, I was happy to hear that there was no animal torture involved, but I have to say a small piece of me started thinking that I would be awful mad if I paid all this money to swim with a dolphin who decided they'd rather take a nap that day.

From there, we were split into small groups and corralled over to a wading pool that was freezing cold. Ok, it was only 75 degrees, but in 90+ degree weather this feels cold, especially to a Floridian used to sweating more than witnessing snowfall. So after tip-toeing into the waist deep water, we were told that our group was among the lucky ones as we were going to have the chance to interact with two dolphins. Thelma, our first dolphin, recently had a baby (named Hurley) and was therefore just getting back into the action after her maternity leave. She'd be doing most of the "tricks" for us, and then they'd bring out Hutch, an older male dolphin, to do the hard labor of towing people through the water.

The tricks section was certainly cool, although it was obvious that the dolphin was paying little attention to the signals we were giving and fixating completely on the bucket of fish in the instructor's arms. Of course, we saw the cliched "clapping" of the flippers, the "wave goodbye" with the tail fin, the "funny noises" from the blow hole (these included a scream, bird chirping and a fart) and the "ooh ahh" inducing big flip. We also got to see Thelma "dance," blow bubbles and swim upside down so we could pet her belly.

About 15 minutes in, we started the "swim" and picture portions of the experience. The picture section involved each of us going up and hugging and kissing the dolphin (a very good Kodak moment, but I'll admit that I was secretly thinking about how dirty that dolphin's snout must be). Then one by one, we swam out into deeper water and the dolphin gave each of us a 10-second ride back to the shallow water. Yep folks, that is why earlier I referred to this as a "swim" -- there is very, very little actual swimming involved.

Shortly thereafter, we were done and being escorted up to the photo tent to spend more money. Of course, you aren't allowed to bring cameras into the water so they have professional photographers capturing every adorable moment. And after paying $199 to experience this, who in their right mind would walk away without any images to remember the moment? Naturally, they are well aware of this phenomenon and thus charge a whopping $20 per 6X8 -- robbery, I tell you. Thankfully, Aynsley was there, so we split the cost of a photo CD and got all of our images to do as we please with (because we split it, I got all 15 photos, plus the rights for the price of 3 of their 6X8s -- still highway robbery, but somewhat more justifable right?).

All in all, I walked away from the dolphin experience feeling somewhat disappointed that it wasn't longer or more involved. Granted, I did think it was really cool to be so up close and personal with such a beautiful creature, but it definitely felt a bit more cheesy and touristy than I would have liked.

And here is where I can dive into the rest of my Discovery Cove review (no pun intended)! Overall, this is not really a full-day park. There's about enough to do to take up a half day, slightly more if you enjoy baking in the sun for hours, but in truth they really do need some expansion efforts. The free flight aviary is simply wonderful, and is what we enjoyed most during our visit. There are SO many exotic birds -- big and small -- and since many of them were bottle-raised, they feel comfortable flying down to eat food from a small cup in your hand Now, this is precious with the tiny little birds (we met once particularly friendly bird named Scamper who would hang on you as long as you'd allow her), but slightly more unnerving when they get any bigger than the size of your hand. Case in point was the beautiful orange sun conure that randomly decided to land on my head and give me a heart attack.

Outside of the aviary is a non-plus lazy river (no floats or rafts except a dumb noodle), a wading pool with a "cave" (it's like 10 feet long), and the Grand Reef, which just opened a few weeks ago. The Grand Reef is pretty cool, as it's another opportunity to immerse yourself in sea life. Inside are free-swimming stingrays and Manta rays (which are humongous and kind of scary at first), man-made coral structures and lots of little fish (some of which swim in schools, which is cool to see up close). There are also some closed-off areas with sharks, lionfish and eels, but those areas weren't as impressive. Really and truly, one of the big questions I had was what guests did with themselves prior to June when the Grand Reef wasn't open? Then we're really talking about an expensive park with nothing to do.

The food was just okay -- I was expecting more. Breakfast was very touristy, very mass produced, and while lunch options stepped it up a bit, you were still required to take a tray and scavange for a clean outdoor picnic table to dine on. For the amount of money we were paying, I expected at the very least indoor seating, optional table service and some sort of themed restaurant. No go.

Snacks and drinks were just okay, too. If you're into potato chips or granola bars, you would have been in heaven, but again, I was hoping for something that seemed more fresh. Fruit trays, a sandwich station, an ice cream bar -- sort of like what you'd find in the quick service area of a cruise. Another no go. Beverages were certainly plentiful with alcohol options including tap margaritas, weed lemonade (some sort of long island), wine and beer, but in truth, it was so darn hot that I thought if I drank too much I'd pass out from heat stroke. So I stuck mostly to water, with one weed lemonade thrown in.

Some of the nice perks included the all-inclusive nature of the experience. You get one complimentary entry photo per person in your party, free snorkel/mask rentals, free sunscreen, towels, and products in the showering facilities, and complimentary wetsuit/vest rentals. Perhaps the biggest perk is the 14-day unlimited pass to one of SeaWorld's other parks -- you could choose either Aquatica, SeaWorld or Busch Gardens. This is a better deal if you are a tourist since you're more likely to now have passes for everyone in your travel party -- for a Resident the deal is less attractive since I now have a 14-day pass and the only other person I know that has one lives in Gainesville.

Honestly, I probably have zero desire to ever return to Discovery Cove, but I'm happy I went and got to check it out for myself. As far as my recommendation, I'd say go if you can get a good rate, but do so in the slightly cooler months so that laying out in the sun is feasible for more than 15-20 minutes, otherwise you're bound to run into the same issue of running out of things to do/see.

Next up on my list: indoor skydiving a week from Sunday with a sorority sister. Stay tuned!

#8: Getting my fortune told by a psychic

I've always had a sort of fascination with the supernatural -- I love astrology and reading horoscopes (mine and others), I believe in ghosts (although I have no desire to ever be haunted/confronted by one) and I count The Craft among my favorite movies (although Fairuza Balk creeps the hell out of me, even to this day!). Needless to say, when you know all of this about me, it seems sort of obvious that I'd want to get my fortune told by a psychic as one of my 30 things. In truth, fascination aside, this stuff also totally scares me to death, so I'd never survive taking a midnight ghost tour, leading a seance or viewing a screening of Paranormal Activity with my sanity in tact. Psychics on the other hand, seemed to me to be supernatural-lite. Stare into a crystal ball and see your future, sans anything scary jumping out at you or trying to steal your soul. Right?

Enter Cassadaga. A small town in the middle of nowhere and yet conveniently just about 40 minutes north of my hometown of Orlando. Also conveniently known to hold the largest concentration of psychic mediums in...what is it, the nation? The world? Regardless, it's a lot, trust me...

So, desire to have a psychic reading? Check. Location that sounds promising? Check. Willing victim to accompany me on my journey? Check, thanks to my sorority sister and best friend in Orlando, Melissa. And thus our adventure began!

The first thing I noticed about Cassadaga is that it really is in the middle of nowhere. It's off a random exit in Volusia county where there are absolutely zero shopping centers, restaurants, gas stations or the like. Just miles of green, with the occasional small 1960's era home dotting the landscape. Now, I had actually read this much in my research about the town -- that it had a population of 100 and boasted a single post office, hotel and restaurant to it's name -- but it's quite another thing to see it in the flesh. I mean, psychics have to eat and fill their cars up with gas too, right? Or do they somehow procure these items via their supernatural powers? Somehow I can't imagine that they all congregate at The Fish House (the lone restaurant) every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I digress...

Once arriving, Melissa and I did a quick walk through of the Cassadaga hotel (and gift shop) and then crossed the gravel road to the official bookstore where amongst other things you could purchase your very own crystals, candles, dreamcatchers, crystal balls, tarot cards and even "cleansing sage" (which Melissa purchased). Then at the back of the store in the "information center" you find a whiteboard with the names and phone numbers of the mediums available for readings that day. According to the instructions, you are supposed to look at the names and see who speaks to you (they refuse to make recommendations), then use the white telephone on the table to call the person and ask for their availability.

After some hesitation, Melissa and I settled on the curvy script of Judy Cooper (the only psychic to use a red marker...we are very scientific in our approach) and a few minutes later had appointments for 30 minute readings to the tune of $60 each (I know, I know, kind of crazy...but this is a once in a lifetime thing!).

We arrived at Judy's home a few minutes early and were quickly greeted at her door. The good news is that Judy a) was not wearing a turban and carrying a crystal ball and b) she seemed friendly and warm immediately. The weird news is that I immediately noticed that one of her incisors was fang-like. Whether this was purposeful or not, I cannot say. The bad news is that because Melissa was having her reading first, I was relegated to sitting on the patio in 90-degree heat until her 30 minutes had lapsed.

Two issues of "Horizons" magazine later (the free psychic circular left on her patio for people to peruse through) and I was up. Judy brought me into a side room and had me sit in the chair opposite of her. She must have noticed that I was nervous because she immediately told me to relax, that nothing scary was going to happen (I had been psyching myself out during my 30 minute wait, naturally). Then shortly after she started to spiel. Here are the highlights:

• I have a strong GREEN aura -- apparently this means that I am very nurturing -- which is then surrounding by pulsating ORANGE, which indicates that I am a highly creative person, but am not meeting my intrinsic need to be creative right now (this is so true as I constantly crave performing in some way like I did in most of my youth). The final colors of my aura included AQUA and ROYAL BLUE, which supposedly indicate sensitivity, strong communication skills and the role of peacemaker between people (true in my family, less so in personal relationships).
• I am a very intuitive person who can understand the true meaning and emotion behind people's words, even if they are saying something completely different than they mean (true). Apparently, this mean that I probably had psychics in my ancestry and have some psychic elements myself. She mentioned that if I meditate and/or take a class on this, I might be able to become a psychic myself (and for $60 for 30 minutes, that doesn't sound so bad!).
• I am currently working in the wrong field, and while I am very analytical, my business job isn't tapping into my true talents. Apparently, I should have been a nurse, psychologist and/or counselor, and she sees more education in my future (I have considered going for my PhD someday).
• I will be facing a job decision in November (close enough, as my TSA with DCL ends in December) and she sees me staying with Disney for now, but not forever.
• She also doesn't see me settling in Florida, but rather a big city. She mentioned Atlanta and the Carolinas as possibilities (a dud here as I've never considered living/working in either area, but heck, maybe this means I should be!)

In a few ways she was eerily spot on. She guessed that I was a Cancer without me giving her any indication of the month of my birth. She knew that I felt uncomfortable in large group social situations and preferred 1:1 friendships, which is also very true. In other areas, she was completely off. Apparently there is a female spirit on my mother's side watching over me...only none of my maternal relatives have passed, unless you count my great grandmother who died before I was born. She also asked if I was married (no) or if I was in a relationship (no), but when I countered that I had recently ended a relationship, she commented that she felt the connection between us was still really strong and that's why she thought I was married (umm, yeah, usually when you break up with someone the connection doesn't fade immediately...part of the reason break ups are so damned hard!). Of course she did tell me she sees marriage in my future (from her lips to G-d's ears...please!), but not until I was 33-34 and apparently this man is going to be up to 7 years older than me and very stable financially and emotionally (well, one should hope so). Until he shows up, she told me I need to work on my blockage in my throat chakra. Apparently, I compromise too much in relationships and have trouble expressing my needs. Huh. Who knew.

At the end of the day, did I receive $60 worth of pertinent information to guide my path moving forward? Eh, probably not. But was it fun and something totally out of the ordinary? Absolutely! It's an interesting thing to say you've experienced and I would have done it all over again if given the chance. Now I just have to sit back and relax for the next 8 long years waiting for the man of my dreams to arrive. Til then, at least I can work on that pulsating orange aura!

Stay tuned for a new blog post next week as my childhood best friend Aynsley and I swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove!