Wow, can you believe today is the last day in 2014? I mean, I feel like this year FLEW by, but I suppose I say that every year. I just feel like the older we get, the faster the years fly by–do you feel the same way? So, it seems that it’s the “thing” to do for bloggers is to write a “year in review” post, so of course I am going to follow suit, but I am not just going to talk just about fitness accomplishments, I am going to do a full look at life in 2014. I think writing this out helped me really think about what happened this past year. I find sometimes that life moves so fast that I often forget what happened yesterday, never mind 11 months ago! It’s nice to look back, think about what I am grateful for (so much,) what went great, and not so great! Life is all about these ups and downs, right? Having a place to document it and look back is really helpful for me and serves as a reminder when I forget (which is often!)
These are in no particular order and not exhaustive of everything that happened this year, but its definitely some of the highs and lows. I bucketed them into 3 categories (Family/Home, Fitness & Work.) They are just written however they come to mind, so it may be scrambled so bear with me. Here we go:
Family/Home:
We celebrated Ashton’s 2nd birthday in February and even though we were both getting over the stomach flu, it ended up being a pretty great birthday! This little boy is the center of our world, which you all know if you have spent any time around this blog. He has grown up so much since this picture was taken, he no longer has that baby face, he is growing into much more of a little boy each day!
Ashton had his first haircut, it was pretty traumatic for him but every haircut after that has been stellar, always with lots of smiles and ending with lollipops!
We did a 2 year old photo shoot with Ashton and got our first decent family picture out of it!
We did our first ever staycation for 2 weeks in August and it was awesome. We did a bunch of day trips and had a blast. Much to my surprise, you don’t have to go “away” to have a great vacation!
We said good bye to our sweet dog Morgan after a quick battle with congestive heart failure. Putting him down was one of the toughest things I’ve had to do, but the poor guy is no longer suffering. I had 8 wonderful years with him and will hold those memories close.
Ashton started soccer and I beamed like a proud mama, he loves it which makes me giddy! I have dreams of coaching his soccer team when he gets older!
Ashton’s obsession with all things Dr. Seuss continued as he was the Cat in the Hat for Halloween! This is possibly a foreshadowing into the theme of his next birthday!
I finally had to say good bye to my trusty Toyota that spent nearly 200k miles with me. It was a sad parting but I bought a brand new car(a Subaru Crosstrek) that I am in love with! I don’t know if I will ever own another brand I love this car so much!
We did a lot of home improvements this year including building a new deck and front stone walkway and we upgraded our electric systems (now to tackle the inside of the house!!) Anyone an interior designer out there? I NEED your help!
I changed up my hairstyle and got bangs, not too drastic for many people, but I haven’t changed my hairstyle in well over 5 years, overall I really like the new look!
I read over 100 books this year (I keep track of them in the Goodreads App). I am a super fast reader and can easily finish most books in one day. I am a binge reader and would much rather read than watch my beloved tv, so once I am hooked into a book, I am a lost cause, just let me read!
I won tickets to the Lady A in concert at the Boston Garden through a local country radio show and Erica and I had a blast at the show!
I saw my first Cirque show with Robyn, Erica and Matt. While it wasn’t what I expected, it was pretty awesome to see how incredibly strong and talented these performers are and the stage theatrics were amazing!
I had the stomach flu twice and strep throat 4 times. Yeah, not so fun! Given that I am someone who rarely gets sick, this was a tough year for sickness because it was all literally within a 4 month time period.
We took a weekend trip to Sesame St Place in PA and had an absolute blast with Ashton and our friends! Hands down it was one of the most fun things we did this year!
We celebrated my mom’s one year in remission in April with my raising money for the Multiple Myeloma Foundation and running the Boston Marathon. It was a big milestone for all of us, but we found out the week before Christmas that she was coming out of remission and now we have to fight like hell to get it back under control.
I had my 1 year anniversary of blogging in October and I am so grateful to all of you! I love building friendships with all of you and look forward to continuing this is 2015!
Fitness:
For someone who doesn’t love to race, I raced more in 2014 than all my years of running combined! I did 7 races this year ranging from 5ks all the way to 26.2!
I started trail racing and did a series of 3 trail races where I had two 1st places in my age group and I came in 2nd in my age group in the 3rd one. I placed 2nd in my age group in one of my 5ks and got new PRs in the 5k, Half marathon and Full marathon this year.
I did 121 runs this year and 730 miles with my highest mileage months being 143 (January) and 141 (March.) I logged every run in DailyMile (which was one of my goals for the year!)
I had my first DNF run during my Boston Marathon training cycle and ran through the Polar Vortex for 16 long weeks!
I crossed off my #1 fitness bucket list item this year when I ran the Boston Marathon in April.
I did my first racecation, a half marathon to benefit Cystic Fibrosis in Michigan with some of my work favorites! I even PR’d without trying (and running 6 miles before the race even started!)
I have done yoga regularly for a full year and I have also adding spinning to my weekly cross training! I even completed the T25 Alpha and Beta Phases and felt awesome doing it!
I got to test out the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill which was super cool!
And sadly, one of the lows in my fitness bucket is that I finished off the year by ending my stint teaching Group Power.
Work:
I feel like this year at work was insanely busy but there were only a few “big” things that happened–
I took my first work trip since having Ashton to Chicago for a conference, and then traveled to Philly, Madrid and Buffalo by the end of the year. Not as much travel as I did pre-baby but more than enough now that I have a little one at home!
And the most significant thing that happened this year on the work front is that I left an old job and boss that I loved to explore a new job in the same company and feel like I have finally landed where I belong and it feels really good!
Whew! Did you make it through all of that? I am sure I missed a ton of things but all of these things came to mind when I sat down and started writing. 2014 was a year of change for me. A new job, a new car, losing Morgan, learning to embrace the unknown, taking chances, knocking things off my bucket list, making time for the things and people who matter most for me and walking away from those people and things that don’t make me a better person. It was also a year of setting boundaries and expectations, with myself, my work, friends and family. I learned a lot about myself this year and surprised myself in many instances. I have grown in many ways this year, and really, that is all I can hope for with each passing year, that I become a better version of myself as I gain more experience in life. I still have a lot to work on, but I know I will get there with time, support and patience!
So…now we are shooting into 2015 in just a few short hours…what’s on the horizon? Your guess is as good as mine, but you better believe it will be filled with lots of sweat, laughter and love. Thank you all for a great year, I truly love you all and the friendships we have build over this past year and wish you a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve and I look forward to hearing what 2015 has in store for you!
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Question of the day
How was your 2014? Highs? Lows? Goals for 2015?