January 4, 2016

Year in Review 2015 Linkup

Quick plug: If you are looking for a fun virtual race to keep you motivated after January, check out the Nuun Year Dash through Fitfam-registration closes today!

I am a big fan of self-reflection and taking the time to process experiences and events. The end of a calendar year is always a great time to look back on accomplishments, fun, and challenges from the past 365 and also a time to make new goals.  I am linking up with Dani and Smitha for their Year in Review Linkup-go read some other peoples' reviews and get inspired to take on 2016!


year-in-review-2015-graphic

2015 was a pretty good year of running. 
It included: 
4 5ks
7 Halfs
1 full
1 Boston Qualifying time
1 overnight relay

Overall 2015 was a pretty great year: 

-Was featured in Women's Running Magazine as the Blogger on the Run


-Worked as an ambassador with awesome brands like Nuun Hydration, Feetures! Running, LesserEvil Snacks, Momentum Jewelry, Bondiband and more

-Was a 2015 Women's Health Action Hero for the second year in a row
womens-health-action-hero1

-Ran my 10th half marathon in March at the Love Run Half Philadelphia
love-run-philly-half-2015

-Was accepted into multiple Occupational Therapy Graduate school programs and started my Masters degree in August

-Celebrated my 5 year anniversary with my boyfriend 

-Finally ran the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia in May
broad-street-run-2015-prerace

-Became an ambassador for Baltimore's first cold-pressed juice company, Gundalow Juice
gundalow-juice-2015

-Was a ZOOMA Annapolis ambassador and despite a tough half marathon, won my age group! 
zooma-annapolis-race-2015

-Became more involved and fell more in love with November Project Baltimore
november-project-baltimore-snow-2015

 -Assistant coached the Baltimore Women's Classic 5K training group with Charm City Run
baltimore-womens-classic-2015

-Returned to Chicago for my third full marathon in October and despite hot temperatures I managed a PR and squeaked in a Boston Qualifying time
chicago-marathon-race-2015

-Was a Rock 'n' Blogger and got to run RNR DC and RNR Philly half marathons
rock-n-blogger-philadelphia-half-marathon

 -Visited my sister in Disney World with my family in the spring
disney-world-gaston1

-Ran my first Ragnar Relay and second overnight relay with Team Nuun Hydration at Ragnar Vegas and loved it!
ragnar-las-vegas-2015

-Used my Top 2014 Women's Health Action Hero prize and spent a weekend in Nassau, Bahamas
nassau-bahamas-daiquiris1

-Stuck to choosing happiness and tried to remove negativity and unnecessary stress from my life

Here's a look back at my goals for 2015 and how I feel about them now. I thought it was going to be a big fail for the year, but once I went through my goals I realized I actually accomplished a lot of them! 

1. Treat myself right.    
This is definitely something that is a good habit and doesn't need to be a goal anymore
2. De-clutter and simplify my life. 
I've gotten better at cleaning things out and trying to stream-line certain parts of my life but we'll call this a work in progress. 
3.  Make everyday an occasion. Definitely have gotten better especially later in the year of wearing fancy jewelry just because, having a beer to celebrate surviving another day, or cooking a big meal on a random Tuesday because I deserve it. 
4. Travel somewhere I've never been before.  This year was a pretty great one for travel. I went to Las Vegas, the Bahamas,and North Carolina. 
 5. Journal everyday. Disappointed in this and going to add it to the 2016 goals because I think journal-ling is really important. 
 6. Read 1 book for pleasure each month. I was doing well with this  and then once school started it was a lost cause thanks to lots of reading for my classes. I did catch up on my magazine reading though and managed to read at least 8 books (according to Goodreads.com) this year so it's not a total fail. 
 7. Be proactive, don't procrastinate.  Obviously there was still some procrastination, but I'm proud of myself for mostly keeping up with things and staying on top of most things especially once school started up. 
 8.Take the time to try one involved recipe from a cookbook each month. Also a fail. I would love to do this again but think that I needed to set a day each month to focus on it because otherwise it got put off. 
 9. Get my Boston-qualifying marathon time.  Actually got my time at the Chicago Marathon! It's not fast enough to get accepted into the race, but still something to celebrate!
 10. Feel good in your my own body and skin.  Feeling crappy again about my bod as the year ends so we'll just call this a work in progress. 
 11. Limit time on the internet and social media, especially during evenings. I have limited my phone and internet use before bed time (except for when this past holiday break) but I definitely need to stay off my phone more in 2016. 
 12. Be present each day and choose happiness. 

I really have continued to grow into the person I am and to take chances this past year. My most fond memories are from the trips I took including Vegas, Disney, and various weddings I attended. I wrote some late-year goals and didn't really accomplish them but am pretty much adding those to my 2016 year goals.  Besides surviving my first semester of grad school in one piece (HOORAY) I still have some work to do in 2016. 

What was your favorite memory from 2015?

27 comments:

  1. WOW! What a truly incredible year! Congrats!

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  2. I also had the plan of cooking from a cookbook this fall post marathon. Then I got injured and pretty much dropped everything. Here's to take two! What a great year for you, and I'm so excited that I got to meet you during it!

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    1. Take two for sure! Hope to see you again in 2016!

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  3. Whoa! You had such a fun incredible year. Love all the photos and everything you accomplished, especially a BQ!!!

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  4. You had such a crazy year! I say it all the time but I have no idea how you do it all. Hopefully 2016 is even better! One of these days we WILL make that papermoon date happen.

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  5. KILLIN' IT!!! What a year. So many accomplishments in terms of running and fitness and you also NAILED your goals! Seriously, you have so much going on in your life I don't know how you do it all! SUPER WOMAN LAUREN!!!!

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    1. Thank you Kaila! I like to tell myself I'm wonder woman lolz.

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  6. You really rocked it in 2015! I hope my 2016 recap will be as awesome as yours!

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  7. Sounds like you had a really great 2015 Lauren! I'm impressed you're able to do all that AND go to school!!

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  8. I so enjoyed following your journey this year! I can't wait to see what 2016 holds for you!

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    1. Thanks, Wendy! I hope you have another great year!

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  9. You have so much to celebrate! If your 2015 was so good your 2016 will be amazing. I can't' wait to see what adventures you have this year!

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  10. Sounds like a pretty great year! I am sure 2016 has BIG things in store for you!

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  11. what a great year!
    my best was definitely summitting my first mountain in September.

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    1. Summitting a mountain is QUITE a great accomplishment!

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  12. Congratulations on a fantastic year! So many great races and you knocked out a ton of your goals from 2015! Hopefully we'll get to meet at a race this year!

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    1. Thanks lady! I've already got a couple Philly races in mind so I do hope to run into you!

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  13. you really rocked it! Being in school and balancing it with life, running and everything can be tough (Im currently in a Doctoral program) but you rocked it!

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    1. Thanks! It is really touch balancing all of it.

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  14. Wow, that is most definitely an AWESOME year!! So great to finally meet this year! Hopefully another will be in our future!

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