January 2019
Locations
South Bend, Indiana
Detroit, Michigan
Napa, California
San Jose, California
Highlights
Though I’ve spent the past 7 New Years Eve’s away for work – ringing in 2019 was one of the most memorable despite being the most low-key party. I was with some of my very best friends and we performed a rousing rendition of “All or Nothing” by O- Town that really brought down the house.
I rode a Zamboni for the first time and took a swing at breaking the ice (it was really hard!)
2nd Annual Brunch + Barclays Day – one of my most favorite new traditions where I force all of my non-hockey loving friends (and some of my hockey-loving friends) to drink a lot of champagne and then go to an Islanders game. I outfit them all in Isles swag and it brings a tear to my eye seeing them all in Orange and Blue.
I cut my hair into a really short lob!
Erin and I took a girl’s weekend trip to Napa Valley – a definite bucket list trip – and it was so wonderful getting to spend a long weekend together.
To wrap up our work-week in San Jose, we were invited to one of our contacts’ houses for an epic Italian feast – complete with pasta tossed in a cheese wheel, bocce ball, and these incredible plates that allowed us to hold our slices of homemade pizza and glasses of red wine in one hand! Serious game-changers.
Allison and I went to see Come from Away and it was such an incredible show. Definitely did my fair share of laughing and crying.
Running
A whopping 9 miles!
February 2019
Locations
New York City
Florida
Highlights
I ran the Gridiron 4 Miler in 32:14 to kick-off Superbowl Sunday and then watched the game at Allison’s apartment – having her as my neighbor was a definite highlight of 2019!
I participated in my first F45 Playoffs and they were SO HARD and SO FUN! It really brought out my “inner athlete” and I loved pushing myself to the point of potentially vomiting. Luckily, I wasn’t actually sick – and was able to enjoy an amazing meal afterwards at Charley St.
We gathered an epic group of people for a happy hour including my parents, sister, best friends and their boyfriends! I loved having all of these people together 😊 Afterwards, my family went to the Knicks game – my first ever!
My first true dim sum experience and getting to meet Bertha’s mom! Everything was so delicious – though I still don’t think I would be able to go by myself without getting totally overwhelmed.
The month had its lows, too. My Gran passed away at the end of the month – before we got to Florida to say goodbye. I’m very lucky that it wasn’t until age 29 that I was faced with this kind of loss, but I’m so grateful for all of the memories I have with her. She lived nearby for much of my life and was a constant source of love, support and cookies.
I’m glad I was still able to go to Florida with my mom to see the rest of my family and be together during a hard time – I don’t see them enough and was happy to find we could all sit around playing Cards Against Humanity and drinking at a brewery. And singing Raffi in the car with my cousins’ kids made me feel not only very old, but very happy.
Running
After a January that was very low on running miles, I ran 31 miles in February including a fun 10 miler with the Mikkeller Run Club, Abby and Annelise!
March 2019
Locations
Thousand Oaks, California
Killington, Vermont
Detroit, Michigan
HIGHLIGHTS
One of my best friends got MARRIED and it was such a wonderful weekend. Emily was the most laid back and beautiful bride. Her and Brian even picked me up at the airport to drive me to the Airbnb. Such a fun weekend and I loved all the little touches Emily put into the wedding – I had no doubt she would plan the perfect day.
After a 12 year hiatus – I hit the slopes of Vermont again! The trip was really planned so that I could go to the Long Trail Brewery – but I was excited to get back on skis. We got an Airbnb right on the mountain at Pico which was the perfect sized mountain for someone who felt like a complete newbie. My first run down I was absolutely petrified. The sound of skis scraping down an icy run was all I could hear and I thought I was for sure going to end up in the hospital.
By the time we went back to eat lunch – I would have been fine calling it quits. But I’m glad we went back out because by the end of Day 1 I was feeling more comfortable and actually looking forward to having another day.
Long Trail didn’t disappoint and we had such a great time drinking and eating and laughing – it was a beautiful day and the heat lamps were on – all things that lead to a very happy Lauren.
Abby had her first cello recital and we made a day out of it! The recital itself was super cool – very laid back, at a bar, and people of all ages trying to learn a new skill for the first time. I was inspired! After the concert we went out to lunch with Abby’s parents and continued the day at the bar watching one of the most epic games of Jenga to ever be played!
Running
37.5 Miles – I was ramping up the mileage as I trained for the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler!
April 2019
locations
Washington D.C.
Calumet, Michigan
Long Island
Idaho
highlights
Abby, Annelise and I went to Washington D.C. to run the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler and were excited to learn that the weather was going to the be the best it had been in the last few years and that there would actually be cherry blossoms! It was a great (and delicious) weekend. We saw the National Portrait Gallery, ate massive bagel sandwiches, peeped the blossoms, ran the 10 miler (and I PR’d!) and got manicures!
A week-long adventure in Idaho – with stops in Stanley, Sun Valley, Twin Falls and Boise. That recap and travel guide is still in the works, but I had such an amazing time with Sabrina. We hiked, ran and I tried mountain biking for the first time! It was the single most terrifying experience of my life. And Sabrina and I were perfect travel partners!
running
About 38 miles and the start of some longer bike rides!
May 2019
locations
Las Vegas, Nevada
Stockholm, Sweden
Buffalo, NY
highlights
Turned 29! I didn’t really do much, but I did go for a beautiful run in Central Park.
Went on a great hike (despite getting lost a few times) at Bear Mountain followed by a delicious BBQ at the Reisner’s!
I got to take my favorite person to my favorite place! I left my mom no choice but to come to Stockholm with me and we had a full four days before I had work obligations. We did a ton in the few short days and I will definitely write about it all soon. After 5 trips to Stockholm, I’m still loving it more every time. But this visit with my mom was definitely the best.
One of the highlights of my year happened in May when I ran the Buffalo half marathon and got the new PR I truly never thought would come. I thought my days of running 13.1 miles at any pace under 8:00 were long gone, but after just a few long runs and a lot of F45 I went out with the 1:40 pacer and hung on for dear life. It was a day I’ll never forget!
running
43 miles including a birthday 10 miler, morning miles in Stockholm along the water and the Buffalo Half Marathon!
June 2019
locations
Long Island
Las Vegas, Nevada
Vancouver, B.C.
Long Island
highlights
June brought another hard goodbye when we put down my childhood pupper, Zoe. I wasn’t there when it happened, but I knew when I left my parents house one weekend that I wouldn’t be seeing my first (and only) dog again. She got a lot of hugs.
This was the first time in so long that I got to spend Father’s Day with my Dad. Him, my uncle and my cousin all made the trip to Vegas while I was there for work. We got to go out to dinner a few nights and I got to introduce them all to Stanley (in their bathing suits on the way to the pool!)
The final work event of the season was in Vancouver, and my friends flew out to spend a few days vacationing afterwards. I was SO excited, but also so exhausted. All this year - end recap is doing is reminding me how many things I still need to blog about - so stay tuned for recap of all the hiking and eating we did in Vancouver! Including this INSANE hike to St. Mark’s Summit. We might have eaten mouthfuls of bugs - but look at that view!
In June we finally got together with my mom’s side of the family to celebrate the life of my Gran. It was obviously very sad, but it was also so nice to see my mom get to be with her siblings and for me and my cousins to have a chance to reconnect after so many years!
One of my best college friends got married in Brooklyn and it was such a fun night. It was a small wedding which meant lots of time with the happy couple! Plus I loved this dress from Rent the Runway.
running
Only 6.5 Miles unfortunately - June was also when I got into my first bike crash. It definitely could have been a lot worse - but it scared the shit out of me.
July 2019
locations
Long Island
Calumet, Michigan
Regina, Saskatchewan
highlights
Fourth of July is my all-time favorite weekend and every year I swear it gets better and better. 2019 was the best Fourth of July yet - we rented an amazing house on Long Island with a pool and access to the beach and filled it with all of our favorite people! Not only did we get to beach and and paddle board and BBQ, we got to go to the Bluepoint Brewery! One of my favorite things is bringing together different groups of friends and for this weekend I had friends from home, my sister, friends from NYC, friends from college - it was so epic. Did I mention there was an inflatable George Washington?
I had an awesome weekend home on Long Island where I got to go on my boat, swim in the Sound, go out to dinner with my grandparents, run around my neighborhood, see a beautiful sunset, drink Claws with my mom and - most importantly - eat my dad’s legendary grilled vegetable platter!
JOHN MAYER CONCERT. That is all.
running
52 Miles! July was the month that 70.3 training officially began! Though the NYC Tri was cancelled due to extreme heat, I got in a ton of swimming, biking and running in July. Including a Central Park loopy hookeroo when Callie was in town!
August 2019
LOCATIONS
Adirondacks, New York
Regina, Saskatchewan
Dallas, Texas
HIGHLIGHTS
I started August with my family vacation in the Adirondacks. It was weird not having my sister there this year, but as always I was really glad I made the decision to go - despite the fact that it’s not always easy to get there and I had to fly straight to Regina, Saskatchewan afterwards and I didn’t have my bike - the excuses I gave went on and on but nothing is better than a week on the lake with my family. And I got so much swim practice in! My mom would kayak beside me while I swam so I didn’t get hit by a boat! And this was the year that I finally got people to go on a hike with me! We had a great morning and the view was beautiful.
Abby and I biked to the Captain Lawrence Brewery on a gorgeous day and it was lots of fun. Instead of biking there from the city, we took a train to a running/biking path and it was the perfect 30 miles to the brewery. It was a marathon of a day - after that, I headed to a birthday party followed by meeting up with Kayla who was in town for a wedding! It was a great day filled with a lot of beer.
I met this alpaca!
I also took myself for a solo bike ride over the GW Bridge - I was terrified and shortly thereafter, really proud that I did it on my own!
I wrapped up Labor Day Weekend with a big group hike in the Hudson Valley since I knew I’d be missing most of the fall festivities in New York. Afterwards, I checked another brewery off the bucket list when we stopped for beers at the Hudson Valley Brewery. They were delicious and so pretty!
RUNNING
53 Miles! My IT Band started acting up during August, but I started going to twice weekly acupuncture sessions to try to keep it in check. I had some good runs in the Adirondacks and Central Park and some not so great ones (my run on Randall’s Island comes to mind).
September 2019
LOCATIONS:
Regina, Saskatchewan
Rhode Island
Long Island
Calumet, Michigan
HIGHLIGHTS
The month started with the second half of Labor Day Weekend spent on Long Island where we had a tie up and I got some more open water swim practice - I even tried on my wetsuit (and had a slight breakdown about how claustrophobic it made me feel!) While home I had some PB Whiskey with my grandma and brunch at a new restaurant with the craziest Bloody Mary’s (we are talking bacon, olive, pickle, pepper, celery and LOBSTER CLAW).
College roommate’s BACHELORETTE weekend in Rhode Island was a ton of fun! We went for a ride on the the old railway which was a really unique experience. We blasted some tunes, worked up a little bit of a sweat and saw really beautiful views. We had the most perfect weather (I even saw a rainbow on my morning run), checked out a brewery, and all survived the night out. Such a successful weekend celebrating Melissa.
I ate so many incredible turkey sandwiches during triathlon training. Can I get a turkey sandwich sponsorship?
A very rewarding, tiring and fun work event in Calumet, Michigan - we got to meet so many incredibly kind people, reconnect with old friends and I even got to stay in a hotel room complete with an old bank vault! I also shot a gun for the first time while I was there! I don’t think I’ll be doing it again any time soon. I was shaking like a leaf afterwards.
Running
37 miles on foot and a whole lot more in the pool and on the bike! September had a pretty major rest week while I was away for a work trip, but I still got in some decent long runs. The most fun was my early long run to November Project with Abby and Annelise!
October 2019
LOCATIONS:
St. Louis, MO
Washington, D.C.
Dallas, TX
Wilmington, North Carolina
Regina, Saskatchewan
HIGHLIGHTS
Something that was never on my bucket list, but was a cool experience nonetheless, was getting to go to the Texas State Fair! Nothing makes me laugh more than riding carnival rides, and I forced my friend to go on one with me. We won stuffed animals, ate a deep friend peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sampled a Kool Aid Pickle! (It was surprisingly delicious!) I was disappointed by the deep friend Thanksgiving dinner but overall it was definitely a cool experience. We saw baby chicks that had just been born, piglets, a Longhorn, goats and there were a ton of areas we didn’t even get to explore like butter carving and giant vegetables.
Major highlight for the month of October was the 70.3 IRONMAN in North Carolina. It was a perfect weekend. And I still get a giant smile on my face just by thinking about it. You can read A LOT about it here. But a summary is I had an amazing weekend with my best friends, a race that went wonderfully and a post-race celebration filled with my favorite things.
running
40 miles - including race day and some leaf peeping in Central Park!
November 2019
LOCATIONS:
Stockholm, Sweden
London
Dallas, TX
HIGHLIGHTS
Trip #5 to Stockholm and I just keep loving it more and more every time. This trip I had 10 wonderful days and I continued through my list of things to do - while also picking up a few new things to add to the list. Some of the best things we did were Mamma Mia! The Party, an Emile Sande concert, and a dinner out with colleagues we’ve met through working in Stockholm that warmed my heart. How lucky am I that I have a group of amazing people in Stockholm to share dinner, laughs and conversation at a neighborhood restaurant with?
From Stockholm I flew to London to meet up with my friends. Though London has never been high on my list of places to plan a trip, this worked out perfectly and we had a great timw. I was a little shocked at how expensive it was - but it was a very magical feeling city (maybe that had something to do with the Harry Potter walking tour we took!) More to come on the trip in a later post but I will also just mention WE SAW ED SHEERAN AT HIS BAR/RESTAURANT.
My friend started a really awesome vegan food tour in NYC and on a Saturday morning a few girls from work headed to the East Village to experience it for ourselves. I loved that we also learned a lot about the East Village while enjoying delicious food. The portions were huge and we were very satisfied by the end. I think my favorite part was probably the “egg” sandwich from Orchard St. Grocer. Check out On Root Tours!
Running
33 miles was my attempt at a cutback for the month post-race. But I just couldn’t help muself - running in Stockholm is always a joy - so much water! And in London, we even got Bertha to run a few miles to and from F45 with us :) And, though not a course PR, I came in first in my age group at this years Turkey Trot - which I got to run with my best friend while we were home for Thanksgiving!
December 2019
LOCATIONS:
St. Louis, MO
Dallas, TX
Long Island
HIGHLIGHTS
So far, sticking to my dry December (not a great month to choose to forgo alcohol, but I always like a good challenge)! I’m home for the holidays now - and today made rainbow cookies for the first time, got a manicure with my sister and wrapped presents. Getting into the Christmas spirit and recharging my batteries before 17 days in Dallas for work!
running
So far, I’m at around 20 miles for the month. Running has felt very, very hard this month. I think I maybe need to take an actual break. But the running highlight of December was hands down the trail run with a running group in Brooklyn. Abby and I joined for the run through Prospect Park and finished up the morning with a deck of cards workout at New York Sports Club.
I want to trail run more! I love how much more laid back it is. I love nature! I love that it’s a new challenge (hello, uphill!) I’m so glad we went and I hope there are more trail runs to come in 2020.
concerts
Dean Lewis
Bronze Radio Return
Jason Mraz
Emile Sande
John Mayer
Theater
Come From Away
Freestyle Love Supreme
To Kill a Mockingbird
Mamma Mia! The Party
Books
Fleishman is in Trouble
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street
A Place for Us
Exotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Workouts
GRIT (Read my review!)
Punch/Pedal House
More F45 (Including classes in Idaho, London and Dallas!)
Deck of Cards for Year #6!
RACES
Not a ton of racing this year - but it really just hit me that I still managed to PR in the half marathon, 10 mile and 70.3 distances!
Buffalo Half Marathon (PR!)
North Carolina 70.3 (PR!)
Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (PR!)
Shoreham Wading River Turkey Trot 5K
Doughnuts
Peter Pan Brooklyn, NY (Finally!)
Guru Donuts Boise, Idaho
Fabrique Cinnamon and Cardamom Buns in Stockholm - I’m counting them on this list since they’re one of the most amazing baked goods I’ve ever eaten!
Cartem’s Vancouver, BC
Honey Doughnuts Vancouver, BC
Lucky’s Doughnuts Vancouver, BC
Breweries
Wrightsville Beach Brewery Wilmington, NC
Fieldwork Brewery Napa, CA
Infinite Ale Works Ocala, FL
Omnipolo Stockholm, Sweden
Blue Point Brewery Patchogue, NY
Anheuser-Busch Brewery St. Louis, MO
Nya Carnegiebryggeriet Stockholm, Sweden
Long Trail Brewery Killington, VT
Sawtooth Brewery Wood Rive, ID
Cloud Nine Brewery Boise, ID
Payette Brewing Company Boise, ID
Big Ditch Brewing Company Buffalo, NY
Labatt Brew House Buffalo, NY
Hudson Valley Brewery Beacon, NY
Ragged Island Brewing Co. Portsmouth, RI
2020 GOALS
If there’s one thing I’m learning the older I get, it’s that you can’t really predict how your week is going to go, let alone your year.
I’m trying to set more general goals for this year - not so much specific resolutions or exact targets. I went a couple weeks without Instagram this month and that felt great - I hope to disconnect a little more this year.
The overall goal for February/March is PURGE! I need to clear out a lot of junk in my apartment and life and I think it will just make me feel lighter.
I promised myself that this year would be a year focused on things other than fitness related goals. I signed up for a 6-week writing class that I am beyond excited about.
And the extent of my running goals are doing my best to get out on trails, in nature, on hikes and on the run with friends. Less pressure, more fun.
I’m also excited to travel more- possibly a solo trip? But definitely more friend trips too. 4 more months until a once in a lifetime trip to South Africa with my best friend!
