Another year has come and gone. It seems like each year passes faster than the one before. 2024 brought lots of travel (3 new countries!) and a move, albeit brief, to a new state. It brought laughter and tears. Lots of running, lots of Pure Barre. Lots of card games, lots of brewery trips.
Here’s my little recap of 2024. These annual recaps are such a fun way for me to look back at years past and reflect on the year’s events. I hope they inspire you to do some reflecting of your own. Be proud of all you’ve accomplished this year and, most importantly, of the time you’ve spent with your loved ones and for yourself. Then dream those big dreams for 2025 with me!
JANUARY
- I ran the 2024 Chevron Houston Marathon. It kicked off my year with big emotions. Pride from hitting a 23 minute marathon PR (3:31:45), and devastation from falling just shy of my big goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
- While in Houston, Billy and I also ran the Houston 5K!
- We almost got stuck in Houston due to so. much. SNOW! We had the most snow Knoxville has seen since 1998! It began falling during our flights back to Knoxville and the city was covered in a wintery white blanket for a week. Waffles LOVED her first snow!
- I created many a HxH recipe and loved sharing them with you on Instagram!
FEBRUARY
- To fill my marathon training void, and for no other reason, the US hosted the Olympic Marathon Trials. While I wasn’t there in person, you better believe it was like a holiday for me watching on TV.
- I took a work trip to Columbia, SC for an event & got to see great friends while I was in town.
- I visited Iceland for the first time as part of a work trip. Probably the most stunning natural landscape I’ve ever laid eyes on. The snow, the waterfalls, the volcanoes, the Northern Lights – it was breathtaking.
- I partnered with another small, female-owned business, Seams x Seemly, to create my first ever HxH merchandise! It was so much fun working with Audrey and so surreal seeing my message and branding come to life!
MARCH
- I took a quick work trip to South Carolina to host my favorite event, the Spurs Up Sprint 5K. Yay running!
- Lotttssss of walks & brewery trips with Waffles & Billy.
- Billy & I visited one of our favorites, Asheville, NC, for a weekend trip. We love touring all the breweries and staying at a cute little airbnb in the mountains!
APRIL
- I met olympic running legend, Des Linden!! I went on a shakeout run with her and some members of the Knoxville Track Club and kept pinching myself to see if I was dreaming!
- I ran the Knoxville Marathon for the second time in person, third time if you include the virtual covid year. I did not PR, but I finished the race and I celebrated over beers with my family – a race day tradition. I also learned that two back to back marathon training cycles is not the best thing for your body or your love of the sport.
- Billy and I flew to NYC at the end of the month for me to race the NYRR Real Simple Women’s Half Marathon. It was my first NYRR race and my half PR (1:42:17)!!
MAY
- Started off the month with a trip to SC for work, and got to meet my sweet friend, Hannah’s, little baby in the hospital!
- My bestiessss Savannah & Georgie came to Knoxville for our friend Robby’s wedding! It was SO FUN to have everyone there celebrating, and we got a bonus girls day of wedding dress shopping for Savannah.
- Two days after Robby’s wedding, Billy, Waffles & I moved to NYC!!!! A lifelong dream! We packed it with so much fun including:
- My brother, Jake, visited
- We did sooo much exploring and ate sooo much incredible food
- I went to live podcast recordings of two of my favorite running podcast – Believe in the Run’s The Drop and the Ali on the Run Show
- I ran countless miles on group runs with various run crews in NYC
- I ran the NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon (1:46:42) and finished in Coney Island, where Jake and Billy were waiting on me
- I cheered Billy on in a race in Central Park for his law firm
- Billy and I saw The Heart of Rock and Roll on Broadway
- Among it all, I flew from NYC to Columbia, SC for another work trip
JUNE
- Summer in the city!
- I ran on Global Running Day among hundreds of fellow runners with the Endorphins run club. It was so much fun to be in the company of so many people who love running as much as I do.
- I raced the NYRR Women’s Mini 10K, which has been a dream of mine. So many professional runners I admire run this race each year, and while I was farrr behind them, it was so cool to be a part of that race.
- We played lots of mini golf, ate lots more good food (bagels & pizza & pasta, oh my!), and enjoyed many a happy hour cocktail.
- We went on many, many west side highway runs and walks with Waffles.
- I attended my first ever Peloton Studios NYC run with my favorite coach, Becs Gentry. Was such a pinch me moment to meet her! 60 min class and yours truly finished top of the leader board of the studio runners.
- We explored more exhibits at the MET.
- I took an in-person Melissa Wood Health workout class which was so much fun and another “how am I meeting this person in real life” moments!
- I taught Pure Barre in NYC!!! I mean, what?!?!
- Billy and I ran the NYRR Queens 10K.
- Billy and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary! We kicked off the day with a morning group run with Dirty Bird run club and a coffee date before he went to the office. After work, we headed to a Yankees game and enjoyed the Audi Club.
- I launched the HxH Podcast!!!! One of my proudest accomplishments of 2024 and something that has brought me so much joy. I truly hope it has brought you entertainment and encouragement.
- I volunteered at the NYRR Achilles Hope 4 mi race and got to cheer Billy on at the water stop.
- Billy and I ran the NYRR Pride 4mi Race through Central Park.
- Billy and I saw the Book of Mormon on Broadway.
JULY
- NYC summer in the city REALLY started getting HOT.
- Billy and I went to another Yankees Game, this time with Pepsi club tickets that did not disappoint.
- Our dear friends, Hope & Timothy, visited us in NYC for 4th of July weekend and we had a blast taking them around the city (L’Industrie & Talea, anyone?!).
- The four of us saw the Great Gatsby on Broadway.
- I taught more Pure Barre at several studios in the city and enjoyed trying new workout. classes. SLT & New York Pilates were my faves.
- I celebrated my 29th birthday all weekend long with:
- A spa day
- A 45 min Peloton Studios NYC cycle class with Camilla Ramón
- Harry Potter & the Cursed Child on Broadway
- NYRR Retro 4 miler race in the pouring rain
- Dinner at Palma, my FAVE
- Romeo & Juliet performed by the American Ballet Theater
- I flew to DC for a work trip.
- My brother, Milo, visited us in the city! We did all the city things, including:
- The Museum of Ice Cream
- Aladdin on Broadway
- Saw the Friends building
- Walked the west side highway
- Rode the Staten Island ferry & saw the Statue of Liberty
- The Olympics began!
AUGUST
- Billy, Waffles & I made the long drive from NYC back to Knox. I was kicking and screaming to leave the city, but excited to see our families and my Pure Barre Knoxville friends!
- I became Lead Teacher of Pure Barre Knoxville and Pure Barre Farragut. Seriously such a dream come true! I love that place and those people with my whole heart!
- Jake’s girlfriend Liz visited the US from Germany and it was SO amazing to finally get to meet her in person and show her around Knoxville. They make each other so happy which makes me happy.
- Billy and I made a visit to his family in Johnson City and I went on yet another work trip to SC.
SEPTEMBER
- Billy and I traveled to Kentucky for a work trip for me, which had the perks of being a part of a small Gamecock 1801 Bourbon selection group and attending the USC/UK football game.
- I taught a super fun Pure Barre pop up class and spent all my free time in the studios.
- Billy and I went back to Johnson City to run the Bluegrass Half Marathon. The race was canceled from the hurricane devastation, so he and I ran the 13.1 together – his first half marathon!
OCTOBER
- I completed the fall fit challenge at Pure Barre – 30 classes in 60 days. It had been several years since I prioritized this challenge, and I’m so glad I did!
- Billy turned 30!!! We celebrated with a nice dinner in Knoxville on his actual birthday. The weekend prior we also celebrated at a surprise tailgate before the ETSU football game.
- We finished off the year 30 celebrations in Greece and Turkey!!!! The cruise was incredible and we saw so much history, culture, and beauty on the many islands we visited. Unreal!
NOVEMBER
- Another work trip to Columbia, SC for Homecoming weekend to kick off the month.
- The following weekend my family ran the Cades Cove Loop Lope. It was so fun to run together and for the cherry on the cake I placed 1st in my age group and 4th female overall.
- Billy and I traveled back to Johnson City to race the Bluegrass Half Marathon take 2. We ran together and finished in 1:52:31. I’m so proud of Billy and only slightly bitter at how seemingly effortlessly his speed in running has developed.
- We celebrated another great year of Pure Barre at our annual holiday party!
- I took another work trip to SC and then Billy and I took another trip to Johnson City for Thanksgiving. It was great to also get to see his aunt & uncle from Florida and run the JC Turkey Trot in the morning!
- The month concluded with a delayed Spanyer Thanksgiving when we returned from Johnson City.
DECEMBER
- A month of Pure Barre, including my first experience at the Xponential Fitness Convention in Las Vegas with my great friend, Rachel!
- Then it was allll Christmas, including both families, a book club girls night, and a family friends’ annual party.
- Lots of reading, puppy snuggling, and coffee to conclude a cozy Christmas and a busy year!
Overall, it was a very eventful and rewarding 2024. Looking forward for so many more exciting things to come for Health by Haven in 2025! The happiest, healthiest new year to you and yours!
