Last year I documented my favorite things of 2009, and it was so fun that I decided to do a recap for 2010! It’s fun looking back on the year. 

10. Team Challenge

It was a privilege to coach Team Challenge this year. I met so many wonderful and inspiring people through the program, and got to witness countless friends go from 0 to half marathon in 15 weeks. This year I traveled to Napa CA and Las Vegas NV with two different teams, who in total raised almost 300,000 for the Crohn’s and Colitis foundation. That is so inspiring to me, that I’ve promised to raise funds for the cause for the upcoming season. I want to know how hard my participants work to stay in the program.
 
9. Great Milwaukee Race

Fit Milwaukee teamed up with InStep running and walking centers and successfully put on a scavenger hunt around the city with 200 participants. It was a lot of fun, and the crew and racers had a blast. Super excited about 2011’s race!
 
8. My Modeling Debut

All of the sudden, my friend Hillary was asking me to model for a video segment for AOL’s Stylelist.com. Here’s the finished result. That day I also recorded my “Aha Moment”. Then a few months later I walked the runway for the MS Run the US fitness fashion show. What fun, and for a great cause!

7. Roll Mobile

I started a new job with an amazing team at Roll Mobile. Our team develops mobile websites and apps and we’re damn good at what we do. I’m proud to be a part of this team, and they’re a blast to work with. It was a good move.

6. The Red Lighthouse

You know how sometimes you just fall in love with a place? This summer MY place, my spot, my heaven, was the red lighthouse. I could go sit there for hours and made an appearance there nearly every day for about a month. Later in the year I received a beautiful photograph of the red lighthouse as a gift from my friend Amy. I cherish it.

5. 100 Hottest

Apparently, someone at onMilwaukee.com is sleeping on the job and/or blind. Because somehow I became one of the ‘Hottest Milwaukeeans’ of 2010. My name was listed as @bananza, so I like to think it wasn’t really ME that made the list, just the persona I’ve created online. Good enough for me.

4. Lakefront Marathon

I decided to run a marathon for fun. Luckily, my friend Krista had the same goal. We ran the Lakefront marathon with smiles on our faces, waving and laughing and high-fiving all the way. It was the best race experience of my life. That includes the brutal last few miles where I wanted to quit, but didn’t because I knew my family and friends were so proud of me.

3. 30th Birthday Surprise Party

I’ve never, ever had anyone throw me a party of any kind. So to find my sister had planned a birthday event for me with a dozen of my best friends really warmed my heart. I am so blessed to have a circle of amazing friends. The look on my face says it all.

2. Cookie the Kitten

I got a kitten! Tom and I went to the Humane Society hoping to find a little buddy to fall for. We came home with Cookie, a short hair calico kitty who was about 9 weeks old at the time.

1. 1500 miles

At the beginning of 2010 I thought it seemed pretty realistic to run 1500 miles in a year, seeing as I’d run over 1000 the year before (the first year I started running). It was crazy, and that’s what I liked about it. As the months went on though, the challenges piled up and my goal kept slipping away. With two weeks left in the year, I crafted a plan to get that mileage if it was the last thing I do. And it WILL BE the last thing I do. On New Year’s Eve, I’ll run my 1500th mile of the year at the Run Into The New Year 5k. My running buddies will be there with me, (psst, guys — you have been an incredible blessing in my life, and I am grateful to each of you!). To top it off, my brother Wade is even flying in to cheer me on. I’ve been fortunate to be able to run this entire year, but an accident this year left him unable to bike or run. So, that last mile is for him.