2010 in Photos

2010 is almost over! As I think about this year, I'm proud of all I've accomplished and how much fun I've had along the way. It all started back in January...

When we had some friends over during winter break and I just couldn't get enough of Bigcat.

In February, I traveled with my friend Kyla to visit our two friends who live and work in Washington, DC! We had a great time ice skating on the National Mall.

In March, Sam and I hopped on a plane for San Francisco. It was both of our first time visiting the city and we loved the gorgeous views and redwood forests. Later, we presented research at the 2010 National American Chemical Society Meeting.

April saw the return to Earlham (my undergrad university) to work hard and finish up. I worked especially hard on the student-run dance show, Dance Alloy and celebrated afterwards with friends.

May meant only one thing-- graduation! 4 years of hard work and the most life-changing experiences of my life all culminated in one shiny diploma.

In June, Sam and I and another friend road-tripped from Ann Arbor to Vermont and Massachusetts to visit our college friends. We had an awesome time and I fell in love with the Green Mountain state.

For the 4th of July, Sam and I headed up to his grandparent's house in Northern Michigan and took advantage of the long weekend of sun and relaxation.

After finishing up my summer lab rotation and class, I took a trip again to DC to visit my best girlfriends and we celebrated the end of summer with a rooftop BBQ with friends.

In September, classes and lab work started full-force at Michigan. We still found time to have happy hour celebrations and take it easy though :)

October brought the proudest moment of my life. I had been running since March and stuck to a training plan all summer. On October 17, 2010 I completed my first half-marathon in Detroit in 2:20.53.

November brought lots of school work, but most importantly I visited my mom in Wisconsin!

Finally, in December I finished up my first semester of graduate school and came to Florida for vacation. It's been a beautiful time and we've seen the Lions win in Miami, birds fly in the swamp and generally beached around.

It's been a truly amazing year! I can't wait for 2011.

Yesterday and today I squeezed in my last workouts of 2010. Yesterday was a speedy-mile session:

Mile 1: 8:57 (!!)

Mile 2: 12:15 (recovery)

and today I ran to the beach!

Mile 1: 9:35

Mile 2: 9:34

Mile 3: 9:58

I love running and am so glad I have the capabilities of doing so. That being said, these past two workouts were HARD! I think it's part sun, part heat, and part just lost fitness from my 2 week running haitus but I'm looking forward to picking up the pace again!

Happy New Year's Eve!