It’s been 9 years that I’ve been blogging off and on (I started this blog in January 2007). This is Part 3 of 3 in my 2015 yearly review.
5 PLACES I WANTED TO GO in 2015–and those To Be Continued…
– NYC (I did that in July, visiting old friends I hadn’t seen in over a decade, and their small children. It’s funny, the last time I saw those ladies, they weren’t moms.)
– L.A., to be on another talk show like Ellen, Wendy, Fallon or The REAL and be in the audience with my sister. I went to the Wendy Show in July, during the trip mentioned above, but I had no luck getting a booking for Ellen during her 12 Days of Christmas where she gives away EPIC gifts that almost rival Oprah’s. I also was an audience member of Family Feud in May, and another show in March called “Fake Off.”
In Part 2 of my 2015 yearly review, I recap my third year of running, which was my least exciting. I didn’t even do my first race of the year until the year was half over!
Outside my hotel room in San Juan
Although I ran less overall, I didn’t give into any pressure to run half marathons like my other buddies (I know which distances work for me), nor to run races in town because they’re popular. I sought to do only “away” races (except for a special one, and you’ll see why in a sec.
OK, it’s that time again. Time to recap my life in 2015 with a few short posts.
Part 1 of 3: “Ree-flections” on 2015
3 of my FAVORITE MEMORIES in 2015, Which All Happened in July
– Our family trip across New England
– Dancing with the dance ministry at my church
– Reconnecting with lots of old friends in New York
2 THINGS THAT HAPPENED in 2015 THAT I’M GRATEFUL FOR
– Developing a new friendship with someone at church with whom I have a lot in common
– More sister time. I saw my sister practically every month this year even though we live 10 hours away from each other.
A HARD LESSON I LEARNED in 2015
Some “professionals” who you have trusted for years can still misrepresent themselves and take your money without a second thought. As soon as you find that someone is shady (in any situation), you must let go of what you thought of them and keep it moving!
Tomorrow I will recap my racing accomplishments this year. Care to share your life changing) memories from this year? What are you most proud of, and what did you learn?
If you’d like some help doing your own self-reflections, check out my new, free workbook below.
The following is the transcript from my entry for “Thanks, Podcasting” over at Libsyn, which is my media host for my podcast, Kickin’ it with Daree. If you haven’t heard the show, what are you waiting for? Check it out!
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Welcome to Thanks, Podcasting! where you’ll get to hear stories of inspiration, transformation and impact because of podcasting. My name is Daree Allen from Kickin’ it with Daree over at DareeAllen.com.
My first name is spelled DAREE, and that stands for Delivering ARich, Empowering Experience. The way that I do that is being an authorpreneur–what I mean by that is, in addition to being a podcast host, I am also a blogger, writer, coach, speaker. Running a show is a way for me to showcase my other talents, become more of an authority and thought leader, and develop my platform. Of course, I also started my show for the same reason I do all the other things I do as an authorpreneur: to help girls and women live their lives with more confidence and higher standards.
So, how has podcasting changed my life? Well, it’s been less than 6 months since I launched my show, so I’ll just talk a little but about why I started, my goals, and what I’ve learned so far.
Do you journal? Does it seem daunting, useless, or just something writers do?
It doesn’t have to be.
From the NaJoWriMo Website: October 2015 Theme – Unleashing Your Creative Mind Through Journal Writing
I’m a little late to the party, but Bakari Chavanu created NaJoWriMo at the beginning of this year as a practice to concentrate on journal writing for 4 months of the year. I’ve been an avid journaler since age 11 (when I called it a diary), and back then, I didn’t know that journaling would help me write my first book.
Journaling is for everyone–it doesn’t matter how old you are, what gender you are, or what you do for a living.
There are lots of reasons to journal. It has nothing to do with whether you have the talent to write for a living.
I grew up in Utica, NY from age 3, and not fond of it overall. In spite of this, I decided last year that I wanted to go back to do the Boilermaker 15K. I haven’t been to Utica since my daughter was a newborn 12 years ago. My mom was my last family member to move South with us in 2004, so there’s been no compelling reason to go back.
The Boilermaker 15K is the biggest 15K in the world, and takes place on the second Sunday of July (July 13, 2015 is the 38th annual event).
Training and Prep
I started the Hal Higdon training plan at the top of May, simultaneously doing T25 Beta round for the first 5 weeks. On July 4, I had nothing to do (I did the biggest 10K in the world last year, Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race) and since it poured all morning, I decided to make it a rest day instead of my usual long run day. I’ve never done more than 3 miles on a treadmill and didn’t want to then, either. So I spent the entire morning reading race recaps to add to the hype I was feeling about coming back home to run a race I heard about all my life, but never cared until I became a runner.
New York Travels
In front of the Manhattan Bridge
A few days later, I flew to NYC to hang out and visit friends before heading to Utica for the big race weekend. I had not seen these besties of mine in 9 and 18 years respectively! And my visit meant that they got to reconnect too (they are mutual friends and each of them also have very young children.)
It was awesome to run in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan–I did a quickie shakeout run a couple of days before my race. I would love to run in the park without crowds and street lights, so maybe next time I can plan better for that. (It was kinda cool to sleep in an apartment with a fire escape. I imagined I was in a real-life episode of Blue Bloods with Donnie Wahlberg.) I don’t know if I’ll ever get to run a race in one of the five boroughs. I prefer races under 10K anywhere, and when traveling, I like Saturday races better than Sunday–so we’ll see.
When I took the train to Utica, I spent some of that time editing a couple of my forthcoming episodes of my forthcoming podcast (next month!), Kickin’ It with Daree. I’ll talk about that more in another post soon.
This blog is entering its 8th year (I started it in January 2007). I usually write about goals and such between my birthday (in November) and the close of the year. This is Part 3 of 3 in my 2014 yearly review.
5 PLACES I WANT TO GO in 2015
– NYC (I would have gone in October, but a race I scheduled there was cancelled)
– L.A. (to be on another talk show like Ellen, Wendy, Fallon or The REAL and be in the audience with my sister)
– EssenceFest*
– Puerto Rico* and/or Hawaii* (these have been on my list for years, as I’ve never done them)
– My hometown (I have not been to my hometown in 12 years, and there is a 15K race I want to do–it was even recommended as a go-to in Runner’s World magazine this month)
In Part 2 of my 2014 yearly review, I recap my second year of running. Although I ran less overall, I conquered more distances and volunteered more as well. Audiobooks were a great addition to my training, as I usually “lost” my group run members during long runs.
TOTAL RUNNING TIME– 70 hours, 14 minutes, 10 seconds (includes regular workouts, training and races)
TOTAL DISTANCE– 354.23 miles
MAX MONTH- January, 51.49
MIN MONTH- September, 10.02 miles (the month after finishing first Half)
RACES RAN– 11
RACES VOLUNTEERED FOR– 4 (HBCU, espirit de She, 13.1 Michelob, and Black Girls Run)
“AWAY” CITIES– 2 (Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill in Boston; Rock n Roll Half Marathon on Virginia Beach)
FEES PAID– $308 (5 of my 11 races were free with my track club membership)
NEW RUN SHOE: Saucony Ride 6 (purple), purchased in April
Saucony Ride 6
Last year I ran all 5K races except for one 6K. This year most of my races were new and longer distances:
1- 1M (March)
3- 5K (April, Aug, Oct)
1- 4M (July 19)
1- 8K (Feb 22)
3- 10K (New Year’s Day, June 6 and July 4)
1- 15K (January 26)
1- Half (August 31)
My daughter and I wore these cute football race bibs in October
FAVE BIB – Rise Up & Run (5K) with the Atlanta Falcons, October 18 (coincidentally, my bib number is also my hometown’s area code)
FAVE MEDAL – Peachtree Road Race (10K), July 4
The commemorative 2014 AJC Peachtree Road Race medal
FAVE RACE APPAREL – Hot Chocolate (15K) pullover, January 26
Hot Chocolate 15K race packet
I had some elective surgery that will keep me out of winter races now, but in the Spring, look out because I will be back on my feet! I have more “race trips” planned for 2015 including a 15K in my hometown (upstate NY in July), possibly one in Chicago, and A Christmas Story Run (Cleveland, in December).
– Getting to travel to almost every place I had planned at the end of 2013 (including NOLA and Boston)
– NOT living from paycheck to paycheck (for the first time since 2011)
1 HARD LESSON I LEARNED in 2014
Accepting that people are who they are and that they will probably not change. (I already knew this but a couple of situations reminded me that no matter how you treat someone, you must A) allow adequate time to get to know someone before letting them in emotionally, and B) accept how they behave and treat you at face value.)
This story is not profound. I still condone homeschooling for any family who has the time and money to do so, and I don’t rule out doing so again in the future.
I was actually prepared to have my daughter attend our state’s Connections Academy this school year, but her old charter school notified me of an opening. What I wasn’t prepared for was all the back-and-forth between administration and myself regarding documentation and proof that she successfully completed the previous grade.
Although I was challenged and my daughter was tested (literally), we succeeded and now she is back. There was almost no adjustment since she attended the school three years ago and remembered the environment, staff and students from before. She liked being home with me, and it made us closer. But she loves her school experience now.
I don’t expect to make another school change decision again until she is finishing up 8th grade, which is the last grade there. But even though I don’t do or teach her lesson plans anymore, I’m ever vigilant and involved in her education.
It’s been 9 years that I’ve been blogging off and on (I started this blog in January 2007). This is Part 3 of 3 in my 2015 yearly review.
The following is the transcript from my entry for “
