2016 … What A Year !

A lot can happen in a year! 2016 has definitely been a memorable one. It’s been a year of highs and lows for me. Before I can think about my hopes and dreams for next year, I thought I’d take a look at the last twelve months.

January – I kicked off the year by hosting a fitness bootcamp in a studio near my house. I was joined by 20 women that wanted to get fit and start the year feeling strong! It was so inspiring to see their dedication and I loved leading those daily workouts. (I may be smiling but my butt has never ached so bad!)

February – In February I began sharing my fitness / fashion tips in Women’s Health magazine. The fashion world got fit this year, we took gym kit from the treadmill to the catwalk and called it ‘Athleisure’.
Meanwhile Jude and I perfected our instagram selfies, I like to think I’m a responsible parent, teaching our son essential life skills! 

March – I continued to combine my love of fitness and fashion on the blog, by adding my ‘Sports Style’ page. I’ve always loved styling and fashion, I think as an alternative career I would have enjoyed being a stylist of personal shopper. 
Our family completed the Sport Relief Mile! Jude was so proud of his medal and he took it to school the next day to show his class mates. Rob doesn’t often feature on my blog  or on social media (it’s not really his thing) but I’d like to take a moment to mention that he is the absolute BEST! Everyone that’s met him will know what I mean. (FYI – I did persuade him to create an instagram account, so far this year he’s posted about 7 photos! *rolls eyes)
April – We went to Sardinia, it was amazing! I wrote a blog post about it … Take me back to land of sun, sea and spaghetti. 
Back in London I hosted a bootcamp class for my favourite running crew – London Midnight Runners. Each week I made the class tougher but to my surprise they kept on coming back. Nutters!

May – I teamed up with personal trainer Tally Rye and adidas to create a series of workout videos. It was brilliant to work adidas, I love what the brand represents, especially for women in the fitness industry. This shoot gave me the confidence to continue sharing my passion for fitness online. To be honest I know that the social media world often places a huge focus on how many followers you have blah blah blah. Of course there are online influences that have hundreds of thousands of followers, not to mention celebrities and world famous athletes. I was astounded that adidas had approached me for this project. By comparison, I am, well, just me. This year has taught me that it really doesn’t matter if you have a million Twitter followers or if you are ‘just me’. If you have a passion for something, share it! I’m sure that there are lots of people, that want to hear what you have to say. Do your thing your own way!
The following week I flew to Morocco with Charli Cohen and That Girl London. What a beautiful place! It was a fantastic job (that felt like a holiday). Team CC you’re the best!

June – My favourite month … Jude’s birthday! Jude turned five this year. It definitely feels like this year my little baby has turned into a little man. He’s into Ninja Turtles and Star Wars, both things that involve me being attacked, chased and shot at with nerf guns! Seriously though, being a Mama is the best thing the world and something that I’m truly grateful for every single day.

July – Summer in London was so much fun and I made some amazing new friends. I taught some fitness classes and  workshops. I also spoke for the first time at an event about ‘Body Confidence’ a topic that I am hugely passionate about! See full post here.
Oh and I met KARLIE KLOSS ! That was pretty epic! 

August – This was a very special month in our house, because Rob got his driving licence back! He has epilepsy and August 7th marked, one year seizure free!! I am SO grateful for our health and I’m sure that Rob is also very pleased to not have to watch me drive his car 🙂

In August I also hosted a run challenge online, 5K A DAY ! Yes, that’s right, I thought it was a good idea to run 5k everyday for 31 days. It certainly was a challenge but I managed to do it, with a little help from my running mates. Oh and I got a shiny medal for completing a team triathlon.

September – I celebrated my birthday and Jude started a new class in year 1. He’ growing so fast, it’s scary! I also went to Copenhagen with adidas runners. I’ve never been there before but I’d love to go back again next year, it’s such a beautiful city. I had so much fun on that trip and it inspired me to find more new places to run… watch this space!

I also went to Spain in September for a week of fitness fun with the Flybery Women (aka a bunch of wonderful gals). That week was good for my soul!

October –  Halloween of course! Jude and I dressed up in matching costumes and went trick or treating for the first time ever. Coincidentally, I also had a filling in October. *oops

Jude and I also filmed a video for Stylist magazine and adidas Stella McCartney. The video was all about fitness motivation and how I train though out the winter. It was a really fun shoot and it was awesome to have my little side kick there too. 

November – Not such a great month for our family. Unfortunately, I had a miscarriage. It was heart braking and devastating. I know that miscarriages are very common but it doesn’t make it any less surprising when it happens. I was very lucky and was looked after by my family and my amazing friends. The journey of having another baby has been a long one, one that I’m not really ready to share with the internet world yet, but I’m hopeful that one day God will bless us with a brother or sister for Jude. December – I packed my bags yet again but this time I didn’t need to pack suncream. I went to Herzo in Germany to visit the Adidas head quarter! It was freezing but an absolutely brilliant trip. We got to test out new kit, learn more about the brands history and see the technology used to create the products. I met other adidas women from around the globe, I felt really proud to be flying the flag for London and mega inspired for next year. 

Let’s not forget that it’s Christmas, the most magic time of the year! It’s Dec 31st today, our tree is almost dead but there’s still plenty of Lindt balls in the fruit bowl so I’m happy. Tonight we’re celebrating the year that’s been and looking forward to the year ahead. Who knows what is around the corner!? I have a feeling it’s going to be great!