https://morganbye.com/tags/annual-review/Recent content in Annual Review on Morgan ByeHugoen-caCC BY-SA 4.0Sun, 11 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20260111/Sun, 11 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20260111/<p>The most surprising thing I’ve learned about health and fitness this year shouldn’t be surprising at all.</p> <p>Training plans work. You just have to actually follow them.</p> <p>Historically, that’s been my problem.</p> <p>I’ve always been deeply competitive with myself. If I showed up to a session (especially something hard) I felt like I owed it everything. If I went out for a run and wasn’t dying at the end, then what was the point? Had I really done anything at all?</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20251230/Tue, 30 Dec 2025 16:30:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20251230/<p>Switching Fuel at Altitude</p> <p>I think 2025 is the year I stopped trying so damn hard.</p> <p>Not in a dramatic, burn-it-all-down way. More like the quiet, unsettling realization that the strategies that once worked - the ones that got me off the launchpad - were no longer fit for the altitude I was flying at.</p> <p>The fuel that got me here was powerful. Explosive. Effective. It was also toxic.</p> <p>For a long time, “just work harder” carried me through. It solved problems. It bought credibility. It covered gaps - mine and other people’s. But this year, a couple of events slapped me hard enough that I couldn’t deny the truth anymore: that fuel source was starting to poison everything around it.</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20251229/Wed, 31 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20251229/<p>The most surprising thing I’ve learned about health and fitness this year shouldn’t be surprising at all.</p> <p>Training plans work. You just have to follow the plan.</p> <p>Historically, that’s been my problem.</p> <p>I’ve always been deeply competitive with myself. If I was going to do a thing, I was sure as hell going to <a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/do_the_thing/">do the thing</a>.</p> <p>Intervals and long runs were particular nemeses of mine - if I wasn’t hunched over and dying by the end, then did I really <em>go for a run</em>?</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20251228/Sat, 03 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20251228/<p>2025 felt like a long time in the making. There was no cinematic reveal, no sudden breakthrough - just the convergence of things that had been running in parallel for years.</p> <p>I was finally awarded the job title I’d been chasing for three-ish years. Long enough that, by the time it was rubber-stamped, it had lost most of its meaning. It didn’t feel like a finish line so much as permission. Permission to stop auditioning. Permission to take up a bit more space. Permission to trust my gut.</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20251227/Sat, 27 Dec 2025 16:30:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20251227/<p>Returning for my third year of self-reflection in <em>this incarnation</em> of the blog, is the 2025 annual review. As with previous year&rsquo;s, I&rsquo;m using <a href="https://chriswillx.com/review/">Chris Williamson&rsquo;s template</a> as inspiration and customizing it as we go.</p> <h2 id="rapid-fire-best-of">Rapid fire, best of</h2> <p><strong>Best Surprise</strong><br> Having words from my blog quoted back to me</p> <p><strong>Best Meal</strong><br> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bargeorgemtl/p/DSDijtfD2p2/">Beef Wellington</a> at <a href="https://www.bargeorge.ca/">Bar George</a> for my birthday</p> <p><strong>Coolest New Experience</strong><br> Training with a training plan, and first time training with a power meter - it really does change the game. But sea kayaks up a fjord was a pretty close second.</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_4/Fri, 03 Jan 2025 14:00:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_4/When not running, I&rsquo;m lifting weights&hellip; and watching my weight toohttps://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_3/Tue, 24 Dec 2024 10:45:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_3/Running has increasingly become a big part of my life and identity. Here&rsquo;s my thoughts on running this year.https://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_2/Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:30:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_2/Rapid fire, what were the best moments, people and places of the year?https://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_1/Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:30:00 -0500https://morganbye.com/posts/20250101_1/Why write an annual summary, and what do I hope to achieve?https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_6/Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:06 +0000https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_6/<p><em>This post is part of my annual review process for 2023. This year, I&rsquo;ve committing to writing a more comprehensive review, but to do so I&rsquo;ve structured myself into particular areas that I think are important to cover.</em></p> <p><em>To read more,</em></p> <ol> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Intro</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Best of and memories</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_3/">Career</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_4/">Relationships</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_5/">Health</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_6/">Personal growth</a></li> </ol> <hr> <h2 id="personal-growth">Personal Growth</h2> <p>Personal growth felt like it took a bit of a bit in 2023. I’m not entirely sure if it entirely declined so much as just stagnated.</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_5/Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:05 +0000https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_5/<p><em>This post is part of my annual review process for 2023. This year, I&rsquo;ve committing to writing a more comprehensive review, but to do so I&rsquo;ve structured myself into particular areas that I think are important to cover.</em></p> <p><em>To read more,</em></p> <ol> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Intro</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Best of and memories</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_3/">Career</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_4/">Relationships</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_5/">Health</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_6/">Personal growth</a></li> </ol> <hr> <h2 id="health">Health</h2> <h3 id="weight-and-running">Weight and running</h3> <p>2023 will ultimately be marked down as another year, just like 2022, where I failed to loose the weight I wanted to. I started the year at the 100 kg mark, after a catastrophic December.</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_4/Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:04 +0000https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_4/<p><em>This post is part of my annual review process for 2023. This year, I&rsquo;ve committing to writing a more comprehensive review, but to do so I&rsquo;ve structured myself into particular areas that I think are important to cover.</em></p> <p><em>To read more,</em></p> <ol> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Intro</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Best of and memories</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_3/">Career</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_4/">Relationships</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_5/">Health</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_6/">Personal growth</a></li> </ol> <hr> <h2 id="relationships">Relationships</h2> <placeholder>https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_3/Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:03 +0000https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_3/<p><em>This post is part of my annual review process for 2023. This year, I&rsquo;ve committing to writing a more comprehensive review, but to do so I&rsquo;ve structured myself into particular areas that I think are important to cover.</em></p> <p><em>To read more,</em></p> <ol> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Intro</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Best of and memories</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_3/">Career</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_4/">Relationships</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_5/">Health</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_6/">Personal growth</a></li> </ol> <hr> <h2 id="career">Career</h2> <p>2023 was an uncertain year for me professionally. On most traditional metrics, it was likely a resounding success. I delivered my projects, the clients were happy and I am well liked within my company.</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:02 +0000https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/<p><em>This post is part of my annual review process for 2023. This year, I&rsquo;ve committing to writing a more comprehensive review, but to do so I&rsquo;ve structured myself into particular areas that I think are important to cover.</em></p> <p><em>To read more,</em></p> <ol> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Intro</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_2/">Best of and memories</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_3/">Career</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_4/">Relationships</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_5/">Health</a></li> <li><a href="https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_6/">Personal growth</a></li> </ol> <hr> <h2 id="best-memories">Best memories</h2> <p><strong>Best Surprise</strong> Axe throwing for my birthday</p> <p><strong>Best Meal</strong> Gourmet, fine-dining steak experience in Mexico. The best steak of my life.</p>https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_1/Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://morganbye.com/posts/20240131_1/<p>I was recently going back through my blog over the years, and I read through my annual review of 2010. It was quite an enlightening little snapshot into my life at the time. A reflection of all that was important to me in that moment, and where I saw myself going into the new year.</p> <p>I instantly regretted not sticking with the tradition and keeping a little time capsule for all the years in-between.</p>