A Lovely Life

It's New Year's Eve. I always find myself a little emotional (shocking) and a lot reflective when it's time to say goodbye to one year and welcome in a new one. This year, like last, though, there is a profound feeling of excitement. 2017. January. Goodbye to Georgia. Hello to #coloRADo. Snow. Tears. COLD. New job. Celebrating having Brucey for 1 year. ADJUSTMENT. February. Intro to hiking. Brewery visits. Cristy visits from Georgia! Fat biking. Snow shoeing. Pam visits from Alabama! My attempt to date again.. March. The Publix Half Marathon (marathon #2) with #TEAMNOAH. Visits with my Georgia family...lots of hugs. So much more snow (and stuck cars) April.  Snow. AGAIN. Chase visits from Georgia! Moved into my first, big girl apartment. Meet the Malloys and become fast friends. Sarah and Mike visit from California! First trip to Boston. The best visit with Uncle Paul and Aunt Irena. May. Starting to feel settled into my job. Summer! Hikes...

I'm 6 weeks into training for 2 half marathons and a rather large cycling adventure in 2018. It's been tough, as expected, these first few weeks. I've been getting into the groove of training my body to be fit again while also working on my self talk. I'm drinking less. And eating more! My nights are early. And my mornings are filled with gorgeous sunrises! Overall, it's been good. I've been proud because I haven't be able to do this or anything that requires much of a commitment for YEARS. After 3+ years of uncertainty and change and turmoil, I wasn't sure if I'd ever find steady feet again... 6 weeks ago, I couldn't run a mile straight without stopping and the thought of having to get up when it was still dark out made me want to punch myself in the face.  Last Saturday morning I ran 2 miles straight on a treadmill after getting up at 6am in 18 degree weather. In some peoples' worlds, that isn't anything and I get that. Howe...

In 2015, I met Noah Williams and his mom, Naomi, in a hotel in Washington, D.C. while helping out with The Kyle Pease Foundation at Marine Corps Marathon. My life's perspective has changed since meeting them. <--BIG understatement Noah has some significant disabilities, but as he and Naomi prove every. single. day. he is not defined by them. In fact, Noah is redefining what success looks like for everyone who has the pleasure of knowing him. He's a full time student, an accomplished athlete (more races that I can count) and artist. That kid is pure magic and that toothy grin of his is simply the best.  His mama isn't so bad, either. She allows me to take her kid at any time and literally run without question or hesitation. A great "happenstance" to all of this is that she has become one of my closest friends. To date, I've completed 2 half marathons with these two and announced my retirement in the middle of each one because running is not my fa...

There's apparently something about November 19th and changes in my life... 2 years ago: moving out of the ex's house 1 year ago: announcing that I was making the big move to beautiful Colorado Today: planning my next big adventure! After 2 years of major life changes and constant adjustment, I'm finally feeling like a settled human being. So, I've decided that 2018 is going to be the year I push myself physically and mentally. 2 half marathons are on the schedule along with the most exciting part: a multi day bike adventure with an assisted athlete here in Colorado in support of The Kyle Pease Foundation !!  I've learned enough about myself that I will not agree to push myself hard physically for any length of time unless there is another person who is behind the WHY. Doing this in partnership with another athlete who necessarily wouldn't be able to otherwise, is enough to get my ass off my couch and get it done! Details are still being worke...

I've written this post a half dozen times....struggling with what to say and often feeling defensive or embarrassed. Wondering about the judgement I'd receive for being so open and honest. Not wanting to hurt the feelings of those of you who have been so ingrained in my marriage and divorce. And then I reminded myself that I'm not me unless I'm being painfully open and honest. This is MY story and this part is one of my unexpected favorites. Some of you may recognize this guy. He was a big part of my life for a long time. He's that guy I've mentioned from time to time....the one I was married to. A few weeks ago, he was in Colorado visiting family and we spent some time together. It was the first time in over a year that we'd seen each other. Meeting him for dinner felt like a really awkward first date, but with someone I had known for years. Those feelings sure were a mixed bag! I consider he and I some of the lucky ones. We're the ones wh...

On October 22, 2017 16 teams started and 16 teams finished the 42nd Marine Corps Marathon in DC! I can't say it was a flawless weekend, but seeing those tired post-race smiles in the team tent Sunday afternoon makes me consider it a success. I (and most of our athletes) arrived Friday and this year we had a planned happy hour which was actually two hours in the hotel lobby. I have a love hate relationship with our hotel...won't go into why I hate it so much, but if you were one of our people who tried to check in Friday you already know. I LOVE it because it's close to the start and has this little restaurant/bar in the lobby. Is it the best? NOPE. Convenient? YES.  Friday evening of these events have become really special to me. I get to see and catch up with all our people and get those hugs I miss! Saturday tends to be a roller coaster of emotions for me. It's the last day of planning and prep before the BIG day. Bib pick up, tent set up, morning...

"Doing what you love is not always loving what you do. There's an inherent sacrifice to it." My buddy, honorary big brother, mentor, cheerleader and hero (God, I hope he doesn't read this) sent this quote to me the other day.  This weekend will mark the 3rd year in a row where I've flown into DC to help support runners from The Kyle Pease Foundation in the Marine Corps Marathon. I am equally excited as I am incredibly nervous and stressed. It's the 2nd year I've fooled Brent and Kyle into letting me run logistics for this event, making this my 4th "biggie" for the foundation....and the most challenging. There hasn't been one specific instance of things that have gone wrong, but I assure you that if something could have gone wrong in this process, it probably has. I haven't loved this process. I've f'ing hated it at times. It has tested my faith, my commitment, my sanity. It's made me question on more than one occasi...

"Giving women a safe place to ask questions without feeling dumb, isn't sexist. It's empowering." - me on Facebook That's right, I just quoted MYSELF. Why? Because I started a conversation on Facebook today when complaining about the amount of men who have made snarky comments about the fact that my bike shop is hosting women's only mechanics clinics every Tuesday in October. And, as always, I had to justify myself....so here ya go. I'm lucky to work for a man who respects me and my perspective as a woman. In fact...it's part of the reason WHY I work for him. I'm lucky enough to work in a community that mostly encourages women to be active and equal to their male counterparts. I work with a bunch of guys who respect me and, dare I say it, even like me sometimes (doubtful)! My industry isn't just male dominated in the people I work WITH, but also in the people that frequent my business. 98% of the time that is wonderful and I LOVE what I d...

If you follow me on social media at all, you saw a lot of bitching about my work trip to Vegas last week. First of all, my apologies for complaining so much. If there is one thing I'm good at, it's that. I prefer to not call it complaining and refer to it as "factual information that can often sound a bit negative".  For something like, 22 years, our industry trade show has been held in Vegas. For something like, 14 years, I've been in this industry in one way or another with the majority of that time being in some sort of management position. For EXACTLY like, ZERO years, I've gone to this show. Until 2017: the final year Interbike is in Vegas. The year almost everyone was frustrated, burnt out, flat out NOT GOING.  Still, I was excited. Better late than never, right? I was going to take advantage of it and I feel I did. I had several goals going into my week in Vegas: 1. See new product: ACCOMPLISHED 2. Network with other shops and industry lea...

Yesterday, my hiking buddy and I set out to explore and hike in Rocky Mountain National Park...another beautiful place that has been on my list to visit. The original plan was to hike Sky Lake, then picnic.  What ended up happening was better! We drove into the park which is about an hour and a half away from where I live. You drive in and start going up and up and the views are insane, y'all. It's apparently wildfire season and there are some big ones in Wyoming, so the air quality was not as clear as it could be, but it was still beautiful.  This place makes me feel so small... One of us would be like, "Let's pull over!", and we'd get out of the car to stand on the edge of the world. We did this all the way up and back down the other side of the park before realizing our planned hike was all the way across the other side of the park. Oopsies. After a little research and expert map reading by yours truly (I SUCK at navigation and have no sense of di...

When I first moved to Colorado, the house I was staying in at the time had a book titled, "The Colorado 14ers". I had to Google what a "14er" was and quickly ascertained that hiking one of those bad boys was completely and unequivocally out of the question. Living in the snow at 9,000 feet was going to have to be enough for me. For those who have no idea...a 14er is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet. There are 53 of them in the state of Colorado. 7.5 months after saying "never will I ever", I climbed one of those bad boys on a day that will no doubt be remembered as another massive accomplishment achieved in the first year of living in Colorado. Mt. Bierstadt is rated one of the "easy" ones. It stands at 14,062-ish feet (depending on what damn boulder you stand on, I suppose). "Easy" is a cute term. You begin at over 11,000 feet and climb up a literal mountain to get to the peak....the peak, by the way, is...