A Lovely Life

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...