Dear Evie...

Dear Evie,

I know you probably don’t remember me, but I still think of you. We met this past summer at an art festival in our hometown. I was working a Hillary Clinton support table and you came up to me asking to donate some money. You told me that you were seven years old and you had seen Hillary Clinton on television and thought she was cool. You said you didn’t know girls could be President and you wanted to help. 

You told me this would be your first donation to anything. Ever. 

You brought tears to my eyes because it wasn’t until meeting you that I fully realized what this whole election cycle really meant. 

I’m writing this letter to you because I want you to know a few things. 

It has been a week since we all went to bed knowing Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to be President. We woke up realizing that we were going to have to put all those dreams we had away for the time being.

And if you were anything like me, that probably didn’t feel very good. 

Disappointment happens. Be prepared: It can happen a lot. What truly matters is how you handle yourself when things don’t go your way. It’s okay to get angry. It’s okay to cry. 

I did a little of both this past week. 

Feeling upset means that whatever it is you were working for meant something to you. 

But don’t let your disappointment last for too long.  The anger you feel inside shouldn't be forgotten. It should fuel you and encourage you to fight for whatever you believe in.

But you can't let your anger just linger. You have to use it.

So now it’s time for me and for you to get back to work. 

There’s a lot of kids out there who don’t feel safe and who are scared. I hope you aren’t one of them. I am sure you heard a lot of the mean words that were said these past few months about all different types of people. I don’t believe them and neither should you. You are a wonderful young girl, no one is better than you. 

But you need to remember that in return, you are no better than anyone else. 

Everyone in our town deserves to be here. No matter who they are, what they look like or what they believe in. Try to be kind to all the kids in your class and stick up for the ones who are getting bullied. I’ll do my best to do the same when it comes to the adults. 

It is okay to speak up if you see or experience something that bothers you. Use your voice. You may not even realize you have one yet. It took me a long time to figure that out. 

And once you find it, don’t lose it. Your opinion matters. What you think and what you believe are important. At whatever table you find yourself sitting at, remember that you deserve to be heard. 

But you also need to listen. 

This may sometimes be the harder of the two. Take time to listen to the kids in your class, even the ones you may not get along with. They may not agree with you and you may not agree with them, but that is okay. You don’t have to be right all of the time. 

Elections are funny things. A lot of weird stuff happens and as you get older, you’ll learn this for yourself. In years to come, it may seem strange to you that this was the first election where a woman had a real chance to win. However, just because Hillary Clinton didn’t win this time doesn’t mean we should stop trying. It doesn’t mean that women are less than anyone else. Even though it didn’t happen this time, there is going to be a next time. I don’t know when, I just know it will one day happen. 

This loss taught me a lot. One of the most important lessons I learned is that as you continue to grow up, I still have a lot of work to do to prepare the world for you. 

Being a girl isn’t always easy. There were a lot of nasty things being said about women these last months. Don’t take those words to heart. I am proud to be a part of the Girl Squad. Women were fighting hard for you before you were even born. Just like they were fighting for me and for your mom and for your grandmother. Because that’s what strong women do. We lift each other up. 

For every Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama, there’s a lesser known woman who has played just as important of a role in our history book. Learn these names too: Susan B. Anthony, Bell Hooks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Dolores Huerta, Marlie Matlin, Audre Lord, Wilma Mankiller, Patsy Takemoto Mink, Tammy Duckworth, Kamala Harris. These are just a few, there are so many others out there. 

Be like these women. Just as I am doing now, you’ll someday be standing on their shoulders. Work hard and stay dedicated to what you believe in. Know that kindness and understanding don’t always win, but they are always right. 

Little girl, in you I see so much promise. I see a world that I don’t know yet, but one that you have inside of you. I see your intelligence and your worth and though I don’t really know you, I see your strength. You may not even see it yet and not everyone in your life will.

That’s okay. 

 

Because for every person you encounter who may belittle or tear you down, is another working his or her hardest to ensure you that you are indeed, enough. 

I don’t know what is going to happen these next few years, but I do know that I’ll be here, working hard for you. And I hope that deep down inside, you know that there is an entire tribe of women surrounding you, working their tails off right now, so that your path will hopefully be a little bit easier to walk down.

Evie, I’m sorry it didn’t work out this time.  I'm sorry our system seems to have failed you. I’m sorry you still don’t know what it feels like to have the leader of our country look just like you. But I’m not sorry to have tried. 

Which leads me to one last thing: Adults aren’t always correct. We get it wrong. A lot. When you grow up and read about 2016, please don’t judge us too harshly. There were a lot of people doing the right thing, speaking out on injustice, protecting others, making phone calls, raising money in the hopes that this time we would be on the right side of history----you were one of them. That dollar you gave wasn’t in vain. 

I’m proud of what we accomplished this year. I hope that one day you are too.

Your Friend,
Michelle 

Happy 4th of July Island style!

On the tiny island of Alameda, every 4th of July the town comes together to put on a 4th of July parade. Now, this isn't just any parade, but legend has it, the Alameda parade is the longest 4th of July parade west of the Mississippi. Coming in at 3.3 miles, almost 200 entries and about 10,000 spectators---the small town is out in full force.

This year, as during every election year, the candidates (and their local teams) come out in full force. Team Hillary was no exception. As the event was local and within walking distance from my apartment, I was 100% on board.

What I didn't realize when I signed up to participate is that I would have the opportunity to see a tiny splice of what Hillary Clinton running for president really means to not only this tiny town, but the entire country.

Our group for the day was not that large. Maybe 15 people, all women, but from all different backgrounds. We had high school and college students, retirees, professional singles, moms. From all different races and all different parts of the East Bay. This event got thrown together in less than a week, so I imagine we would have had a bigger turnout if there had been more time to promote it.

It was really neat to get to talk to these women from different walks of life. All coming together to support HRC.

As the parade began, we had many excited people approach us, asking for stickers and buttons. There were a lot of supporters out there that I didn't know existed in Alameda.

(Yes, I know that Hillary won most of California during the primary, but Bernie Fans have always been so much more vocal)

Women of all ages were excited. They were fired up and they shouted their support. Men were excited too. There were of course a few "Un-Fans" (It's what I've decided to call the "Boo-ers" of the crowd) but not as many as I thought there would be. I really do think that most people, from all sides, are coming together and can at least agree upon the fact that we really need to #DumpTrump.

What really got me was all the little girls who would shout for Hillary as we passed by them. These little girls will never know a USA where it would be an oddity to see a woman running for President. Even in the off chance that HRC does not win, becoming a US President will always be a reality for them. They've seen that women can at least be in the running, that it can happen and that for them, a woman in office won't be weird.

And it choked me up a little bit.

If I'm ever blessed to have a daughter, I will 100% want her to know that her opportunities are not limited. That there are women like Hillary Clinton and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman and Eleanor Roosevelt and Eliza Hamilton (hello, obligatory Hamilton reference) who sacrificed a lot to get us here today. And that most importantly, the choices and chances that she has are built on the shoulders of those women hard work and dedication and unwillingness to quit.

I don't really care that sometimes people criticize me for being so involved in this campaign (or being a Hillary Follower in general) because I know that I'm on the right side of history. I know that it is time to break that glass ceiling. That it is time to raise our voices against hate and bigotry. That I'm helping build a world that I'll be proud of.

And isn't that what the dream for a young America was?

#youngscrappyhungry

(yes, one final Hamilton reference)

The (Hollywood) Hills were alive...With Sound of Music

This weekend, I was able to cross off a major Bucket List Item: Going to the Hollywood Bowl's Sound of Music Sing-A-Long.

Yes, that is a thing. And yes, I've been wanting to go for years.

It may sound absolutely ridiculous. But it was absolutely amazing. And everything I thought it would be (and yes, so much more).

With about 17,000 other fans, the Hollywood Bowl filled up with fans of all ages. A few of my friends and I met up in LA to share the experience together, it was a lot of fun to see it with so many other super fans!

Before the show started, we set up a little picnic outside of the bowl along with many, many other people. Brought some wine, cheese and a lot of other nibbles to tide us over throughout the show. I haven't seen many of them for awhile, so it was fun to catch up and hang out in the sun before the show began.

Once we entered the Bowl, the fun really began. Each year, there is a pre-show with a massive costume contest. It was pretty darn impressive....some people are so creative. Gonna really have to step up our game if we ever go back! The winner was a four year old little girl dressed up as the Baroness. And get this, her prize: A flight and river cruise over in Europe for 2.

That's the luckiest 4 year old ever.

As soon as the sun began to set, the movie started playing and the iconic music was blasted through those hills. We had so much fun singing and dancing in our seats (Some of us could recite the entire movie).

Before the show, people were given small prop bags that had a number of items in them to help keep the show interactive. We missed the first go around, but during intermission, we were able to grab a few bags. There were little cards, Edelweiss, poppers and an invite to the Baronesses' party.  People came so prepared with their own props as well. Flashlights for the scene during the Nazi search party was pretty cool. Those of us who weren't as prepared used our cell phones and it gave a neat effect.

During Edelweiss, everyone pulled out their cell phones as swayed to the music. It was very pretty.

All in all, I would easily do this again. I wish the Bowl was closer. What a cool venue!  I love this movie. I love Julie Andrews and I love sharing it with friends.

The Next Challenge: The NYC Marathon

About two months ago, on a whim, I decided to enter the NYC Marathon Lottery. Every runner I know seems to have this race on their bucket list and they all seemed to be entering. So I figured, why not. I’ve never run a marathon before, nor have I really had any desire to do so. Unless it was going to be a big one.

After paying the $11 fee, I put it behind me and didn’t think much about the race or the lottery. This was very different from how I felt about the NYC Half Marathon lottery. Which I wanted to get into so incredibly bad (which I did!) I secretly wanted to get in, but my hopes never got too high. This is one of the most difficult races to get into, especially via lottery. I think last year they only accepted about 18% of entrants in total. 18% are not good odds. 

And let’s be honest, the odds never seem to be in my favor.   

After mulling the idea of a marathon over, I got it in my head that even if I didn’t make it into the NYC race, I would try for another major race. I have Marine Corps and LA on my mind. 

However, March 8^th marked the official drawing and fairly early in the day, I received this message:

Holy. Cow. Turns out I wouldn’t need a backup race, because I had somehow beaten the odds and made it in on my first shot. 

I spent the rest of the day glancing at social media to see if anyone else I knew was in and also to watch all the excited posts on the NYRR and TCS facebook and twitter pages. There of course were a lot of unhappy runners, but for the most part, it was a celebration. NYRR released the stats for entries this year and this is how it broke down:

19,083 runners will be accepted into the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon through the race entry drawing process held today. The number of entries is an increase of 4,757 (33%) from 2015, and 9,913 (108%) over the past two years (2014 and 2015). 

 

For the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon, 23% of non-guaranteed applicants will receive entry through the drawing process. A total of 82,172 non-guaranteed entry drawing applications were processed. Of the 19,083 runners who will receive entry through the drawing process, an equal percentage will be drawn from local, national, and international application pools.

125,000 applications will make up this year’s combined field of guaranteed and non-guaranteed entries, featuring runners from over 125 countries around the world. About 50,000 runners are expected to finish the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon.

Even days later, this seems like a dream. An insane, crazy dream. I cannot believe that in less than 9 months, I’ll be pounding the streets of NYC with 50,000 other runners for 26.2 miles.

Thankfully, I’ll be in NYC for a preview next week as I take on Manhattan for the United Airlines NYC Half!

One Month till NYC!

Fitness Check-In! It's officially less than 31 days till the NYC Half Marathon and my body is definitely feeling all of the training I've been doing.

In a good way.

I'm pretty darn proud of myself because since training began on January 1st, I haven't missed one day. Every single day, I've managed to either work in a run, a strength training session or a yoga/pilates workout. There have been times that I've needed to switch things around due to a work schedule, but I have always found time, either early in the morning or in the evening to fit it in. These past two months have taught me so much about how to push my body, how to mentally get passed my negativity and how to really dedicate my time to making myself stronger and better.

Every day is a process. And not every day has left me feeling strong. But I've been making it work and getting through it.

Last week while I was in Denver, I probably struggled the most finishing my daily runs. I'm going to blame it on the altitude, but I also think my body was a bit fatigued. February tends to be the most grueling, non-stop month of the spring semester and I knew I was starting to feel it. However, each day I got up early, laced up those shoes and pushed through.

It was not easy. And even though I didn't necessarily finish with "post-run glow," I knew I had to get it done. And I did. And some days, that's all that matters.

I have loved being a part of a the LMJS running group. I have always been okay running by myself, as it is the perfect time to think, however, it has also been a lot of fun getting to know other runners and having support as we hit the weekend runs that are in the 10/11 mile range. It's nice to have someone to chat with. We've hit our peak training mileage. Which means, we're probably at our strongest and almost ready for that 13.1. I love that there are so many people with such different experiences running along side of me. There are new runners and some of the most experienced runners I've ever met.

 One of the pacers is names Laurie. Laurie is almost 71 and strong as hell. She's run many marathons and is sometimes very hard to keep up with. Laurie fills our runs with stories of earlier running days. When women were very rarely seen on the road. She talks about how when she started running at age 30, people thought she was weird, there wasn't all the fancy running equipment or nutrition. Last week, she told us about how back in the 70's there were a lot of "running divorces." Because for the first time, women were finding their own strength and communities. They weren't relying so much on their husbands and running gave them their first chance at a sense independence.

I could listen to her for hours. And thankfully, because we're all pretty slow, I get the chance to.

Run the Road to Super Bowl 50!

What an absolutely insane day! We can go ahead and call it Seahawk Sunday (even though I spent most of it in 49er enemy territory!) 

Today marked the first running event of 2016 with the Run the Road to Superbowl 10k. This was put on by the same organization that did the Seahawk 5K last year, so I knew it would be pretty fun. I'm also trying to soak in all the Superbowl events that I can. (Who knows when I'll be in a Super Bowl City again anytime soon.)

Being the good 12 that I am, I decked out in Seahawks gear, tweeted my devotion to the Hawks (and they tweeted back!) 

 

First off, I had the task of finding my way down to Santa Clara (which FYI, for all you Bay Area peeps...is not on the other side of a bridge. It's just South of Oakland. Who knew?). Since it was 0 dark 30, there was no traffic and I made it to the Stadium just in time for a glorious sunrise. 

(Yes, that early)

My race didn't start until 8:45, but I had to pick up the bib and parking shut down at 7:30. I did end up having a lot of time to take photos and dink around until it was time to line up. Being the avid Hawks fan that I am, I of course, brought my infamous Pete Carroll signed poster to show off. 

    I may have gotten some jeers from those around me...however, all I had to say to them was, "Well, at least we're playing today..." And they, of course, couldn't deny it.

When it was finally time for the race to start, the whiny voice inside my head began its usually banter: "Why are you doing this? You should have just run the 5k? Don't you know the game is starting soon. RUN FASTER"

I will admit, knowing there was a game on in an hour motivated me quite a bit. I was able to quickly shake off the negativity and get into my groove. The nice thing about this course was that it was flat and pretty darn open, so there was not a lot of squashed runners. My pace was pretty good the entire time even though I was a little sore from the 8.5 mile training run I did the day before. I wanted to push myself and see what my base pace time was for the start of the year.

Just like the Seahawks run, this one ended at Levi Stadium, which will soon be host to Superbowl 50. It was cool to run out onto the field (even though there was very little field left) and see the inside of the stadium.

I really enjoyed this race. I also really enjoyed the free photos that they took. I wish more races did that. We pay so much in entry fees that it would be nice to get a little memento without having to shell out more money! And for once, I actually got some decent "in motion" shots.

One day closer to NYC...

13.1 miles
69,168 feet
23,056 yards
21.08 Kilometers
Half Marathon

Today I officially started my training season for the NYC Half Marathon! I know, I know. This is going to be a very long few months if all I can scream from the rooftops is "I'm running the NYC half!"

But I'm just so excited! (And yes, constantly worried about potential injuries that could take me out of the race)

As I was looking into running plans and schedules for my spring training, I found a group here in the East Bay called the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders. It's a local running group and it is massive with over 1000 members! I've always wanted to join one of these groups, but a lot of times, they are just so expensive! However, this group is only $20 a year and for another $80, you can join the spring marathon training group.

That is ridiculously cheap! Most of the other training groups I was looking at were at least double that. I was a little hesitant to sign up. Mostly insecurities about running and whether or not I'd like to do it socially...but as soon as I got to the group this morning, all my fears became unfounded.

Everyone was really nice and we all were able to join various pacing groups. Today we met in Emeryville and ran the Bay Bridge trail. I met some really nice women and had a great time. A lot of people were running their first Half, some their first marathon. One girl was on her 27th Half!

The six miles we ran went by so quickly. For the first time I've run since mid December, I was really happy with my performance and I didn't have to stop running the entire time. I think this is where the social aspect of the group is going to really help me. When I run by myself, I have no problem stopping and taking it easy. When you're with a group, you don't want to get left behind! We increase mileage each week and they have given us a pretty easy schedule to follow. I've tailored it to my other workouts and my travel weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to stick with it!

I can't wait till next week!

The year to do: Goals for sucking the life out of San Francisco

Yes, folks, it is that time again. The first of the new year. I know we all get a little bit crazy when it comes to new beginnings and fresh starts and clean slates. I've never been that good at Resolutions. I'm much more from the "why wait till Jan. 1st to start things?" 

However, I am one for making lists. Lots and lots of lists....and when it comes to the start of a new year, I do like to write down some of the things I want to do and accomplish throughout the year. Not really a "work on me list," but one that reminds me to "suck the life" out of the days we're given. 

I've lived in the bay area for almost 8 years (holy cow) and sometimes, I feel like I haven't really taken advantage of being in the midst of this amazing city. With the Superbowl coming in February, there are all these "must do" lists for our incoming football fan tourists. I figured, I would take a look at those, and create my own list of 2016 musts for Bay Area living. I realized that there is so much to do here that I've been missing out on. I was hoping for one new thing a month....however, the list just grew and grew. If I can get half of it accomplished, I'll be a happy camper (and almost native) by 2017! 

Visit Grizzley Peak and Bolinas Ridge (Marin) at Sunset: Grizzley Peak 50 Whitaker Avenue between Miller and Sterling Avenues in Northeast Berkeley

See concerts at: The Fillmore, The Warfield, The Independent 

Go to a Sing-A-Long at the Castro Theater

Take a Street Art Tour, make sure to  Walk through Clarion Alley and eat at The Sycamore. Between Mission and Valencia Streets and 17th and 18th Streets, San Francisco
Balmy Alley Murals | Balmy Alley, between 24th & 25th Streets, 
***On this day, have "America's best burrito" at La Taqueria

Attend Audium: On Friday Nights-http://www.audium.org/


Walk around Albany Bulb: 1 Buchanan Street, Albany

Church of 8 Wheels, Roller Skate in an old Church: http://churchof8wheels.com/

Go to Levi Stadium 

Eat at Tadich Grill: The oldest restaurant in the city. 

Climb SF's secret staircases:
*Macondray Lane (off Leavenworth St between Union and Green Sts) was the inspiration for Armistead Maupin’s Barbary Lane in his Tales of the City series.
*The grand Lyon Street stairway (between Green St and Broadway), built in 1916 to connect Cow Hollow to the lofty climes of Pacific Heights, features some 290 steps that take you past flower gardens, hedgerows and palatial mansions to the entrance of the Presidio, where you’re rewarded with views of Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.
*Tank Hill, the often-ignored stepsister of Twin Peaks, is accessed via the delightful garden-dotted Pemberton Steps that start at the bottom of Corbett and Clay streets.

*Climb the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps

Visit Coit Tower via: The Filbert Street Steps, arguably the most spectacular of the city’s stairways, starts at the bottom of Sansome Street and climbs all the way to Coit Tower, passing through lush tropical gardens and flocks of wild parrots along the way.

Drink Irish Coffee at Buena Vista

Go to the Walt Disney Museum/Lucasfilms in the Presidio

Take an Emperor Norton’s Fantastic San Francisco Time Machine Tour

Go Hiking on Angel Island and make it to the top 5 peaks in the region: Tamalpais in Marin County, Mt. Diablo in the East Bay, Mission Peak in Fremont, Mt. Hamilton in San Jose, and Sugarloaf Hike in Sonoma.

Go to Oakland's Morcom Rose Garden

Get to the top of Twin Peaks

Hang out at Alameda Antique Fair (Done: 1/3/16)

Tour the Jelly Belly Factory 

Eat an Egg Tart at The Golden Gate Bakery | 1029 Grant Ave., San Francisco