Episode 1: The Intro Episode

Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones with Allie Brett-Knocker. Incredible stories and tales of triumphs with everyday people achieving their goals and fitness. This podcast brought to you by Athlete Bokees. Celebrate Finish Lines and Milestones of the people that you love by visiting ATHLEATBOKES.com. Hello and welcome to the very first episode of Finish Lines and Milestones. I'm your host, Allie Brett-Knocker, and it has taken me like five times to record this first episode. Man, this has got to be the hardest one, right? Because I've never done this before. I feel very inadequate, but I've been wanting to do this for so long, and it's finally time. So thanks for joining me, especially you, Mom. Here's what to expect from today, and then also kind of what I'm planning for this show in the future. So today I want to give a quick podcast intro, and then introduce myself. Give you more context about who I am and kind of what you can expect from me throughout this show. So first, what you can expect from this podcast is weekly episodes. Hopefully Fridays is what I'm thinking. That way you can queue it up for your long run on Saturdays. And then I will be interviewing a lot of my friends, family, people I've met on Instagram, people I worked with, people who are just everyday people like you and me who inspire me, and hopefully will then inspire you. So whether that's talking about fitness during pregnancy or postpartum, as moms, whether it's first-time marathoners, people who have run a ton of marathon somehow while still climbing the corporate ladder or still within nine to five, people who run for other people or for a cause, I don't know, there's just so many different kinds of stories I think you can expect to hear every week. Targeting about, I don't know, 30 to 45 minutes in episode, I'm sure some will be shorter some longer, and certainly some more awkward than others because I am so awkward, and it feels good to say that I think it makes me feel less awkward just to admit that fact right up front. I'm going to tell you a little bit about who I am today and then kind of give you my story. What I've found in trying to do this a couple of times is that obviously this does not need to be perfect, which I understand. But I keep forgetting somebody or something every time I do this. So I'm hoping third time to charm or whatever time this is. I am sitting in my closet of my craft room, which you may have seen photos of on Instagram. And I've got my dog Doug here with me. So no doubt there's going to be barking at some point. My husband's probably going to come in here, who knows, or slam the door beneath us. But I am hoping to just come as I am every single week. So that's what you can expect for me. It's not going to be the most professional podcast you've ever listened to. But thank you to my friend Rachel for that amazing introduction. So today, I am the owner of Athlete Bukeys. So perhaps that's how you found me and are listening to this. I am a mom of two. I have two daughters, Sydney, who will be six at the end of July and Sloan, who is two at the end of this month, April. I mentioned Doug. He's a golden doodle. He is nine years old and was our first baby. And then Zach, who I've been married to for now. It'll be nine years in May and is really the reason I get to do this. So I appreciate him so much. I don't know if I'll listen to this. We'll see. I'm going to drag him on to this at some point. We'll see when that will be. I am also on the board of Beyond Monumental, which is the organization who owns the CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, which takes place in October this year. They also on the indie half and the monumental mile, which is also now the Indianapolis Monumental 5K. That's a Saturday and June. I think the 12th, forgive me. I will include all of that in the show notes so that you can go register for those events and come run them with me. So I am also the oldest of three girls that's important. I like to be first place. I'm very competitive to my poor two younger sister who had to deal with that growing up. And am I missing anything else? This is where I keep messing up. I just left Fleet Feed. I was working there for about a year as a part-time outfitter, which I absolutely loved learning about all things running way more than I ever wanted to know about running shoes. Left to spend more time on athlete bouquets and on this show so that I can actually stay consistent and come out with new content every week. So I've got a list if any of what I said earlier resonates with you or you think that's you or somebody that you know, please send me a note. I would love to continue this list and grow it as much as I can to tell as many stories as I can in the future. So I think now it's time for me to just to launch in and tell you more about me, which this is the hardest part. I really should have had somebody come and interview me. It would have been easier because it feels really strange just talking to myself in a closet. So I'm going to consider this very therapeutic for myself and in hope that that is somehow inspiring to someone else. So as I mentioned, I'm the oldest of three girls. I am coming to you from Carmel, Indiana, which is a suburb of Indianapolis, which is about three hours south of Chicago. If you're not familiar with the Midwest, I was born in Colorado. My parents are originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, but they moved out to Colorado, had me and my sister, and then my youngest sister was born when they came back to Indiana. But while in Colorado, my mom started the software business. My dad ultimately quit his job and joined her, and they ran a successful software business for 20 years and sold it when I was in high school. I tell you that because it really sets the foundation for the very privileged and blessed childhood that I had. So a lot of my childhood, like I said, I sold it in high school. So most of my childhood, my parents were working. I do remember them working certainly, but as I look back, it's kind of crazy now being a parent myself thinking about how they made it seem so easy. I never realized how difficult that was. I'm sure that was as a kid. They really gave me and my two sisters a wonderful childhood. My dad was my soccer coach a lot of times. I remember my mom totalling me around all over the place to practices and who knows what else. And we traveled around the country in RVs and had wonderful vacations growing up. Really truly lucky. So lucky. I started working when I was 15, and I think that's really due to them instilling, well, they probably made me, first of all, but they did instill that work ethic in me really early. So as soon as I was able to work, I started working. My first job was at a restaurant. Then I worked retail. And I grew up playing soccer, as I mentioned. My dad was my coach sometimes. A lot of the time, he coached my sisters too. I went to Catholic school starting in 5th grade. So I went to public school until then. This new Catholic school opened called St. Maria Grady. So for anybody local who's listening, fun fact about me is I was the first graduating class. I was part of what 18 people who I can't remember if that was the combined number of 7th and 8th graders or if it was just that was just 8th grade. Anyway, it was very, very small. So you get the idea. And then I went to Westfield High School, public school for high school, go shamrocks, and I graduated in '04. In high school, I did play a lot of sports because our school now Westfield's pretty big, but back then, it was small enough where I could play any sport I wanted. I had some athletic ability, so I could do that. Not gifted by any means, though. But I ran track my freshman year. That was really my introduction into the sport of running. I ran the 100, the 200, and did the high jump. I don't think I ran anything longer than a 200. I must say that growing up playing soccer, I never really loved running long distance. I enjoyed the sprinting part of it a lot more. Now it's kind of flipped, which is so funny. So I also played basketball, I played soccer, I played tennis, all the while though, in high school, I was not a very kind teenager to my parents, especially to my mother, which now terrifies me having two teenage daughters what I'm in for. Certainly if anyone has six-year-old girl or girls at that age, I already see glimpses of it, but I was not the grade's teenager. I didn't really care about school in high school, so I'm lucky I was smart enough to get good grades and decent grades. I went to Miamiville, Ohio for undergrad. From Indiana, so a lot of my friends in high school went to IU Purdue. I just wanted to go somewhere different, and at the time, Miami really was not on the radar like it is now here in this area. It's about two hours away, which is the perfect distance in my opinion. So it was far enough away where it's not like, hey, dropping for an afternoon kind of a thing, but you could, but it was close enough. So I really enjoyed my time at Miami. When I filled out my freshman year questionnaire, I remember wanting it to just sound like I was super into fitness and sports. I was not a college athlete, but one of the reasons I actually wanted to go to Miami and the sound silly now, but I did make the most of it was the rec center there, so I'm pretty sure sure it was like either brand new or damn near close to being brand new when I toured campus and at this facility was unbelievable. So I did end up getting a housed right close to the rec center it was probably a half a mile away I think and so I could just jog over there whenever I wanted. Whenever I wasn't drinking beer or being an idiot which I was but I did get really lucky with a fresh manure roommate who was amazing. Meeson was her name. We became fast friends. I did rush. Miami of Ohio is known as J Crew U so very preppy. I don't know if that phrase still exists but that's how it was described when I was there and they are also very Greek heavy. So I did attempt to rush which is just funny to me now and so embarrassing thinking about the girl who went through that because I knew nothing at all about sororities. No one in my family had ever been Greek so I had no idea what I was in for. I already didn't really fit in because I was not preppy at all and I remember wearing these new balance shoes like I can still picture them. They were gray like silver or white ends on them like not cool really at all but I wore them because I wanted to be comfortable because rush was a super long day like you're on your feet all day talking to tons of people and I just wanted to be comfortable. Damn it. I was on the leading edge of that because now that's like what I live for but in college that was definitely not cool at all and so I was so embarrassed. I'm thinking about it. I remember a couple girls at least asked me about my shoes like what are you like oh why are you wearing those and I'm like oh because they're really comfy. So I didn't end up rushing. I should have maybe stuck to it and finished the process to kind of see what happened but I just after I think it just after the first round like I just was like this is not for me. So I didn't end up going Greek but I did certainly find my people on campus and some of them were Greek somewhere and I had a wonderful time at Miami. I did party a lot similar to how I was in high school and I also worked out a lot. So colleges where I actually found my love not love my addiction my running addiction. I will call it that because it wasn't something that I enjoyed. It was something almost I did as a punishment for myself. I would go to the rec center not every morning probably but a lot of mornings and I would run three miles on the treadmill. If you know me I love the treadmill it's kind of weird but I do. And then I'll go to Pilates and then I'll get back on the treadmill and I developed a talent of being able to read textbooks on the treadmill. So a lot of my homework reading was done while running but I did it to stay thin which was not really the reason you should do that. I mean being healthy I think is kind of where I'm at now with it and just being strong enough to hang out with my kids but at the time in college I really used it to try to fight the freshman 15 and so I would just run myself into the ground. I would run outside some too but I wasn't doing any marathon half marathons at this time in my life. I was just kind of running to stick with it and to run off all the drinking I was doing and at Miami I don't know if anybody listening will know this but there was a food a sandwich if you could call it that called the Clinton and it was a kid you not a grilled cheese sandwich with a piece of pizza in the middle and it was fucking delicious. Like after a night of drinking in a no-hi you could go to the bars at 18 so we did and you would go to the dining hall and they had these Clintons and they also had Oreo shakes and so my god no wonder I had to run so much but it's like I did it for really the wrong reasons I was not healthy at all at least in the beginning years. Towards the end of college I kind of realized that I had issues and I feel like my relationship with running got better but I always had trouble with food especially like going to this college where everybody is seemingly perfect looking. It was it was hard. I ate a lot of salad I kept track in a journal like every calorie I ate which is ridiculous thinking of now but I think it's kind of therapeutic for me to admit that I had an issue in college with food and I would be lying if I said I still didn't struggle sometimes with my body or with food but I have a much healthier relationship especially as a mom now where I appreciate so much what my body has been capable of and has done for me so yeah so colleges where I found my running addiction and then from college I went to do a two-year program back in Indianapolis which I never thought I would do. I thought I'd go to Chicago or somewhere else but I had an opportunity to be part of this program that my parents were part of called the OR fellowship so if your local maybe you know about OR it was a two-year program at typically a small company startup kind of like mine was a family business that had been around for a while but it was still small and it's where I met my husband so we were actually we never worked together but Zach was hired to replace me when I left at the end of my two-year program and so we met before I was with somebody at the time and oddly enough him and I broke up the day I ran a half marathon because he didn't give a shit and I was like just done with him anyway so Zach and I really quickly started dating after that and then he agreed to run a Chicago marathon with me so I actually ran my first my first half marathon was the mini marathon which is one of the largest half marathons in the world it's here in Indianapolis part of it you run around the Indianapolis motor speedway which is where the 500 happens and it's two and a half miles on black top and it's like on an incline and it's you know arguably it's the cool part of the race but it's also really tough especially when you've done it a bunch of times but I did the mini and then also ran the Geist half marathon in 2009 but I remember so my mom actually is the one who got my family into running because she used to run the mini and then she wasn't able to run anymore and my dad had started running too and so now I think I don't know if she regrets it but now she has like given my dad an ID itch that has not yet been scratched clearly because we both still run but my dad and I used to we would go to his friends house before the mini and we'd all get together and like they'd apply all their like Vaseline and Band-Aids on their nipples and it was hilarious I just remember that because it was all these you know old dudes at least from my perspective and we go run the mini and then we meet up after and it was just so fun we did that for years and so it just kind of became a tradition and so that's where my racing kind of started and so I used that term lightly because I don't I don't race to win anything but I'm just I mean at first it was just racing to finish and there were times where I had time goals and now I'm re-approaching that but I did my first full in on 1010 2010 that's really easy remember my dad and I did it together he I think we separated a half and I can't remember if it was his first or not I don't think it was because I think he like roped me into it after he'd already done one and then in 2011 Zach and I ran together after Zach and I had started dating he had only ever run three miles I think and he agreed to run the Chicago marathon with me which you know as anybody who's trained for a marathon knows it takes a lot of time and so it was pretty smart on his part it is really what made me realize he was he was the one because he spent all this time with me running and it was really one of the best summers we had it was so fun and the marathon I remember him carrying me through like not literally but the end he'll probably tell you that he beat me but he also will tell you that he's won and done so we shall see let's see if we can convince him when we get him on to run another marathon maybe if I challenge him that'll get him interested but so yeah so right after college after after my or program was over I did a short stint doing international economic development in Brazil which is nuts and then I ended up in software sales which is really where I spent most of my career so I started at exact target which is email marketing they now are part of salesforce.com so when we got acquired you know it was just a much bigger company than when I had it started there so really I found my passion for working at startups so small technology companies I think every single one I worked for it was all marketing technology and I just love the challenge of figuring out a way to help somebody was something new like this new innovative technology that could help them in some way so I did that for a long time I was working in software sales when I became a mom and that was in 2017 so this is part of my story that I think most people now know who know me but people who are strangers or like new to me completely certainly wouldn't but I had a really rough go of bringing Sydney into the world so she was born a month early and I had severe pre-eclampsia and helps syndrome and basically nearly died giving birth to her my OBGYN says it was the worst case she's seen in her career you know now it's easier to talk about because it's further away but I still kind of hard to face that that fact and ultimately I think in that moment the way I looked at life did change whether I want to you know face that or or not you know going back to work after that experience was was hard I but I, I don't expect from you. felt like I needed to. Of course, I'm going to be a working mom. My mom was a working mom and she built a business and so that's what society expects me to do. So I'm going to go back to work and I'm going to continue and I'm going to be better than ever. The company I work for at the time, I was the first one to go out on maternity leave. I was lucky that they gave me 14 weeks. They were very gracious and I think what we came up with paved a decent path for the women to follow me. That's a whole nother topic materially. But when I went back to work, I really didn't talk to anybody about my experience because it's kind of like, how do you bring, you know, how do you even talk about that? Especially in the workplace, I think even since then, the workplace has become such a much more open and vulnerable place. It was starting to be that way but not quite as much as it is now, I think. So I didn't really talk about it. It was hard. I just kind of launched right back into work and I remember the first call I was on after coming back, my manager looks at me and he's like, it's like riding a bike. You got it. Like he was, you know, like, wow, you've, it's just fine, you know. And so I just kind of felt like that was it. I have to write back on and, you know, kind of kept going. And I think if I look back now, I think, gosh, the reason I went back to work was just because that's what I felt was expected. Not necessarily because truly deep down, that's what I was wanting to be doing. Now I knew and I still know to this day, I'm not wired to be a stay-at-home mom because I do feel that that is the hardest job that exists. Anybody who's a parent and who is not a stay-at-home mom probably can nod their head to that, like, looking outside, looking in. I have so much respect for that part of the population. But I knew that that wasn't for me. And so where was, you know, then what else would I be doing? So I kind of just went back. And then then I changed companies because I had an opportunity to work with my dad finally. So my dad was now in a day-to-day role again at a software business, also selling marketing technology. And so I felt like, oh, the stars have aligned. Finally, I can work with my dad. So I went and worked there. And then the pandemic hit. So it's 2020. Now nobody wants what we're selling. Towards the end of that year, things kind of started coming back, definitely not to normal. But like, you could at least have a conversation with somebody. Whereas when it first started, people are just, you know, trying to keep their lights on and figure out what the heck is going on. And I just, I remember those times, like, Zach and I, you know, passed in Sydney back and forth, deciding, you know, whose jobs more important right now, right? Who's got to hold the kid during the conference call? And it was just such a shit show. But we really powered through it well. I mean, all things considered. But by the end of that year, I was not, I was on a call I'd prepared for. And I remember this so vividly, you know, sitting there with my camera on, smiling, you know, sharing my passion. And all these people are just like, cameras off, probably not listening, didn't ask questions, didn't answer questions I asked. It was literally like talking to a wall. Much like I'm doing now in my closet. But at least I know my mom's listening. So I just remember thinking, you know, being on that call, like, what the hell am I doing? Why am I doing this? And that was actually a question that Zach had asked me when I was unhappy previously. He's like, why, so why are you doing this then? Like, why are you working? And I think I fought him for a while on this because, you know, he grew up with a mom that was a stay-at-home mom, so much different than my upbringing. And so, you know, I felt like he wanted me to be a stay-at-home mom and I just was resisting that. And so somehow we found this middle ground where it's like, okay, I was pregnant at the time was Sloan. And so it's December of 2020 and she's doing May, early May. And so it was like, okay, I can quit and I'll just figure out what to do after baby. So that's what happened. You know, the COVID burnout was real. I was done. I left. And anybody who knows me knows that I cannot sit still. I am a chronic over-schedular. So I usually just continue to fill my play until something's got to give. Or basically until Zach, my voice of reason is like, what are you doing? This is too much. I'm like, no, it's fine. No, it's too much. So I finally, you know, it's been tough, but I've started letting his voice be the voice of reason for me. So I was trying to take a break leading up to Sloan being born. And I was scrolling through Instagram and much like I do. And I saw this bouquet of flowers that was inside of a running shoe. And it was a gift for a runner. And it had like goo energy, you know, gels in it. And I thought, oh, that's so cute. I wonder if, what if that's something you could buy for somebody like, you know, an edible arrangement, but for like all the stuff you would need for a race. And I couldn't find anything like that. So I started buying stuff on Amazon. I'm like, I'm going to make, I'm going to make something. And I did. And some of the first prototypes are hilarious to look back because I put like all this glitter stuff in it and made them like what I thought looked pretty, which looking back, I'm like, I don't know about that. But my friend Jenny was a good sounding board for me on like, hey, less pretty, more stuff. I'm like, okay, that makes sense. So athlete bouquets was born. And the name of the company is my initials, and Ali Brett knocker, athlete bouquets, AB. And I started on Etsy. And fast forward now I've been, this will be my 30 year in business, thousands of orders. I do a lot of bouquets. And if you haven't seen them, check out my website or my Instagram. I get to make runners happy for not what I'll call my living because certainly I'm not making a living doing this, but I am having a hell of a lot of fun. So that whole journey, here I am now, continuing to try to grow this business, starting this show in hopes of just telling other inspiring stories about people who are who running has kind of weaved its way in and out of their lives. Here I am now, I've run like from a running standpoint, I've done 48 half marathons. The mini marathon this year will be my 49th. And then I'm going to Fargo in May to run my 50th half in my 50th state visited, not running. So maybe someday I'll do a race in every state we shall see, but I'm hitting up North Dakota. So that'll be checked off the list. And then I've run seven full marathons, the most recent being the monumental last November, which was my first full marathon after having two babies. So my first race postpartum with Sydney was the New York City marathon in 2018. So I have run a full or a half every single year since 2009. So I've done a lot. We have a nice community here in Indianapolis I feel like because there are a nice chunk of races throughout the year and I tend to do as many of them as I'm able. So here I am just trying to fill my life with things that I enjoy doing and you know I think it goes without saying like I feel so lucky to be able to do this. So that kind of leads me into the end of the podcast. Here's what I'm thinking. One being what's your favorite mantra when it comes to working out or running. So mine kind of inline with what I just said is you get to do this. Like you are you are able not just physically able because I do think about that a lot when I run that I'm physically able to run. But being able to just do what I'm doing now with athlete bouquets and with now finished lines and milestones I feel really lucky. So that I have now put on a sticker in sweat towel. And then also run the mile you're in as my other one. So I actually put that on my race shirt for the marathon last year. But I think it's an important not just for running but also for life. You know, life is so seasonal and I think I get really anxious and overwhelmed when I think about life because it's so short. And there's so many things I want to do and am I doing enough and it just you know, you kind of start to spiral when I think about that. And so running the mile you're in I think for me is a great mantra just all across the board. So those are my two. And then for the other question that I'd like to ask every guest is you know what is your I'm trying to decide if I should do you know what is your proudest finish line or milestone and or what is your next you know your upcoming finish line in milestone because what I want to do is give some of the opportunity to tell something they're proud of but also cheer them on at the next big thing that's coming. So I've already mentioned my postpartum marathon. That's probably the best you know in terms of finish line or milestone for me. And upcoming you know I mentioned my upcoming race in Fargo. I'd like to PR that at least a postpartum PR. So we'll see. And then milestones you know I'm about to have a two year old and then I'm about to send my kid to kindergarten in this year. So that's a really big one. So thank you again to my friends and family who've encouraged me to do this. Thank you to everybody who's listened. I know there's at least a few of you. So I appreciate your support so much and hopefully we can continue to grow a community of inspirational and supportive people because that's what it's all about. We're all in this together. And for my my first official episode with a guest I am forcing my best friend to be my guinea pig. Her name is Dr. Alyssa Stickley and I've run down a mountain with her and I can't wait to tell you the story about how we met. I'll have her tell the story and hopefully you'll join me then. I really don't know how to have like an official sign off of the podcast. But whenever I send out an order and I sign my handwritten note, I always sign it happy running. So I'm just gonna say you'll be listening to this on a Friday, so tomorrow. So have a great weekend and happy running.