"Will you marry M?"

Wedding flipflops created by Becky L.

Five years ago TODAY D asked me to marry him.

We dated for nine months before getting engaged.

We each have a specific "Ah-ha" moment, in which we knew the other was the one.

For D the moment he knew I was the one came after a long and stressful week of work. We had made plans to spend Friday evening together, but he was exhausted and in need of some downtime. Knowing that an evening of activities was out of the question, I suggested that we order pizza, drink a beer, and watch TV or a movie together (at the time I was living in a Capitol Hill apartment with FREE cable - a total luxury for both of us). D was excited about my plans. More importantly he felt like I understood what he needed after a long week of work, and he was appreciative of my willingness to just be and relax with him.

For me the moment I knew he was the one came about two months after we started dating in March 2005. I mentioned to D that I was thinking about running a marathon. He quickly responded with, "then let's train and run the Marine Corps Marathon together in October." I was thrilled that he thought we'd be together some seven months later and that he wanted to do something crazy like run a marathon together.

In September 2005 we traveled to South Carolina to spend a long weekend at the beach with my parents and aunt and uncle. On Sunday morning we headed out of a medium-long run on the beach. It was a hot morning and about 1/2 hour into the run we were both hot and tired and in need of some rest. We started to walk. D went ahead and told me not to look until he said so. When instructed I walked over to where he was and there written in the sand was the message:

Will you marry M?

M? Who the heck is M?

D quickly moved in and changed M to ME.

In the heat of the moment he made a grave spelling error. I quickly answered yes to his proposal. He quickly slipped a blinkie ring - costing $0.50 at the Capitol Hill Safeway - on my finger. My actual engagement ring did not ship in time for D to get it before we left for South Carolina. I, however, was thrilled to be engaged and was in love with my blinkie ring. It blinks, for goodness sake.

We spent nearly an hour just enjoying our engagement by ourselves. We then went back to our beach house to share the news with my parents. My father knew about D's plans, as D had talked to him earlier in the week. My mother, however, was totally caught off guard. She quickly switched modes and began planning and baking cookies with much joy.

The night of our engagement, my aunt and uncle prepared a wonderful meal for us - complete with pecan-encrusted salmon. We shared champagne and wedding/marriage stories/advice with each other. The evening ended with my uncle putting on a wonderful fireworks display for us on the beach.

Five months after our engagement, we were married...

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual started by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

GUILTY PRESSURES

I cannot get enough. I'm totally addicted to Whale Wars.

And if we're being completely honest, I'm also watching Make It or Break It and Covert Affairs. Covert Affairs (though not as good as ALIAS) is quit enjoyable and was picked up for a second season.

I'm also enjoying the fact that K is napping for three hours most afternoons.

And that I've taken a nap nearly EVERY afternoon this week.

SCHEDULING

My life is basically one big schedule. We schedule pretty much everything around here. From meals to naps to grocery store trips to playdates with friends. Bedtime, bathtime, dinner-time, wake up times are all all scheduled. And when we're marathon training, all runs are scheduled.

Case and point: yesterday we were scheduled to run 16 miles. The plan was simple... I'd get up early and get out the door before 7am. This would get me home by 10 and D could run in the later afternoon. This schedule has worked for us in the past.

K woke up 11 minutes before my alarm went off. To some this might sound upsetting, but she slept from 8:30-5:45. This is a HUGE success for us. I woke up feeling rested. She joined me for some breakfast and several glasses of water. We then went upstairs together. I passed her off to D and headed out for my run.

I was ON SCHEDULE.

My run took me through Rock Creek Park and down towards The Mall. As I approached mile 5 the path along RCP got really crowded. It was full of college students. At 7:30 IN THE MORNING.

What the heck?

As I passed them and asked each group to walk single-file (they were monopolizing the path and really making me and the other runners/bikers mad), I remember thinking to myself wow Georgetown is serious about orientation events. They have their freshman out here with box lunches before 8am on their first Saturday of college.

What a crazy thought!

As I passed the Watergate Hotel, traffic along the sidewalks really increased. There were individuals walking around with crazy big cameras and press passes.

What the heck?

That's when I realized that there was a protest/rally going on. There was no orientation event. It was the big event on The Mall.

Freaking Glenn Beck.

I proudly ran AGAINST the flow of participants across the Memorial Bridge. And I kindly gave directions to a father and son hopelessly lost along the Mt Vernon Trial. I then had to detour my run because running along The Mall was out of the question. I back-tracked near the site of the MLK Jr Museum and the FDR Memorial. And then I headed home.

As I was running home, I realized that not only do I need to create and adhere to my own schedules, but in DC I need to be aware of what is going on when because these types of big events can mess with my scheduled running routes.

AH... one more thing to consider each week while scheduling everything.

I'm freaking exhausted. Time to schedule a nap.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual started by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

ROLLER COASTER WEEK

This week has been full of highs and lows. Nothing has been ordinary or part of the status-quo.

The week's lows include:

1. K face planting on the sidewalk in front of our house on Sunday afternoon. She has a scratched up nose to show for the fall.

2. three nights of terrible sleeping. K was up most of Sunday night - crying, whining, sweating, screaming, being all around grumpy. Turns out three of her molars (2 year) are coming in.

3. rushing to school Monday morning after a night of very little sleep only to find out my 9am class was canceled.

4. a failed attempt to make chick-pea mushroom burgers last night. The recipe (which I couldn't find online and therefore tried to remember) ended up producing a chick-pea mushroom cake. I tried to make burgers, but they burned terribly and I burned my finger. D ended up baking all of the batter in the oven. It looked terrible. It was a dense, protein-filled bake. D said it is our own version of Lembas bread.

5. two failed running attempts - Monday evening and Tuesday morning. I have really slacked on my marathon training this week.

On the flip-side, this week has had some GREAT moments:

1. my new camera (new-to-me) arrived. I am so excited to start using it - if only I could find my SD card (K has hidden it).

2. I made homemade gnocchi this week and it was great. Definitely makes up for the burgers disaster.

3. K and I secured passports for ourselves and they will arrive before our trip abroad.

4. I submitted my general research plan for my dissertation. Here's hoping it is approved on September 9th.

5. ran a stellar 4 mile race yesterday. Finished running up a huge hill. Final time: 33:06 (8:15 per mile) and it felt SO GOOD!

6. K slept until 6 this morning and I forgot to set my alarm. I slept for 7.5 glorious hours with little interruption!

THE 14th STREET BRIDGE

Anyone who has run the Marine Corps Marathon knows a thing or two about the 14th Street Bridge.

First and foremost, this is the bridge that runners have to be across before the six hour mark or else they will not be allowed to finish the race. That's right, the bridge is re-opened to traffic six hours after the start of the race. If you don't "beat the bridge", they taxi you across the bridge by car and allow you to finish. But in fact you do not actually finish the marathon - you come up about 1.5 miles short.

I was worried we might not beat the bridge the first time I ran the MCM; however, we crossed it with time to spare.

Other important things to know about the 14th Street Bridge:

1. usually there is a great food stop around mile 22 right after you cross the bridge. In 2005 there were Subway cookies and in 2006 there were Sport Beans. I have always looked forward to the mile 22 food during the MCM. It, along with fresh oranges at mile 6, is my favorite part of the race.

2. shortly after exiting the bridge, runners enter Crystal City. The fans in CC are great. And there is free beer for all runners. That's right a group (mostly guys) sits on the side of the course with a keg and they offer dixie cups of beer to all runners. During my first MCM, I started to hear rumors of beer at mile 22 around mile 19. Really? Beer for runners? It was crazy entering CC only to see that there was beer and that runners were drinking it - with 4.2 miles to go.

For me, personally, the 14th Street Bridge has some running significance. During my first MCM I tripped running up the on-ramp and really hurt my toe. I was so tired and had never run more than 20 miles. Running up the on-ramp I simply lost focus and fell. It hurt. I hate that bridge! A nice, slightly drunk spectator sitting on the bridge offered me Advil and gatorade after falling. I was surprised by his kindness, but passed. I'm not one to take drugs from a stranger. In 2006, I had a great run until I reached the bridge. With less than five miles to go, I considered not finishing the marathon while running across the bridge. I had no motivation left inside of me. D was thankfully running with me. He encouraged me across the bridge and once we were in CC I was spurred on by the crowd. Truth be told, that bridge was nearly the end of my 2006 race.

My reason for talking about the 14th Street Bridge is because the bridge played a major part in my 15 mile run today. I set out from home this morning about an hour later than planned. I totally forgot to set my alarm. I hit the road around 7:15am. My first 8.25 miles were raced as part of the Mama Goes Masters virtual race (yes, I ran two of the three distances in a 72 hour period). First 8.25 miles was at a 9:52 pace - not as fast as I'd hoped, but not bad. I'll take it.

I finished my 8.25 miles at the on-ramp to the 14th Street Bridge in Virginia. I was ready to head back into the District and home. My plan was to walk the on-ramp to the bridge. I had fears of falling again and I also needed some slower speeds to break open my power bar. I was chomping away on my mid-run snack and gearing up to run again when I stumbled upon a pile of puke.

And when I see puke it makes me want to puke.

Fighting the need to puke I kept walking. Several minutes later I thought I was ready to run again; stomach was settling. That's when the smell hit me; the smell of crap (literally I'm talking about poop). DC has an old sewage system and when it rains too hard the sewage system overflows into the stormwater drainage system (the two systems are in fact combined). We had crazy hard rains earlier this week. The rains caused the sewage to drain into the Potomac. And the big barges underneath the 14th Street Bridge served as a dam for all the poop. So running over the bridge one smelled several days old raw sewage. The smell made me want to throw up AGAIN.

So I continued to walk.

I ended up walking the entire length of the bridge.

I went back to running at the off-ramp. I refilled my water bottle at the Jefferson Memorial and ran home from there. It was a long, uphill run home.

I did walk one steep incline knowing I wouldn't finish the rest of the run if I ran that specific hill.

I wanted to quit about 1000 times between the Jefferson Memorial and home, but I kept plugging along. When I was about three miles from the end of my run I started to feel really good. I stopped for a water refill and chugged along until my desired end.

I walked about a mile home from there.

Post-run I snacked on granola bars and scrambled eggs. I've had two bottles of gatorade and too many glasses to count of water. For lunch we had carmelized onions and sauteed cabbage with fresh lemon squeezed on top. It was wonderful.

I have a headache from dehydration, which I typically get after any run longer than 10 miles.

All in all, it was a good run except for the 14th Street Bridge.