A big announcement...

OK. Clearly, I have the most awesome friends in the world. NewMama and DigitalBoy came out to visit and we had a blast! We had a spa day, and we saw a Rockies game, and we went to Casa Bonita! We laughed and laughed and generally had a blast. Here's a picture to prove it!

We don't get to hang out as much as I'd like, but every time we get together, it's like we've seen each other every day. They're pretty awesome that way.

And.... during the course of their visit, NewMama was taking photos of SoxFan and me for her photography portfolio ...and... he proposed!

I know... let's just let that simmer for a while.

..............


That's right, folks. We're going to get married. And here's a picture to prove it!

Please try to ignore my hat hair.

We're very excited about getting married. And Ini the Dogbeast and Tux the hairy snake couldn't be happier that mom and dad are going to get married! We haven't set a date yet, but we're thinking an outdoor June (2009) wedding sounds perfect.

Like I said, SoxFan proposed while we were out posing for NewMama. This wasn't his original plan, however. He'd originally wanted to propose at sunrise on Sunday, right before we went out for a stellar run. That didn't happen, however, because when he woke me up for the sunrise run, I came up with some lame (but apparently quite convincing) excuse for why I couldn't run and/or get up. In the end, though, it's better that his original plan didn't work out because NewMama caught the entire proposal with her (awesome) camera! Obviously, pictures will be posted at some point, either here or on her site (which you should all check out because she's flipping fantastic!).

Obviously, I'll post updates here regarding date/location as soon as I have them. Thanks again to everyone who's sent their congratulations! Again, I have the best friends imaginable.

On the running front, WHAT running? Seriously, SoxFan and I did a 4.5m run on Tuesday, but then I skipped yesterday because I had an evil headache and I skipped today because it was 15 degrees outside and raining. And who wants to run in that? I'm a little worried because I have a 7 miler coming up on Sunday. I'll repeat: a 7 miler. Some of you are undoubtedly saying "what's the big deal?".... but to me.... a 7 miler is also known as.... a "long freaking way."

left, right, left, right. repeat.

So, it's the night before my very first group run, and I am up WAY too late. My plan was to go with some friends to the Rockies game but still return home at a reasonable hour to get sufficient nutrition and sleep. I'm beginning to understand, however, that doing things on Friday nights may be out for me altogether for a while. I am supposed to be at Washington Park in about 7 hours. Yikes!

Aside from the fear of not sleeping enough tonight, and the fear of that vanilla dipped cone I just had to have at the game tonight making an encore appearance during the run tomorrow, I do have some very real fears that I feel like I could flesh out a bit here.

What is scary about running with other people? It's scary only because I know myself fairly well. I know that when I get there tomorrow morning, I will immediately begin comparing myself to the other runners/walkers. I will feel inadequate and nervous and bad. I know this because it's what I do in almost every situation. I struggle with the urge to keep up, to compete, and to compare... on a daily basis. That is one thing that I hope to learn during this whole process: to be alright with myself, just as I am, without comparison to anyone else.

Talking to my very awesome friend, NewMama, (who lives, tragically, very far away) a few nights ago, she reminded me that even if I walk a while during my "runs", I'm still out there doing something great! If my goal is to run 60 minutes (as is my goal tomorrow), and I only end up running 49 and walking 11, I've still done a whole lot better than 60 whole minutes sitting on the couch watching re-runs of America's Next Top Model (because, let's face it, that's the only thing on TV on the weekends... at least on my meager channel lineup).

She's completely right. This whole experience is about me pushing myself. It isn't about being fast or slow or how I finish in my age group. For me, it's about the journey to the finish, which sometimes runs tangent to other people. But my success is not at all defined by how my journey stacks up against anyone else's; rather it is defined by honestly answering this question: "Self, did you push as hard as you could have?"

With that, I put my fears (and my head) to bed.