Twisty Ties and Cell Phone Contracts

The Pilot and I returned safely from our magical Disney World vacation. He successfully jump seated there and back and got to sit in the cabin with me (not sure if he would be able to do that). I've been to Disney World countless times (and lived there for awhile) but this was by far the BEST VACATION EVER.

So those that have been following know that I've been carrying on and on about my Goofy Challenge training and my nerves/excitement about race weekend for six months now. During that time, I've mentioned The Pilot as he supported me throughout training but I haven't said much about him other than that. I'll try not to carry on and on too much about how amazing he is because it might induce vomiting (he's THAT sweet!). I will say that in the past year, he continues to surprise me in unexpected ways. Like when he agreed to cover 11 miles with me during Goofy training or how he packed my lunch for me today. But nothing surprised me more than what happened on Friday, my 30th birthday.

We woke up at my happy place (Disney World!!) and he gave me a card. It had two photos that were actually collages of the photos we had each used on our online dating profiles. (Yes, we met online!) He also told me that back at home he had printed out the e-mails we exchanged over the first couple weeks that led up to our first date. He printed everything on nice paper so that I could put everything into my scrapbook (I am THAT girl!). I was floored that he had thought up something so thoughtful. But all that was NOT the best surprise EVER.

We had reservations for a character breakfast at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom (never mind that I wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday with Winnie the Pooh). The park wasn't technically open yet but we were allowed in because of the reservation. We headed down Main Street USA towards Cinderella's Castle. A Disney cast member took some cheesy pictures of us in front of the castle. We still had a few minutes before our reservation so we walked closer to the castle and took some photos of the Partners statue (my favorite!). I noticed there wasn't anyone up close to the castle. Normally it is really crowded but since the park wasn't open yet, I wanted to take advantage of the empty park to get pictures of the castle.

As we walked up to the base of the castle, I asked The Pilot to get the camera back out. I looked over at him (wondering if he had the camera out yet)and quickly realized that he was down on one knee. I turned to him and he took my hand and asked me if....he could be on my cell phone contract as he slipped a beautiful....twisty tie onto my left ring finger.

I have to back up here.

Over the past couple months we have discussed both marriage and adding him to my cell phone plan. Both are obviously big commitments. I mean, if you break up and have to break the cell phone contract early, that's expensive!! So we have been joking about the cell phone contract as a symbol of commitment and one we weren't sure we were ready to make yet.

Now for that twisty tie. Aside from his job, The Pilot is very into the "green movement." He's a bit of a tree hugger, a little granola if you will. (And he slooooowly has me jumping on board too). We recycle/reuse just about everything in our house. During the cell phone contract conversations, I told him that instead of me getting him a wedding band one day, I would just slip a twisty tie on his finger.
So there we were, standing in front of Cinderella's Castle, The Pilot on one knee and me asking him, "Are you serious?!" I figured he was serious when I quickly realized he was still on one knee, waiting for my answer. I squealed out a "YES!" as he stood up and we hugged, kissed and stumbled over to the restaurant for our breakfast reservation. He filled me in that the ring wasn't ready yet but it would be arriving sometime during the following week.

We spent much of the breakfast eating, taking pictures with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore and staring at each other like a couple of love struck goons. The restaurant knew it was my birthday and had confetti on our table and they brought me a cupcake with a candle in it. I honestly couldn't even think of a wish to make as I blew out the candle. My prince charming had found me (on the internet!), fell in love with me and all my quirks and then proposed to me in front of a castle!It's been a whirlwind of a week as we have shared the news with friends and family (and tried to keep it off Facebook until we had made a select few calls-which we successfully did!). It still randomly slaps me across the face that I am getting married. That I am going to be The Pilot's wife!

I got an e-mail at work this morning with the subject: I'm wearing it. Attached was a photo of The Pilot's pinkie with my REAL engagement ring on it! How cruel! I had to sit at work all day (and wade through 175 unread messages from while we were on vacation) and daydream about the ring!

When I got home tonight, I had barely taken my coat off when The Pilot got down on one knee again and asked me to marry him. This time, he slid the real thing on my finger! I couldn't have asked him to propose in a more perfect way. I love him to pieces and truly look forward to spending the rest of our lives together.
Plus all this excitement is the perfect distraction as I recover from The Goofy Challenge. It's going to take me some time to get the race recaps posted but don't worry my wonderful bloggy friends, I finished both races and got my Goofy medal. I'm just a little more beat up than expected and may need to take a little more time off than planned...plus 39.3 miles of mostly race walking means a lot of writing and eventually there will be some long posts coming your way!

Off the Grid

So it's just about time to head out for our trip to Orlando, which means it's almost time for the Goofy Challenge! I'm pretty anxious about it but ready. I have packed, re-packed, checked and double checked my race suitcase. Yes, there is a whole suitcase dedicated to race. All 39.3 miles of gear will be carried onto the airplane. There is no way I'm going to risk getting to Orlando and not having my gear.

DC isn't part of my race gear but I think he wants to join in on the Disney fun.

He is named after a Disney movie after all!

The Pilot and I have been working off of separate to-do lists. My travel checklists are actually spreadsheets while The Pilot works off little scraps of paper that seem to be scattered all over the house. We are a match made in organized heaven.

We only bought one plane ticket (for me) and The Pilot is hoping to ride in the jump seat on my same flight. Hopefully that all works out and we don't get separated. He'd be waiting in C-bus for another flight while I'd be in Orlando, being very tempted to get the rental car and head to Disney! I'm ready for my magical vacation to begin!

And as excited as I am to be on vacation, I'm actually looking forward to going "off the grid." I won't be checking any e-mail, Facebook or blogs until next week. As much as I am addicted to all of those things, it will be nice to decompress for a few days and completely submerge myself into the fantasy that is Disney.

It may take me a few days once we get back but I promise to post a full race report as soon as possible!

Tapped Out

I just don't have anything left for training. I am mentally exhausted. My body has held up just fine but I don't have anything left in me for training.

It hasn't been above freezing in 3 weeks...until Friday. It got to 63 here in The C-bus but I woke up in a funk. While I was all jazzed in my last post and I've had a great year, I have never liked New Years Eve. So between that and a bad mood, I did NOT want to go train. I only had 7 miles and the weather was beautiful but I just didn't have it in me. I whined a little on my Facebook status and two Disney marathon buddies came to my rescue. There were planning to meet within the hour...so I put on my running shoes and dragged myself to meet them.

I ran a mile with them (in new shoes-drama that I don't want to talk about) and then dropped off to walk. My heart wasn't into it though. Even the sun and warm weather didn't help. I crossed back by my car....and got in and left after only 3 miles. I felt guilty about it for the whole drive home.

This morning was a coaching day but the ridiculously cold weather was back so there weren't too many people. After sharing my nerves with some of my wonderful training friends (and listening to them tell me I needed to chill the heck out), we headed out for a chilly 3 miles. I promise I had every intention of going back out....but I didn't. After the teams left and Lisa, Mary and I made arrangements for our own little pasta party the night before the full marathon, I got in the car and drove home. This time I did NOT feel guilty. After hearing 2 Boston marathoners and several other TNT alumni tell me that one more workout really wasn't going to make a difference, I went with their logic and enjoyed the rest of the day running pre-vacation errands and seeing a movie with The Pilot.

It will be a short work week for me but it's going to drag. I am ready to just start and finish these races! My wonderful friend, Krista, reminded me to try to enjoy the experience. It's so easy to get so wrapped up in the race and your performance that you forget to enjoy what an incredible experience it is to participate in a large race like Disney. I have worked so hard for 6 months for this race specifically but really, I think the last 6 years have led up to this race. It was 6 years ago that people didn't think I could even get through the first couple weeks of training for my first half marathon...and here I am about to do a half and a full marathon, back to back. I'm nervous and anxious but I'm very excited and looking forward to having a MAGICAL good time at Disney World!