Once upon a time in a magical kingdom, there was a place called Columbus Running Company that organizes group runs (and provides matchmaking services). On July 6, 2014, I went a little out of my comfort zone and showed up to a group run at Highbanks Metro Park. Little did I know, that guy in the green standing behind me was my future husband! As a slow runner, I remember being amazed by how quickly he and his friends took off! Jamie and I continued seeing each other at group runs and races, and were even Facebook friends (important detail: he added me), but it wasn't until I started training for my first marathon when we became close and started talking all the time. Writing this is making me realize how difficult of a person I am, but it took a long time for Jamie to convince me to go on a real date with him. He's patient, seriously. In fact, I'm so difficult that it also took a while for me to commit to us being "official," and even referred to him as my running coach for a period of time. Including to our realtor. I'm not making this up. You may notice this story is not going in the traditional order; neither of us have ever been the type to do things the same way as everyone else, so we started with buying a house. A few months later, we found out we were pregnant with our sweet little Emerson! I was adamant about not getting engaged or married while I was pregnant because I didn't want it to be because we felt obligated to do so. When we talked about marriage, it was more of a long term sort of plan. Fast forward to last Tuesday. We had a rare night where Emerson didn't sleep very well and I think we had gotten maybe 4-5 hours of sleep. I wasn't feeling confident about the speed work I had planned that day, but I came home after 5.5 miles in such a happy mood! Jamie had made plans for us to take Emmy to Franklin Park Conservatory and must have told me about a hundred times that we should leave at 12:15, so I took a quick shower, threw on a t-shirt, and insisted we stop at Coffee Connections. I figured he told me that time because he was running with Andy after so I wasn't worried about being a few minutes later than he planned. When we got to Franklin Park, I really really wanted to go to the butterfly exhibit because I hadn't seen it yet, but Jamie wanted to go the other way and finish with the butterflies, so we walked into the Palm House and saw a familiar face - our friend Belinda was there photographing her daughter. We chatted for a few minutes then she said she wanted my opinion on a prop she was going to use for her daughter's nine month pictures, and handed me a small box. Inside was a teeny glass bottle with a man proposing. It took me a second to figure out what was happening, then I turned around and Jamie was down on one knee... Jamie says my response was "I hate you!" (which I swear is always intended as a compliment when it comes out of my mouth), but I don't remember that. I think I let him say about four words before I was distracted by the sparkle and snatched my ring out of his hand... I knew I was being a little rude since he hadn't even properly asked me yet, so I started trying to to give it back, and then realized it looked like I was saying no. I apparently can't manage to not be awkward during one of the most important moments of my life haha! I finally let him get out an official "Will you marry me?" and responded with an "OF COURSE!" and immediately put my gorgeous ring on my finger. Jamie planned every single detail so perfectly and I unknowingly attempted to sabotage my own proposal at least three times that day. Belinda took some photos after he proposed too! Since I was in a hurry to leave on time, please enjoy these pictures of me looking like a scrub in my giraffe t-shirt, no makeup, and unpolished nails :) I cannot wait to marry this guy!! So far in our wedding planning, we have decided on a hashtag! There's a really unique venue that has caught our eyes and we keep comparing everything else to it, and we're tentatively thinking sometime in Fall 2018. We haven't made any real plans yet, but we've got some exciting ideas and I can't wait to get planning! Also, my fiance (!!) and I did go to the butterfly exhibit and it was so worth it. And they all lived happily ever after :)
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Hello, my name is Alyssa!I'm a momma to Emerson Lilly and two fur babies, a distance runner, and just a girl full of sparkle and quirks. I love traveling to races and exploring new places to run! I started this blog in 2014 as more of a journal to keep track of training for my first marathon, and I've continued to post about training, races, and other things happening in my life. Also, I'd like to be your best friend. :) Categories
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