Wedding Planning + A New Week

For once, I’m thrilled it’s Monday, if only because it means the week from hell – last week – is over. Any bit of patience I have (and I don’t have much to begin with) went out the door last Monday and left me to fend for myself. Since (at this point) I have nothing crazy on my calendar this week, I THINK my patience is slowly tiptoeing back.

In a nutshell: Work was super annoying, wedding planning has given me the crazies (more on that in a hot second) and to top it all off, my “9 mile run” on Saturday turned into a cold, windy, stomach-achy 5 miler. It was crazy hilly and I ended up averaging over a minute per mile slower than my easy pace. Although, the views weren’t so bad.

WAIT…that reminds me. I did have a pretty great speed workout on Tuesday. Runner’s World’s free SmartCoach (that’s what I’m using, too broke for a real live human coach) had 4 miles with 2×1600 in 8:35 with 800m jogs in between. I was on a treadmill and was almost positive I couldn’t hold down any 8:35s (it wasn’t me doubting myself, it was me knowing what I could actually sustain for 2 miles – I mean, I didn’t want to waste the whole workout because I was too overzealous) so I set the speed for about 8:40. Here’s how it went down:

 ½ mile warmup

1 mile in 8:38

(Jog 800m…after a very brief walk)

1 mile in 8:48

½ mile cooldown

I was huffing and puffing and it was humbling for me, but somehow I’ve overcome my speedwork mentality (“I can’t keep this up”) and didn’t give up. Obviously I did slow down a little bit toward the end of the second mile, but for the most part I hung in there. I was so proud of myself for not quitting. I think I owe a lot to the treadmill on this one. If I was running outside, I know I would have subconsciously slowed down. But when the speeding belt isn’t giving in, you just gotta keep the legs moving. Or risk severe embarrassment and likely some kind of injury. I knew that as long as I didn’t reach up and punch the speed down, I’d finish the mile right on time. (Well, close enough.) Knowing I had 800 meters to rest in between the miles helped, too.

On Wednesday I actually rode my bike on the trainer. Penelope missed me (yep, she told me) and I have to say, it was kind of fun to ride the bike again. I watched Long Island Medium and decided that I need to make an appointment with Theresa. It just needs to happen. Anyway, the best part about exercising from home is the proximity to dinner. All I had to do was go upstairs for pizza made by Chef Brendan, my favorite chef. (Lucky me, I get to marry him and get homemade pizzas FOREVER!) We found some garlic pizza dough at Trader Joe’s (it’s become a staple in our house) so he’s been making me fancy pizza concoctions. Perfect refueling method!

I had a few other easy runs (okay, ONE) and then the end of the week plucked me out of my neat little world and dragged me through the muddiest mud pit it could find. Hence no workouts on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Whoops.

Okay, so about the wedding stuff. We got engaged in October. We’ve been blissfully living engagement life (it’s fantastic!) and finally found the time to begin the actual wedding planning journey. So Brendan, myself, and his parents went to Long Island this weekend to look at wedding venues. (My Mom and Dad were stuck in Iowa…I MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH!) We found two absolutely perfect locations and a caterer we love. Problem is, we have huge families. And when you add up the costs of everything ELSE, it’s absolutely freaking ridiculous. It’s hard to imagine spending that much money, no matter how important this day is. We could go on, like, 10 week-long tropical vacations. That’s 70 perfect days instead of one.

Before you scold me and say “you only get one wedding day” and “it’s the most important day of your life”…trust me, I get that. But for me, it’s about the marriage. I’m marrying the best guy in the entire world and as much as I want to celebrate (***CHEESEBALL ALERT***) I have him and that’s all I need. I feel extremely lucky. Besides, him and I can both agree that it’s unnecessary to spend the amount of money it would cost for the venue + tent + food + silverware (who knew you had to pay for THAT too?!) + alcohol + DJ + photographer + transportation + dress + invitations + decorations + whatever else the wedding magazines are trying to convince us to purchase. I’m happy with putting on a gorgeous dress (okay, so that’s the one thing I do want) walking down an aisle, and then picnicking on the church lawn. (Really want an outdoor event. And dancing. But I can deal without that.) Still, then you need a tent in case it rains. UGH. See? No matter what you do, there’s always something more. #negativenancy

Everyone is extremely supportive in regard to doing what Brendan and I want, and even if they weren’t, I’m totally okay with saying THIS IS WHAT WE’RE DOING AND EVERYONE WILL LOVE IT. But truthfully, I do want to spend the day with all of our families (which are large) and friends at a beautiful venue, but damn you people, we have to feed you and give you drinks. (I kid I kid. I love everyone.) For now, we’re working on cutting down our list. It started at 228 and is now down to about 180. Sheesh.

Anywhoodles, that’s where we’re at now. Is “wedding thoughts” an emotion? Because they should be in a class all their own.  I’m just thankful that my parents and Brendan’s parents keep saying those magical words: “it’s up to you – we just want you to be happy”.

Okay, last wedding thing…I just had to share some photos because really, how beautiful are these locations?

But, good news! (Have you been waiting for something positive? Here it is.) I had an interview for an ongoing writing job last week (I despise interviewing, adding to last week’s annoyance) and I was invited to move on to the second part of the process – a writing sample! I submitted it last night so now I’m just waiting and sending lots of happy thoughts out into the universe. I’ve loved writing since I was a child. After college, I figured it was out of the picture…seeing as my degree in Sports Management is pretty much the opposite of a degree in journalism. And then, amidst jobs and friends and life, I kind of forgot how much I loved it. But this blog has rekindled that love and I’ve been slowly trying to do more and more freelance work. (Thank YOU for being here to help me in that journey. You’ll never know how grateful I am that you’re reading this.) I’m learning that you DON’T have to limit yourself to whatever your college degree is in, as long as you’re willing to put in the extra work. I now have this incredible opportunity, writing for a company I LOVE and think I can contribute a lot to…so here’s hoping. If you need me, I’ll be staring at my inbox waiting for my acceptance or denial.  

At the risk of pushing my luck, I would also like to request some happy thoughts about me getting into the New York City Marathon lottery, which is being announced on Wednesday. Fingers are crossed.

How was your weekend? Are you married? Tips please!