Post Race Recap: The Race to the Altar (Best Race of my Life!)

One of the unintended effects for those who have been following this blog is that along with the running journey, comes the life journey.  The intense nature of my dream lends itself to a lifestyle that tends to be all encompassing, as such it is rather difficult to separate the two entities - well three actually - training, personal life, and work - which is often why you tend to hear about all of them.  Today will be one of those blogs!  In a perfect way, it's a marriage of personal life and training - a race review of the best race I've ever run, "The Race to the Altar!"

Race Choice

I thought it might be worth doing a quick trip down memory lane for those who joined my dorky blog later on - post engagement!  It was on my "bucket list" to volunteer at a major marathon, and Justin is nothing short of amazing, so for my Christmas present he flew both of us to NYC!  The day before the marathon we went running in Central Park and a quarter mile from our hotel he said he had to "tie his shoe".  As I was immature at the time (#wouldneverdothatnow) - and getting pretty impatient -   - I hate stopping.  So I'm thisssssssssssss close to blasting him right? - and boom I turn around and he is on one knee.  The rest is history.

After he proposed in NYC!

Training/Preparation

We had plenty of time to plan for the wedding, we were engaged in November of 2014 and married the past weekend (June 2016).  The gap was because I was supposedddddddddd to be running the Olympic Trials in the marathon - but life had different plans for me in 2015 and it was a BRUTAL year (#injurycity).  But, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise - for so many reasons - one of which is Justin and I became very, very close through some incredibly trying times.

Running was the "thing" that brought us together - the travel, the wins, the losses, the injuries, the dreams achieved and crushed.  So we decided that the Save the Date, the invites, the decorations would be around the "Race to the Altar" theme!   From there we just started hammering out the big decisions:

• City:   Easy pick - we both have a deep love for Chicago - for different reasons.
• Venue:   We wanted downtown Chicago - we would have been living in a cardboard box for years to come - so we went with my hometown.
• DJ/Church/rehearsal dinner:  All easy decisions - conquer and divided!
• Colors:  Red (my favorite) and Green (Justin's Favorite)*

*we actually had all females with roles in the wedding wear a touch of red and all males involved a touch of green!

Reception Venue @ Hotel Baker

Race Bib Save the Date! ( I can't figure out how to turn this horizontally?)

Actual invitation

We spent a lot of time on bridal party, as that was important to us.  For my girls I asked 4 amazing women who each have given me a gift in life that I will be forever grateful for - and then gave them a bracelet with that gift on it.  Here's the coolest part; they gave me a necklace at the wedding with all the gifts on it together :)

The bracelets for the girls...

The necklace they gave me!

And then... the invite list.  Honestly, we did not have ANY disagreements on it - it was just a matter of paring it down; at one point we had the population of China attending!!! This was extremely HARD, and we literally talked through every single invite.  Once that was done - - mama bear literally took over - and she nailed it!

The Lead Up

I never thought of myself as a bridezilla, so I really never imagined getting stressed over a material thing like a wedding.  But embarrassingly, the 2 weeks prior I was a hot mess. I not only got a 2 week headache - I got 3 bloody noses - my go to ultimate stress barometer - -  and I got the flu.  Neat.
I have gotten quite a few questions around training and did I take a break this week - well yes and no. After some discussion we decided to keep the mileage the same, but completely take out the intensity, which proved to be a godsend.  I needed the mileage to help me with the nerves, I didn't need the intensity to break me down.  In fact the Sunday before, I went ahead and ran 19 miles with "W" (my training partner) - I figured the more I told myself life was normal,  the more it would be.

We didn't talk much in that run, but really we did :)

Pre-Race Preparation

I flew home Tuesday in time for final dress fitting, DJ meeting, and the arrival of Justin from Cincinnati.  The dress fitting was a tad stressful  - the DJ meeting comical, and the arrival of Justin calming.  My mom's house was BUZZING - my sister and her 3 kids were there, Justin, and me.  YIKES!  It was a Full House - no fights though - and I do have to say this was probably the one week of my entire life where I felt like such a princess.  Everyone was so nice to me, I even remember asking my mom if when dad picked me up if he could come in and grab my bag in the airport  (I would NEVER ask for help, but at the time I had the flu and felt weaker then a pencil).  Mom's response?  "Oh, Absolutely, I will tell him!".  Sometimes it's fun to be a princess :)

Huge relief post final dress fitting - it fit! (despite some mini drama from the dress lady!)

On Wednesday the entire bridal party went to the Cubs Game - this was a total blast because we all got to know each other really well, and had a great time!  The Cubs lost, but you can't win em all and we are saving the wins for the World Series this year :)-

Getting to know everyone was the absolute best part of the game!       

The Race
The night before was rehearsal and the dinner.  If there was any major bloopers or drama this would be it.  Our rehearsal was rather comical; a tad disorganized  - but we got through it and then headed out to celebrate.

we both look incredibly distressed here, we're not - but I wanted to show you his lime green shirt, my red dress - our colors :)

#mygirls  (Minus my maid of honor, not sure where she was!)

I ran before graduations, new jobs, hard goodbyes, scary hellos, moves, deaths, births, illnesses, bad news, good news, and so quite honestly I cannot imagine why I would not run before this major milestone.  So my bridesmaid and I ran 15 miles, which wasn't without epic humor (we may or may not have tried to drink from a hose on a random house #thirsty), and then breakfast with the boys.  It was REALLY humid, especially for a desert girl, and when Kerry and I walked into the restaurant we were, well, the picture illustrates it.  I told Kerry that Justin and Dan were the best for bringing all our stretching accouterments and clean clothes. And her quote set up the day perfectly..."...and he will be doing this 16 years from now, you  know that right?"

Post 15 miles, a tad humid - all the nerves out!

Eating a house @ Buttermilk for breakfast!

From there it was really a whirlwind, showers, hair, makeup (#asgirlyasCBgets), and then home to put on the dress and head over to church.  There was a rare, perhaps the only moment, of quiet peace when time stopped in the 15 minutes while I was dressing and my mom was getting ready.  She knocked on the door to help and I had already got the dress on, and immediately she was in tears, and then I was in tears.  I couldn't help but think of all the sacrifice and love my mom had put into not only this day, but my life.  But - DAB not WIPE - and boom we were back in business.  It was game time.
Next thing I knew we were in the prep room at church and time flew, all I really remember was Connor (my ring bearer) running around saying he wished his pants were tighter.

Connor my ring bearer - aka - "pillow boy"

The mass went perfect.  I remember walking down the aisle with dad and him singing some ridiculous song from when I was four years old, and then seeing Justin when I looked up.  As I sat down next to him my leg was violently shaking - - to which he asked are you really cold or nervous?  I think for the first time in my life I had to say I wasn't cold :(  

Our readers, gift bearers, and ushers were all chosen for a particular reason; a hero, representative of something/someone, a mentor, etc.  We decided to make the program a little more descriptive then normal and explain who everyone was in the  bridal party and involved in the mass - and wow!  That was probably the thing I got the most compliments on!  People loved it :)
I had told myself I was going to hold it together - no crying - but when we started the vows and I looked into his eyes - I lost it.  I mean not all out sobbing but audibly shaking in the voice.  We closed mass by taking 2 roses to the Mary statue in the back of the church.  That was our symbolic way of acknowledging and winking at our angel above, Justin's mom.
And then, Mr. and Mrs. Davis walked down the aisle!!!!

Me & Daddio.

Mr. & Mrs. Davis!

The rehearsal was awesome; with my mom planning all sorts of surprises!  She made cowbells for everyone and a racing start line banner for the entrance. The bridal party speeches were nothing short of amazing and kicked off a night of laughter and love.  The night flew by, wishing time would slow as we could have spent hours with each person who came.  It was quite humbling to know we had people from Australia, to California, to Boston to be with us.  But before we knew it, it was the last dance and this perfect day was coming to a close.

We ran in to Eye of the Tiger!

Post Race Recovery

Afterwards Justin and I went upstairs and he proceeded to take all the Bobbi pins out of my hair; I'll help you visualize that one with his quote half way through. "Bobbi is a __________ (insert another man's name) !
We decided not to go on a honeymoon right away, and get the finances in order - so instead we have spent the week in Phoenix chilling - and I can honestly say this is the first time since I graduated college where I have totally unplugged.  No email, minimal phone, etc.  And it felt awesome!  It also has  been great with the extreme heat to have my ultimate water boy here to bike along.  It's been a great week - lots of food, naps, pool, naps, food, naps, food, and pool.

I love running with this guy by my side!

I think he is starting to share my acai obsession!

Justin asked me while taking out the Bobbi pins that night what was my favorite part of the day.  We had decided that we did not want to see each other beforehand; however I did have this vision in my head of a picture where each of was on a side of the wall and holding each other's hands.  We were supposed to be laughing, smiling, excited.   So here we are, call it 15 minutes before mass started, and Aimee *(amazing photographer) takes me to the spot. She puts my hand in his.....and all of a sudden every emotion, fear, and worry leaves... my shoulders relax, my HR drops, I feel a blanket of comfort.
Justin:  "Are You There?"
Me:  No response, I'm trying not to cry
Justin:  "Are you There?"
Me:  No response, tears are running down my cheeks
Justin:  "Ok."
And at that moment I knew that he would be there for me the rest of my life whether I audibly heard it or  not.  I think in life you can ask once, twice, a thousand times if someone is there - but then if they truly LOVE you, you have to just let go and trust they are.  They might be here or above, present or astray, focused or struggling - but they ARE there and they ALWAYS will be.  Trusting, Believing...is loving.