Our Engagement Story!

So I know this post might not be for everyone, so I’ll be back tomorrow with my training recap if you want to skip today’s post. We’re about to get all mushy and lovey here people!

Before I dive into it, I want to preface it by saying that I thought for many years that marriage wasn’t for me and I wouldn’t find the guy for me. I finally met Alex and everything just clicked together - I wasn’t looking for anyone at the time, I opened my eyes to other “types” of men out there besides the ones that I seemed to continue to date and there he was! Within our first date, I felt something different than I had with every other guy that I had dated previously out there. I felt like I had found someone more than just a “boyfriend”, a partner for life! We have so many similarities, but also differences as well. I love how supportive of each other we are, how we can almost always find the humor in every crazy situation (most of the time, hey- we’re human!), and we compliment each other well. If you’re still searching for someone or losing hope, know that maybe taking a step back and focusing on other areas of your life will actually open your eyes to other options in the sea! Don’t lose hope- just when I was beginning to see myself as a spinster forever, that’s when Alex showed up : )

SO fast forward almost 4 YEARS of dating (Oct. 16th is our anniversary) and here we are!

I actually knew we were going to get engaged back at the end of May - he told me the NIGHT BEFORE my MS Run The US relay segment was going to start (cue: why I cried hysterically that morning before I started my segment - I literally convinced myself that I was going to get run over by a vehicle and never get to marry this wonderfully sweet man (over dramatic much?)). So we started picking out engagement rings (which is REALLY hard and I do not envy any man out there) - I actually told Alex a few years ago that I wanted to “be in the know” when he was ready to take the next step. I wanted to help pick out the ring and not be taken “completely off guard”.

We had so much trouble finding a ring that was unique and not the “cookie cutter type” and also had a ton of trouble figuring out what size I AM! I definitely thought I was a size 8….yeahhh…I’m actually a size 6. Whooops.

Alex’s aunt works for a jeweler in DC area so she was able to get a really great deal on the ring and custom make it for us (so so so thankful). I sent Alex 3 or 4 of my “top choices” and he sent them off to Susan. So I knew relatively what it would look like, but NOT EXACTLY!

Fast forward a few months of saving, I knew that Alex had ordered the ring and that it would arrive in 3ish weeks, but I knew he was still planning to surprise me so I didn’t know exactly when that would be. Each weekend I kept thinking this would be it, but still nothing. When he said that he wanted to go to Leadville this past weekend to go to Melanzana, I thought hmmm normally we don’t go that far for a day trip. I also definitely knew something was up when he was going to shave before we went there and also said that it was ‘bae day’… he’s sweet and always looks nice, but never puts this much effort into a day trip!

We got to Leadville around noon, grabbed some sandwiches, went to Melanzana to get new High Loft Hoodies, and then drove around 10 minutes to get to Turquoise Lake. We had been to Turquoise Lake the first summer that we started dating (kind of by accident actually!). I was in a boot for getting my PRP injection into my Achilles and the yurt that we planned to stay at ended up having some hiking that needed to be done (which I definitely couldn’t do), so we found a campsite at Turquoise Lake to stay at for the night!

TBT a younger us!

We did a short hike by the lake when we got there on Saturday and found a cute little rock to eat our sandwiches. Once we ate, we decided to go down by the water to let Stella get a drink (it was super windy - 20 something mile per hour winds!). He started asking me what my favorite trip was that we’ve done so far (either Yosemite or our road trip back to Maine) and saying how he couldn’t believe that we’ve been together 4 years and then said that he wanted to share every lifes adventure with me and then I couldn’t.stop.smiling because I knew it was finally time!

He got down on one knee and brought out the ring (it was in his pocket and I didn’t even notice- super sly!) and asked me to marry him. Gosh I’m still all gushy just writing it now! I couldn’t stop smiling (my cheeks hurt by the end of the night) and we took like twenty million photos.

I am still in shock that it finally happened and so unbelievably excited/ happy! We’re booking some engagement photos to be taken next week which is super exciting and just taking it day by day. I really want us to have a Fall 2019 wedding so I know we should start planning soon, but I also really want to hang on to this engagement bliss as long as possible!

Any advice out there for us?!?

If you’re engaged how did it happen- I LOVE to read engagement stories!

Weekend Recap- I’ve got some EXCITING NEWS FOR YOU!

Happy Monday! How was your weekend?? Mine wasn’t filled with too much running, BUT I’ve got news for you! Before we get to the news let’s go back to Friday afternoon. My stomach bug was still hanging around so I slept in and decided to give my long run a try after work. Except- I forgot my headphones AND cellphone holder so I knew it would be a longgg 13 miles without anything. I made it 4.5 miles and called it quits. 

Saturday we decided to take a day trip to Turquoise Lake in Leadville (it’s around 2 hours away) . Our main goal was to go to Melanzana to get new sweatshirts (they are seriously TO DIE FOR comfy), but also decided to do a short hike down by the lake. We grabbed some sandwiches at this cute coffee shop. ​

I got the Turkey Bacon Guacamole and it was amazing (SOO tasty)! Stella even wanted some. 

It was a bit windy down there, but still so beautiful.  

And then we got engaged! 

On Sunday we celebrated at Cafe Diva for date night! I also ran 11.1 miles on the treadmill earlier Sunday afternoon, but it was 2 miles less than my goal mileage for the day. Fueling before my run wasn’t a top priority (or on Saturday too), so I’m just glad to have gotten that far! 

I’ll have a full recap of our engagement story on the blog tomorrow, so make sure to check back if that’s something you’re into! 

5 things you did this weekend?!? 

Feature Friday: Checking In On Your Monthly Goals

Happy Friday! These week felt LONG. Anyone else feel that way too? I also cannot believe that it’s already the end of September. This month went by way too quickly and I’m already sad that our peak foliage is here and gone. How is the foliage where you are?

FBF to running in Maine last October! I miss the variety of foliage there so much.

Since it’s the end of the month, it’s time to check in on this past months goals and make some new ones for October!

September Goals:

• Read 1 book -CHECK!

• Yoga 1x/week

• 1 step towards next career- CHECK!

• Journal 3x/week- CHECK!

• Camp/backpack 1x- CHECK!

• Purchase only needs not wants- CHECK! I only purchased one thing that wasn’t groceries/ bills related and we didn’t eat out once. Should we celebrate by eating out now?!? haha…kidding! (mostly…)

Overall, I did REALLY well for my September goals and kept them in-check for my 2018 overall goals. I’m feeling super fired-up recently about my upcoming goals and 2019 for some reason, so I’m trying to keep fueling that fire and STAY FOCUSED! How do you stay focused and fresh for your goals?

SOURCE

October Goals:

• Read 1 book

• Journal 3x/week

• Camp/backpack 1x

• Purchase only needs not wants

• Visit one new National Park

• Run a Half Marathon In A New State

• Yoga 1x/ week

• Hold a Plank for 4 minutes

• Do/Try/Create one new thing each week

I wanted to mix it up and add in a few new fun goals for October, so I think those last two are going to be fun to accomplish!

What are your goals for October?

Are you a goal motivated person or not so much?? —> If you couldn’t tell already, I LOVE me some goals. They help keep me accountable, push me, and give me something to strive for!

What are three things you’re NOT doing this weekend? —> getting up early, camping, eating out (save that $$!)

Trail Thursday: Timber Lake Backpacking In Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park!

Happy Friday eve! I’m so excited to share with you some of the photos from our backpacking trip last weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park. We booked our overnight camping permit about a month ago on their website here. Alex or I had never done any sort of Wilderness camping where you needed a permit, so we were both a bit excited and nervous! It was so easy to book the site and navigate through their website to find the best location for us on the date that we were looking for (plus it was inexpensive too! $26 to book online). I ended up booking Snowbird site at Timber Lake because it was a relatively do-able distance for us (4.6 miles 2,000’ gain), close to the lake, and close to the Grand Lake entrance of the park (closer to our home!). It ended up being National Parks Day on Saturday so the park and trailhead was busier than we expected, but it wasn’t anything unmanageable. We picked up our permit at the Kawanachee Visitors Center around 11:15am and got to trailhead before noon! We ate the sandwiches that we had picked up at Natural Grocers earlier in the morning and headed out. The Ranger that gave us our permit said to be on the lookout for Moose (they were rumored to be active in this area) and that the hike would take us 4-5 hours. We were hopeful we could get to the site around 3pm!

Ready to go!

The trail to Snowbird site was so beautiful and well-maintained. I honestly think it was one of the best trails I’ve been on since moving to Colorado 5 years ago!

We crossed over several streams, but there were great man-made footbridges which made it easy.

It was also a pretty gradual ascent (hard, but still do-able if you’re used to the elevation) for most of the hike which was nice since we had our heavy backpacks on!

At mile 2.6, we made it to the Active Landslide area. I had read reviews where most people went around the landslide, but that it was very steep and difficult. We looked at the landslide area (it was short - maybe 1/10 mile long (if that))- gravel and a few downed trees to go over and under, but we decided to give it a try! It was definitely trickier with our backpacks on and I think that if the trail was wet at all or if we were just beginning our hiking/backpacking season then it would have been much more difficult/near impossible. We made it to the other side (thankfully) and soon arrived at the Long Meadows trailhead.

At this point, the trail climbs up a bit steeper (with several switchbacks) and you never really get a great view of the Never Summer Wilderness region. Another mile or so past the trail crossing, we came to the Jackstraw site (it was unavailable this year) and to the open meadow (SO BEAUTIFUL).

We knew that once we hit this site that we were getting close (our mileage said we were around 4.5 miles and ~2,800’ in gain)!

We crossed by the privy and at this point the trail subsides a bit and rolls in-and-out of the forest and meadow area, until we arrived at Snowbird site! Our mileage said that we were at 5.0 miles and gained 3,000’ in elevation (a bit off from the designated site details). We arrived at our site at 2:55pm and I think we really made excellent time. We didn’t stop too much coming out, but I was definitely TIRED once we got there!

Rockslide area right by our campsite!

We set up our tent, sleeping bags & pads, and gathered our chairs/books/cameras to head to Timber Lake around 4pm. Once we got there, we were the only ones! It was so beautiful- the photos absolutely do not do it justice. The lake was about a 5 minute hike from Snowbird campsite.

We turned in relatively early (both had a mild case of (what we think) Altitude sickness, a bit of nausea) and had all of the winter layers since it was anticipated to get down to around 30* that night!

Thankfully we packed all the layers (plus hand warmers which I put on my toes!), so we weren’t too chilled when we woke up the next morning. We retrieved our bear box (necessary for the wilderness camping) that we set out 70 steps from our campsite the night before and made coffee (always tastes so much better outdoors!)/ a Mountain House for breakfast.

We both wanted to get back home, so we packed up pretty quickly and were out hiking back by 7:45am! It was still chilly for the first 2-3 miles so I kept my mittens and down jacket on for a bit.

Good Morning!

We made it out of the trailhead by 10am and only met a handful of hikers heading out onto the trails. The other snowbird site was never filled and overall it was so peaceful! We got a bunch of reading done and the beauty of the Fall Foliage during the hike was spectacular. It is definitely longer than the NPS suggests, but I think you should be able to make it to the Lake within 3.5-4 hours even if moving at a gentle pace. The biggest factor in this trail is making sure to be prepared (you have zero cell service) for all weather conditions (including First Aid/ food/ layers) and going through the landslide area (it is pretty dicey for anyone who is not experienced or if the trail conditions are even a bit damp/ frosty).

Navigating the Landslide area with all.the.layers

Overall- I’d highly recommend backpacking out in Rocky Mountain! The trails were so well-maintained. We didn’t see any wildlife (slightly disappointed), but I know it’s out there so please remember to leave no trace when hiking and respect the animals who call these places home.

Some of the many Fall colors we came across!

Las Vegas HALF Marathon RUNdown Week 10: 9/17-9/23

HUMPDAY! We’ve made it to midweek which is really exciting! You know what is not so exciting? The pool is closed this week so no swimming for me! Boo. I’m looking forward to when it reopens though and it’s all clean and shiny again : ) This last week of training went really well, I nailed my long run, got up earlier (4:30) on Thursday & Friday which gave me more time to stretch/ wake up/ strength train, and still fit my runs in over the weekend’s backpacking trip! I wrote down my goals on a piece of paper that I see everyday (sub 1:42 in half in Las Vegas in November), so I’m fired up and ready to work hard for the next 47 days to get that goal!

Monday, 9/17: Jumpboard Reformer & REST DAY. I wasn’t planning on taking this day as a rest day, but we got in late from the wedding the night before and I was just feeling exhausted/run down so I decided not to run. I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d make it up later in the week, but I did still get all of my scheduled mileage in (minus the strides) so that’s a win in my book.

Tuesday, 9/18: Slept in AGAIN. I managed to get my 7 miles in-between teaching learn to skate in the afternoon. Not what is ideal, but sometimes you just have to make it work. 4 miles easy @ 9:56 38’ up before and 3 miles @ 10:01 39’ after.

Wednesday, 9/19: Pushed myself out of bed to get it done! My legs were definitely still lethargic from the RRR crazy amount of elevation I got and just feeling like I might have a small headcold coming on, so I adjusted my paces a bit and fought for each one. .52 mi warm-up/ 6 x 1200 (7:40/ 7:41/ 7:49/ 7:25/ 7:30/ 7:36); 400R / .55 mi cool down. 7.07 mi total. 20 minutes of strength after work & 15 minutes of recovery yoga.

Thursday, 9/20: 6 miles easy @ 9:50 308’ / 0.5 mi swim.

Friday, 9/21: 6 miles easy, 5.1 miles @ Half Marathon Goal Pace 8:00, 2 miles easy. 13.1 miles total @ 9:04 367’

…more like 8 more miles to go! I think this was from the Marathon course back in June!

Saturday, 9/22: 5.02 miles easy 517’ up & 30 minutes of strength/ stretching

Sunday, 9/23: 4 miles easy 10:09 38’. My legs were feeling tired and lethargic so I took it extra easy just to shake them out from the almost 11 miles of backpacking we did over the weekend!

Total Mileage: 42.19 miles

Total Elevation: 1, 487’