Sooo..that other post I owe you about my epic weekend. Sorry it's a little late. My router died at home and so I had some Internet issues and couldn't get my videos to upload.

And this post would not be complete without the videos....you'll see why later.

So Tracy and Brad got married on Sunday in what had to be one of my favorite weddings ever.



I've known Brad for a while now -- probably since sometime when I was in college and he started tailgating with us.

I met Tracy back in 2009 not long after she and Brad started dating. We spent a lot of time together back then, and she quickly became one of my favorite people, and though we don't see each other quite as much as anymore, she's still my tailgate partner in crime.



So I was so thrilled to be able to celebrate their wedding with both of them. Plus it was great to have the old gang back together.





The ceremony and reception were not far from Annapolis and overlooked the water. It could have not have been a more gorgeous day -- and Tracy was hands down the most gorgeous bride ever.

Like I said earlier, this wedding was full of personal touches that made everything scream Brad and Tracy.

From their fun entrance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QJT8xwBFIU&feature=em-upload_owner

To the maids of honor speech that was actually a song. (Seriously -- if you've got a minute watch this. It was the most creative way to give a toast ever.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9XsHe8u1mc

All the way down to the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son Dances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_BYXU__avw&feature=em-upload_owner
I only caught a clip of Brad's dance with his mom -- other songs they included were Thriller and What Does the Fox Say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGSFPzgWTV8
Father/Daughter Dance -- I cried

And then not long into the dancing, Tracy and her bridesmaids busted out a choreographed number to Taylor Swift's Shake It Off. Sadly I do not have video of this.

Everything about the wedding was just so them and everyone had a blast celebrating! Congrats Tracy and Brad! Love you both!

(Also huge thanks to Emily for taking such gorgeous pictures with her super awesome camera!)

This weekend was so beyond epic that it needs more than one post to sum it all up -- but to give you a teaser of what's to come, on Saturday one of my good friends completed his first ever Ironman and on Sunday one of my other good friends got married and had the most awesome wedding ever.

We'll go chronologically here and tackle the Ironman first.



My friend Stripes first started talking about wanting to do an Ironman about a year ago, and his original plan was to target Lake Placid in 2015.

Then I happened to see that Ironman was bringing an IM branded race to Maryland in 2014 (IM took over Cheseapeakeman), and I tipped Stripes off. Next thing I knew he was all registered for the race, and I was in charge of organizing our spectating team.

So Saturday morning a few of us headed out to Cambridge, Md., to watch him compete.


Meg made some pretty sweet signs

The kid is fast, and based on all his training times I figured sub-12 was well within reach. But as any smart racer does, Stripes was hedging his bets, and hoping for a strong finish.

We picked a spot on the marathon course where we'd be able to see him run past 4 times. The out and back course athletes ran 3 times was great for spectators, probably torture for the athletes.

The first time he ran past he was all smiles, looking good and cruising along after a really strong bike course.


Stripes. Also a dude in an Eagles jersey. You know I loved it.

On his second loop he was still grinning ear to ear and holding a pretty solid pace. Of course, I was doing all the race math in my head to see how much cushion he had to go sub-12.



His splits were strong, except for one slow down for a potty break, and if he maintained his pace, we knew he'd get it.

After his last trip past us, we high-tailed it to the finish line to get ready for him to come through the finisher's chute.

Of course, this was the time when the IM site stopped updating his splits. So we had no idea how soon we'd see him.

Little did we know, Stripes had picked up major speed on his last loop of the course, and if his brother hadn't shouted, "There he is" we may have all missed him.



He came flying down the finisher's chute, arms in the air, a big ol' smile on his face and crossed the finish line in 11:39:44. Crushed that sub-12.



Also, he placed 8th in his age group. NBD.

I could not be more proud of him. He put in hours and hours of training. Sacrificed nights out with friends. And every minute of his training and planning paid off.



I am so glad he picked a local-ish race and that we were able to cheer him on.

It was also awesome because one of my gym friend's was competing in this Ironman too, so I was able to cheer him on as well. Alan went sub-10!!! I can't even imagine that kind of speed!

Ironman spectating is so different than marathon spectating. Far fewer crowds and overall more quiet crowds than rowdy marathon spectators, but still I really, really enjoyed every minute of it. Getting to see one of your good friends accomplish something this huge is pretty special.

Congrats Stripes! I hope you are eating all the food, drinking all the beer and taking all the naps!

I don't know when the whole talking to myself while running started, but it's definitely something I do a lot now -- especially on long runs.

It seems like on short runs I'm content to just let my mind wander -- but on long runs, I legitimately have conversations with myself.

Sometimes it's to work out a problem that I've been mulling over or to think through solutions for something that's stressing me out. I plan a lot of work meetings in my head when I'm running and conversations that I need to have, and sometimes it just helps to hear the words out loud.

And on really long runs or during races (like this past weekend), I also yell at myself on my runs. Usually things along the lines of pick up the pace or just grind it out, the finish line is around the corner.

Now before you all start thinking I'm about two steps away from the looney bin, it's not like I'm actually talking at full volume. Usually I'm just muttering things under my breath that no one else can hear. (Wait, maybe that actually makes me crazier).

Anyone else talk to themselves on runs or is this just a weird thing I do?

Yesterday, I ran my first half marathon since March and boy was I sore by the time I was finished.

Training started pretty well earlier this summer, but in August things got rocky. Between school and work and weekends that were completely booked, I was having a hard time fitting in necessary long runs.

And on race day, I definitely felt the lack of solid training.

The Navy-Air Force half marathon is a newer race in DC. I think this was its third year. The race started at the same place as the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler -- right at the base of the Washington Monument.


Emily, me, Aila

Emily, Aila and I met up about 30 minutes before race time, and we were graced with a gorgeous morning for running. It was in the 50s with almost no humidity, so it was chilly standing around at the start, but perfect weather once we got moving.

The course was similar to the Cherry Blossom course -- except you spent a longer time on Rock Creek Parkway. I actually really enjoyed the course. There wasn't much crowd support, but running up Rock Creek Parkway, with all the green trees and grass, you barely know you're in the city.

I felt really good through the first 7.5 miles or so. But things started to fall apart shortly after that. I blame some of it on the lack of training. I also blame some of it on my nutrition.

The morning before the race, I had a really, really hard time choking down my PB bread. I was trying so hard to finish the piece of bread I'd smeared with PB, but my stomach was just not all about it. It was also not all about dinner the night before.

So I knew I'd need to be taking in a decent amount of calories on the course if I didn't want to bonk completely. I had Gatorade in my water bottle and I drank more at each aid stop where they had it.

My one complaint was the lack of gels at any of the aid stations and the rather small number of aid stations on the course in general. There was one stretch where you went 3 or 4 miles between aid stations.

Perhaps needless to say, by the time I got to mile 10, the wheels were falling off. I just had no energy. I could also feel a massive blister developing on the bottom of my left foot, which made it such a joy every time my foot hit the ground.

Somehow I gritted through the last few miles on Hains Point and crossed the finish line very, very glad to be done.



My time by my watch was 2:06. The race still hasn't published official race times (annoying). Not my best time, not my worst time.

Turns out I was pretty decently trained for a 10 miler distance, not so much for the half. But that works in my favor since my next race is the Army 10 Miler next month.

I celebrated finishing the race with a delicious brunch. I should have taken a picture. My stomach decided to chill out after the race and I inhaled a lot of food very quickly. Then I promptly went home and took a three-hour nap. It was glorious.