Cheesy Marathon-Wedding Metaphors

I keep going back to my marathon experience in my head and thought I'd share a few of the thoughts I had in the weeks leading up to the race as well as the some of the things that went through my head during the actual event (and if you can believe it, there was a significant number of wedding thoughts going through my head during...Hey, 3+ hours is a long time to run, a girl's gotta think about something positive to get through it!)

And yes, these analogies are totally cheesy and overdone but I can't help myself, I'm a sucker for anything dripping with queso, both metaphorically and in real life.

So here we go...

Pace yourself. I ran the first seven miles of the marathon way too fast, resulting in some miserable miles later on.  Same thing with planning the wedding.  I definitely jumped the gun on a few things (remember my Save The Date disaster?) which made the later stages of planning a bit less fun.  

Another example: I booked my venue very far in advance (14 months) without doing very much research.  And while I'm still completely head-over-heels, absolutely in love with it, I'm pretty sure I could have found somewhere else I liked almost as much for significantly cheaper.  It was a tough lesson to learn but there's nothing I can do about it at this point, so hopefully some of you guys out there will avoid making the same mistake I made. Like the tortoise says, slow and steady wins the race.

It's not always puppies and rainbows. I think I've done my fair share of b*tching about training for the marathon.  Maybe not here but most of my friends and family are probably pretty sick of hearing me whine about it.  Training for and actually running a marathon is one of the most painful experiences I've ever gone through (and if you saw photos of me from about mile 23 on, you'd see what I mean.)

 And planning a wedding, while not physically painful (for the most part), has been a mentally draining and exhausting process at times.  It's not just pretty flowers and dresses and true love, there's things like crazy relatives and logistics and financial pressures added into the mix.  But hopefully, just like the marathon, the pain is worth it in the end. As long as you brace yourself in the beginning and are prepared for some pain, you'll make it through and live to tell the tale.

And finally...

Your family and friends will get you through it. The marathon would not have been the same if I hadn't known my parents and several friends were out there on the course, waiting for me.  The thought of seeing them all pushed me through to the finish line.  Not to mention, they supported me throughout the entire training process.

Same thing holds true for the wedding.  No way would I have gotten to this point without my family and friends.  They've supported me on this journey to the wedding in ways I never imagined or ever thought would be necessary. They've crafted with me, shopped with me, vented with me, laughed with (and maybe at) me and ultimately, just been there for me. And really, they've made it worth the while.

So there ya go. See? Marathoning and planning a wedding really do share some common ground.

Whaddya think? Are you a sucker for cheesy, motivational metaphors like I am?