It all started back in 2021 at the Lake Mineola Half Marathon. I remember passing her at mile 8 and immediately thought, damn……that girl I just passed was really hot! Shortly after, She didn’t just run past the finish line, She floated. There was something about her—strong, graceful, totally in her zone—and, let’s be honest, absolutely beautiful. I didn’t talk to her. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything at all. But I wasn’t about to just let that moment disappear completely. So, like any modern-day romantic, I looked her up on Strava. Yeah, I know. I followed her and started giving her kudos here and there over the next few years. Just little digital high-fives that hopefully said, Hey, I see you… and you’re awesome. Fast forward to early 2023, and somehow—miraculously—we connected on Facebook. I don’t even remember who sent the first message. Probably her (she says it was me). Either way, the conversation started and it was… easy. Simple small talk at first, but with every message, I found myself wanting more. Then came November of 2023. One of my favorite bands, Phoenix, was playing at the House of Blues. I had and extra ticket and this gut feeling said, Ask her to come with you. But then my brain kicked in: Dude, it’s your first date. She’s going to think you’re a weirdo asking her to a concert right off the bat. So I didn’t. I stayed quiet. Regretfully quiet. But the universe, as always, had its own plans. On New Year’s Eve, out of the blue, she messaged me: “Happy New Year!” Now look, we all know what that means. That means: Ask me out already. Come on. Let’s be real. So I replied, saying Happy New Year back—and I let her know that I unfortunately couldn’t hang out because I was performing a show with my dad in South Florida. But before I could even talk myself out of it, I told her straight up: “I want to take you out.” We made plans. January 7th, 2024. That was our first date at Fiesta Cancun in Altamonte. The conversation between us was effortless, natural……just meant to be! The staff literally had to ask us to leave, we talked so much we didn’t realize the restaurant closed. We started dating! It was casual. No pressure. But something felt different. And then, little by little, something that started so casually started to grow into something deeper—organically, naturally, right under our noses. We didn’t force it. It just… became. By the time November of 2024 rolled around, I knew I didn’t want to wait anymore. After she ran the New York City Marathon, I brought her to Bow Bridge in Central Park—one of the most beautiful places in the city—and asked her to marry me. And she said yes. Now we’re getting married on September 27th of 2025, on the white sands of Siesta Key. Looking back, it’s crazy how everything aligned—from a half marathon, to a missed concert invite, to that New Year’s Eve message that changed everything. Life has a funny way of working itself out. And I’m just grateful that, in the end, I got to run this race with her. Back in 2021, I had a Strava friend request from this hot guy, and of course I accepted! After a couple years of liking each others activities, I saw a pic of him at the gym, and I was like "damn!" So, I found him on FB and friended him. I was definitely interested and on NYE going in 2024 I wanted a date, so yes, I did a friendly "Happy New Years" in the hopes he would ask me out, and the rest is history!!