It was fall of my junior year and my roommates and I had made a conscious decision to take Halloween really seriously. We talked about our costumes and made plans and spent hours at the gym because it was college and the plans and costumes involved crop tops and short skirts.

2008 was the year of Lady Gaga, and we must have listened to "Just Dance" eight times while we got ready. Raquel was a baseball player, I was a sailor, and Michele was, well, Lady Gaga. We headed to a high school friend's dorm suite at Hampden-Sydney, where there was a good mix of friends old and new; and one of those coolers with a spout, full of something we all still refer to fondly as "Black Drank."

He was friendly, but quiet, and at first I didn't realize that he was tall because he was already seated when we arrived. I took the empty seat next to him and barely even remember our first words to one another. I'm sure I forgot his name immediately, because I'm horrible with names, but I do remember proudly (and oddly) boasting that I knew exactly what cologne he was wearing. Aqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani remains one of my favorite scents to this day.

We began a natural but cautious friendship before realizing a few months later that we were dating. Life with Rob felt magical because I never knew him and then, suddenly, I met him and in the very best way, it felt as though he had always been there.

Amid the Halloween chaos of Black Drank and endless games of Quarters, someone snapped a photo of me and my husband from across the table.

Happy Halloween.

On the morning of my wedding day, some of my best friends and I got up early and met our old cross country coach for the Market Run. It's a little three mile loop around downtown Roanoke that we always ran the last practice before a race, and it's the run that my friends and I do whenever we meet up at home to run during the holidays, so I couldn't imagine starting the day I got married any other way.

I'm so excited to be working with Mizuno again this year for their launch of the Wave Rider 18. Like I said last year, the Wave Rider was always a popular shoe among my high school cross country team. We were best friends (still are) and we did everything together--with matching shirts and hair ribbons and shoes for everything. I'm pretty good at turning everything into an overly-sentimental memory, but there's just nothing like a new pair of running shoes.

The Mizuno Wave Rider 18 is sleek and light with just enough support. It's a neutral shoe that's perfectly balanced, which makes it a great for daily running. And the black and turquoise color combination that I got is just super cool-looking.

November is going to be a big running month for me, so I'm really excited about starting it off on the right foot (and with the right shoes)!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC. As always, I thank you for your support as I continue to work with brands like Mizuno.

Sometimes I send myself emails before I fall asleep. Or I'll ask my night owl husband to text me. Things I want to remember or think about or write about the next day. "Rob," I'll mumble sleepily, "text me and say 'ear piercing, sleeping on opposite side for back scratches, and new bed.'" It's probably obvious that the next day I sometimes struggle to put the pieces together, but I figure it's worth a try.

This morning I woke up to a relatively vague, but perfectly clear thought that's been on my mind all week. You can't force anything.

Because it's true. Whatever it is, you can't force it. You can do your best and you can wish and dream and pray, but friendships and book deals and epiphanies don't always just fall out of the sky. And sometimes, as much as you might want or need something to be immediate, things can take time. Even letting go can be a process.

Simple as that. And, simultaneously, totally complicated.

This post is in response to the following prompt: "Tell me about a time something dawned on you, a realization, words came together or simply you saw a lightning bolt on a mountain." (From Old Friend from Far Away, page 66.) If you write a response of your own, please share a link below in the comments! For a list of some previous prompt, you can check out this post (or just search the Old Friend from Far Away category below).