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I bought our plane tickets for New York last night! Three total-for Jay, Cameron, and me.

Then I promptly ate a whole box of ginger snaps.

Buying plane tickets is always stressful for me; I sat at the computer for an hour and a half, agonizing over this arrival time and that departure time, this seat or that seat. Even though we used miles and Team in Training will reimburse my ticket (assuming I meet my minimum, that is), I'm always worried I've got the date wrong, or something will come up, or it's just so darn expensive to travel, blah blah blah.

When Jay went to get ready for bed, I was ready to pull the trigger, having discussed all possible options with him. When he came back out a few minutes later and the screen was still on the "Purchase Now" option, I knew it was time.

So I'm committed to going to New York for the weekend of November 5-9. Jay and I are taking Cameron for a special kindergarten adventure, and Jay's sister Elizabeth has very graciously offered to keep Thomas and Patrick. She's a brave woman.

Also due tomorrow are my Re-Commitment forms for Team in Training, which means I'll also be running a marathon during the above weekend in New York.

Committing to plane tickets and recommitting to TNT, as it were, is reminiscent of going to college. Telling people, "Yes, I'm going to Chapel Hill in the fall" is vastly different from actually going to Chapel Hill in the fall. The theoretical, the idea of college comes crashing down when your parents back the van up to Ehringhaus, move you into your unairconditioned room on the 6th floor that you're sharing with a girl you've never met, and then drive away, leaving you stranded-I mean standing-on the curb, wondering whether you should chase after them or whether you should head back up the 1970s urine-soaked elevator and make friends with your trumpet-playing potluck roommate.

But once I've committed, I'm in. After watching the last bit of Dad's van edge around the corner, I pulled myself together and got on that elevator up to the 6th floor (baseball side) met my roommate(who turned out to be great), and crammed a lifetime's worth of memories into my time at UNC. And I'm committed now, to running for a cure, to honoring those fighting cancer and those who've lost the fight, to making this training count for something more than just sore muscles.

Thanks for coming along with me and for helping me make it count.