not, my basketball theory class didnât turn me into a great philosopherâbut I was going to manage to graduate. And my life outside the classroom was better than ever before.
That winter I was taking a sports psychology class, which I could have benefited from had I been open to it. One night, Mark picked me up from class around nine thirty. By this point, we were living together in an apartment off campus, and he often treated me to our idea of a nice meal after classâpizza or Kentucky Fried Chicken. That evening, Mark wanted to go to Pizzeria Uno, which was a fancy dinner for us, since thatâs where weâd had our first date. It was a thoughtful gesture, but Mark was always doing things like that for me.
The restaurant was nearly empty, and we relaxed into our booth and caught up on how our days had been. As usual, I was happy just to be with him.
The next thing I knew, Mark stood up for no apparent reason. I watched with curiosity as he got down on one knee by the booth. At that moment, I understood what was happening. I was already crying before he could pull out the ring.
âSuzy, will you marry me?â he said.
âYes,â I said, kissing him with tears pouring down my face.
Our waiter came by, saw the ring and my tears, and congratulated us.
âI probably should have done something more elaborate,â Mark said as he got up.
âNo, this was perfect.â
I wasnât sure how Mom and Dad would feel about my getting married at this point in my life, but Mark had already called them and asked for their blessing, which blew me away.I didnât even know that was a thing people did, but it was just another example of Markâs thoughtfulness. We went home and took turns calling our parents, who were all overjoyed with the news. It was just this beautiful evening from beginning to end, and when we fell into bed together that night, we made love knowing that this was the start of our real life together. The next day, I had to catch a flight to Indianapolis for the national indoor track championships. I was tired, of course, from my exciting evening. I waited for the van to take me to the airport, getting drenched but still floating from the night before. When the van finally pulled up, I had the biggest smile on my face. My teammates started laughing when they saw me.
âYouâre drenched! Why are you so happy?â one of my teammates called out.
I pulled my right hand out of my pocket and held it up. The van erupted into screams.
I was the favorite to win the indoor track nationals that year, and I did. After the race, a sportswriter interviewed me. âWere you nervous?â he asked.
Normally I would have been plagued by nerves, but not that day.
âYou know what?â I said. âNothing could have upset me or made me nervous today! I just got engaged.â
My training with Coach Peter was really paying off. That January, I signed a six-figure, five-year contract with Reebok, which meant I was now a professional runner and getting paid to do what I loved most. At the time, it was common for the big athletic companies to approach thecoaches at the universities with the top student athletes, and Reebok had brought a deal to Peter for me. Because I didnât have an agent at the time and Mark was studying American Institutions, in preparation for law school, he negotiated the terms for me in a pretty amazing deal. It was incredible for a runner just out of college and far surpassed the deal Nike had on the table for me. My father felt left out of the negotiation process, but I was desperate for independence from my dad and preferred to receive help from my future husband than my father. Still, I knew my family was extremely proud of me, as was Peter. But I felt that the size of my various endorsements meant that I was now expected to run even faster, and win even more, in order to prove that I was worth the value of the contracts.
A week after
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