I Run These Towns

On Friday I received next month's edition of Runner's World . I love receiving a new issue. I read it repeatedly, cover to cover.  I've learned so much by reading advice from other runners.  The magazine has an advice column called " Ask Miles " that I find provides helpful tips. This month a reader asked a question that I find particularly surprising. He or she asked if they could "bank" miles before going on vacation - effectively catch up on miles so you can take a break on vacation.  I'm all for a break. Everybody needs a break from running sometimes. But for me, vacation is just not that time. I'd rather take a break from my monotonous four mile route I've run 1,000 times. Vacation is for exploring. It's for relaxing. Vacation is made for running. Tomorrow we're leaving for a week's vacation, and I can't wait to go running.  I have a TON of running stuff I'm taking along. I'm registered for the L.L. Bean 10k ...

For those who don't know me well, it may surprise you to know I'm extraordinarily sentimental. I tear up instantly at some of the silliest things - every time I hear John Denver's Country Roads, when I line up at the start of a race, watching the Olympics (and even the trials it turns out), watching my Mountaineers run onto the field during a football game, any time I watch a wedding on television. This is a contradiction to my brash (often abrasive) candor the rest of the time. I'm a complicated lady. I really do get misty eyed at the beginning of races. When I started the Detroit Marathon in 2010, I was so choked up that I was having trouble breathing. I had to force myself to calm down. Sometimes during a race I will see something that I find touching and I tear up again. During the Green Bay Marathon last month there was a woman with a shirt that said, "I run for all of my PT patients who aren't able." I immediately teared up and realized how...

Michiganders have this thing about going "up north" to their cottages or campsites. North is essentially north of Clare, Michigan (just a little past the geographical center of the state). If you stop to get gas north of Clare, you can buy a sweatshirt or a coffee mug that says "Up North". I'm not sure it's so much a destination as a state of mind. I've been up north three times this month, and each trip has been very fun and very beautiful. But I have to admit - I don't get the always going up north thing. Not that it's not incredibly gorgeous and there's lots to do, but I can't imagine spending every weekend driving three hours to get someplace else. The same place, every time.  I realize this post will make me unpopular. Let me say again that I think it's lovely in northern Michigan. If I lived there, I'd be all about it. There are just way too many places I want to travel to that keep me from spending every weekend in the sa...

When I was in college in the late 90s there was a speech that was all the rave. The speech was written by Mary Schmich , a columnist for the Chicago Tribune . In Morgantown, West Virginia it was played on the radio with music in the background. I nearly had it memorized. It was one of those speeches that sticks with you, and even 14 years later still resonates. But now, for me, one part of message is particularly clear: wear sunscreen. Whether you're running, playing outside or just going for a stroll - do it.If you're going to be outside, you should be wearing sunscreen. In 2001 I had a suspicious mole removed that was melanoma. Luckily it was caught early, and the doctor able to get it all. I have family of friends who were not so lucky.  Eleven years and 5 additional suspicious (but luckily not cancerous) moles removed later, and I am a sunscreen fanatic. It's in my moisturizer, my make-up, my lotion, everything. When I garden I wear a hat that contains SPF ...

One of my closest girlfriends is getting married in about six weeks, so this past weekend we headed north to Traverse City, Michigan for a weekend of girl time, drinking and relaxing. There were six of us, and we left after lunch on Friday. I had planned a detailed weekend filled with tons of food and cocktails, and we were excited to get going. Traverse City sits on the Grand Traverse Bay about 3½ hours north of Lansing and is a huge tourist destination in the summer. We stayed at the Grand Beach Hotel just outside of downtown, right on East Traverse Bay. The hotel was reasonably priced and had fantastic suites. Our suite had two king-sized beds, a queen-size pull out sofa and a large roll away bed - perfect for six girls.  On Friday evening we had dinner at Fire Fly , a chic restaurant downtown with a wide array of menu options include small plates and sushi. Our group included a Gluten allergy and a vegetarian, and Traverse City had plenty of culinary options for us. Fire F...

I've already discussed that this is the year for me to run the Playmakers Race Series. I'm giving the half marathons a little break to focus on my goal of breaking a 25 minute 5k. This weekend I ran the Capitol Bancorp 5k in downtown Lansing. The race started just a few miles from my house and literally steps from my office. My husband and I got there early...too early. I have a tendency to do this - I get anxious on race day, and we end up wandering around for a while before the race.  The clock on Boji Tower. At this point we were still a half an hour early for the race. We walked around a bit downtown. We're down there every day for work and frequently for socializing as well, but somehow just walking slowly and really looking at downtown was interesting. I noticed just how beautiful Downtown Lansing's architecture is.  I appreciated that there are significantly fewer empty store fronts than there were when I moved here six years ago. It was like I was seein...

Every year I visit Michigan's Upper Peninsula for a work meeting for a couple of days. Last year I ran Houghton , Michigan, and this year we had a much shorter trip to Munising, MI . Munising is about 2½ hours closer than Houghton, and that gives you an idea of how huge the UP actually is. Munising sits on the shore of Lake Superior, and is most famous for its proximity to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island National Recreation Area . Pictured rocks. Gorgeous! We arrived in Munising late Wednesday evening, and first thing on Wednesday I laced up my shoes for a run. Our hotel was perched on top of a hill that didn't seem that steep until I was trying to get back to it. On the first day I headed east toward downtown Munising. Munising is a small town of around 2,000 people, but like many UP towns it has a quaint downtown. The view of Lake Superior from my hotel balcony (a room I was upgraded to after a hotel mistake. Score!) Downtown Munising Unfo...

I think any runner gets it - we like bling. Hardware. Medals. If a race has a good medal, I may do that race just to add it to my collection. Not all medals are created equally, and a good medal can make a huge difference in a ace. When I finished the Double Bridge Run 15k in Pensacola, Florida in February, I walked around aimlessly in the finishing area looking for medals. When I realized we weren't getting one, I was not happy. I didn't reach my goal time, the course was light on spectators, AND I didn't get a medal? Unacceptable. I admit - my first half marathon spoiled me a bit in the medal department. In 2006 I ran my first half, the Nike Women's Half Marathon , and runners receive a Tiffany necklace. There are guys in tuxes at the end handing out those glorious little Tiffany blue boxes, and even with all my IT band pain it made my day.  I wear that necklace all the time. Best. Medal. Ever. Cute guys in tuxes? Check. Tiffany necklace? Awesome. In the...

I've come to grips with the fact that I'm never going to win a race. I don't do it for winning - I do it because I enjoy doing races particularly in a new place. That being said I've gotten progressively faster. My first half marathon in 2006 was in 2:35. My PR in April was 2:02. My first 5k was run in 29:50. My PR is 26:00. You get the idea. After shaving nine minutes off my half marathon PR in April, I decided I should break the two hour mark this past weekend. It didn't quite go as planned... That's me - on the right. On Sunday I ran the Dexter to Ann Arbor Half Marathon . I'd heard great things about the race, so I thought it would be a good one to try. My husband was out of town at a golf weekend, so I thought it would give me something to do. I have to admit I missed having my support system/paparazzo there. This race was impeccably organized. It was one of the most well organized races I've ever done. There was lots of communication before...