I Run These Towns

I have to be candid in telling you all that despite all the fun things I'm about to talk about, overall 2013 was a rough year. My husband and I experienced surprising and devastating heartbreak on more than one occasion, and it was hard. Hard isn't the correct word to encapsulate what parts of this year felt like - more like heartbreaking and crushing and devastating.  In the first six months of the year it felt like the blows just kept coming, and there were times when I wasn't sure I could handle it.  But if running has taught me nothing else it's taught me that I am stronger than I think I am.  When it gets hard - that's when you push the most. Even if the hard stuff is emotional rather than physical, the same rules apply. I've dealt with the perils of 2013 in the way I deal with everything - head down, gutting it out, and keeping myself so distracted that there was rarely time to focus on what was getting me down.  I traveled all over Michigan for work (...

The answer is obvious - both. I love getting Runner's World this time of year with their tips on how to eat and drink in a smart way over the holidays. While I can appreciate the intent, let's be honest - I run so I can eat and drink whatever the f*$k I want during the holidays. Another glass of wine? Please. Another cookie? Don't mind if I do. In January I'll be back to eating like a normal human, but come on, it's Christmas. We socialize a lot, and I want to enjoy it. That's what marathon training is for - and that starts in 2014. After a gathering at our house last weekend I was amused when I was taking out the recycling. It does not look like this is the home of a runner.  Yes, yes the recycling bin does contain several empty beer growlers, multiple bottles of wine, an empty Jack Daniels bottle and lots and lots of cheese (Brie, cream cheese, bleu cheese). Now granted - there were dozens of people at our house, and I certainly didn't do all of t...

Screenwriter Joss Wheden once said: " Very occasionally, if you pay really close attention, life doesn't suck.”  Lately I've been trying pay close attention, and I'm having a hard time focusing.  At any given time I have about ten million things I'm working on. I am an excellent multi-tasker, but sometimes that leads me to be less attentive to certain projects. Running is an excellent way to help me focus and quiet my mind when there is so much running through it. Unfortunately the last few months even that hasn't helped me deal with the clutter racing through my brain. Generally I love Christmas, and I'm easily in the Christmas spirit. This Christmas season, however, is a hard one.  I never imagined that we'd have another Christmas without a child, and it's been difficult to wrap my head around.  Despite the abundance of blessings we DO have I've been in a funk. Earlier this year around Mother's Day I wrote a blog that helped remind my...

This time of year it becomes particularly hard to maintain the motivation to run outside in Michigan. Take tonight, for example. It's currently dark and 23 degrees with a brisk wind. I considered going for a run. Then I thought nah I'll do yoga instead. Then I picked the best of three options - a grilled cheese made with a ton of Gouda and a few glasses of wine. This is what you drive me to Michigan winters. Last weekend I decided to run the Scrooge Scramble 5k in Old Town, Lansing.  I ran the inaugural race for years ago, and it was relatively quiet.  This year I pulled into Old Town about 20 minutes before the race thinking I had a ton of time. There were people everywhere which is fantastic...unless you need to find a place to park. I managed to find a parking spot and ran to pick up my packet and then ran to put my new knit hat (so much better than another t-shirt) in my car. It was a ridiculously cold morning, but that's why I have an absurd amount of Under Arm...

Thanksgiving is all about being thankful. Well it's mostly about being thankful and partly about being gluttonous. I have found there is no better way to start Thanksgiving morning than with a solid Turkey Trot. I have run the one in Lansing several times and the Detroit Turkey Trot once. This past week my husband and I ran the second annual Morgantown Running Turkey Trot. Morgantown, West Virginia is my adopted hometown. While I didn't grow up there I did attend college and law school at West Virginia University, and my parents there now. Going back there always feels like going home. It's my happy place.  I was fortunate this year to join my entire family (including all three of my siblings and their spouses and children) at my parents' house for the holiday. It's not too often that we're all in the same place, and I was counting my blessings. On Thursday morning  my husband and I headed to the WVU track for the start of the race. It was much colder than...

About two and a half years ago I was in a bit of a funk. I felt restless, and I needed some kind of focus. I've always loved to write, and my husband suggested I start a blog about cities and running. We were in Knoxville, Tennessee for the Covenant Knoxville Half Marathon . Knoxville was a random place for a race, but I fell in love with the city. It seemed like a natural fit to talk about the towns I've run in any why I love them. Knoxville was my first blog, and there have been 205 written since then. This blog started (and continues really) as a way to give me a project, but I've been completely overwhelmed by the response from all of you. I've been in meetings before where someone I barely know mentions how much they enjoy it. I have had people mention it to me when I'm buying coffee and when I pass them on the street. It's a project I started for me, and the fact that people enjoy reading it is an added incentive that motivates me to keep running and tr...

It's not quite Thanksgiving, but that doesn't mean I'm not already thinking about Christmas. I've gotten a head start on Christmas shopping, and it's definitely time to hint to my loved ones what I want. I've written several blogs with a running gear Christmas wish list, and I've gotten everything on them. I can't believe Santa reads my blog! That is so exciting. Here's the thing, Santa. I haven't entirely been a good girl. I try, but I'm snide and cynical. I love good gossip. And while I doubt I'm on the nice list, you can't blame a girl for trying. It's nearly winter in Michigan, and that means I need lots of cold weather gear. Do I have lots? Well yes. But I think I need more. I hear it's going to be a brutal season, and I need to be prepared.  I only have one article of clothing that is from Reebok, and they are the best running tights ever (thanks to my mother-in-law who keeps me outfitted in awesome running pants...

I'm a control freak. I like things my way, and I like to manage everything. When I was 19 and first became sick with what we would later discover was Crohn's, it was a giant slap in the face. It was the first time I realized that when it really matters, I don't control anything. It has only been through four abdominal surgeries and twelve years of IV infusions every six weeks (plus regular antibiotics) that I have been able to keep my disease under control.  Although I like to think that it's the medicine only combined with my sheer tenacity that has really kept me going. Despite the evident (yet rarely acknowledged) fact that I can't control everything, I was still thrown for a loop when we started our quest to have a child.  Once we made the decision to adopt I thought I had moved past a lot of the emotional issues, and yet sometimes I am surprised by how this process can emotionally blindside me just when I think I've got it all under control. This isn'...

It's easy in life to forget where we came from. It's not uncommon to push so hard to get where we're going that we forget to look back at where it all started. I grew up in the tiny town of Hundred, West Virginia (299 people in the 2010 census). My parents also grew up in Hundred and stayed there to raise their four children. I had a pretty charmed existence - a happy family, a good home, food on the table (great food - my mom is a rockstar cook). My family actually likes each other (even though we also can want to throttle one another at different times). I didn't really think about the work that it took to keep the family going. My life was great, and that's really all that mattered. My parents are both extremely hardworking, and I didn't really appreciate it until I got older. My mom stayed at home while raising four children, and bless her heart that is probably the hardest job ever. My dad worked my entire life in the coal mines like so many West Virgin...

After a busy week at work last week we headed to West Virginia for the Veterans Day holiday weekend. One of my co-workers asked me on Friday if we ever stay home, and the answer is no, not really. I love our busy life, and stopping really isn't an option. Sometimes, however, I run out of steam. That is what always happens in WV. So we spent the long holiday weekend in West Virginia visiting my parents and watching Mountaineer football. Being at my parents' house is the only time I REALLY relax. When I'm at my own house I can come up with 1,000 things to do - laundry, cleaning, organizing, anything. At my parents' house I read. And sleep. A lot. It's truly my most relaxed place, and it's where I can completely recharge. We arrived late on Friday, and I pretty quickly settled into my near comatose mode of relaxation. We brought our dogs this time, and it's the only time they get to sleep with me (my husband sleeps in the other guest room). I love our pups,...

This morning, just over a week since the marathon, I went for my first post-marathon run.  My muscles were so sore last week that I decided to baby myself and let them heal. I was feeling great over the weekend, and it seemed like the perfect way to start off the week. Prior to the run - rocking the mock and being photo bombed by my dog I wish I could say something witty about my fantastic first post-marathon run. When I first started I was planning my proud Facebook status as saying how this run felt like home or something equally charming.  It did feel great for about two miles.  During the last mile my IT band tightened up not unlike it did at the end of the marathon.  It hurt. A lot. I felt like my muscles had healed, but my old IT band injury has clearly reared its ugly head. Marathon training is so all consuming, and a week after the race I feel disappointed. After months of training and the build up to the race, it is a giant let down once the race is ...

One of the most important things about any race are the spectators. They can change the tone of any event, and they're part of what helps keep us runners going when the race gets tough. The Marine Corps Marathon had some of the best crowd support I've ever seen in any race. It was incredible. The fantastic crowd led me to think (and there's lots of time in 26.2 miles to think) about what what makes great race spectators. 1. Be loud. The louder and more outrageous the better. Cheer, clap, whistle, play music. You may feel stupid, but trust me - you're inspiring someone.  I love the guy who was blasting Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" from an old school boom box around mile six of the MCM. That guy gets brownie points. 2. Make a sign! Marathon signs are THE best. Some of my favorites: My all time fav: If This Race Were Any Easier It'd Be Called Your Mom (seen at the Winter Blast Half Marathon in Portage, MI earlier this year) Run Like...

Sometimes in life something that inspires you in a way that you can't describe. The inspiration grabs your heart and takes hold allowing you to believe you can do anything.  That's how I felt when I first learned about Alex's Lemonade Stand and its founder, the inspirational Alexandra Scott. It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."  Alex Scott was only eight years old when she died in 2004. I did not know her, and yet she's touched my life and so many others in a way she probably never could have imagined. When I heard about Alex's Lemonade Stand I wanted to be part of it. I wanted to contribute to this incredible charity that was helping children and families deal with the horror of childhood cancer.  The mission of this organization touched my heart.  Did I really want to run another marathon? Honestly I did not. But I wanted to be part of Team Lemon, and this past weekend I ra...

I was 25 years old when I moved from Texas to Norfolk, Virginia. I had recently graduated from law school, and I was restless. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I had no idea how I'd pay back my student loans. I essentially went to Norfolk to visit my sister, who had been living there for a few years, and I stayed. I fell into my first real job working for the mayor. It was there that I really learned about placemaking and the vision it takes to create and maintain a vibrant community. Norfolk was where I figured out who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do, and visiting there feels like home. I'm not sure if it's the salty air from the bay or me tapping into my inner 25-year-old, but when I'm there, I can breathe. Last weekend I visited Norfolk for my nephew's first birthday party. It had been almost a year since my last visit, and I still believe how quickly this year has flown.  I arrived late on Thursday, and first order of business ...

Last weekend during mass our deacon gave a homily discussing the need to have an "attitude of gratitude". The gist was that we are always looking for the next exciting thing instead of appreciating and enjoying the blessings we have in our own lives. I have to admit that lately I have not had an attitude of gratitude. I've had an attitude, but it's been surly and impatient.  I realize that it's happening, but I've been powerless to stop it. Instead of being grateful for the many things I have in my life, I've been restless and testy. I've been ignoring the grace that already exists in my own life and have been looking for something more. I don't know what that something is, but I've been going out of my way to find it. We've been waiting for 19 months in our adoption process. I'm restless and frustrated and just wanting to DO something. I know there's nothing we can do but continue to wait, and the wait feels interminable. Overa...

I am an incredibly social person.  Our dance card is almost always full, and it's not unusual for us when trying to make dinner plans or something to look a month or further into the future to find a free weekend. I love being busy, and I love spending time with our family and friends. I have a hard time saying "no" to anything that sounds fun.  Despite my social nature I also crave alone time, and that's why running is the perfect fit for me. When you're as busy as I am sometimes it takes a lot to really disconnect from the natural distractions and interruptions of life - from work, from household chores, from the drama that life can naturally contain.  I love to read, but when I'm really busy I find that I can't disconnect from the thoughts racing through my head to appreciate a good book. Running is the best way (really the ONLY way) for me to deal with life's distractions. I'm not necessarily escaping them, but it helps me process them and ...

Vision. We all know those people who have it - who can assess a situation, figure out how to make it better, and work hard to achieve those results. Vision can exist in a number of situations, and in my life I see it as part of my job working with communities and as a runner where I am constantly challenging myself and adjusting my vision of what I expect to achieve. One of the best parts of my job is being consistently surrounded by people who have vision.  Our community leaders have to make the best of every situation. They fight through significant revenue reductions, change in local leadership, local politics. And through those challenges so many communities find a way to not only persevere but to be creative in creating places where their residents want to live, work and play. Places they can be proud of. Last week I visited one of our member communities, the City of Auburn Hills, for a ribbon cutting of a new project in their downtown. Auburn Hills is located north of Detro...