I Run These Towns

I think a lot about cities while I'm running. In particular on my running route through my new neighborhood in downtown Lansing I'm seeing the city through new eyes even though I've worked downtown for over eight years. I think a lot about what makes places great - great places to run, great places to live, work, great places to be. But I also think about how we get there, and I'm always running through the politics of placemaking in my head. A few weeks ago at the annual Congress for New Urbanism meeting in Buffalo, New York I was thinking a lot about politics. Despite my not so secret desire to be more involved in urban planning, there's a lot of politics that gets in the way. Part of what I do as a lobbyist for cities is navigate the politics. They are real, and they can be really divisive.  I feel like all of the things we discussed at CNU and all of my work at the Michigan Municipal League is a no brainer. Of course people want public transit, vibrant d...

In case you missed it despite my shameless bragging, last weekend I completed my first sprint triathlon. I spent several months swimming several times a week along with running several half marathons, buying a new house and basically upending my entire life.  Last weekend it all came to a head, but I really feel like I reached my goal before the race. I love a challenge, and one of the things I most wanted to see how cross training would affect my body. When you really, REALLY love running, it's hard to motivate yourself to do anything else. There's no other form of exercise I'd rather do. I want to cross train, but I'd rather be running. Training for a triathlon forced me to get out of my comfort zone and cross train in ways I never would've done otherwise. Getting up 5:10 am and heading to the pool two days a week? That never would've happened without serious motivation. While logging lots of early mornings at the pool I found my body changing and becomin...

I did it. After years of consideration and months of training, this past weekend I completed my first sprint triathlon. I've complained for months about the inconvenience of swimming, and I swore I would do one and only one. I may, however, have been googling other triathlons in the car on the way home. It was a fantastic challenge, and I absolutely loved it. I was up at 4 am on Sunday a complete nervous wreck. I think there are two big factors that have kept me from doing a tri before this: the swim and the logistics of transitions. My friend and I (along with our awesome cheering sections) headed to the Waterloo Recreation Area in Grass Lake, Michigan (translation: the middle of nowhere.) We arrived about an hour early and started setting up. I can't remember being this nervous for a race. Ever. I was relatively nervous for the Marine Corps Marathon last year, but it was nothing like this. We grabbed our packets and timing chips (which are velcro bracelets that wrap aro...

I'm pretty sure I am actually invincible. Wait - you don't think anyone is? Hear me out. I live with severe Crohn's, and I'm staring down the barrel at abdominal surgery number 5. If I didn't tell you that, you would never even know. I've had skin cancer twice (thankfully caught early and didn't require additional treatment). I run with a recurring IT band injury.  I don't let these things stop me; quite the opposite. These are my motivators. If I hurt, I push harder. If I'm tried, I keep going. Sure, that's probably not what any of my doctors would recommend, but I have one life. One shot at doing this thing right. Stopping is not an option for me. Hence I am convinced that I am indeed invincible. Every great once in a while there is a crack in my cloak of invincibility that make me wonder if I am a mere mortal. I don't like being faced with that. It's rude. Yesterday we were at my husband's family's cottage to celebrate his bi...

There are many great quotes about home. "Home is where the heart is." "There's no place like home." My favorite quote about home is by internationally renowned Japanese poet Matsu Basho: "Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home." Despite my being completely in love with our new house, I was very sad to say goodbye to our old house last week. I didn't think I'd feel nostalgic, but I walked through the house aimlessly touching walls and thinking of good memories. It was my husband's and my first home together.  We have been through so much the last seven years - getting married, trying to start a family, traveling, busy jobs - and that house was where we went at the end of a long day. We sat in the formal living room and discussed our days over cocktails. We fought over the one tiny bathroom. We discovered that we aren't very handy. It got me thinking about the concept of home and what that means. While our house in Lan...

Last week I spent a few days in Buffalo, New York at the annual Congress for New Urbanism .  It was my first time in Buffalo (aside from a brief overnight stay a few years ago on the way home from Maine), and I was interested to see another Great Lakes city in the midst of its revitalization.  To be honest I knew very little about Buffalo other than its sports teams and the Anchor Bar (home of the Buffalo wing).  We stayed at the Embassy Suites in downtown Buffalo a few blocks from the convention center. I must say the Buffalo convention center looks like a Soviet prison. It's concrete and scary, and it is not in any way a welcoming spot for out of town visitors. It seemed like an odd space for a conference with such forward thinking ideas. I work for an organization that hosts large events, so I understand that sometimes it's just a space issue. It was, however, an offputting venue.  The Congress sessions are filled with information from world-renowned urbanism ...

When I lived in Norfolk, Virginia I lived in the trendy, walkable Ghent neighborhood. I had a good walk score (75 - very walkable) at my apartment, and I could (and did) walk all the time. I loved being able to walk to restaurants and stores. I had my pick of walking to Starbucks or a local coffee place. It was fabulous. When I moved to Michigan it became quickly apparent that everyone drives everywhere. I moved into an apartment relatively close to a small downtown, and my walk score plummeted to 45 (car dependent). I had to drive 20 minutes to work, and it was necessary to drive just about everywhere. It didn't take too long until I felt like a local - I got used to the driving. My husband and I bought our first house in Lansing in 2007, and my walk score got even worse (40 - car dependent).  After more than a year in Michigan I was resigned to the fact that my dreams of living in a downtown and walking everywhere were probably quashed. We even drove to the pharmacy and groc...