I Run These Towns

Dear Races in Ann Arbor, It's not you; it's me. Nope...that's a lie. It's definitely you. Yesterday I ran my second and last* half marathon in the City of Ann Arbor.  In November when we found out we were having a baby, I decided to register for a spring race to stay motivated. Enter the Ann Arbor Half Marathon .  In 2012 I ran the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon. While the race was well organized, I found it a little too sleepy. The course was boring with very little fan support. Fast forward three years to the Ann Arbor Half, and I'd say the same thing. This time, however, I expected more. This Ann Arbor race was very disappointing. This was not only my first big race post-baby but was my first big race post my long hospital stay last summer. I was uncharacteristically nervous for the race. It wasn't my first rodeo; in fact it was my 15th half marathon. I was nearly as nervous as I was for my first. My husband, baby and I headed to Ann Arbor on Saturda...

My work wrapped up another successful legislative conference today, and my feet hurt. A lot. I was on the road Monday to west Michigan, two days at a conference, on the road to west Michigan tomorrow. I'm only in the office one day next week and am traveling the rest of the days. I set my own schedule...there's only one person to blame. There are so many meetings to be had in so little time! It's busy right now. This week every day feels like I'm running a marathon. My feet are killing me. I imagine tomorrow putting on heels will feel like walking over hot coals. I'm still going to do it, but it's not going to be pretty.  My entire body hurts like I just finished running 10 miles - back, hips, shoulders, everything.  I have no business running the Ann Arbor Half Marathon on Sunday. I haven't trained. My body is exhausted. It's not going to be pretty. Last year I ran two half marathons in under two hours. My goal on Sunday is 2:10. I'm not in hal...

Tomorrow is my parents' 44th wedding anniversary. Forty-four years is a long time to put up with another human. In a world where temporary is the new permanent, it's amazing to think they've stuck it out all of these years.  No relationship is perfect. Whether it's your spouse, your family, your friends or your co-workers...every relationship is complex. Even the people you love the most can drive you the craziest. When I was a kid I had no idea my parents' marriage wasn't perfect. I can count on one hand the number of times I saw my parents fight. I know they did, but they didn't do it in front of us.  When I think about the commitment of a relationship for more than four decades, it's mind-blowing. Even with all of the imperfections of every relationship, my parents have endured through four children, illnesses, annoyances, moves, and all of the other drama life throws at you. I'm sure they didn't always like each other (and I'm sure st...

No offense to my therapist (she's pretty awesome), but when things are stressful and life has me against the ropes, running is the best way to work it all out. And it doesn't require a co-pay. Bonus! Last week my dad had a health scare, my husband was out of town, and my usually super chill baby decided to scream his way to bed every night. My nerves were completely frayed. With my husband gone there wasn't time to get in a solid workout, and I have to run. A me without running is a version that is not pleasant to be around. I'm irritable and antsy. It was made even worse by the fact that the weather was sunny and beautiful for the first time in months. I didn't run in it. At all. On Friday we headed to West Virginia to visit my parents (and micro-manage my dad...he loves that!) I was hoping to get in a run before we left on Friday morning. I even wore my running clothes to drop my son off at daycare and to drop my dogs off at the boarder. It's nearly unhear...

I don't like to admit it when I'm not 100 percent, but I am forced to face the truth: I am exhausted. I once read an author describe fatigue as "hard and crumbling around the edges". That phrase describes how I feel today. My shoulders and back feel tense. My eyes feel like they're filled with grains of sand. The level of fatigue plaguing my body today is extraordinary. Here's the thing: I don't think I can even blame it on my newborn. He's a really good sleeper. He'll be three months old this week, and he's up only one short time a night. He has slept through the night entirely exactly one glorious time. My husband and I alternate nights, so every other night I'm getting a full night of sleep. Given that why am I dragging up the stairs to bed at 9 pm? Why have my runs the last few weeks felt like I am wearing concrete in my shoes? I know I am not the only person who feels this way, and it's a novel feeling for me to have such a dif...

I've very publicly set a lofty goal of breaking 21 minutes in the 5k in 2015. It is going to be haaaaaaaaard. I'm two 5ks in this year and nowhere near breaking that goal, but I'm still overall faster than I've ever been. Your fitness declines as you age, but I am not good with accepting limitations. I sat on a 26:00 5k PR for three years. That time mark was my nemesis, and I felt like I couldn't break 26 minutes. Last year I shattered it by running my current PR of 23:55. It was really hard, but it felt amazing. Since then I've run under 26 minutes several times. This past weekend I jumped into the Steps to Freedom 5k at Lansing's Hawk Island Park. It was a small race, but I just needed something close by to run and motivate me. It was the first really pretty day we've had this spring. The sun was shining, and temperatures were in the mid-20s at the start. Given that we've had several months of regular sub-zero temperatures, I was thrilled wit...

About once a year I write a post asking who stole my motivation. To date nobody has fessed up to it. As I was thinking about my current lack of motivation I started thinking about running the way I used to think of it - as a fickle mistress who warrants my desire despite her capricious nature. Ultimately being motivated to run comes from the desire to run. I am forced to examine what I get out of running that makes it worth it. On days when I'm exhausted and days when it's cold and windy, what makes it worth it? What makes it worth it to get up early on a weekend and drive an hour for a race? What makes it worth it to log hours of training each week? What makes it worth it to have achy muscles and crash on the couch in the middle of a Saturday afternoon after a particularly harrowing run? Dictionary.com defines desire as "a longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment." Let's be honest - running doesn't always brin...

I'm going to rename this blog "I Brunch These Towns" because right now I'm doing way more brunching than running. I blame the small human that has taken over my life. I'm also blaming a nasty chest cold that kicked my tail last weekend. Less than a month before the Ann Arbor Half Marathon, and I'm woefully unprepared. I know I can power my way through it, but it's not going to be pretty.  I was planning to do a long run on Friday evening, and decided to take the boring way out and listen to my body which was enjoying coughing every 2.3 seconds. I was in bed early completely exhausted with an achy body. Having a newborn and a cold isn't for the faint of heart. On Saturday morning we headed to Detroit to brunch with friends at Selden Standard in Midtown. The restaurant was named the 2015 restaurant of the year by the Detroit Free Press. I didn't know that when we chose to meet there that it was so fancy, but our friends live in Detroit and thus...