I Run These Towns

Everyone loves New York, but if you're a city lover New York is the exemplar of cities. New York and I are crazy in love, and no matter how long since our last rendezvous (2011 in this instance), our chemistry comes back instantly. We're amazing together like that.  I had an inauspicious start to my trip to New York when my connecting flight to LaGuardia was canceled. I found this out as I was pulling into the Detroit airport. The only flight I could get on to get to NYC on Tuesday evening was to fly into Long Island. I found a shuttle and got to my hotel around 1:45 am, the late hour thwarting my plans to run before my workshop's 8:30 am start. This week I was fortunate to attend a workshop at Foundation Center , a great organization that has already proven to be a valuable resource in my new job. I booked a hotel near Central Park for running purposes, and it was just over two miles to the training. I woke up on Wednesday morning and gleefully walked into the th...

I generally prefer being a solitary runner. Running is my relaxation, my deep breath, my alone time. But every now and then I need some company, and I need someone to kick my tail. Enter my friend Nikki. Nikki and I have worked together for seven and a half years. We've run probably 4-5 half marathons together, at least one ten-miler (that I can recall) and dozens upon dozens of training runs. I can't tell you the number of times I've said to her, "Thanks for being patient. I'm struggling." I run my best first thing in the morning, but Nikki and I have mastered the running meeting where we run at the end of the day. We talk about work, we work through problems, and in general she keeps me going when I'm (often) struggling. Last week our work had its annual board retreat on Mackinac Island. Mackinac is a picturesque island in northern Michigan. There are no cars on the Island, and it's designed for people. Houses and businesses front the street. P...

I've gotten an IV infusion of medicine for my Crohn's every six weeks for the last 13 years. It's become totally routine, and I don't even think about it other than its inconvenience of setting aside half a day. In the age of smart phones and WiFi everywhere I can still get a lot of work done, and I don't miss a beat. Sometimes I'll tell people that I'm away from the office for an IV infusion, and I get this shocked/worried look. I have to quickly reassure them that it's a normal thing and no big deal. My mobile office every six weeks I realize that for most people getting an IV isn't a routine part of life. Having lab work done regularly, invasive tests, CT scans...most people don't have these on a regular basis. I've had so many CT scans that my doctor won't order them anymore because of the large amount of radiation I've been exposed to. This is my normal. A few years ago I wrote one of my favorite blogs ever that running...

When I moved here nine years ago it didn't take me long to fall in love with the City of Detroit. I met my husband, a Detroit lover, and we spent a lot of time in the city. Our first date was at the Traffic Jam & Snug in midtown. At the time it was one of the only things on the block, and now It's part of a thriving neighborhood. We spent our second date at the Detroit Zoo (technically in Royal Oak). We used to head to the D often for sporting events, to visit the Detroit Institute of Art or just to visit friends. That was our life before we had dogs and now a child, but Detroit is a place that has always captured both of our hearts. Detroit has its challenges, and it's by no means perfect. But perfect is so boring! Its gritty resiliency is inspiring. Its spirit is contagious. We go to Detroit and daydream about what it would be like to live there. We love it, and if our professional lives allowed we'd move there in a minute. Our son turned six months old las...

I adore summer.  The hotter and more humid it is the better. I want to wake up every day to sunshine and warm breezes. In the alternative I want warm thunderstorms. Anything less than 60 (at night!) in between June and August is absolutely unacceptable.  Summers in Michigan can be challenging for me because it's often just not hot enough. But on the days that it warm I want to stretch out in the sunshine like a cat. This week the weather is impeccable: high 70s/low 80s every day, mostly sunny, humid. The weather could not be more perfect if I'd designed it myself. This afternoon I was able to go to our daycare for "Water Wednesday" for my son's first time in the baby pool. Of course as I walked closer in 4-inch heels and a cute dress I realized I wasn't quite dressed for Water Wednesday. Then I thought screw it...how often is my son going to be in the baby pool for the first time? I kicked off my heels and got on the ground in my dress. I was splashed and...

When I was growing up in West Virginia, the summers were idyllic. My brother and I spent hours playing in the woods behind my grandparents' home with the neighbor kids or at the community pool. Summer was lazy and hot and perfect. Who knew I could resurrect the way those summers felt by running 13.1 miles in the beautiful WV mountains? Last weekend we had a quick weekend in West Virginia visiting my parents, and I snuck in a quick half marathon too. I've been eyeing the Deckers Creek Trail Half Marathon for a few years, and it just never worked in our schedule. This year I made a point to register early, and we headed down for less than 48 hours for a quick visit and run. The race actually starts relatively late (I was in the first wave at 8:30), so it was odd to get up and take my time in the morning. I was up with the baby at 4 am and then tossed fitfully for the next hour or so. I walked out onto my parents' deck at 6 am with a cup of coffee, and it smelled like the...

This week the interwebs are buzzing with news of Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover . I think it's hard to argue anything other than she looks amazing. I won't pretend to understand the emotional complexity of being transgender. I can't imagine spending 65 years as one gender while secretly identifying as another. It's got to be agonizing. While I'm sure there are a lot of people don't understand what Caitlyn has and is going through, I don't understand why we can't just all be who we are without people being jerks about it. I have a large number of Facebook friends who are pretty religious. They post Bible verses, talk a lot about going to church and openly preach. It's not my thing, but I'm fine with them doing it because it's important to them. I'm sure I get eye rolls with my latest post about running or cities. We don't all have the same interests or focuses, and that's what makes people interesting. What I REALLY don...

My biggest fear in life is failure. It's followed closely by losing control. I am generally so tightly wound and moving so quickly that it's very difficult to relax. Control does not generally beget relaxation, and that is a continual issue for me.  A few months ago I discussed my inability to relax, and it hasn't gotten much better although I am continually working on it. I've been struggling with my motivation in training for the New York Marathon . Last weekend I realized I need to let go of control and try to relax. I got up early on Saturday and took my dogs for a walk in the rain. Warm rainy days are my favorite. It was raining hard when I got back home, and I decided to do my long run on the treadmill. I don't love running inside, but I was really not in the mood to chance getting stuck in a thunderstorm.  I needed a solid long run, and I started out slowly. I felt great about 30 minutes in, and I decided to incorporate sprint intervals into the last par...