I Run These Towns

Last year I was approached by a work acquaintance earnestly asking me for advice for training and fueling for his first marathon. At first I thought he was kidding because I basically have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to either of those things. Then I realized he wasn't, and I struggled to give him advice. There is tons of advice on how many miles one should run weekly, what cross training is most effective, what one should eat before/during/after a run, what carb loading is the best. I ignore 100 percent of it.  I firmly believe that running is largely a mental sport. Sure if one wants to run marathons with 6 minute miles there's obviously significant training for that. But if you're an average, amateur runner, the biggest  key to getting better/faster/smarter at the sport is to stop overthinking it. I'll give you a few examples from my life. I've done it all wrong. I've tortured myself and insisted on running every single mile of my training pr...

Nearly six years ago I wrote a blog about my race/place bucket list. Since then we've done a lot of traveling, and I've run a lot of races. In that time my bucket list has also evolved as bucket lists are wont to do. As mentioned in that blog I ran the LL Bean 10k  in 2012, and it was awesome. I ran the New York Marathon in 2015, and I don't know that any race will ever compare. In the last half decade I've completed a triathlon, and I've determined that marathons aren't for me. I may run another at some point, but for now I'm taking a hiatus from 26.2. So where does that leave me with running goals? NYC Marathon in 2015. The best. I'd like to run a race in every state. It doesn't have to be something significant - maybe a 5k - but I want to pin on a bib and run in all 50 states. I have a lot of work to do; I've only run races in 12 states. I turn 40 this year, and I need to up the ante and knock some more states off the list. I've ...

I wish I had it all figured out. I'd quit my job and be a high-priced consultant to moms and live a life of pseudo luxury. But I don't even though I like to pretend I do. I maintain that I can have it all even if that means exhaustion and spreading myself very thinly at any given time.  I love my job. Absolutely love it. I didn't quite account for how challenging it would be with a toddler. I can handle it, but my son doesn't understand it. I'm gone several nights each week and working pretty incessantly. I try really hard to carve out time to focus specifically on my family. I'm more successful on some days than on others.  Last week I had a rock star mama tell me that there's no such thing as work/life "balance". She said "Life is way more like a teeter totter - always more of one thing than another but occasional moments of 'balance'. Just before your ass hits the ground!"  I love  this, and it came exactly when I needed...