I Run These Towns

Part two of our French Canadian vacation took place in the form of a few days in Montreal. It was tough leaving quaint and picturesque Quebec City in the rear view mirror, but I was excited for another city adventure. It's about a three-hour drive from Quebec City to Montreal, and I knew as soon as we approached the city that it was going to be a culture shock.  Despite being home to nearly half a million people, Quebec City felt small. The streets were designed in a way that it felt much smaller. Montreal is more than three times the size of Quebec City, and I felt it right away.  The skyline felt much bigger and more modern, and I was immediately excited to traverse the streets.  Our hotel room wasn't ready, so we set off to explore the neighborhood around the hotel. We were staying on Rue Saint Denis near the Latin Quarter and the Village. We didn't really know what that meant in terms of a good location, and we quickly discovered what a great neighborhood it is. W...

This spring/summer has been the age of fast. I broke my half marathon PR twice. I shattered by 5k PR . I rocked out my first triathlon . Everything was going according to plan until it wasn't, and my world came to a screeching halt. I've talked a lot about my struggles with Crohn's, and my life philosophy is that Crohn's can suck it. Hard. I haven't had a serious Crohn's setback in more than a dozen years. Let's be honest - I was due. But as these things happen it sneaks up on you in a way that there's no preparing. I was just blindsided one lovely July afternoon. I had a scheduled surgery to remove a (what turned out to be) benign abdominal mass. I had the exact same surgery back in 2011 , and the masses then (and now) were scar tissue from previous abdominal surgeries and endometriosis. The masses were quite large and painful, so it was necessary to extract them. In 2011 I had the surgery on a Thursday and was back to work the following Monday. I ...

It's no secret that I love downtowns, but now it is proven that I love French versions too (or at least French Canadian)! My French is still abysmal after a week in French Canadian cities, but my love of downtowns and amazing cities has grown even more (I know...you didn't think it possible, right?) While I've had Paris a the top of my travel list for a while, buying a new house quashed any ideas I had in my head of going to Europe. We decided that we'd do a North American version by heading to Quebec City and Montreal. It was a week filled with spectacular street design, delicious food and cocktails, hard running terrain and a lot of walking. It was exactly what we needed. On the more than 13-hour drive from Lansing to Quebec City we worked on my French. And by "worked on" I mean my husband said phrases, I repeatedly them horribly and then got frustrated and turned up the radio. We were tested while stopping for dinner and attempting to convey our food orde...

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...