I Run These Towns

Having an autoimmune disease is weird. It's weird for all the reasons you'd expect, but it's really weird because it feels like aliens have invaded your body. Granted I've never had aliens invade my body nor do I really believe in aliens, but I imagine if aliens do  exist and they did  invade your body it wouldn't feel dissimilar from Crohn's Disease (or Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis or any of the other atrocious autoimmune diseases with which people struggle).  After my wake-up call hospital stay in May I've really cut back on running and exercising. It's been hard for me, but the steroids necessitated it. In those first few weeks when I was taking the maximum dose of Prednisone it hurt to walk much less run. My skin hurt to the touch for weeks. It hurt to do random things like weeding my flower beds (it hurt to bend my knees). But I knew the steroids would help with my flare. I knew they'd kick whatever infection I'd been dealt. They're p...

I have a tendency to be *slightly*  antagonistic at times when it comes to cities. Ones that have it all on paper tend to not resonate to me (San Francisco comes to mind). They can seem too done. Too plastic. Too perfect. The cities toward which I gravitate are grittier, flawed, need work. That's my version of perfect. When visiting Portland, Oregon for the first time last week I didn't have high expectations. Everyone loves Portland. It's at or near the top of the list on everything: public transportation, walkability, green space, density. After spending four days there I have to admit Portland is nearly flawless, and I absolutely loved it. It was my son's first trip to the west coast, and my little 19-month-old traveler's 15th U.S. state he's visited. At first my husband questioned whether we should take a toddler across the country, but I'm a twisted person and enjoy these types of parenting challenges. I contend the only way he'll be a good travel...

Running is hard. If it was easy everyone would do it right? Remember the hard is what makes it great. I've been in a real running funk lately. It's easy to blame it on the steroids, and they have certainly wreaked havoc on my body. It's easy to blame it on a hospital stay two months ago. In reality this funk started after the New York Marathon  now eight months ago. Maybe it started as part of some kind of post marathon blues. But it has decided to dig in.  With only a week and a half (yay!) left on steroids my excuses are becoming thin. I have to get back at it. A huge part of my running lethargy has been my son's sleep schedule. He's been waking up around 5 am every day for a few months. My husband and I alternate mornings, and I promise myself on his mornings I'll get up and run. Then those days come and sleep, precious sleep, wins. Again this a total excuse - one makes time for what's important. That means right now sleep is more important than runnin...

I'm about to make a statement that will be controversial here in Michigan: I can take or leave lakes. They're lovely, and I have certainly enjoyed time I've spent on lakes since I've lived here, but give me a wooded hiking trail in the mountains any day. Last week I got my mountain fix, and as I sit here writing this blog my husband is sitting next to me researching vacation homes in the mountains of my stunning home state of West Virginia. This mountain mama needs a mountain home. Two weekends ago we spent the weekend in Boyne City . I love the city, and we had a nice time on Lake Charlevoix. I left there thinking maybe I could do it; maybe I could be one of those people who has a place in Northern Michigan and goes there all the time. Fast forward less than one week and Northern Michigan is all but forgotten, left behind in the shadows of the West Virginia hills.  We met my family in Davis, West Virginia near the Canaan Valley ski resort where we rented a house fo...

There's a lot of depressing things happening in the world. Crazy floods in my home state of West Virginia. Terror attacks in Europe. Mass shootings pretty much anywhere in the United States. It's disheartening and sad, and it's really easy to only see the negative in the world. The media tends to take any negative and focuses on it ad nauseam. It's not that these tragic events shouldn't be covered by the media nor should we in any way sweep them under the rug. But there's a lot of good in the world that gets overshadowed by the bad. There are those who don't know me well who think my snark and acerbic personality mean I'm a negative person. It's quite the opposite actually. I'm quite an optimist (this may ruin my rep), and too much deep negativity depresses me. I have a healthy dose of cynicism, but deep down I want things to be beautiful and lovely. I love happiness and love. Lately I've been ignoring the news. Seriously - head in the sa...

Babe Ruth said, "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up." I love that quote particularly these days when running feels a little harder. Last week I was in Northern Michigan for my office's annual board retreat. I went for a quick run one morning (maybe 2.5-3 miles), and my joints paid for it the rest of the day. Granted I also wore 4-inch wedges all day, but there are some things one just can't compromise.  Early this year I registered for the Charlevoix Half Marathon after realizing it coincided with our board retreat. I switched to the 10k after my hospital stay last month. I've barely been running, and the steroids cause crazy swelling in my joints when I do. I didn't really think I was even in 10k shape, but this was more about my running mental state than anything else.  On Friday morning I went from our retreat at Boyne Mountain to downtown Boyne City where my husband and son were to join me later that evening. I had the most relaxing day...

I love being alone. It happens less frequently these days than I'd like with a toddler and an otherwise busy life, but I crave alone time. I love complete silence - time to read a book or just sit and enjoy still. Being alone, however, is different than loneliness. Nobody likes that. One of the hardest things about being sick is feeling lonely. I have people all around me who care about my well being, but I don't want to be a sick person. I fight against that persona by pretending I'm fine. People have been asking me how I'm feeling, and my stock answer is a pause followed by "I'm okay". I realize this doesn't make me sound like I'm okay. The thing is I am technically okay, but I'm still off. I'm still not myself, and I have some frustrating Crohn's symptoms (TMI for even me to share) with which I'm forced to deal. It's hard to pretend like everything is okay when it's mostly okay with a few discouraging exceptions. I u...