I Run These Towns

We've discussed how I am not winter's biggest fan. Last weekend I thought I'd take it a step further and show winter who is boss by driving an hour north to Mount Pleasant, Michigan to take part in the first race of the Winter Warriors series. After driving an hour in blowing snow, winter was up 1-0. Feeling confident/cold before the race. Last week I discovered the website for the Winter Warriors Half Marathon series that has races in January, February and March. They hold a half, 10k and 5k each month. I thought it was perfect. It's hard to find winter races, and here are three affordable ones I can do. After last weekend's 10k, I will not be doing the other two.  Waiting impatiently for the race to begin I'm all about a smaller race with less pressure, but I'd still like a small race to be well organized. This race was a disaster from the moment we got out of the car. Packet pick-up was at Runner's Performance , a narrow store in a shoppin...

Bo Derek once said, "Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." I have taken this phrase to heart in my latest quest to visit running stores in the cities where we travel. I know, I know. It's not enough to simply travel a lot AND run in all of these cities. I've now developed quite the fascination with running stores. And let me tell you - no two are the same. We should discuss a few of my favorites. Bo Derek knows a thing or two about running Here in the Lansing area our local running store is Playmakers . Playmakers kind of spoils me for other running stores I visit because it's pretty great. I have purchased every single pair of my running shoes there for the last six years, and their running gear is also top quality.  A lot of our local races have packet pick-up at Playmakers which is quite genius because I cannot get out of that place without buying something. It's too tempting. From shoes and gear to wa...

As I was trudging through a miserable 6 miles on the treadmill yesterday, I decided to use the time productively to think about what inspires me and more specifically WHO inspires me. In running, my love of cities and life in general there are some people who are inspirations to me. The summer before my senior year of college I decided to join the debate team (I know - dorky) after several years of being lobbied to join by a friend. That summer I met someone who became a dear friend - Mary Bess (now Mary Marantz). Mary and I became fast buds, and she's the kind of person who is completely unaware of her inspirational affect on others.  A few years after we met I moved to Texas and Mary moved to England to get her masters and then went on to Yale Law School. We drifted apart in the way that can happen with distance and a lot happening in life. A few years ago we got in touch again. Mary ditched the law world and has a photography empire with her awesome husband Justin. I have so m...

I'll be up front in letting you all know that my inspiration for this post is my all-time favorite 80's song, "We Built This City" by Starship. I love that song, and it's been in my head for two days. In the process it got me thinking about my favorite cities and what makes them my favorites. My very first blog post was about visiting Washington, D.C. at the age of 16 and how I fell in love with cities right then and there. It's ironic, really, that a girl who grew up in a town of 400(ish) people in the middle of bloody nowhere entirely considers herself a city girl. Despite my dirty little secrets of having been in the FFA (that's right -I was a state champion meat judger) and raised pigs, I have forsaken all of my country routes to wear 3-inch heels every day, love crowded cities and be a giant fan of happy hour in chic downtown establishments. Chicago continues to dwell at the top of my favorite city list. I can't pinpoint any one thing that...

Both running and traveling keep me sane.  At the end of 2011, my husband and I started planning our 2012 trips. Some of them will revolve around running; some of them won't. Traveling is kind of our thing, and while we do make repeat trips to some of our favorite destinations like Washington, D.C., we're all about seeing new places. I'm all about running races in new places. The problem with an extensive traveling/running schedule is that sometimes life gets in the way. When I had surgery three months ago, I thought I'd be up and running in a few weeks. I thought wrong. After three months I'm STILL having complications that are affecting my ability to run. I'll have a great 4-5 mile run, and then be in pain for two days. Who has time for this? Our jobs are busy, our dogs are crazy, and life tries its hardest to keep me from running and to keep us home doing boring things like yard work and cleaning our basement. And while I may have tons of dog hair on my b...

Mark Twain once said, "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes." Michigan weather is much like that. It can be beautiful and sunny one day and snowing the next. Fortunately Lansing is in a bit of a bubble. We generally don't have a ton of snow in the winter compared to other places in Michigan. Unfortunately what we lack in snowfall we also generally lack in sunshine as well. That makes winter in Michigan long and brutal. This winter has been an anomaly. We had one significant snowfall at the beginning of December, and so far that's it. The temperatures have been in the 30s and 40s, and we've had sunshine every day for almost a week. It's fantastic!  Here's the thing about me and winter - I can totally live without it. In looking at great cities and place, weather clearly doesn't matter. Fantastic cities like Chicago, Denver, Boston, New York, and Minneapolis thrive in cold climates. And while I get that concept, ...

When I try to think of the best way to describe North Carolina's Outer Banks, the word that won't go away is idyllic. Quaint is sticking around in my head too. I love it there. This year my family decided we'd do a Jones Family Christmas Vacation (picture the movie...and it's pretty much like that) by renting a house in Corolla in the Outer Banks. We trekked down from Michigan, my parents and youngest brother from West Virginia, and my sister and brother and their families had the shortest commute from Norfolk, Virginia. We arrived a few days before Christmas to beautiful weather (50s and 60s with tons of sunshine). "Are you serious Clark?" I took advantage of our close proximity to the beach to try out my Vibram FiveFingers on the sand. I got Vibrams for my birthday in August and was terrified to run in them after the salesperson told me horror stories of people getting hurt. But I figured it was at the beach - why not? I went for several runs on the be...

I'm not a big fan of New Years resolutions. I feel like they're something people say they intend to do, and 99.9 percent of the time they don't follow through. I am more of a doer than a declarer. I like to think of myself as a Doozer (for fellow Fraggle Rock fans) If I intend to do something, I don't need a new year to come around to do it. Damn those Fraggles always messing with the Doozers' hard work 2011 was an excellent year. We traveled a ton, and I did lots of races including three half marathons. This year my goal is to do at least four half marathons. I've already registered for a full and a 15k, and I think it's completely feasible to fit in four half marathons as well. I also need someplace to wear my awesome new running gear I got for Christmas.  I told someone this week that one of the keys to keep me running is cute running gear. Hey, whatever it takes. I got my arm sleeves for Christmas! Seriously adorable. While I don't like to ...