I Run These Towns

In college, back in 1998, I walked my first 5k. I walked it in 33 minutes (yes WALKED not ran), and I was booking it. I won first among walkers,and I won a gift certificate to Garfield's Restaurant in Morgantown, WV. Totally worth it. I didn't run my first 5k for another 8 years, until 2006, but doing that first race takes commitment, courage, and a little bit of insanity. Last week, on Thanksgiving, my husband and I ran the Inaugural Morgantown Running Turkey Trot. It was his first 5k, and I was bursting with pride and emotion. It's no secret that I love a good turkey trot, and I was thrilled for Morgantown's inaugural event. With my husband before the race We picked up our packets at the WVU track. Instead of t-shirts they gave us wicking socks. As a race veteran I was thrilled to have something other than another cotton t-shirt I'd never wear again, but as a race novice my husband was disappointed to not have a t-shirt. I totally get it. The race start...

I live a blessed life, and I don't forget it even for a minute. It can be stressful, it's often hectic, and it's filled with so many blessings that I feel overwhelmed sometimes just to think of them all. It's important that on Thanksgiving I reflect on the many blessings in my life. I am so thankful for my incredible husband. I recently did a blog post about how fantastic he is, and I won't elaborate too much lest his ego become uncontrollable. I couldn't ask for a better partner in my life. He's my biggest supporter, my best friend, and my great love.  He humors me in things I find important like a photo shoot for our Christmas card. That's the kind of partner we all need. A photo from our Christmas card shoot. I'm grateful for my parents who have always worked so hard to ensure that I have so my opportunities.  They've supported me through all of the tough things in my life - including the worst Crohns has to offer - without batting an...

Sometimes running sucks. And by sometimes, I mean a lot of the time. I would estimate that maybe 25-30% of the time running actually feels good, and the rest of the time I finish and gripe about how terrible that run was. I will say, however, that once the run is over I never regret having done it - even if it was a bad run. Running is hard. There's no magic formula to make you faster or better. You just have to keep running. Period. When I started running six years ago I was in pretty good shape, but I had never run more than two consecutive miles in my life. The only way I was able to build on my mileage was to do it. You have to log the miles over and over again. There is no shortcut. Some days I finish running and my knee hurts, my hip hurts, I'm tired. Some days I can't get motivated because it's cold, it's rainy, or I just don't feel like it. I think it's okay to take a break, and I try not to beat up on myself. But the only way to be able to run i...

After I graduated from law school I lived in Norfolk, Virginia for a couple of years. To me that time in my life represents my first real time as a grown up - my first real job, my first apartment alone, the first time I spent an appreciable amount of money on dry cleaning.  It was there that I realized my true mission in life was to work with cities as I worked for the city's inspiring mayor. It's been nearly seven years since I moved to Michigan, and I have lived here more than twice as long as I lived in Virginia. Regardless, every time I go to Norfolk I feel a since of nostalgia for the time I spent there. I feel nostalgic and yet so proud of the continued revitalization of the city.  Two of my siblings still live there, and we headed down this past weekend to meet our new nephew and visit our family. When I lived in Virginia I wasn't a runner. I spent a lot of time power walking and riding bikes with my sister, but it never occurred to me to pick up the pace and st...

I've had people tell me before that I should run for office, but I have a thing that day...gouging my own eyes out. Running for office would never be my thing, and as politics has become so vitriol it's difficult to even deal with it as a spectator. Yesterday's elections held a lot of promise. Here in Michigan a number of constitutional amendments failed, and there were other election results I consider both good and bad. But politics, like the tide, are always changing. As soon as one gets too invested in any one person or issue it's on to the next. I'm thinking we need to ensure we have runners in office. Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton were runners, and I'm convinced it's necessary to keep you sane.  Yesterday I had a particularly stressful day, and I immediately went for a run when I got home. Every bad day and every crisis is more manageable after a run. Bill Clinton, Nicolas Sarkozy, Al Gore, David Cameron, Tony Blair... all runners who've...

The New York City Marathon is like the Super Bowl of distance running. Nearly 50,000 runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators converge on the Big Apple for the big event.  For competitive runners it's one of THE races to win. For amateurs like myself, it's the holy grail of marathons. I'm fortunate to have registered last year as one of the last classes who will get automatic entry after three unsuccessful lottery attempts.  To me the New York Marathon represents everything that is right about running - the crowds, the support, the pageantry. I can't wait for my shot. Thankfully I didn't get in this year. As Hurricane Sandy has ravaged NYC, the fate of the NYC Marathon hangs in balance. The New York Road Runners have committed to holding the race as scheduled on Sunday, but it's going to be a challenge for a city recovering from a devastating storm. Crazy flooding in New York's Financial District The NYC Marathon starts on Staten Island and r...