I Run These Towns

There are the every day 5ks, and then there are the Susan G. Komen events. When more than 5,000 participants crowd Capital Avenue in downtown Lansing, it gets real. Yesterday my friend Erin and I decided to brave the rain and run the Race for the Cure . Downtown Lansing was dreary and wet, but the energy from the crowd was palpable and there were people dressed in pink everywhere. It's hard to be discouraged by rain when you're surrounded by that kind of positivity. Have I had a rough few weeks with my Crohn's? Absolutely. Have I been complaining more than normal? For sure. But there's nothing like joining all of these amazing women who are breast cancer survivors to give me real perspective about what's happening in my life and with my health.  These women have been through it, and yet here they are, in the rain, decked out in pink and ready to get their 5k on. It's awesome, it's inspiring, and it's a bit of perspective smacking me right in the face. ...

This title describes my Crohn's drama-filled week perfectly. Last night I literally had barium for dinner (three bottles to be exact) which really does nothing to help an already unpleasant situation.  For those of you who have had abdominal CT scans (I've had more than my lifetime's share of radiation in the last 15 years) you know how gross it is to drink barium. I've done this dozens of times, but last night seemed worse. Maybe I am just in more of a complaining mood this week. But I'll stop complaining because I had my first consult with a nutritionist, and it was awesome. After 15 years of reacting to what my body throws at me, it's exciting to be looking at a more proactive take on my health. As someone who does not enjoy cooking I'm not really looking forward to having to do more of it, but I'm up for the challenge. At this point I'm willing to try anything. I'm going to be on an aggressive program, and that will be interesting. I do wan...

I stole the phrase "Russian Roulette" in terms of my diet from my BFF, but it's perfectly accurate to describe how I've dealt with my nutritional needs for the last 15 years. A few years ago I decided it was time to stop messing around, and I made an appointment with a nutritionist recommended by my GI doctor. I went to the local hospital to meet with this woman in a what amounted to a closet next to the hospital cafeteria. When I arrived she had printed off the USDA food pyramid guidelines and generic information on Crohn's Disease. True story. I could've done that at home and saved myself a lot of time. Last fall I decided I'd try to get a new nutritionist from my new GI doctor at the University of Michigan, and ended up not even asking for the referral.  I can figure this out right?  After a rough few Crohn's months, I've decided it's time to get serious. When we were in DC a few weeks ago two of my friends mentioned they are seeing nutr...

This month's Runner's World features Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher - Olympians, training partners, friends, and rivals. It got me thinking about rivalries in general. I'm a competitive person, and throughout my life I've had rivalries with different people. Whether it was on the cheerleading squad in high school, the debate team in college or in work after I graduated law school, there seems to always be some sort of rivalry. Some are friendlier than others. Kara and Shalane after the 2012 Olympic Marathon in London As a runner I'm always competing. That being said I'm not a fast runner, so I'm generally just competing against myself - my own PRs and goals. Are there people that I see regularly at races and want to beat? Absolutely. But there are good days and bad days, and I try to enjoy the run rather than focus on beating anyone but myself. I'm also an avid West Virginia Mountaineer fan. As a result I bleed old gold and blue. When it come...

There is nothing like the finish of a race. Whether it's a 5k or a marathon, the finish line is magical.  Every time I run around that last turn to see the crowd of people cheering on runners, it helps kick me into a gear that I didn't know I had left.  Even when I've been my most exhausted at the end of a race, the energy of the finish spurs me on. As I watched the terrible footage from yesterday's Boston Marathon , you can see runners go from elated to horrified as they approach the finish.  I honestly cannot imagine how the runners and spectators felt as they realized what was happening. Last year I was running in the Green Bay Marathon when it was called for the heat. We had to borrow a volunteer's phone and get my friend's sister to come pick us up. It was frustrating and confusing, and it is nothing compared to yesterday's events. I can't imagine the confusion of the runners who hadn't finished yet and the panic of the families and spectator...

Last weekend we headed to one my favorite cities, Washington, DC, so I could run one of my bucket list races, the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. I'm not entirely sure why this was a bucket list race, but it's one I really wanted to do. Last year I didn't get into the race (there is a lottery entry), so I was thrilled that I got to run it this year. We got to DC late Friday morning and headed to our hotel in Arlington. I've been staying on Courthouse Road in Arlington for about a decade for a few reasons. It's a more quiet neighborhood, it's near the metro, and it's next to Ragtime , a West Virginia bar. After dropping our bags at the hotel we headed to my favorite area establishment for lunch - Bayou Bakery . We discovered Bayou Bakery on a trip to DC last year, and I am a touch obsessed. I love everything about it - the atmosphere, the sassy music and the food is to die for. Seriously- the food is amazing.  After lunch we thought it would be fun to do somethi...

In my very first post on this blog I talked about my experience of going to Washington, DC for the first time at the age of 16 and falling in love with cities. I will never forget riding up one of those long escalators and starring up at the buildings. It was a sweltering July day, and despite that I loved every single minute of being there. I loved the metro; I loved the density; I loved being able to walk everywhere; I loved street vendors; I loved the cultural destinations, and I loved the green space weaved in between the buildings and the concrete.   When you grow up in a town of 400 people, nobody expects you to feel like you're a city girl at heart. But even from the time I was quite young I wanted to be someplace busier. I have a busy personality by nature, and the sleepiness of a small West Virginia town just wasn't going to do it for me. I needed something faster; something louder; something bigger - both in sheer size and ambition. Lansing, Michigan certainly i...

It's no secret that I love animals. I have two dogs and a cat, and I can't see a cat or dog without stopping to pet it. I can't imagine my life without animals. Nothing else can love so unconditionally, and they make our life so much fuller. I was looking for my first 5k of the year, and I ran across the Irondog 5k in East Lansing. The Irondog fund was created to support surgeries for animals at Michigan State's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Not only do I love animals, but last month we had to take our 15-year-old cat Daisy to MSU's emergency vet hospital when she was disoriented and not moving well. We had excellent care although we did end up having to put her down as she deteriorated quickly. It was such a sad and shocking experience, but I knew she was in good hands at MSU. I wanted to run this race and donate to the Irondog cause for all of those animals who give such joy to their humans.   My Daisy - best pet ever. I really enjoyed everything about thi...