I Run These Towns

I'm going to be honest - overall I consider myself to be relatively bad ass. Obviously I have the same types of insecurities as anyone else, but I like to push myself to the absolute max of whatever I think (or know) I'm capable. Running makes me feel invincible. I've blogged about this before, but when I'm running I feel like I'm the best version of myself. I feel normal .  Training for a marathon can bring out the best and worst in a person. Some weeks on a long run I feel like I can conquer the world, and some weeks I wonder why in the world I think I'm prepared to run another marathon.  Running is a fickle mistress for sure. These days after a long run, there are definitely dents in my personal bad ass perception. Running is indeed a temperamental activity.  I've had days where the miles I've logged that day feel amazing. I can't imagine anything feeling better. I've had days where I've struggled running just a few miles, and I wonder...

Earlier this year I resolved to spend more time in Detroit in 2013, and I must admit that I've failed miserably.  While we've been to the D a few times for Tigers games, visiting the Detroit Institute of Art and work, overall my presence in Detroit has been spotty at best. I have a few months to change that, and I've got work to do. Detroit made national headlines earlier this summer for being the largest municipality to ever file for bankruptcy.  A lot of talk about the City of Detroit has been negative, but the vibe in the city couldn't be more positive.  Businesses and entrepreneurs are flocking to Detroit to take advantage of all the city has to offer. Sure, there are issues, but all of it is overshadowed by promise and ingenuity. I could not love Detroit more, and I love that it is gritty and scrappy with a chip on its shoulder. It should have one, and I am so excited for Detroit to prove the naysayers wrong. So you can imagine I was thrilled last week that my...

I don't run many races more than once. There are a lot of races to be run, and in general I don't see the point of doing one repeatedly. The obvious exception, however, is Lansing's Capital City River Run (CCRR). I love this race, and this is the fourth year I've run it. The CCRR has several really good things going for it. First off it's right downtown Lansing, so I can actually park at my office and walk over to the Lansing Center for the start. Very convenient. Second it takes place mostly on the Lansing River Trail, and that's where I do many of my long training runs. It feels very comfortable to run this race. Third (and perhaps most importantly) it has great swag. I wear all of my CCRR shirts all the time. They are my favorite long-sleeved running shirts. This year's shirt is no exception - a perfectly fitting, long-sleeved blue t-shirt that I know I'll wear frequently.  In addition to the awesome shirt is the fantastic medal. I love adding the ...

When I first started running over seven years ago, I decided, without having run any appreciable distance in my life, that I should run a marathon. My training was going well (even in my two-year-old Nike Shox tennis shoes...ouch) until I reached an eight-mile long run.  That was when my IT band decided it didn't want to play this game anymore, and I ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco instead of the full marathon. I went to a sports medicine doctor, PT for a few months, got some new shoes and started running anew. It would be four more years before I decided to attempt another full marathon, this time the Detroit Marathon in 2010.  Once again training was going rather well until my 18-mile run. By the time you get to an 18-mile training run, you're rather far along in your training. After my 18-miler I could barely walk. My old friend the IT band injury was back. I never ran my final long run, the all-important 20-miler.  The week before the marathon I ...

I'm at that stage in marathon training where it starts to get real.  The first few weeks of training are essentially a honeymoon phase. The long runs aren't that long, and I don't find myself getting up at the crack of dawn to run for more than two hours. This week I ran 14 miles, and my general rule of thumb is anything more than a half marathon is when it starts to get crazy. It was a long weekend, and I decided to do my long run on Friday morning to get it out of the way.  Friday happened to be a muggy and horribly hot. In addition to the weather we'd attended a concert (Alabama - awesome) the night before. We didn't eat dinner, and I didn't drink any water. I woke up in the humid morning, starving, ready to somehow push through 14 miles. Before I left my husband said, "I'm just going to say this once, but I don't think you're prepared for a long run. I'm worried that you aren't ready this morning." Being my stubborn self I sho...