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...