• All-girls ultra running and how I got roped into that one

    All-girls ultra running and how I got roped into that one

    Every once in a while, an impulsive decision can turn out to be the adventure of a lifetime. It was all Corinne‘s idea. She sent a message to a few dozen Delta Zeta sorority sisters, asking if we wanted to have a reunion at the Ragnar Trail weekend at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort…

  • Bicycling in Charlotte

    Bicycling in Charlotte

    I live on an island, known to the natives as NoDa, The Arts District, or North Charlotte (depending on how old-school they are).  With the recent LYNX Light Rail construction, NoDa has quite literally become a destination retreat, with many access roads closed over the past months or years. There are only a couple of…

  • Book Review: Dies the Fire

    Book Review: Dies the Fire

    From Goodreads: Dies The Fire: A Novel Of The Change The Change occurred when an electrical storm centered over the island of Nantucket produced a blinding white flash that rendered all electronic devices and fuels inoperable. What follows is the most terrible global catastrophe in the history of the human race-and a Dark Age more…

  • Book review: Valley of the Dolls

    Book review: Valley of the Dolls

    Valley of the Dolls Jacqueline Susann From Goodreads: Dolls: red or black; capsules or tablets; washed down with vodka or swallowed straight—for Anne, Neely, and Jennifer, it doesn’t matter, as long as the pill bottle is within easy reach. These three women become best friends when they are young and struggling in New York City…

  • Race day prep: When to show up to start line

    Race day prep: When to show up to start line

    Today’s Tortoise and the Hare topic: Race day prep — when to show up at the starting line. When I ran my first marathon, I lived in South Charlotte. The race was in Uptown. So, I got a hotel room for the night before the race. Why? Because I did not want the extra stress…

  • Favorite running route in Charlotte

    Favorite running route in Charlotte

      Today’s Tortoise and the Hare topic: Favorite route in Charlotte to run My favorite running route in Charlotte is the flat one. I’ll wait while you try to figure out where that is. No, seriously. Flat routes are so rare in Charlotte when you’re talking about logging actual distance. When I was training for…

  • 5 years without Mia

    5 years without Mia

    I call myself decent at remembering birthdays, but I’m terrible at remembering dates of tragedies. I suppose this is mostly a good thing. However, Facebook Memories was here to remind me at 3am when I woke to let the dog out that 5 years ago today, I was lying in bed beside my grandmother, Mia,…

  • Run fashion: What to wear (on your feet)

    Run fashion: What to wear (on your feet)

    Today’s Tortoise and the Hare topic: What to wear on your feet. To get fitted or not to get fitted? If you’re a runner, you probably know all about the process of getting fitted for running shoes. If you don’t, get yourself to a running store pronto and ask them about it. At a good…

  • In aftermath of Stanford case, let’s look out for each other

    I’m writing this quickly as I am on my way to a meeting. But I had to get my thoughts down … apologies if it seems hurried. — Driving to meet Quinn to run today, I had the radio tuned to NPR where the talk centered around the Stanford case, rape on campus, and our…

  • Run fashion: shorts vs. pants

    Run fashion: shorts vs. pants

    Today’s Tortoise and the Hare topic: What to wear? Shorts vs. pants. You would not believe how many times people ask me why I’m wearing pants to run in the middle of summer. I know it looks weird. I know you assume I’m hot. In contrast, if Quinn wears shorts in the middle of winter,…

  • To stretch or not to stretch

    To stretch or not to stretch

    Today’s Tortoise and Hare topic: To stretch or not to stretch. Back in the day, before I discovered my love of all things yoga, I used to think that stretching was for bendy people. As I was not a bendy person, that meant stretching was not for me. Of course, I knew all the experts pointed…

  • Run nutrition: What I eat before a race.

    Run nutrition: What I eat before a race.

    Today’s topic: Run nutrition. What we eat before a long race.   So, this one time, the day before 2014 Thunder Road Marathon, Quinn and I decided to do shots of beet juice from Luna’s Living Kitchen called “Runner’s High.” We drank one shot that day and another the next morning during pre-race prep. Then we did this…

  • An American in Europe after the Paris attacks

    An American in Europe after the Paris attacks

    This post was written on November 25, 2015, while I was on a train from Venice to Munich. I just never got around to publishing it until now. Thanks for your patience. — “Did you hear about the Italian girl who died in the Paris attacks?” Anthony asked us, his eyes glossy. When we told…

  • Europe travel: Hamburg, Germany, and beyond

    Over the fall, I spent 8 weeks in Europe. Jeff’s work called him to Hamburg, Germany, for a project, and I was dragged along kicking and screaming (as IF). I got to live it up, mostly in Hamburg, but on weekends, Thanksgiving week, and when our friends came to visit, we traveled. We had an apartment in Hamburg,…

  • Running fast vs. running long

    Today’s topic: Running fast vs. running long. I tell people all the time, “I would rather run a marathon than run a 5K.” And I’m sorta serious. I feel like running a marathon, while I’m still a bundle of nerves leading up to it, is really one of the most zen experiences one can have.…

  • The Tortoise and the Hare: Celebrating different running styles

      If you know us, you probably know that my friend Quinn and I make unlikely running buddies. She grew up quite the athlete, notably a soccer player, where she got to put her speed work to the test often on the field. I grew up coming up with any excuse I could to get out…

  • 7-Day Art Challenge Day 6: Photo shoots

    My friend Tamera tagged me in a 7-day art challenge recently. The rules are simple: post 7 pieces of art on social media and talk about them. So far with my posts, we’ve visited the darkroom, the newsroom, a magazine startup, poetry, and book cover design. Today I want to talk about the beauty that is the photo shoot.…

  • 7-Day Art Challenge Day 5: Book Design and Editing

    When you grew up as a bookworm and then you decide to be a print designer and editor — and then your best friend from childhood calls you to tell you she’s writing a book — well, it’s pretty much the best day of your life. — My friend Tamera tagged me in a 7-day art challenge recently. The rules…

  • 7-Day Art Challenge Day 4: Poetry

    So, I’ve been talking a lot about visual arts in these posts. That’s clearly a huge part of my life these days, but at times I like to remind myself of my writing roots. My friend Tamera tagged me in a 7-day art challenge recently. The rules are simple: post 7 pieces of art and talk…

  • 7 Day Art Challenge Day 2: South Carolina Press Association: Best of the Best

    My friend Tamara Lavalla tagged me in a 7-day art challenge. Day 1 was about my time spent in the darkroom at Winthrop. Not sure if this challenge is supposed to be chronological or not, but my time at The Herald feels like a logical next step to talk about here. I sent my resume…

  • 7 Day Art Challenge Day 1: Winthrop University photography class

    My friend and art idol Tamara Lavalla tagged me recently in a 7-day art challenge. I’ve been a graphic designer/layout editor for the better part of 16 years and I still sit up a little straighter and smile when someone calls me an artist. And when someone as talented as Tamara tags me in an…

  • NoDa garage mural was created by HGTV-famous NC artist

    You may or may not have seen our post yesterday on Melissa Oyler Designs’ blog about North Carolina mural artist Scott Nurkin and his recent rise to HGTV fame. You also may or may not also know a tiny fun fact: Scott Nurkin painted a mural on our garage.   I designed a brochure for…