Runners or Muscle-Women?

The other day I saw a few teenagers taking pictures in Gallup Park. I thought, "how cute, they're taking photos for their little band." Oh, how the tables turn. This evening in Allmendinger Park, Marie and I dabbled in amateur photography, taking photos of ourselves in various running and athletic poses.

Feeling a little silly and a lot self-conscious, we ventured out into the park amidst a large group of picnic-goers and a few others enjoying the sunny evening. Luckily the park is large enough that we didn't have to submit ourselves to the stares coming from our dining friends.

We began by attempting to take some action shots, photographing each other while running. The pictures were pretty clear, and clearly illustrated that modeling was not in either of our futures. By the way, no one looks good while running. Those photos on Runners' World are total fakes, because when I run, apparently my eyes are half closed and I've somehow lost my entire chin. Go figure.

After our enlightening experience with the action shots, we moved to some strength poses. These tended to come out better, when we didn't look too serious.

All in all, our first photo shoot went decently. I'm pretty sure we'll have to do a few more before we get any calls from Muscle & Fitness asking for us to be on their cover.

A Run Through Art Fair

The third week of July every year, thousands of people gather in the streets of downtown Ann Arbor to look at what others have spent many months creating. During this time, the streets of downtown Ann Arbor are closed down to all traffic, and masses crawl through the streets. But before 7 AM, these streets are empty of both cars and shoppers, making it a great time to run!

Every year in the third week of July, I get to wake up early to do something I don’t get to do the other 51 weeks of the year. I get to run straight down the streets of downtown Ann Arbor. I don’t have to move to the sidewalks, dodging walkers, dogs, or the occasional biker. I get to run straight down the yellow lines, feeling the freedom of being the only vehicle on the road.

Running downtown, there is a sense of quiet before Art Fair begins again. The tents lining the streets, filled with artists’ hard work, inspire me to bring art into other areas of my life. Running through the streets, I feel as if I’m paving my own path while honing my craft, bringing in a little joy and creativity to something that I do every day.

Next week, when I’m relegated to the sidewalk again, I’ll gladly wait another 360 days until the next time I can run through the streets surrounded by art in the quiet of a summer morning.

The Starting Line

I've PR-ed plenty of times. Run enough races, and one is going to be the fastest one. But I never though the letters 'P' and 'R' would mean much more to me. I never though starting a business would be something I would do either. But the two, together? Now that's something!

A few months ago, my friend Marie and I were joking about starting our own personal training business. This was not a new conversation, ever since we both have been personal trainers we've wished we could start our own gym, building a studio that reflected our own personal values in running, balanced fitness, and healthy living.

Well, what started out as a joke began to form as an idea in my head. Could we really do this? What would it be like? How would this work? This idea began to take shape, and is currently taking shape, as PR Fitness, a personal training and fitness studio for endurance athletes.

As we build this business, we want to share our journey with you. As we have learned, turning your passion into a reality is much harder work that we first thought. However, there's no greater sense of accomplishment than seeing something that you created from the ground up (although running a PR is pretty close).