recovery and other adventures

 hey! some of my friends wanted to see the WCYB interview I did the day after Grindstone 100.  I managed to get a sound bite they used during the sports segment but not the interview.

here is the link


and also HERE is the link to the interview from the Bristol Hearld Courier post Grindstone.

I am so humbled and appreciative to my hometown, friends and family. Everyone has been SO extremely nice to me and supportive of me.  I'm so blessed to be born and raised in southwest VA. I love running and training in the mountains here, and feel such a deep connection.

 post Grindstone. I've had a great recovery.   I had no blisters from grindstone, so that really made recovery much more comfortable experience than from umstead. really my only issue was muscle soreness and sore knees ( from the rocks! and not much time on my feet before Grindstone)

I ran haunted half marathon 3 weeks after grindstone in 1:39 and really my legs felt a little heavy and stale, i just cruised and never pushed. so I was happy with being able to lock into 7:30 pace and keeping it there for 13.1.

                                    I wore newtons, yet defied gravity.

              I've been golfing and enjoying the fall weather:)

           I went to kid birthday parties and took EVERY opportunity to rawk my Grindstone finishers buckle.

 Now I'm sitting here contemplating what is next for me: some FA runs with VHTRC. Maybe some racing before the new year, enjoying the holidays with family and my boys. DAVE MATTHEWS in C-ville dec 14th- 15th:).  Christmas present to myself.

I threw my name in the hat for Western States 100. If I get in= dream come true. Race of a lifetime. it's up there with r2r2r and hardrock and several other running bucketlist goals I have. In the event I don't get in: I'll run OD 100 this summer:) and enter WS again next year:)

another NEW adventure: I got a job!!!  I'm so excited about it because I have always said I wanted a job I loved so much it would never feel like work. I also would go on and on about how much I love to be outside and run, and too bad I can't somehow manage to find some parallel to have some sort of job that was connected to running or ultrarunning.  I'm a hard worker.  If you guys ONLY knew how much work and effort I put into my training ( well, my coach knows!! he is always trying to get me to run less lol)  but I know I would put the same amount of zeal and enthusiasm in any job I had. Well, it seems the universe, God, etc has opened this window of opportunity for me. My job  is with Mtn Sports in Bristol, Va.-- out of the blue after a 17 mile run on the AT on tuesday, Steve Cheers called and offered me a job:) I have NEVER had this happen to me EVER. Where I wasn't really looking or applying-- someone just think of me ask me for my help:) AW!! warm fuzzies!!  My job description is to meet with the reps, mark the catalogs and help select merch ( namely woman's clothes and gear) for them to buy for the upcoming seasons. I'm starting after thanksgiving meeting with the exofficio/horny toad rep to see samples for fall 2013, and then meeting with the patagonia rep the following week. OKAY!! while this is a small, small jobby job. I am SOOO excited to just have this opportunity. I feel so deeply connected with the outdoor industry because of my lifestyle, and really feel this is going to be such a cool learning experience. ( and hopefully open the door to more, bigger, opportunities to work with in the outdoor industry in the future) OR!! yes, jenny wants to go to OR in SLC!

  . Life is constantly influx and I see that there are peaks and valleys for us all.  Life is variant degrees of suffering.  I am SO extremely thankful for my experiences the past 3 years in ultrarunning. Being an ultrarunner has prepared me amply for the many challenges and adversity we face in life.  The formula is so simple- BE FLEXIBLE, WORK THROUGH YOUR TOUGH PATCHES, AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD. I get so much satisfaction to be able to reflect back and see how much I've grown and evolved as a person and a runner. I've worked hard, learned so many important lessons ( most of the time by suffering immensely during runs and races) but just growing tougher, leaner, ( not meaner really, but okay meaner) from those experiences-- gosh I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world.. they've given me this lovely patina of WHO jenny is.

  I'm  extremely thankful to be apart of several really wonderful communities in the running world. I love my road running, trail running and ultra running communities.  I know I say that all the time, but You guys are THE BEST. You all inspire me daily to stay focused on my dreams and to follow my heart, and most of all to run strong. love yall.