Guest Post: Welcome Jenny from Runners Fly!!!

Like so many of my blogging friendships, the details of “discovering” Jenny are blurry at best. I may have first stumbled upon her site during NaBloPoMo? Or maybe I saw her name show up repeatedly in another comment section? Regardless of the how, why, or when, I am so grateful we discovered each other.

On the surface, it might appear that we don’t have much in common. Jenny lives in sunny Florida (forever trying to outrun the heat), and I’m in Nova Scotia (forever complaining about the cold). Jenny is a serious runner – like “ultramarathoner serious” – and I start to get cranky after about 3 km. But she is wise and compassionate and funny so, naturally, I was drawn to her; also, she loves Earl Grey tea, Harry Potter, libraries, waffles, and naps (so suddenly we have lots in common!).

In a word, I find Jenny genuine. It’s a delight to read along as she shares all the ups and downs of life, complete with plenty of sage advice.

Thanks for guesting posting, today, Jenny! (Next on the docket: a Nova Scotia meetup?!)

Q. If you could eat only one meal on repeat for a week, what would you choose?
A. This is a tough one – I think I would quickly come to regret any meal I chose. But breakfast is my favorite meal, so I’m going to say waffles, with Earl Grey tea. I think I could get through a week eating that meal! [Oh waffles, how I love thee…]

Q. Do you have a favourite marathon (or other formal race!) experience? Why does it stand out?
A. My favorite race experience is, without question, the 50K trail race I ran last April. I’ve wanted to run an ultramarathon for a very long time. In my late 20s and early 30s I traveled a lot which made it hard to plan for a race – then I got married and had my kids – then I had a string of injuries – but I never gave up on that dream. I finally realized there would never be a perfect time to do it, so I signed up for the 50K. It was an amazing experience that I still think about every day (race recap is here). It just goes to show, you’re never too old and it’s never too late!

Q. List five things that would happen as part of your idealized “perfect day”.
A. I would start with a long trail run, and I’ll have to control the weather here – let’s make it 58 degrees and sunny. Then I would move on to breakfast, which would be – obviously – waffles and tea. The third thing would be reading on the couch, followed by a couch nap with my cat (now it would be raining outside). And lastly, a delicious dinner with my family, including my son, which would be cooked by SOMEONE ELSE. That would be my perfect day!

Q. Share a weird/random/true fact – any odd skills or unusual experiences?
A. Recently, while I was writing my posts about The Pledge of Allegiance and patriotism, I revisited an odd skill I have, which is that I can quickly recite (or sing, if you’d rather) all fifty United States in alphabetical order.
I was ten years old in 1976, which was our bicentennial, and it was a big deal! We had bicentennial quarters and learned patriotic songs in music class. One of the songs was “Fifty Nifty United States” where the lyrics listed each state, and it’s stuck with me to this day.
Strangely, this skill rarely has any use! Not only can I list them, but I could quickly tell you how many states begin with an “N” or “W.” As I said- this hardly ever comes up, unfortunately.

Q. What is your most treasured possession?
A. I really had to think about this one. I like my possessions, but it would be hard to say I “treasure” any of them. My Crazy Pumpkin Lady mug? No, that can’t be it. My running shoes? Well, no, because I replace them frequently. The answer I finally came up with is…my library card!
Ha, that makes me sound very nerdy, doesn’t it? Well, I LOVE reading, and every time I leave the library with a stack of books I’m astonished that I’m getting them for free. I definitely couldn’t afford to buy all the books I read. Of course, I have to return them, but what would I do with all these books when I’m done reading them, anyway? It’s the perfect system. [Best. answer. ever!]

Q. If you could only wear one colour for the rest of your life, which colour would you choose?
A. The color I seem to gravitate to most these days is gray, but that’s much too boring for the one color for the rest of my life. So I’m going to choose – and this would be to the astonishment and possible chagrin of my friends and family – teal! My daughter says turquoise is the universal color that looks good on everyone, but I’ve always liked its cousin, teal, better.

Q. What international destination – that you’ve never visited – do you most want to see?

A. Nova Scotia, of course!!! [Ding, ding, ding, ding. This is the correct answer! And no I didn’t coerce Jenny into saying this…]

Thanks so much for guest posting today, Jenny <3

Your turn. Any questions for Jenny? Have you ever run an ultramarathon? What’s your most treasured possession? Do you have a cat? If so…do you nap with your cat (feel free to insert other pet)? Do you love waffles (please note the only acceptable answer is YES!)?