I’m linking up today with the Wednesday Word linkup, hosted by Debbie! Click the link below to see who else is linking up and to join in. Today’s word is tenacious.

The word tenacity, and the nature of being tenacious, means being very determined. It means persisting in the face of adversity. Runners of all levels and experience, by nature, are very tenacious. We make goals and cling to them. Whether it’s to run for 10 minutes without stopping or qualify for the Boston Marathon, each goal takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

Running teaches us to keep putting one foot in front of the other. It takes grit, toughness, tenacity, and probably a little bit of crazy and stubbornness too. At some point, you’re going to feel like you can’t go any further. Your head will say “you can’t” but your heart will say “you have to.” Tenacity especially shows up in ultramarathons. It takes an awful lot of determination and will to cover distances greater than 26.2 miles on foot.

Lately, I have been reading a book by ultramarathon legend Pam Reed called ‘The Extra Mile.’ The whole book is great, but I especially like this short quote:

“… desire and commitment are so important in ultra events. There is a certain amount of technique involved in running, but as the distances get longer, the race depends more on the heart than on the legs.”

I think when we approach something with a tenacious spirit, we will often surprise ourselves at what we can accomplish.

How does tenacity play a role in your life?

I’m linking up today with HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’ for their weekly wrap linkup! Today I’m sharing my recap from the Virginia 10 Miler on September 26. Also, in case you missed it my little sister wrote a guest recap about running her first half marathon, the Hokie Half Marathon. You can check that out HERE.

The Saturday before last I ran the Virginia 10 Miler in Lynchburg for the third year in a row. I wasn’t sure what to expect, with having run a half marathon 6 days prior and the rainy weather forecast, but it ended up being a pretty good day! Plus this year’s race shirts were purple 🙂

Lynchburg is roughly two hours away, so I was up entirely too early on race morning to get there for the 8 AM start. I also needed to pick up my packet (I love race day packet pickup!) so I planned to arrive by 6:30 AM and was out the door at 4:30. This time it was a solo trip, since Barry decided to skip this year’s race. There was an ominous rainy, and windy weather forecast, and it rained the entire way to Lynchburg.

I ended up arriving a little later than planned, but I was able to get a parking spot in a nearby shopping center. From there, it was just a short 5 minute walk in the misty rain to packet pickup and the start/finish line area. Packet pickup was a breeze and by 7:15 AM I was back at my car getting ready for the race. The volunteers at this race are top notch!

About 30 minutes before the start, I walked back over to the start/finish area and met up with my friend Jessie. I hadn’t seen her in a little over a year! She’s faster than me, but said she wanted to run the race together since she hadn’t been running too much this year. Works for me, and I was excited to catch up with her! We mingled around, waiting for the race to start, as a light, steady rain came down.

A little before 8, they had a color guard presentation, the singing of the National Anthem, and the introduction of the elite runners. This race also serves as an RRCA Championship Event, so it draws some of the swiftest human beings on the planet. The top three men this year finished in under 50 minutes! Right at 8 AM, they fired the starting gun and the elites were off, followed by the masses.

The first mile and a half of this race is downhill, and the best thing to do is relax and let gravity carry you. It was raining steadily and the temperature was hovering around 59 degrees. This stretch of the race was also pretty windy, but I didn’t feel too cold. I had decided to go with capris and a short sleeve technical shirt, and that ended up being a good decision.

Thanks to the downhill, my first mile clocked in around 9:23 which is a bit quick for me in a 10 mile race. I felt fine, though, and Jessie and I had been chatting away since the start. Just after 1.5 miles, we encountered the first big climb. Right away I could feel some fatigue in my muscles, but we kept a steady pace up the hill. This race as a whole is very hilly – they don’t call Lynchburg ‘The Hill City’ for nothing. The course is a ‘lollipop’ style, an out and back with a loop in the middle. This means that you have to run up that lovely 1.5 mile downhill from miles 8.5 to 10 to get back to the finish!

As you can see above, from that first hill at mile 1.5, you’re pretty much either going up or going down the rest of the race. It’s tough, but I actually prefer a course like this to one that’s completely flat. I don’t always remember that while I’m running the race, though!

Despite feeling fatigued, I kept running alongside Jessie as we clicked off mile two. I just focused on each hill as we were on it, and the good company and conversation. I set a goal to make it to the park, the loop part of the lollipop course, where we would hit mile 5. Along the way, we saw the lead pack of elite men on their way back. I think we were between miles 3 and 4 as they went screaming by on their way to mile 7 at sub-5 pace.

Before I knew it, we had made it to the park and were nearly to mile 5. There, we encountered a nasty, short but steep hill and I gave in to a walk break. I used the break to have a salted caramel GU and drink some water. My stomach wasn’t feeling great, but I hoped the energy gel might help with my fatigued legs. I think that it did, a little!

After our loop through the park, we were headed back the way we came and running towards mile 6. Whether she knew it or not, Jessie was helping push me. I was definitely running faster on the downhill and flat-ish sections than I would have on my own. There were plenty of hills to run on the way back, but we also got the pleasure of running down all of the hills we had run up on our way out. Oh yea, and it was still raining.

Jessie and I kept plugging along, with a few other short walk breaks thrown in, and before I knew it we were past mile 8 and back at the 1.5 mile climb to the finish. This section is known at the ‘farm basket’ hill. You can kind of break it up into three pieces: the first is a steep section up to mile 9, then two gradual long hills with a slight break in between during the final mile. We made it part way up that first steep section and both needed a walk because our legs were on fire.

It wasn’t until this point that I realized I may have a shot at running a best time for this course. After voicing this to Jessie, we decided to give it a go. We started running again right around mile 9, and I knew it was going to be close. I tried my hardest, but had to take another very short walk break around mile 9.5. I guess I really wanted to make it a suspenseful finish! We started running again at mile 9.55 and I got tunnel vision, as we could see the finish line ahead. We continued to pick it up, and I was excited when we crossed the finish line in 1:46:20, a course PR of one minute and nine seconds! Like last year, I surprised myself again on this tough course.

After crossing the finish line, we got our medals and wandered over to the food tent. We both grabbed some Gatorade, but we were more cold and wet than hungry. I got a change of clothes from my car and went with Jessie to get changed. Her husband’s office is close to the start/finish area, and we were able to get changed in there. Much better than changing in a McD’s bathroom, which is what I had been anticipating! Putting on dry, warm clothes after being soaked to the bone felt amazing. Jessie thought to bring a comb, so I was even able to comb the snarls out of my hair!

We hung out in the office for a bit, just enjoying being out of the rain and chatting some more. My right Achilles tendon had gotten quite painful after we crossed the finish line. While sitting in the office, it hurt more and I noticed it was swollen on the inside part of my ankle, and very tight. I’m not sure what was going on with it, but it remained sore and swollen for the next few days. I took it easy last week and was able to return to some easy running this past weekend without any issues.

After awhile, we decided to leave the office and head back out into the rain and over to the finish line to see if there was any food left. The walk did not feel great on my Achilles. I think it was around 10:30 AM and they were packing everything up since no one really hung out due to the rain. Lucky for us, there was a bit of food remaining and I got a still-warm slice of pepperoni pizza and a quarter of a bagel. My stomach was still feeling off, but I knew I should probably eat. We also got a chance to pose in front of the photo op area!

From there I said goodbye to Jessie and headed back to my car to make the 2 hour drive home. All in all, it was a very fun day with a surprise course PR. That makes me excited to run it again next year!

What’s your favorite type of race course? I like out and backs/lollipops because you get to see the race leaders and friends along the way
What’s the furthest you’ll drive on race morning for a race? I think 2 hours is about my max
Hilly or flat?

I’ve got a treat for y’all today! My little sister agreed to write a guest post, recapping her first half marathon – the Hokie Half Marathon. I really enjoyed reading it, and I hope you do as well! With that, I’ll turn the reins over to her….

Hello Turkey Runner’s blog readers! This is Rachael, Meagan’s little siser. I am in my early 20’s and starting to realize that I am going to have to take on more adult responsibilities soon (so scary!). Although I used to run for travel soccer when I was younger, I’ve never run like I have in the past four months. I never really have enjoyed getting all sweaty so I chose to focus on competitive swimming for the majority of my younger years. This past spring, I decided it was time to start working out again. I began with the Couch to 5K program on my treadmill, using walk-run intervals. By week 9, I could consistently run for 30 minutes, roughly the equivalent of a 5K. I told Meagan I was interested in training for my first half marathon, the Hokie Half. Up to this point, I had been running in my everyday tennis shoes and decided it was time to invest in some serious running shoes. So I went to my local running store and after trying on about 20 shoes, I decided on a pair of Saucony’s.

Part One: Training

So began the 10-week training schedule Meagan created for me. Training went well, running in the neighborhood for the majority of my weekday runs and then driving out to local trails for my long weekend runs. Oh yea, and then there’s that week and a half I got to do training runs with Meagan at the beach!

As I added more mileage, my SI joints in my hips began to act up. Multiple physical therapy and doctor’s appointments later, I was told that my SI joints were sitting uneven which was worsening my scoliosis. I decided to push through the pain and still run my first race.

Finally, the final week of training arrived and the race was right around the corner. My dad, my boyfriend, and I piled into the car the Friday before the race, after I did my final 2-3 mile training run, and made the 4 hour trek to Meagan’s. We arrived and had a couple days to spend quality time.

Saturday we went to the race expo to collect our packets, bibs, etc. (My first race expo as a participant!) The Hokie Bird was there so Meagan and I got in line to get our picture taken with him.

Saturday evening consisted of nerves, excitement, football, and more nerves. We had a delicious carbo-load dinner consisting of pasta, meatballs, and garlic knots. I headed to bed around 9 PM and even though my alarm was set for 4 AM I still woke up, wide awake, at 3:30 AM in anticipation. I lay in bed, with 250 lbs. of dog, until I heard Meagan’s alarm start going off at 4 AM. I joined her out in the kitchen for breakfast and coffee. Before I knew it, it was 5:30 AM and we were headed out the door.

Part Two: The Race

Now the nerves and excitement really set in. We got to Blacksburg with plenty of time to find awesome parking, settle in, use the porta potties, and stretch.

At 7:30 AM we lined up at the starting line. The first wave took off and we moved up. My heart was racing. The second wave got set and then the gun went off. We ran across the start line and almost immediately saw my boyfriend and my dad seeing us off and taking pictures.

The first three miles were on the main road and I started to realize what I had gotten myself into. I felt a bit stiff, but started to loosen up just after mile 3. We were entertained by what I thought was the best band as we made our way past the mall. Just past mile 4 I took my first fuel/brisk walk break. I was feeling pretty good but still just had that constant pain from my SI joint issue. I started to settle back in and just focused on not stopping.

The hills through the next 4-5 miles were challenging but met their match (at least the uphill parts; the downhills are what kicked my butt). Meagan suggested I try running backwards down the hills but I had never tried that before and didn’t want to fall. I started to get grumpy at the pain increased but was still enjoying myself.

We were almost to mile 9 when we saw my boyfriend and my dad again; cheering us on and taking pictures as we ran by. My dad asked how I felt and I barely got out, “I Hurt,” before we were on the other side of the road and heading into the neighborhoods.

Miles 9-11 were the toughest, truly testing my will to keep going. Meagan had tried all different techniques to keep motivating me throughout the race and I really did enjoy that (I feel bad because I never told her how much I appreciated that. Guess she knows now 🙂 ). But then she decided to tell certain course officials that it was my first half marathon, to which they replied by screaming/cheering even louder for me and told me how great I was doing. It definitely brought a smile to my face. We finally made it through the neighborhoods and headed back towards the final mile and a half. At this point, Barry had come back to collect us. This was very entertaining for me, because he had his finisher t-shirt on. Other “smart” individuals kept yelling at him with remarks regarding why he already had a finisher’s shirt on or why he was still running, etc. He stayed with us all the way through to the last 0.2, when we headed towards the finish and he headed back to the food tent 🙂

I dug deep and pushed through the finish line where Meagan and I were greeted immediately with water, a finisher’s t-shirt, and a finisher medal. My boyfriend was right behind the finish line and captured this picture of us crossing.

I was so happy that I finished my first half marathon and in under 3 hours! Meagan and I posed for more pictures and then headed over to the food tent. I was not very hungry at this point and all I wanted to do was sit down and get my hips back into place. I grabbed a banana and headed for the nearest grassy spot in the shade.

We relaxed for a little while and then it was time for one of the best things to do when in Blacksburg… Carol Lee Donuts! I had made two requests the night before the race that needed to be fulfilled before my dad, my boyfriend, and I hit the road; Carol Lee Donuts and a shower! 🙂

Needless to say, both requests were fulfilled and we got on the road for the four hour drive home. I was definitely stiff after that car ride home. But feeling the satisfaction of finishing my first half marathon, and being able to do it with my sister, made up for all.

I hope everyone enjoyed reading my first, but hopefully not last, guest blog! This is Meagan’s little sister signing off. Over and out!

What was your first race like?
Why did you start running?

Since today is Wednesday it’s time for another Wednesday Word linkup, hosted by Debbie. Click on the button below to see who else is linking up and to join in.

This week’s word is passionate. Here are a few things I’m passionate about…

1. My husband, Barry. We have been married a little over five years now, and time sure does fly. I can’t wait for what the future holds!
   
2. My family and friends. Family is, and has always been, very important to me. I love family traditions and getting together for holidays. I don’t have a huge number of friends, I’m more of a ‘choose your friends wisely’ type. The friendships I do keep often feel more like family. Having people who are important in your life is more valuable than a big house, fancy car, or any other riches.

   

3. My dogs. Anyone who has read my blog for a hot minute knows I love my dogs very much. I know they’re not for everyone, but for me life is better with dogs. There’s nothing like a wagging tail greeting you at the door like you just made their day…. and that greeting being just as enthusiastic whether you’ve been done 3 days or 3 minutes.

   

4. My Hokies!!! Another thing you probably already know about me. I went to school at Virginia Tech and I love rooting on my Hokies with gusto, especially in football.
   
5. The mountains. I have lived in Virginia all my life, but not always in the mountains. I fell in love with them when I started going to school at Tech, and if I’m lucky I’ll always get to live in/near them.
   
6. Running! I started running in 2007, during my freshman year of college, through Team in Training and subsequently ran my first race – the Country Music Half Marathon. I was pretty much hooked after that and, aside from a hiatus in 2010, I have been running consistently since then.

What are you passionate about?

I’m linking up today with HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’ for their Weekly Wrap linkup.

This past week was a lighter week for me on the workout side of things. I had run the Hokie Half on Sunday, and I had the Virginia 10 Miler coming up six days later, on Saturday. So I kept things pretty easy during the week.

Monday – Rest. It was the day after the half marathon. My back and legs were a bit sore, but not awful.

Tuesday – Cross training. Just some light core work, a circuit of sit ups, push ups, and a plank x 3.

Wednesday – Rest. I had planned to do a short, easy run but worked late and was really tired when I got home. 

Thursday – Easy 3 miles in the evening after work. It was a really nice evening outside, and I enjoyed the weather. The weatherman was calling for rain all weekend, and actually said after sunset on Thursday we wouldn’t see the sun again until Tuesday morning. So I made sure to enjoy it.

Friday – Rest.

Saturday – Virginia 10 Miler. It was cold and rainy, but I had a good race! I even got to run the whole thing with my friend, Jessie. Full recap coming soon.

Sunday – Cross training. Just some light core work – sit up, pushups, planks, etc. again. I had thought about doing another short, easy run or some light yoga. But my right Achilles tendon was sore and a bit swollen after the race, so I took it easy.

How was your week last week?
Who else had a rainy weekend?
Anyone else race this past weekend?