Welcome to the Jungle

Posted on by lindsay
I got a call up at the airport! Apparently this is what happens when you nearly miss your flight because you had to stop for a soft pretzel. I sprinted onto the plane and was greeted by a sea of silent, staring faces who all watched me wrestle my luggage into the overhead compartment. SO AWKWARD. The man seated next to me seemed less than excited to be my neighbor, but the feeling was mutual as I quickly realized he was not a believer in the powers of deodorant. Then the woman in front of me handed her small daughter a large plastic bag and instructed, "Throw up into this if you need to, honey." She'd better have brought two, because if her kid had erupted, that soft pretzel was going to reappear. After 2.5 hours of watching that woman's children behave like spoiled, rabid monkeys and fantasizing about pushing them ...continue reading.

The Dark Side of the Moon

Posted on by lindsay
The Race: Liberty Classic The Course: 60 miles The Field: Pro 1/2 women The Finish: 31st I told a lie the other day. When talking to a coworker about my upcoming race at the Wilmington Grand Prix, I said I would be happy just to finish in the top 10. This was untrue; I knew I'd only be happy finishing in the top five, but was afraid to admit that and then have to report back on Monday and look like I'd failed. This bothers me, especially because I've done it before. I try to calibrate the expectations of people around me so it looks like I'm accomplishing something. That's disingenuous and cowardly and I don't want to do it again. If I'm willing to admit to some pretty unflattering things - crying before races, dealing with anxiety over eating, watching shows where the target demographic has yet to hit puberty - then I ...continue reading.

Thank you for shopping at TrailMart

Posted on by lindsay
While my training plan today called for a light workout while pre-riding the Liberty Classic course, my day unfolded in such a way that had me getting on the bike much later than planned and while still in Virginia. That is what happens when spend the morning cleaning the house, lounging at a coffee shop, and delivering your beloved pets to a stranger's house. The ride ended up being awful - the weather was perfect, all of my newly-installed parts hummed flawlessly, and my legs felt great. I like my pre-race rides to be miserable sufferfests so that the race itself can only be an improvement. Anyway, while I was out riding on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (the W&OD, to the locals), I came up with a great idea. One day, when I am not preoccupied with suffering through intervals and rocking out to whatever auditory brilliance Flo ...continue reading.

Last weekend, brought to you in part by not racing

Posted on by lindsay
The weekend started in a haze, with a recovery ride on Friday evening that came on the heels of an all-nighter at work. Riding on no sleep after 27 hours at the office and a hard set of intervals from the previous day (does it even count as a separate day if you haven't gone to bed yet?) was like being high (not that I've had the experience of knowing what that's like, of course, innocent flower that I am). Music sounded incredible, cars speeding by were surprising and terrifying even though I was riding on the road where cars are sort of the norm, and at one point I was pretty sure large animals were peering out at me from the bushes. Then I stayed up late to watch Dance Academy, because I need Australian teenagers more than sleep. Saturday was a blur of still being very tired. I ...continue reading.

City Limits

Posted on by lindsay
This week has been exhausting. A huge project at work is due tomorrow and I've been working until late in the night each day. Training doesn't take a break for work, though, so every morning I get up, eat, ride, shower, go to work, and stay there until it's time to go home to sleep. I'm tired. My interval workouts have gone well over the last few days, but I'm running out of steam fast. When I get really tired and overwhelmed, I cry easily; earlier today, a sad picture of a pit bull sitting next to its dead companion had me in tears. Also, this happened while I was in a coworker's office. He had to hand me a roll of paper towels to mop off my face. I often believe in training and racing that it's just a matter of wanting it enough. If you want to ride faster, ...continue reading.