Weeks 8 & 9: Lots of work, big decisions, & MORE snow???

The last two weeks were pretty busy and I felt like my weekly updates were getting a bit repetitive, so here is a modified summary of what I’ve been up to for the first half of the month. Yikes– it’s scary when I put it that way! Time has been flying and I’ve felt a bit swamped as a result. Thesis progress has definitely taken priority over most things, but riding is always a great physical and mental break so I try to squeeze in exercise when I can.

I got two rides (20 miles and 30 miles) in at the beginning of last week. The weather was pretty nice both days, although the trail at home always finds a way to feel windy. I felt much better on the 30-miler, although I ended up having to do some unplanned sprints in the last few miles. The shoulder was closed in two spots so I was trying to get in and out of the traffic lanes as quickly as possible!

After my ride I went to a pancake dinner with my dad and his girlfriend, Beth, at the local firehouse. After the time it took for me to get ready and for us to walk there I was STARVING and it was one of the best post-ride meals imaginable. I actually gasped when I saw they had chocolate milk.

The rest of the week I was a little lazy and the weekend was pretty much consumed by a quick road trip to Albany, NY, with my mom so I could check out what will be… drum roll please… my next adventure post-4K! The visit solidified my decision to accept an admissions offer from the Information Science PhD program at SUNY Albany, where I’ll be working with a professor I’ve admired for years in her Emergency and Risk Communication Message Testing Lab. It’s a little bittersweet to be leaving Lexington when all of my time here has been so heavily impacted by the pandemic but I am very excited for this new opportunity. One downside: it was COLD!!! I thought winter training in Kentucky and Maryland was bad, but I won’t get my hopes up about outdoor riding next winter!

Driving back home to Maryland on Saturday night meant I experienced about a 40º temperature change in 12 hours, which was fine by me! I prefer riding in the morning much more than the afternoon or evening when it’s not freezing outside, so I was eager to get out Sunday morning. My dad and Beth were kind enough to join me on a great ride down to St. Mary’s College and back. I always love riding by the water, even when it’s windy.

I drove back to Kentucky this past Tuesday with newfound motivation to wrap this semester up. I still have a lot of work to do, but we’re getting there! I took Wednesday off to get back in the swing of things, but did manage to squeeze in a short ride on Thursday. My legs were still super sore from leg day on Monday but I got a new saddle and wanted to try it out. It wasn’t positioned quite right so I made some adjustments before doing a longer ride on Friday and it felt pretty good. The ride itself was a bit much for my legs because I was in a rush to get back in time for a meeting, but I did manage to set a PR for the trail on the way home (for those of you who don’t use Strava, the app tracks your time on various segments of your routes so you can compare your performance over time). Plus, I definitely need to get used to the feeling of riding on tired legs…

Mileage: 50.24 miles/2 rides last week, 67.3 miles/3 rides this week

I’ll wrap this up with a fundraising update: I’m sitting just under $6,000, and I’ve set up a March Madness bracket pool to help me get to my $6,500 goal! I’m asking for a minimum $5 donation per bracket entry. Here are the prizes:

• 1st place: cash prize (25% of bracket pool)
• 2nd place: free 4K t-shirt (design TBA) OR travel across the country with me Flat Stanley style! 
• Random entry: $20 gift card to place of your choice

You can Venmo me (@lrncn) or donate directly on my fundraising page here to enter, and then submit your bracket entry here. I think bracket pools are super fun even if you aren’t a big basketball fan– I usually pick my winners using stats from the NCAA based on mascot or team color and have had surprisingly good luck! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Until next time,

Lauren