Kristin Armstrong
Kristin Armstrong
Kristin Armstrongis a professional road bicycle racer and two-time Olympic gold medalist, the winner of the women's individual time trial in 2008 and 2012. Before temporarily retiring to start a family in 2009, she rode for Cervélo TestTeam in women's elite professional events on the National Racing Calendarand UCI Women's World Cup. She announced a return to competitive cycling beginning in the 2011 season, competing for Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 at the Redlands Classic...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCyclist
Date of Birth11 August 1973
CountryUnited States of America
I avoid the carwash when I think it might rain anytime in the near future, which means I drive around the majority of the time in a pollen and bird poop covered car. This presents a stand off between Neat Freakshow and Practical Pennypincher, and Neat Freak usually triumphs. And then it rains.
It truly is a little intimidating to go speak at a middle school. Sure, on one hand the kids are only around 13 years old, but on the other hand, merely going back there reactivates the dorky, miserable feeling of being that age again. It isn't easy. As soon as I arrived I could almost feel the braces on my teeth, the don't-look-at-me slouch of my shoulders, the feathered wings of my bangs.
Sweat has the power to end a pity party in such a way that even the hostess is happy.
Running is a grownup's lost link to playing outside.
I love the thought of not knowing how things will turn out but the willingness to invest anyway.
Take care of yourself. Eat well, rest, train hard and smart, make time to think and breathe. Be intentional with your time.
What I've learned over the last 6 or 7 years, I would love to teach people. I still have a lot to share with people and especially within the US.
That's what our training is for, we practice not panicking, we practice breathing, we practice looking directly at the thing that scares us until we stop flinching, we practice overriding our Can't.
We can thank God for everything good, and all the rest we don't comprehend yet.
Parents walk a fine line between discipline and grace - values have to hold even when circumstances change or call for compromise or compassion. It's the ultimate challenge to be both firm and fluid, soft and strong, yielding yet rock solid.
I feel like I've done everything I can, and what I wanted to do.
I think, as most of us do, I put such high expectations on myself that this spills over onto other people. And not everyone is wired this way. Some people can shrug expectations off their shoulders like a cardigan, remaining cool and breezy. Others wear them like a parka with a stuck zipper, hot and stifling.
Running fills a need so we make fewer demands on others. Running reveals the roots of negative thinking, so the weeds can be pulled. Running reconnects the soul to the source, inspiring hope and creativity.
Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. We can make our new normal any way we want.