Lindsey Anderson joined our Haute Volée team last summer. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband Mark and daughter, Peyton. I vividly remember sitting in the stands of Hayward Field watching Lindsey compete in the steeple chase at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Her second place finish in a time of 9:30:75 qualified her for the Olympics in Beijing. She competed with her teammates Jennifer Barringer and Anna Willard in the 2008 Olympics.
Lindsey has a wealth of running knowledge and experiences that she hopes to be able to share with our run community. Last spring Lindsey took to the track for a strong showing at several meets. At the Oxy High Performance race Lindsey placed 2nd in the 3k steeple chase in a time of 9:48:32. Watch her post race interview here. This summer and fall Lindsey decided to try some longer distance races. One of which was the XTerra National Trail Championships in September. Below she shares some of her Olympic thoughts!
I don’t know about everyone else but I have loved watching the Olympics! Summer, Winter, doesn’t matter, I love it all. So inspiring! First, a little background on me. In college at Weber State, it wasn’t until my senior year that I broke out of “good collegiate runner” status into “elite national runner” status. Even now I just feel like a normal person trying to run fast. When these Winter Olympics began I find myself thinking about how it is strange that I’ve been there, competing on an Olympic stage! The Olympics bring a sense of overwhelming emotions for me.
My experience at the 2008 Olympic Trials was amazing. It was the best race of my life and I felt like I was experiencing an out of body runner high through the entire 3000m steeplechase race. I finished 2nd to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and ran a PR, beating my previous time by 9 seconds. Such an amazing experience, to accomplish that goal I’d been fighting for for over 2 years when I first ran the Olympic A standard. That was 6 years ago and a lot has happened since then. I feel like I’ve grown up a lot and know more about myself and trust myself more than I ever have.
With that being said, I also know that it is so easy to doubt yourself. Especially when putting yourself out there to possibly accomplish something great. There are so many factors that go in to any given event, any given year. Most people see Olympians as untouchable and in a sense they are, but they are also ordinary people. They’ve found a way to overcome that doubt at least long enough to do something great and accomplish their goals. My goals for the upcoming year aren’t at the same level as they were in 2008, although I hope to return to that level at some point. As I watch these Olympic athletes compete, it makes me grateful that I’ve had that experience but I also feel good with the goals I have for myself right now.
The most exciting thing about the Olympics is to see what these people are capable of. There are so many things that I’d love to try but know I would NOT be good at. Watching the Olympics solidifies that, especially the Winter Olympics, but I still love it! Especially when I can watch it curled up on my couch in a nice warm blanket. I hope everyone has gained some inspiration from these incredibly hard-working people and enjoy it for what it is . . . ordinary people doing extraordinary things!
I do plan to use Sochi as a way to motivate myself and to focus in on my current goals. It also inspires me to be a better mom to my daughter. I know she will do some amazing things in her life. She is just an incredible little two-year-old! As awesome as being an Olympian is, overall I hope I can be a good enough mom that my being an Olympian is just something cool I did, not a defining part of who she thinks I am.
Lindsey
