TOMORRRRROWWWW

Omg. Tomorrow I head up to Providence for the start of one of the best summers (slash experiences) of my life. I am so excited!!!

I'm staying in Providence for the weekend with my lovely childhood friend Abby Brewster. I'm hoping to meet some other Bike and Build riders on Sunday, but if not, Monday is The Big Day, so I'll definitely meet everyone then.

Yes I am excited, but I'm nervous, too. The following are worries/concerns I have about the next 9 weeks:

1) I will get out of running shape. I mean, obviously. But seriously -- I would love to do a marathon in the fall (Portland, OR/Chicago/Columbus?...any takers?) so I should probably try and run 3-4 days a week. How this is going to happen I have no idea. But I am slightly obsessed with running and I will make sure it does. Even though every time I get off my bike and go for a run it is a huge struggle...I'm talking heavy legs, feels-like-I'm-running-through-molasses struggle. Yeah...I'll keep you updated. Sidenote: I am also worried about losing arm strength, and glad that I don't have to be in shape for lacrosse anymore.

2) I will gain weight. This is bound to happen. In fact I do not know any (female) riders who have done Bike and Build and not arrived at the Pacific Ocean without an additional 10-15 pounds. YIKES. I am especially nervous about not fitting into clothes for all the interviews I have lined up in the fall (HA! Interviews...that's funny). Seriously though...if you notice that I look a bit pudgy in pictures, feel free to let me know. Like...you may not recognize me. Now that I'm no longer a recent college graduate I have noticed my metabolism slowing down. And since ice cream is my favorite food, and I am bringing a book that lists all the best ice cream places in the country, and I plan on consuming heaps of ice cream each day, even though I am lactose intolerant...well, I just may have to be rolled across the Golden Gate Bridge. Think Violet from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Like I said earlier, you may not recognize me.

3) Sick tan lines. The word sick can be interpreted a few different ways here. The first is sick as in GROSS. Example: it will look like I am wearing a jersey even when I am completely topless. White shoulders and upper arms like a truck driver or farmer, gleaming white. It should look lovely when I wear a strapless dress to a wedding in September. Of course the other interpretation of the word sick is FANTASTIC. Who doesn't want it to seem like they're wearing socks (or spandex, or a Bike and Build jersey, or gloves, or sunglasses for that matter) when they are...not? What can I say, I'm vain.

4) Laundry. I've done it before. Ok, not the whole living-out-of-a-bag thing for nine weeks, but the wear-the-same-outfit-practically-every-day thing. My junior year I spent my fall semester abroad (Turks and Caicos, hootie), where we had to use a few sprays of Febreez to clean our clothing. Fresh water wasn't exactly readily available on the island of South Caicos. At least not for something as unimportant as washing laundry. But yeah, I am OCD (and I mean super anal) about how I do my laundry -- what gets dried (or more like what doesn't get dried), what gets washed cold water only, what gets spun on the delicate cycle, etc. etc. What the heck am I supposed to do when it gets -- God forbid -- tossed in a laundromat machine, one of those front-end types that dirty laundry belonging to other people -- people I don't even know -- touches?!?! Talk about sick. I will have to...what's the word my mother always uses?...Cope? Yes, I'll have to cope. But if my one cotton shirt I'm bringing shrinks, I'll be pissed. And you know my span can't shrink anymore...especially with the 10 pounds of ice cream I'll be dragging around in, yes literally in, it.

There are more ridiculous things that I can't even post here because I'm sure you already think I am so over the top. But don't worry I will make sure to fill you in on the adventures I have running after a century ride (oh I would never do that), counting my calories (nope, I'd never do that either), trying to tan on my lunch break (this I might attempt), and insisting that I be in charge of laundry every time we go to wash it (I'm sure this will get really old really fast).

In the meantime, check out the article below, as well as the radio clip of Bike and Build founder, Marc Bush (Caitlin Wells, seeing/hearing his name makes me think of you every time).

Enjoy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/health/05brod.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1181070189-8OrNmGwqerdsoijx0t7CIA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ONxb9WcONk&NR=1

Now it's time for more packing and a few hours of sleep before I hop on 95 and head up to Providence.

Monday, June 11, 2pm in Providence, RI: BRING IT ON.