Episode 32: Lindsay Holt - For My Younger Self

Episodes

Nov 10

At 19, Lindsay Holt went from a bullied, self-doubting kid to a Peloton apparel model and New York City Marathon finisher, and she dedicated her last mile to her younger self.

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About this episode

Lindsay Holt is a 19-year-old sophomore at Fordham in Manhattan, studying psychology and pre-health, and the youngest guest I've had on the show. She grew up in Maryland as a dancer, struggled with her weight, confidence and bullying, and found her footing on the Peloton bike her mom bought in 2017. She has since logged more than 3,600 rides and 800 runs, and this summer she modeled for Peloton apparel.

We recorded a few days after Lindsay finished her first marathon, New York, which she decided to run the day after watching it in 2022. We talk about running for Team for Kids, training with just one long run a week, holding a pace much faster than planned, the stranger who told her "I've got you," and why the instructors' words helped her build real self-confidence.

In this episode, we discuss

The letter Lindsay wrote to her freshman self before high school graduation
Growing up a dancer in Maryland with a dad who owns a gym
Watching the 2022 New York City Marathon and signing up with Team for Kids the next day
How Team for Kids made race morning easy with its own ferry, tent and bathrooms
Training with one long run a week so she could keep lifting
Running the Queensboro Bridge on group training runs before race day
Her parents' three-foot cardboard cutout of her face at miles 11 and 23
Holding a 10:30 pace for 18 miles after training at 12-minute miles
A stranger's "Lindsay, I've got you" and a silent connection with another runner
Being one of only 67 women age 20 or younger to finish
Her first in-studio Peloton ride with Ally Love and 3,600-plus rides since
Meeting Jess King and Tunde Oyeneyin and why both moments made her cry
Getting chosen to model for Peloton apparel and accidentally receiving three of everything
Mile-dedication tattoos that arrived on race morning and her last mile for her younger self
Powerlifting goals, Boston someday, and plans for medical school

Chapters

00:00 · Intro
02:00 · A letter to her freshman self
06:00 · Meet Lindsay
11:00 · Deciding to run New York
13:00 · Race morning with Team for Kids
16:00 · Training with one long run a week
19:00 · Family on the course
21:00 · Running the New York City Marathon
28:00 · Crossing the finish line
32:00 · Getting into Peloton
36:00 · Meeting Peloton instructors
41:00 · Modeling for Peloton apparel
48:00 · What she's manifesting next
51:00 · Dedicating the last mile to her younger self
59:00 · Mantra, song and next finish line

Where to find Lindsay

Instagram: L Holt 20
Peloton: L Holt 20

Mentioned in this episode

Races: New York City Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Boston Marathon, Charlotte Marathon
Organizations and charities: Team for Kids, New York Road Runners, Fordham University, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, Tone House, USA Powerlifting
Other: Peloton, Ally Love, Jess King, Tunde Oyeneyin, Kendall Toole, Ben Alldis, Kirsten Ferguson, "Messiah" by I See MONSTAS (Dirty South Remix), Abbott World Marathon Majors

Previous guests mentioned

Trena Roudebush (Episode 31)

Related episodes

Frequently asked

Who is Lindsay Holt from the Peloton ads?

Lindsay Holt is a Fordham University student in New York City who started riding Peloton at 14, has logged thousands of rides, and was chosen to model for Peloton apparel in 2023.

How did Lindsay Holt get into the New York City Marathon?

Lindsay Holt signed up to run the New York City Marathon with Team for Kids the day after watching the 2022 race, raised $2,620, and finished her first marathon at 19 in 2023.

Who did Lindsay Holt dedicate her last marathon mile to?

Lindsay Holt dedicated the final mile of her first New York City Marathon to her younger self, the girl who grew up overweight and bullied and never believed she could run that far.

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Transcript

This transcript was generated automatically, so it may contain errors.

Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones with Ally Brettnacher incredible stories and tales of triumphs with everyday people achieving their goals in fitness. This podcast brought to you by Athlete Bouquets. Celebrate finish lines and milestones of the people that you love by visiting athlete bouquets.com.

Hello and welcome to episode 32. This is Ally Brettnacher. Huge congratulations to everybody who ran the New York City Marathon this past weekend on November 5th. It looked like the perfect day for that race, and I was having a lot of fomo and I still am scrolling through all of the amazing pictures.

Also, congratulations to last week's guest, Trina RDA Busch for completing her 74th marathon in Charlotte the day before New York. The. So this week's guest is fresh off of the New York City Marathon, and it was her very first marathon and she is the youngest guest that I have had. Lindsay Holt is 19. She is currently in college in Manhattan and got into Peloton about a handful of years ago, thanks to her mom, Melissa, and decided last year that she was gonna run the New York City Marathon this year.

And spoiler alert, as I just said, she did, but I first saw Lindsay on Instagram when a friend of mine shared. That she was in some of Pelotons advertisements for Peloton apparel. And I thought that was really cool. And then as I say to Lindsay in this episode, I went down this rabbit hole of like, who is this girl?

You know, why did she get this opportunity and who is she? And yeah, it turns out her mom got her into Peloton when she was just 14. And she had been, you know, she'd grown up overweight and was struggling with self-confidence. And as she will tell you, Peloton changed her life. And I wanted to take a minute to read something that Lindsay wrote to her freshman self.

So right now she is a sophomore in college and she wrote this to her freshman in high school self. Right before graduation, I got back a letter from my freshman self. Okay. Freshman me was worried about the future. She lacked confidence. She was doubtful that things would get better. She thought all four years of high school would suck.

If I were to write a letter in response to that girl, this is what it would say. Dear freshman Lindsay, it really does go by fast, just like everyone told you it would in the blink of an eye. It's over four years have gone by. You've graduated. You finally did it. Just as you guessed. High school was a roller coaster with moments of joy and also moments of darkness, but it was also full of so many moments of growth and opportunity. I know you felt pressured to fit in. All you wanted in high school was to fit in. You never wanted to stand out. It took a while, but you finally realized that true happiness wasn't found there. You stopped hiding your true self. You stopped trying to fit in, and you found true happiness by being yourself unapologetically.

You lost friends, but you also found so many new ones. Your true friends were ones that stuck with you and you held onto them tight. You were wrong. Sometimes you failed and you fell down. It's inevitable. It happens to all of us, but you always got back up. Also, some advice I would've given you that I learned throughout these four years.

Wear whatever the F you want. Don't let other people's opinions define you. Spend time alone. Appreciate your teachers. Tell your friends you love them. Often speak up. Say yes to things, but also learn to say no compliment. People. Take pictures, journal write so you can go back and relive special moments.

Don't wait. Do things before you're ready. Ask for help. Smile in the hallways. Be kind to everyone. Lastly, I want you to know that it all worked out. I know at the time you did not think high school would get better, but it did. It worked out like it always will. Every storm runs out of rain. Life is just beginning, and you'd be excited to know that in just three months you'll be packing up and moving to NYC like you've always dreamed of XOXO, senior Lindsay.

So I got to read that her mom actually shared that on the Peloton Facebook page, and her mom has shared so much about Lindsay on the Peloton Facebook page. Just her progress over the last handful of years as she has now done over 3000 rides, almost a thousand runs. It's just, it's mind blowing. But I am just so impressed by this young woman and wanted to get to know her and I was really glad that she said yes to coming on the podcast to some random person on the internet. And it was just, it was great. We talked a little bit about her background. We talked about the New York City Marathon, how she manifested running the marathon. She ran for team, for kids. So we talked about that experience, what that was like, what that entails kind of sounds like it's the way to go. Uh, she talked about her training.

The actual race. We get into all things Peloton, how she's had an opportunity to meet instructors, a lot of them. And she also recently was in Pelotons advertisements, as I mentioned. So we talked about that experience and what that was like, how it came to be. We discussed what else she is manifesting for her future and how she dedicated the last mile of the marathon to her younger self.

And we also thought, thought that Peloton should have a team at New York of some, some kind. We think that would be a good idea. So I absolutely loved something else too that her dad, Steven shared on Instagram. He said to the chump on the school bus that called Lindsay Fat a few years ago in your face. I loved that so much.

So Steven and Melissa, I'm sure you'll listen to this, but daughter is just lovely and amazing and I hope that everybody else listening to this really enjoys my conversation with Lindsay Holt. Okay. I have Lindsay Holt here fresh off the New York City Marathon. Yes. And you were just telling me it doesn't feel real.

I can understand that. No, it does not. It doesn't feel like it happened, but it did. But it did. It's crazy. It's so crazy. What a perfect day. Yes. Oh my gosh. Well, congratulations. What a perfect race. Thank you for your first, first ever marathon. Are you? Yeah, that was going to be a one and done marathoner.

What are thinking now? Definitely not literally right after I was like, okay, so how can I run New York next year? How can I do another one? Yeah. Awesome. Definitely not one. And done. You are hooked. Welcome, welcome to the club. Oh man. Glad to be here. Well, I wanna hear everything about New York. Before we dive into that though, I just wanted to have you give a quick introduction to yourself.

Yeah. And then I figured we'll start with New York 'cause I just, I know you're still fresh off the race and I just wanna hear everything about it and then. Yeah. I also think you have so much more to share. So yeah, I'm Lindsay. I'm 19 years old and I go to college at Fordham in New York City. I'm originally from Maryland and I'm a sophomore studying psychology and pre-health.

My fitness background, I danced most of my life, so from age three until I graduated high school, I was a dancer. And then I started getting into Peloton and other fitness around high school. And then I started getting into getting into lifting very seriously when I came to college. Okay. And now running dance, lifting, running.

Where is, um, you said Fordham, where is that located? Is that in the city? Is that in New York City? Well, there's two campuses. One is in a Bronx and one's in Manhattan, and I go to the Manhattan one. Okay. So right in the city. Wow. Yeah, I went to college in Ohio, so slightly different. Yeah. Like in this bubble, small town Ohio.

Just a bit. Yeah. Yeah. Just slightly different. Yeah. Going to college in it. Just a little different. Wow. It's an incredible experience. Like I feel so lucky that I'm going to school here. It's amazing. I bet. Are your parents still in Maryland? Yeah. Yeah. They're, oh, wow. Have you always wanted to be in New York?

Yes. That was something I always wanted, and when I applied to colleges, I applied to a few here and then a few in my home and that's it. But I was set on New York. Why New York? I've just always loved the energy, the chaos. It's just such a fun place to be. And I had been visiting like many times throughout the years, and I just always wanted to live here.

It is a magical place. I have had the opportunity to, well, I ran the marathon, but I've also visited for work. Yes. And we will talk about Peloton here soon. So I've also been, uh, able to go for Peloton, but I see what you mean about the energy and chaos of New York. I can, I can imagine there's nothing, nothing like it.

And then being able to run a marathon Yeah. Through the streets of where you currently live. Yes. Amazing. So you live, so I'm assuming then you live in Manhattan on campus? Yes. Or how does that work This year I live off campus, but Okay. A few blocks away. Okay. In an apartment. Yeah. Well, I guess there's nowhere else you would really live if you're off campus.

There's not like houses in, yeah. Dumb question. Do they have like dorms then for on campus living, or how does that Yeah, they do. Okay. They have dorms. That's what, I lived in a dorm last year. That's year. Okay. Um, but it's just either you live in the dorms or off campus, you find your own place, so. Gotcha.

Okay. I did. Very cool. So you started dance when you were really little. Did your, were your parents, did they influence your athletic journey throughout your life? Yeah, so my dad's a personal trainer. Okay. So I feel like I've always. We've been in that, into fitness from him. Like he owns his own gym. And I grew up like going to the gym with him. And my mom also, once she got into Peloton, was very into fitness. So a lot of that came from them. And then dance was just something that my, my older sister, she's three years older than me and she had started dance. So my parents were like, okay, Lindsay's gonna start dancing. Yeah. Kept doing it. Yeah. Your mom seems like, I mean, not that your dad wouldn't be, but your mom, at least from what I've seen in the Peloton Facebook group, is just such a huge cheerleader for you.

And I love, yes. Just, yes. Warms my heart seeing that. Yes. I always say she's my biggest cheerleader and always has been. Gosh. And like literally this weekend too, which we'll talk about. So how did you end up running the marathon? How did that come to be? Last year I knew a few people running it through Peloton and people that I knew through Peloton.

And so I went to go watch it with some of my friends. I like went to Brooklyn and into Manhattan, did the whole thing, and I was just so inspired. It was just so amazing and the energy was just so incredible. And literally the next day it was like, I wanna do that next year. And I had a Snapchat memory come up yesterday from one year ago that was like, I'm manifesting it.

I'm running the New York City Marathon next year. And I was just like, yesterday. I was like, oh my God, I just did it. But yeah, so I signed up with Team for Kids the very next day. I was like, mom, I just signed up for Marathon. I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't really run right now, but if I don't end up doing it, oh well.

And she knew the whole time that I would end up doing it. But yeah, that's how it happened. Signed up the next day. Signed up the day after. That's crazy. How many people run for team, for kids is pretty big for the marathon, for New York City Marathon, it's huge. Yeah. I'd never figured out how many people it was, but I was looking on the app and it just kept scrolling with people under team for kids.

So a lot. And how much money did you have to raise for them as being a part of their team? 2,620. Okay. Not too crazy. Not too crazy like, yeah, it wasn't too bad. And did you do that primarily through the Peloton community, your fundraising part of it? Yeah. Well, I just like posted on Instagram, so some of my friends donated a lot of family, but also a lot of Peloton members, which is really nice.

Yeah, I'm so grateful. That's really cool. So being able to live in the city and then run the marathon, I picture it being easier logistically, but correct me if I'm wrong. So did you do. Bus or ferry from where you live? To get to the start, I did the ferry. Okay. The ferry it, that part was so easy. I was really stressed about the logistics, just 'cause I had no idea.

Yeah, yeah. How, how it worked out. But with team for Kids, they made it so easy because we had our own ferry. Oh. And mine was later, 'cause I was in the fourth wave, so it was not till 7 45. We had the, our own ferry and then got on a bus to the Start village. It was just so smooth. The process was so easy.

That's nice. So that took a lot of nerves away. How did you get to the ferry in the morning? Just Uber or, I took an Uber. Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Okay. Well that's, that sounds a lot better than, my experience was very long. Very long from like I've heard that. Yeah. Yeah. It took me longer to get to the start than it did for me to actually run the race.

Yeah. So, but still, yeah, I heard that. It's very chaotic. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm glad it wasn't for you. That's so nice. So nice. And so I think I picture it was very team for kids, team for kids having like a tent in Staten Island when you get there too. Yes. Is that true? Because I, I picture that from when I was there.

Yes. And so they had, did they have their own bathrooms and Yeah. So we had our own starting tent. Yep. Oh, that's why it was so nice. They had their own tent, their own bathrooms. And I knew a lot of people because I did many of the training runs with Teen for Kids. Okay. So I knew a lot of people and it just made it, I was so nervous, but that really helped.

Being with just that team for kids community was so nice. Yeah. That's really nice. Did they have food there for you too? Yeah. They had like everything you needed. Chafe stick. Mm-hmm. Bagels, coffee, all of that. Yeah. All of the things. That's so nice. All of the, did they do things a dinner the night before, like a pasta dinner?

They did a, I think they did breakfast the day before, but I, I didn't go. Okay. Okay. Wow, that's, that is nice. I get really nervous. Yeah. About marathons. Even ones with easy logistics. Yeah. So New York. Yeah. Especially for your first one, you know. I'm glad it was smooth sailing. Yeah. Tell me a little bit about training leading up to the marathon.

So you mentioned team for kids, you did some training runs with them. Yeah. Did you do a lot through Peloton too, or? No. So I had signed up for the Run Coach. Okay. Um, there's like a, an app that you can get through New York, New York, Roadrunners, and it, over the summer I started training in like July. And over the summer I was using that app, but it had me running like five days a week, which I wasn't used to.

Mm-hmm. I had not run consistently before this training, so I was running like five days a week and I stopped lifting as much as I liked to. Hmm. So like July and August, I continued doing that. And then when I got to school I was like, I don't think I have time to run that much. And I also like, I love my gym here, so I was like, I wanna get back to lifting.

So I only did one long run a week. Yeah. For the past eight weeks and that's it. So I started like eight miles up to 20 miles. Just one long run a week. Everyone would ask like, how's training going? I'm like, oh, well I'm, I'm doing it a little differently. Like, I'm not, and people were like, that's still training.

Like, yeah, you're still doing the work. And I was like, yeah, just one once a week. But it was really nice that I could do it with team for kids because I met so many people and it was just nice to, when I did runs on my own, I just, it's so hard mentally, especially when it's like 20 miles to just, and the, the route I like, okay, I am gonna run through Central Park and down the West Side Highway again.

I always went on the same route. But then when I went for with Team for Kids, we ran the bridges. Really? Oh, we went to different boroughs. Yeah. So we ran the Queensborough Bridge, which was nice to do that ahead of time. Yeah. So you could just be like, okay, you know what that is? I know. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So that was really nice to do the training runs with them.

Yeah, that's really cool. Uh, we had coaches and yeah, the coaches would give so many tips throughout the run and just like, tell us how to envision it. And it was really nice. It was so helpful. Yeah. Gosh. For your mental wellbeing during the race, doing those bridges. Yeah, that would be really nice. Yeah, I didn't know.

As I mentioned, I had been to New York, but I, yeah, my knowledge of the boroughs and the geography and the bridges like, and even living there, I'm sure like, you know, you can't really. I don't know, picture running up the queensboro, what it's gonna feel like. Right, right. So, yeah. That's really neat. I didn't know they did that.

Yeah. Yeah. I'd heard like so much about the Queensboro Bridge. Mm-hmm. And then I did it and I was like, okay, okay, I can do this. And then on race day I was like, I've done it before, I can do it again. Yes. You've already done this. I feel like that's a Peloton instructor phrase too. Like, you've done this already in class, you can do it again.

Like Yes I can. Yep, yep. Yeah. So on race day, I saw your parents were out there. Yes. Where did your mom get that giant fathead like poster of you was huge. Like a cardboard cutout? Yeah, it was a huge cardboard cutout of my face. She was found it online like a week before she said it was my dad's idea, which.

I was like, oh, okay. Like I didn't expect my dad to be like, let's get a huge cardboard cut out of Lindsay's head. But yeah, she just got it on online and Oh gosh, that's so amazing. She didn't expect it to be so big, but it was three feet. Yeah, that was I, I wouldn't have expected that either. That is so funny.

Where is that? Where is No, where is your face now? No, on one of their walls. I hope. Like above the mantle. Above the face. One one's in my room currently. Okay. It's just hanging out. Oh my gosh. Yeah. That's funny too. But it made it really easy for me to find them. Yeah, just it made it so easy to spot them.

It was perfect. Yeah. So you knew it was They did. So you knew ahead of time that she had that? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that would help. It'd be a funny surprise, but it'd be really helpful to know with just the spectators of New York, like where and how to find them. Did you get to see them just once on the course?

I saw 'em twice. So we were planning for three times, but I saw them, I saw them in Williamsburg, so like mile 11 and then mile 23. Okay, nice. And did you, and I felt like those were like the perfect spot. Yeah. Right. Like you're almost halfway done, you know, you're kind of starting to feel like, oh my gosh, I still have like, I'm only halfway done.

And then 23. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah, those videos are like, they like made me tear up. I'm like, gosh, like hugging. Yeah. 20, the parents, 23. I, I needed them. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Gosh. In the park it's, I needed them at that point. Really tough. Really tough. Yeah. How did you feel throughout the rest of the run? Like, how did it, I guess, and what time did wave four start?

10 55. 10 55, okay. Yeah. Um, it was just from the start when the gun goes off, I was. I was expecting to cry at the start, but I didn't because everyone was dancing. They were playing YMCA, we were just having a good time right before it started. Yeah. It was just so fun to be like around all those people knowing that we're about to do this. And then I just, I went out way too fast, which people told me I was gonna do, but I, because in my training runs, I'd averaged around a 12 minute mile. Okay. And on the Veno Bridge, I was going 10 30 and I held 10 30 for like 18 miles. I think it was the adrenaline and just, yeah. I was not expecting that, but I was like, I feel good at this pace.

I'm just gonna keep going. Yeah. So that's what I did. Um, Brooklyn was amazing. That's where the energy of the crowds was so amazing. There were bands, and I just couldn't have even imagined how it would feel like. Like after watching, I knew that it was going to be special, but I just did not expect it to be like that. And I told my mom, I was like, I couldn't stop smiling for the first 15 miles. Like I literally felt on top of the world, like I was blacked out. I was like, yeah, I feel like I blacked out the whole race. Yeah. For the first half. Yeah. Yeah. Like I can't remember things because I just, the feeling I, it's hard to put into words.

It was so funny. Yeah, I get that. Did you at the start, get to run on top of the Veno Bridge or did you go below? I was on the bottom. Me too. I feel like that's a trick, which I, I liked it. I, it was fine. But I also feel like all the marketing you see, is everybody running over the Yeah. It's on the top. And you're like, picturing it.

I know. And then I forget when I found out. I know. But they're like, yeah, you also can run on the bottom. And I'm like, Aw, man. I mean, it was fine. Yeah. It's not that crazy long. I know. Um, but people warned not, not to be, I know all the pictures. Yeah. All the pictures of people just running on the top. Yeah.

Did anybody warn you about people like peeing on the top of the bridge? Or did you like I I heard about that. Yeah, I heard about that. But then in the beginning they were like, you'll be disqualified if you pee on the bridge. Oh, interesting. I didn't know that was actually a thing though. Somebody told me that when I told somebody I was running underneath.

Interesting. They were like, make sure you stay in the middle so that you're not like on the edge where you could get like, oh. Because that would be a really unfortunate way to start a race, like getting peed on. Yeah. That's great. So anyway. Nice because I ran on the left side the whole time. I was right on the edge.

Oh, that's so funny. Oh, well. At least, at least it didn't happen to you, so at least my gosh didn't happen. Right? Yeah. Um, what were some of the highlights of the race, aside from obviously seeing your, your parents? The first, like when the crowds get big, at first, that was like such, like it's pretty quiet for a little while.

Once you get off the bridge, it was still like, there were a few spectators, but not a lot. Then when there's huge crowds, it's just so, it's such an amazing feeling and people cheering, saying your name. I was so glad I had my name on my shirt. Yes. 'cause that helped so much just mm-hmm. Hearing people. And this one, this was towards the end, but this guy.

I, I was struggling a lot towards the end and I had been walking a little bit and this guy was like, Lindsay, I'm with you. I've got you. And I was like, this stranger just said, he's with me. I can do this. So I started running again. It was things like that. Yeah. And then I also had a moment with another runner.

We were going the same pace and we were next to each other for a while, and then we just looked at each other and like, we didn't say anything, but I could feel that he was like, like, let's go. We got this, we're in this together. Like, we just had that moment of eye contact and connection and I was like, okay, we're gonna keep going.

And I felt like he was pulling me through. So, and we stayed together for like a mile or two. We were going the exact same pace. That's, that's special. I had that happen actually at a recent race and I was telling somebody about it. Yeah. How there's this weird thing about this connection that you can have with somebody without speaking.

You're just there. Yeah. And you kind of just know that it's, that's what you know. Yeah, that's what I just felt that he was saying that. Yeah. Right. He wasn't, but when we looked at each other, I was like, okay, he's saying we're in this, we can keep going. And it was just amazing. Yeah. Did you get to see Peloton instructors on the course?

No. Really? Because my weight, my waves was like, they had been gone by. Oh, the time. That's sad. I was excited because I was like, oh, they're at mile 20. Like, yeah, I'm almost there. And then there was like no one at mile 20. But I mean, yeah. At least something to look forward to. Like any of those little things where you're like, okay, this will like get me that.

That point. Yeah. Yeah. But I didn't think about the wave thing. It is a long, yeah, yeah. Yeah. It was a little late. I was wave three, so I don't remember when exactly I started, but it was a later, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I've seen, I'm sure you have too, some, well, you saw 'em while you ran the marathon, but the signs, like on Instagram, there are so many good ones.

Yes. That was one of my favorite parts was I just read like every sign that I could because yeah, they, some of 'em were so funny. What was your favorite, do you remember some of your favorites? I've seen so many. I don't even remember. There were a lot of like, the rats don't run this city. You do. I saw a lot of those.

I can't remember any off the top of my head, but there were so many. And then, yeah, on Instagram after, I'm just looking at them. Some of them are. Yeah. So funny. I love it. Yeah, I love it. How did it feel crossing the finish line, if you can put that into words. Amazing. Coming up Central Park South. I saw two people.

I knew one of my friends from school, and then my roommate and I stopped at them and I was like, I'm almost there. And I, in the video of my roommate, I was like, this is so fucking hard, I can't finish. And she was like, you're literally right around the corner. Like you got this. And then once you enter Central Park, I, I can't even explain.

Just, I was like, I'm almost there. A song that I absolutely love, like came on and I was like, I've got this. And I started tearing up as I was running in Central Park and then at the finish line, I just was sobbing. Yeah, it was, yeah. The experience is hard to put into words. I just couldn't believe that I ran 26.2 miles.

I was like, did I really just do that? Yeah. For almost five hours. That's such a long time to run. Yeah, and the time went by fast though. Yeah, but it's like wild to think about that five. Yes. And then in the video after where they send you the video and it's like, oh yeah, yeah. Through all the bur I'm like, I did that.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It is crazy. I like you said about blacking out. I feel like I do that when I race. Like yeah, I'll just like, yeah. Yeah. And so how are you feeling now? It's Wednesday, race was Sunday, so you're a few days out. How are you feeling now? I'm feeling good now. Like Monday and Tuesday. It was mainly my quad just.

Getting out of bed was rough. Sitting down and getting back up was rough, but now I'm feeling good. Good. Yeah, it's, yeah. I, the, you know, like the zombie walk too at the end of New York is, is also really intense. Yes. They make you walk so far. Yeah. After like so far, luckily team for kids you get to go off a little earlier.

Really? No. Yeah. But it's still like you have to walk a long time. Yeah. I forgot to warn a couple friends of mine who did it for the first time. I gave some advice and I forgot to warn them about walking so much at the end, mainly because I forgot, because I actually ended up in the medical tent after New York because I just was like.

Done. And so I didn't walk for a while after that. Like yeah. You know, I walked over there and then I was there for a little bit and then, so I had kind of a break, if you will, versus people who finish and then just start walking. Walking, yeah. Yeah. Is, is team for kids competitive to get into, you said you signed up the day after last year.

Could you just go sign up with them again or did, is there a process to get in or they just take as many as they can? They just take as many as they can and I'm, I heard people on the ferry talking about that it fills up, but not for a little while. Okay. Like maybe after the new year it will fill up, but it's not really competitive.

They just let, which is kind of surprising, they're not at capacity. It's kind of surprising to me because it sounds like the way to go. Yeah. Now that I've heard you describe everything, it really is, yeah. There's so many benefits. Right? I did, um, I think I raised about the same amount of money, which I actually just wrote a check to.

Alex's Lemonade Stand was who I ran for. Oh, okay. And you know, there were no, like, they had a dinner and stuff like that, but there was no like anything else, which I think, I don't know if there's any other charities that have what team for kids does. Is that I don't think there is. Yeah. Which I didn't know, but even like in the expo, there was a team for kids bid pickup.

Then there was general, like it's so like Yeah. Yeah. I don't think any other charity is like that is like that. Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Seems like a pro tip for anybody who is considering New York Pro Tip. Yeah. Join team for kids. Yeah. That's really cool. Um, well, I wanna make sure we have time to talk about all things Peloton, because actually that's one of the, that's.

What caught my eye when I reached out to you was before I actually think I even knew you were running the New York Marathon, was the Peloton stuff, which is so freaking cool. Yeah. I love Peloton. I have been, I got my bike before the pandemic. I feel like there's like this group of pe it's like, you know, you're before the pandemic or after kind of thing almost.

Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, for sure. It wasn't like, for sure super early. I think it was 2019 that I got my bike and I also have the trip. Yeah. Nice. But you, your mom started what, 2017 what? 2017. 17? Yeah. Yep. In 2017. How did it start? Got the bike. Okay. You just got the bike. She just got the bike on a whim just for fun.

Okay. Had seen it and, um, I wasn't interested at all, like, oh, I'm dancing, playing other sports, like, no. So I didn't really use it until. In the summer of 2018, my mom took me to the studio. So we went to New York. I was like, fine, I'll do it. Like whatever, I'm not interested, but I'll go. And we took a class and I was like, oh my gosh.

Like I love this. Like this is amazing. And then from there on I was like, I am gonna do my century ride this summer. So that was in like June. I was like, I'm gonna get a hundred rides by the end of the summer. I did. And then it just, I kept going and now I have like 3000 something rides. I've been riding ever since.

That's crazy. That's crazy, Lindsay. Yeah. I can't believe your first ride was in the studio. That is so fun. I don't, don't think that was my very, very first ride. I may have, like I got on the bike a few times. One the first, yeah. Okay. That I thought you were like, okay, well yeah, I'll go with you mom and try out this whole.

Bike thing. 'cause that would be like, no, that wasn't like my very first. Okay, okay. Okay. And which instructor was your first in studio ride? It was Ally Love. Mm. Love me Somali obviously. Yeah. She spells her name the same way I spell mine and I, so I was instantly like gravitated towards her. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

She's so wonderful. Yeah. I actually looked it up before this. You have over 7,000 workouts total? Yeah. 3,666 rides. I'm about to be at 400. Okay. So let's just put that in perspective and, and like over 800 runs and you've done the rowing. I wanted to ask you about the rowing. Yeah, yeah. Well I've only done a few still more like, but we got the rower.

We got the rower. It, it is really hard. I bet I haven't tried it. Rowing is so hard. I can't do it for that long After like 15 minutes, I'm like, whew. Need a break. Like, yeah. I, but it is a really good workout. Like it works your entire body. Yeah. I need to try. We have a rower. We don't have the Peloton rower, but we have a rower that Yeah.

Is like collecting dust in our basement. And I keep wanting to try a class. Um, yeah. But it's hard with running Yeah. With training for stuff, with wanting to be on the bike with wanting to do some tread workouts, like it's hard to figure out Yeah. For the balance, how to do it all. 'cause you know. Yeah. Yep.

And then for you too, like the actual lifting, which is different than Yeah. Peloton strength classes. Like going to a gym and lifting. Yeah. Do you do like, is it like a CrossFit gym? Do you go and there's programming? Do you just go and like, just lift? I just go and lift. I'm, I'm more into power lifting. So I train around that and then I have a trainer that I work with.

Okay. Occasionally. Yeah. Cool. Well, back back to Peloton. I wanna hear some of your highlights because you've met so many instructors. Yes. What are some of your favorite stories about having opportunities to meet? I know that's hard, it's a loaded question. I didn't ask you your favorite instructor though, just the favorite stories about meeting instructors.

Okay. I'd say so the first, besides Allie, I think the next one I meant was Jess King. Ugh. And they used to go to showroom and have meet and greets back in the day. Okay. So this would. It was like an hour away from my house. And my mom and I were like, oh, let's just do it. Like I had never even really taken her classes, didn't really know who she was.

We were like, oh, a Peloton instructor's coming to our town. Let's go. So we get there and I'm in line to meet her and I'm next, and I just start sobbing. And I like, I don't, I was like, I don't even know this woman. Like why am I crying? And it was just something about her energy. I was like, she's a good one.

Like, so I go up to her and we start talking to her and my mom's like, Lindsay's a dancer. Like, I know you were a dancer, but she's really struggling in like school. I think I was in going into ninth grade at the time. Wow. And she was like, Lindsay's really struggling. She's been bullied before. And. She was having a tough time.

And Jess looked at me and I remember like, I will never forget it. She was like, I'm with you. I see you and I love you. And just gave me a hug. And literally from that day, we have been so connected and I love her so much. I always say she changed my life. And she really, because she really did, just those words were what I needed to hear in that moment.

Wow. And from that moment on, I was changed. It was amazing. That's so special. Yeah. I think it was just, 'cause I was also so young, like there weren't many Peloton riders who were 15 years old. Right. So I just like felt very connected. And then Tunde was another one. I met her in the studio and Tunde and Kendall had just started as Peloton instructors.

And I had heard about Tunde story and we had very similar, like grew up overweight and not confident and we just had very similar stories. And when I went up to her, I also cried. Yeah. The trend. Yep. I also cried and like told her about how similar we were and that was just another moment. That picture of you two connection.

Yes. So cute that, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then how did she secretly run the, like she trained for the marathon and like all of a sudden I saw Tunde was running the marathon. I'm like, what? Yeah. I had like, I, I had a suspicion 'cause she had been running a lot, like 20 miles. I'm like, oh, she's running the marathon.

Like, yeah. And then I saw her on the tracking app. Like I looked her up a few days before and was like, there she is there, she's, she is doing it there. She's she's doing it. Yeah. Yeah. So you've, how many times would you say that you've been in studio? A lot. It's a lot. It's, it's, I'm in awe because I've been, I used to, I get got to travel for work to New York City and so I would plan where I would stay based on being close to the studio so I could, yeah.

Easily, like walk down and take a class while I was there. And so I've gotten to go, yeah, three times, twice with Allie, once with Alex, and it was all in the old studio. So yeah. I've never been, I've yet to go to the new studio. It seems really tough to go to the new studio. It is. It's hard to get in. I've like, I mean, you have to get in a queue and like, it's a lot.

But yeah, I feel like it's hard to get in. Maybe, hopefully someday I'll be able to go see the new studio. Yeah. It looks amazing. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Let's see. So you'll be at 4,000 rides. Do you have, like, how long do you think that'll take you to get to that next milestone? A little while bit. I don't ride as much.

I don't ride, like I used to ride all the time, but then when I came to college last year, I didn't have a bike, so. Oh, right. Yeah. So now that's gotta be really tough. Hmm. Yeah. Well now this year I have a bike in my apartment. Oh, you do now. Okay, good. Yeah, but I still don't ride it as much as I used to just because I still go to the gym and was training for this and Yeah.

Right. Yeah. The balance, I know. Well, for me, like similar, it's like, like I was saying, you know, I wanna do all the things, but you know, with training for races, I, I tend to only ride the bike maybe twice a week, maybe. Yeah. And then I run two or three times a week, and so then, you know, and then maybe do one strength class and then I'm, then that's it.

So, yeah. Yeah, same. I would do it all, but yeah, it's tough. I know. It is hard. Yeah. I wanna make sure we talk about the modeling that you recently did too for Peloton. Oh, yeah. Because, yeah, no, I, that's, I forget who it was that shared it and I was like, that is so cool. And then I ended up in a rabbit hole. I feel like stalking you on the internet.

And I'm like, this girl is amazing. In 19, which by the way, I forgot to say, I saw that you were one of 67, only 67 women that were 20 or younger that ran the marathons. That's really freaking cool. Yeah, I was really surprised by that. Yeah. I mean, I guess I didn't think there would be that many, but I was like 67 that year.

Yeah. I just thought it was cool. Right? Yeah. So cool. But your story just seemed, it's just really amazing how you've, how, how you've battled what you. Talked about overcoming with growing up overweight, being bullied, and now you're like, in every email I get about Peloton, I swear. So how the heck did that come to fruition?

And tell me all about that experience. Okay. I saw someone posted on the Peloton Facebook group about, they were, there was an application to model and I was like, okay, I'm just gonna go for it. It was literally just like, your name, your Instagram, and a picture of you. Okay, let's, let's just do it. That's easy.

Then a week later I get, thank you so much for your application. You've been chosen to model for Peloton apparel. I was like, are you serious? And at the time I wasn't at home and they were like, can you come to New York on this day? And I was like, I'm there. Like I have an apartment here. Perfect, easy. I'll be there.

So it was in July and I. I was so nervous before. Oh, okay. I was like, gotta get my nails done. Gotta gotta look right. Yeah. Gotta do all the things. So my sister came with me for a few days and then I stayed longer to do the modeling. So they, the day of, they got me an Uber, they drove me to Brooklyn and I was so nervous walking in.

We just walked into this studio and they had a ton of clothes lined up and on the racks and ton of food. And there were a few people I knew, like from the Peloton studio, like one of the security guards that I knew even there. Aw, yeah. That's good. Nice. So I just sat and like, talked to them. I knew them, but then so many people were coming up and they're like, hi, I'm the producer, the whatever social media assistant.

There were like 50 people working behind the scenes. Wow. And so we got our hair and makeup done. And then we went to a park and Ben Aldis and Kirsten Ferguson were the two instructors involved in the shoot. And it was just so fun. Like we just, we were running and we were doing jumping jacks and lunges.

Oh. And it was just, it was such a cool experience. Like I never expected when I started that I'd be on the Peloton ads and I just, someone sent my mom a picture the other day that I'm, um, in one of the showrooms, there's a picture of me hanging up on the wall, like in somewhere across the country. Just like a random, probably like in Indiana.

You know where I'm amazing. That's so fun. Amazing. That's so cool. I never imagined that. That is so, it's also so full circle. I was like, wow. I've been like de dedicated to this company for so long and now I'm in their ads. It was just so amazing. Yeah. That's so wild. Yeah. Did you get to take home a bunch of apparel?

They sent me like every, every piece in the collection. Yeah. Dear Lord. That's amazing. Yeah. I feel like I have, at one point I had gotten like, I'm like a mini influencer for Peloton in like my town, right? Yeah. Because I would get, like, I would refer so many people because I got it somewhat sooner than others.

Right. And so right at one point I like put all my Peloton apparel like on the floor. I'm like, how much do I have? I just have so much of this stuff. Yeah. But then I can't imagine being sent the entire collection. And they accidentally, I found out it was an accident later, they accidentally sent me three of everything in the collection.

So they did it in like two drops. And the first drop, they sent me three of everything. So there were like 12 water bottles that I got. I was like, this can't be right. And when I put a picture on my Instagram story, one of the people who works with them was like, wait, did you get duplicates of everything?

I was like, oh, is that not supposed to happen? Yeah. I, I thought they like sent it for my sister and my mom Right. Or something. Yeah. Because they also sent me men's clothes, so I was like, oh, they sent some for my dad. Um, they were like, no, that was an accident, but keep it. So I like sent, I gave some to my roommate, gave some to my friends, sent some home.

Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's nice. Wow. That's crazy. Yeah. That is so crazy. That's so fun. How interesting. I had a, I had a friend who lives in New York City who got to do, I don't know if you remember seeing the videos they did, where they like surprised members with the instructors. Yes. Yeah. I remember my friend got to do that.

Um, oh, cool. Yeah. And that was, I was just in awe. I was like, oh my gosh, how in the world? Yeah. That was gonna cool. Yeah. That happened. Like the surprise of that and that whole thing. But it sounds kind of similar where he was, it was like they kind of rolled out the red carpet and they had all the food and you got, you know, he got some free stuff and got to meet his favorite instructor and I really, yeah.

I really love the community when we got the bike. Yes. My husband and I, my husband's like, maybe we should get this o other one, like the Echelon or whatever. Mm-hmm. And I'm like that. No, I, I think that the reason you get it is for the community and it seems like Peloton is Yes. The gold star standard of this kind emerging virtual community for fitness and yeah.

I'm so glad. So, so glad that we got the Peloton and that I have, yeah. The Tread Plus I have the OG Yes. Treadmill and I love it. Yes, yes. Love it so much. Yeah. Especially now that I can watch Netflix on it. I know. That is really nice. It is really nice. I've done it on the bike a few times. Yeah. I haven't done it on the bike yet.

Um, I just actually was, my mom had the bike plus and wasn't really using it, and so she let me have it. Mm-hmm. Um, and so then I gave my bike to my sister. But yeah, I love the, having the new bike too is really nice, so, yeah. My gosh. So I wanna know, I have a couple other topics I wanna make sure that I ask you about.

One is just kind of with, you said you're not done marathoning, which I love so much. Um, no, but like, what else? What do you, what else are you manifesting? I don't know, just like other fitness things. I'm like, okay, one day I'm gonna do a triathlon, like, yep. I wanna do, my mom was like, you should try to do the six major marathons.

Yeah. I'm like, okay, once I can qualify for Boston. Right. Give me a few years. Yes. Yeah. And then maybe I'll think about that, but that now is like on my mind. Yeah. Yeah. And just I, I've also always wanted to do a power lifting competition, like an official one. But again, it's hard to balance everything, so.

Mm-hmm. I, I'm doing another lifting competition in December, in like a month. Oh, awesome. So that was also really hard to balance running and that I just, like, there's so many things I wanna do and I'm like, how do I do all of this? But yeah, power lifting is also on a dream of mine. And when did you do your first competition there?

I forgot to ask you about that. Last year, so, okay. That was last year. I did, yeah. A lifting competition. Okay. And so this one, how is this one different than the one you did last year? It's the same. Oh, it is the same one. Okay. I thought you said official, like do an A or like, I don't know, maybe I mis well like this.

So this is at another gym that I love. It's called Tone House. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so official, I mean like USA power lifting, like that type of like, I wanna do a, you know, official. Okay, I see what you're saying. Power lifting company. This is like a local thing. Yep. Okay. Yeah, my knowledge of that whole world is pretty limited.

My father-in-law was a powerlifter actually back in the day, so I'm sure I could learn a lot about it from him. We have his rig in our basement now, but it doesn't get used as much as it should. That is for sure. The other thing I wanted to ask you about Lindsay was. Well, I forgot to ask you about the ta, the temporary tattoos that you had on your arms during the race.

Yeah. Where did you get those? First of all, Etsy. Okay. I was wondering, there were multiple, multiple options on Etsy. Yeah. That's super cool. I love that idea. Yeah. And then, and then I wanted to talk about how you dedicated the last mile to your younger self. Yeah. And you know, you're 19 and so like, I'm 37, so I'm like, well shoot my younger self.

Right. Is you, um, but you're talking about your younger self already. I think that that just shows that you're wise beyond your years. But tell, tell me a little bit more about, about that and your younger self. Okay, I'll get to that first. The tattoos. I ordered them like a week before the marathon. I was like, they may or may not come, whatever, but I'm still gonna like dedicate these miles.

So the night before on Etsy, like it tells you if it's shift delivery? Yeah. Yeah. It was still on shift. I was like, oh, okay. I'm not gonna have them tomorrow, but that's okay. Like I know who I'm dedicating each mile to and I like wrote in my journal all the names and every mile and like why they were part of that list, just to like get my mind in the right place and know for every mile that I have something to focus on.

Yeah. And then the morning of my mom's like, let's just check your mail. I'm like, mom, I've been checking the mail every day. It says shift. Like it doesn't say delivered. It's never been wrong on the app. Right? And she's like, no. Like, let's just check. So as I was literally walking out the door to my Uber, we passed my mailbox.

She's like, I'm opening, like we're just gonna see. Open, we open the mailbox and they're there. And I was like, oh my God. This was meant to be. Like, I was not expecting that. And so I was like, okay, I'll figure out how to get them on in the Start Village. And I like grabbed some napkins and a water bottle and was like putting it on.

I was like, this is, this was meant to happen. Yeah. So that was, I was so glad that that Yeah. That's so nice they showed up because it was really helpful to just like look down and see that. Yes. That's a lot of names to remember. 26 is a lot of names to remember. Yeah. Um, yeah. So that was really helpful when I was just struggling mm-hmm.

To see those names. And then, so yeah, I dedicated the last mile to my younger self and I just, I wanted to, when I was crossing the finish line, think about how far I've come. Thinking of how proud my younger self would be to know that I did this because I never imagined, like running a marathon had always been a dream of mine, but I never imagined one that I'd be 19.

And I never really thought that it would happen. Just 'cause like I said, I grew up and I was overweight and bullied. Running was never like something that I felt like I could do. Mm-hmm. Especially for that distance. So I was like, I'm dedicating this last mile to the younger version of me who doubted herself.

Mm-hmm. And who did not think she could do this, this. And it was just really special to think of that when I was crossing the finish line and for that last mile. Yeah. I think you know, the fact that you're 19 and you have that perspective now, I think is. Really amazing because I struggled with confidence.

I mean, I still do, but it's like, I struggled with that well into college, you know, hating my body. Like when I started running, it was really as a punishment, right? Like, you know, for drinking beer. It was like, okay, I gotta go run six miles to like, burn off all that and gotta stay skinny and yada yada.

Yeah. And it, you know, so I'm just, I'm really happy for you that you have, you have that perspective already in your life, and I think that that will serve you very well. Thank you. Yeah. And I definitely have those days, but, but I've grown to the point where I just can get past those feelings. Mm-hmm. And I know that my life is so much bigger than my body or how much I weigh or mm-hmm.

What I ate. I'm just so past that point. That when I have those bad days, I can get through them. Yeah. Well I also feel like if you take enough Peloton classes too, you have all of the nice mantras to pull into your head. Yes. Really it does help me saying nice things to yourself. Yeah. Replacing the negative thoughts with all those positive affirmations really helps.

Yeah, I mean that's how I came to this point was like when I started writing when I was 15, like it was the instructor's words and their mantras and everything they said That really helped me realize like my worth and get that self-confidence back. Peloton was a huge part of that. Yeah. That's so amazing.

Ah, I'm so excited for you. So you haven't signed up for the marathon yet next year? I was actually looking it, looking at it today. Good. Like, whatcha waiting for? I was like, do I wanna do the lottery or do I wanna do with Teen for Kids again? Yeah, that's my, I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. Oh, man.

I'm surprised Peloton doesn't have like a more official like, member team with Yeah. Perk. And I mean, come on, Peloton. Like, where you at with that? That would be a good one. There's so many, I saw so many people wearing Peloton. Yeah. Clothes on that course. So many. Yeah, I, I'm sure that's one of the things I did, I ran in 2018, the New York City Marathon, and it was kind of before Peloton was that, you know, yeah.

Thing. And so I was kind of sad 'cause how cool it would've been to, yeah. See other, like a ton of other members or like Right. Having a chance to see an instructor or, you know, whatever. But, oh, well maybe, maybe I'll go back at some point. I'm, I am in a stage where I wanna try to do, I don't know if I'll do all the majors, but I'm getting my speed and at the age I am.

Like, you know, when I turn 40 I get that extra buffer. So I'm kind of eyeing that when it comes to Boston. And you should know my first race, my first marathon was Chicago and I ran, it had to be like almost exactly what you ran. It was like, it was like four 50 something, 4 55, but like, yeah. Nice. So you know, you will, if you want to, you'll qualify for Boston and you're only 19.

So I know. I'm like, plenty of time, plenty of years. Yeah. I'm like, if I got that time and I like if I really trained, like Right. I was also training to lift. So like, but if I really trained for running, I'm like, I'm sure for one day that could be possible. Yep. Seasons of life so young. Yeah. Season, seasons of life.

Like three hours for Boston. I know. Yeah. It's like crazy. Crazy, crazy. Yeah. Well, I so appreciate you saying yes to a stranger on the internet to talking. Of course. Um, it was really, really nice getting to know you a little bit and I just have to say, you, you really do inspire the heck outta me and I'm a mom of two girls.

And so it's also just, it's helpful to hear from somebody how important fitness has been for you and Yeah. You know, not just the, you know, again the body aspect of it, but just like the mental right thing. Like I really want my girls to be, wanna be strong, you know, and not think about Yeah. Like being skinny and worrying about Right.

That so, oh man, well, strong, good, strong over skinny. Yeah. Amen. And I, I tell my 6-year-old practice makes progress. I say that to her all the time 'cause it's like nobody's perfect. We are just trying to, that's make progress. That's my dance. Teachers has always said. That's great. Yep. That's one of my dance teachers mantras.

So good, so good. Okay. Sorry, I forgot that I have two end of the podcast questions quickly, because I wanna be mindful of your time. Oh, yes. Um, your favorite, speaking of mantras. Favorite running mantra or song and or you can do both. My favorite mantra, one that I use during the marathon, I mean, it's so simple, but was literally one step at a time.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Like one foot in front of the other. I mean, it's simple, but it, it helps when you're, and then I'm trying to pull up my playlist. The one song it's called Messiah by I see Monsters Dirty South remix. Um, Ooh. I heard it during a Peloton class actually. But it just is like the perfect song for running.

Love it. I dunno. I love, well, I'll have to listen to it came. I have a playlist for this podcast 'cause I ask everybody what their favorite song is and so selfishly Oh nice. It's kind of like a nice to pull from everybody's like most favorite song, yay. And put it in a playlist. It ends up being a pretty good playlist.

And then you have your lifting competition in December, but what, what's your next finish line or milestone outside of that graduating college and hopefully getting into medical school. Yeah, a big one. That's a big one. Well, I will be cheering for you just so you know. So, absolutely. And I need, I now follow you on Peloton for anybody else Who's Peloton person?

Lindsay is l Holt. 20. And then on Instagram L do Holt 20. So yeah, if you haven't seen her beautiful face on these advertisements, you'll know now that that's her. So thank you again for your time, Lindsay. Thank you to everybody who has listened to this and happy running. Yay.

Ally Brettnacher