Fast-Women.com: Has this experience been pretty much what you expected so far?
Lindsay Donaldson: It's been more than I expected, it's been really amazing, just the effort that Foot Locker puts into this, just to make it an incredible experience for everyone.

FW: So how are you feeling, fitness-wise?
LD: I'm feeling pretty good. I don't really know what to expect from my race tomorrow — because I had this big asthma attack at Regionals — so I'm just hoping that I can feel healthy throughout the race, that's my main goal.

FW: Are there particular things that trigger your asthma?
LD: I don't really know. It used to be really bad [running indoor track] because of the dry air inside, and I don't know what it was at Van Cortlandt two weeks ago that triggered it. It might have been a combination of the cold and the wind, I don't really know what it was.

FW: Was that the first time you've had problems this season?
LD: Yeah.

FW: How did you deal with the snowstorm (that hit the Northeast) last weekend? Did that affect your training at all?
LD: A little bit. I trained inside (on a treadmill) starting on Saturday, and I got back outside on Wednesday before I came, so it affected [me] a little bit, but it wasn't anything too dramatic.

FW: You won most of your races by large margins this season, and it often seemed like you weren't running all-out. You clearly ran hard at the Brown Invitational (in finishing second to Nicole Blood in 16:54), but were most of the other races like workouts for you?
LD: It was mostly for training purpose, because this is my first cross country season and I'm just trying to get used to the sport and running on the [various] courses. In some of the dual meets, I would have specific kinds of workouts, where I would push really fast up the hills and then kind of go a little bit easier inbetween. It was all pretty much training — just to get in shape and [to prepare] for the end of the season. At the State Meet, I ran a little bit harder.

FW: Were you expecting this much success in your first season of cross country?
LD: Not really, it's all kind of been surprising. It's been really fun, just the whole experience, this season has been kind of surreal.

FW: Have you thought about your goals for the track season?
LD: Not really, I'm just trying to finish up the cross country season. We actually have our first indoor meet on Monday (laughs).

FW: You're not competing, are you?
LD: No, I won't be running in it.

FW: You're applied early to Yale, when do you hear from them?
LD: Supposedly on Monday...

FW: So is this it for you with soccer, are you done with that sport?
LD: I'm not quite sure, I might just play on an intramural team in the spring. I did that last year, I played [on a club team] in the spring. I'm not quite sure where I am with soccer right now.

FW: But you definitely plan to run cross country in college?
LD: Yes.

FW: What do you think of [the Balboa Park race course]? How does it compare to other ones you've run?
LD: I like it so far. I was just jogging it a little bit... It's so different from any other course I've run on. The scenery and everything is so gorgeous, I love it here... I like how the hill is kind of near the end and you can just kind of coast down and come into the finish.