Oakland, California - Training has been going well. Julie and I are excited for January because the Cal women and US men come back so we'll get to train with them again. Here are some photos from the past few days of practice:
Launching for afternoon practice
Oakland Estuary. Here we go!
Sunrise before morning practice
My mom came out for a visit and we've had a great time hanging out together. Yesterday was a gorgeous day and we toured around to the Golden Gate Bridge for a while. Tons of fog rolled in right as we were leaving, so we hit it at just the right time!
Oakland, California - I can't believe that Christmas is in one week. I've been trying to get in the holiday spirit by listening to Christmas music in the car, hanging lights in the apartment, and decorating Christmas cookies with friends, but it just doesn't feel right. This is my first winter spent away from a snowy/cold/icy climate, and it's throwing me off. The trees in the East Bay still have leaves on them, the temperatures still reach the 60s during the day, we can still row in December, and there's no snow in the 10-day forecast. How is this winter?! My idea of winter training always involved hours on the indoor rowing machines and in the weight room, but now I can actually row every day. This is strange...in a good way.
Part of the US men's heavyweight team has started training in Berkeley too. Aside from Julie and I feeling like we have more friends around the boathouse and people to race on the water, it also meant that a few other Wisconsin grads have come to town. Usually we train in different parts of the country so I only see them at US selection regattas or international races. Now I see them every day at practice and it feels like when we were back in Madison. Add in a few other good friends who have moved out to the bay area, and we now have a pretty sizable group of us living here. Who would have thought we'd all be in the same place? It's great.
The six Wisconsin Badgers competing for Team USA at 2011 World Championships
Oakland, California - After over three months of training, my Lake Merritt Girls on the Run team joined forces with the rest of the GOTR programs in the bay area for a massive 5k run. The event, held last Saturday in San Francisco, had music, face paint, and a few hundred girls running in purple race shirts. The girls on our team and their running buddies did a great job and everyone crossed the finish line with big smiles.
This season with GOTR has been rewarding in so many ways and I'm so proud of how the girls did throughout it. To have come into the season not knowing what they were capable of and finish having accomplished an entire 5k race was an incredible journey to be a part of.
Girls on the Run is a nationwide program that relies on volunteer coaches and running buddies to positively impact the lives of young girls. Watch the video below and get involved in your area by visiting http://girlsontherun.org. You will love it!
Photos from the 5k:
Most of the team. It's early in the morning - can you tell?
Oakland, California - Erik Dresser, Row2k's incredibly talented photographer, was in town last week and asked to come out and shoot one of our practices. It was the morning after Thanksgiving and the water was perfectly glassy. Those are the best days. A few of the photos are below but the entire album is also available here. Enjoy!
Oakland, California - This morning the Lake Merritt Girls on the Run did a community service project. The girls had voted on a Lake Merritt trash clean-up so we got nets and one big trash bin and did a major clean-up along the lakeshore path. Here are the photos:
Oakland, California - We have been having so much fun at GOTR practice. Here are some photos from Saturday. The girls voted to clean up trash around the lake as our community service project next week. We've got less than two weeks till the Lollipop 5k race!
Finally, this photo was taken at the halfway point of one of me and Julie's training runs a couple weeks ago. I just had to post it because it's a great representation of where I get to live and train right now. It was taken from Berkeley overlooking the bay, San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Oakland, California - I am SO proud of all my Lake Merritt Girls on the Run. This morning, every single one of them ran around the whole lake and completed our practice 5k. They were so impressive and inspiring. Coach Anya, Coach Molly, and I knew they could do it, but I think some of them surprised themselves when they reached the finish line and realized what they had just done. They did awesome!
Katya and her running buddy
Go Andrea!
Katya and Maya in the last mile
Yamile with her running buddies at the finish line
Andrea nearing the finish line. Look at all the high fives she's about to get!
Oakland, California - Our Lake Merritt Healthy Hearts team is doing great! We are having so much fun bonding as a team and preparing for our 5k on December 3. Here are some photos from the last couple weeks. More to come after Saturday's practice 5k. Go team!
Coach Molly, Asmani, and Maya
Asmani, Tylor (wearing the Charles medal), me, Maya, and Ne-Kia
Coach Molly and Maya at the end of practice
Playing lap freeze tag in the park with a full moon rising over the Oakland Hills
In head races, boats start one after another and whoever completes the course in the fastest time wins. You're essentially racing the clock. They start each boat five or ten seconds apart so it's one long line of boats going down the course. I started sixth and I had to maneuver around a few people that I caught up to in order to pass them. I was a little nervous about how that would go; the tight turns and bridges on the Charles are notorious for causing collisions. But it all went smoothly with no penalties and no clashing oars.
My favorite part of the race had to be passing under the second bridge, where the Wisconsin lightweight 8 girls were standing. They were screaming for me so loudly that, even with the pain of racing, there was rumor that I broke a smile. Then coming through the fourth bridge, the Wisconsin alumni tent was roaring and I knew they had brats and beer in hand. Erik biked along most of the race, taking splits and cheering me on. I could hear my family around the big turn coming into the final stretch. The last part of the race was hard to remember but there was a lot of noise as I closed in on the finish line.
I was thrilled when I got back to the boat trailer and Erik and Heidi told me I had won. Then, only a couple hours later, Heidi and I watched the Wisconsin lightweight 8 race and got to deliver the news to them on the dock that they too had won. On top of that, the Wisco men's four had earned a gold medal earlier in the day. It was awesome. It reminded me of the National Championship in 2008 when the Wisco lightweight 8 and men's 8 won on the same day. Those days don't come often, but when they do, they are extra special.
