World Cup Prep

Post # 136

Since our NSR 2 victory a month ago, Kate and I have been training in California to get ready for the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. We've gotten in some solid weeks of work here and it's been a lot of fun to start fine tuning this double. We're leaving this week and will be training and adjusting overseas before we hit the starting line of the World Cup for our international debut as a LW2x.

Training in Oakland 

Lucerne is a magical place. It ranks high, if not the highest, on my list of favorite places to race. How can it not be when there's flat water, fast and exciting racing, rolling hills, and clanging cowbells - all set in a quaint, historic city with towering mountains as the backdrop? (Oh, and I think there's something about the Swiss and their chocolate...) There's no denying that I'm excited to be going back.

Lucerne from a castle

We'll be racing July 12-14, and there will be much more info to come as we get closer. In the mean time, check out this brand new organization: US Lightweight Rowing Association. It was created to help support lightweights in the US, both in development and on the elite level. What they're doing is already pretty exciting and I have no doubt we'll be seeing some great stuff from them in the future. So if you like lightweights and you like rowing, you should probably "like"the USLRA on Facebook. 

Go USA!

What Does a Crazy Person Look Like?

Post # 135

Like this. 

(The guy on the right...come on now)

This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Scott Jurek at an event hosted by Clif Bar. For those of you that don't know, Scott is the best ultramarathon runner this country has ever seen. He is the owner of seven consecutive Western States 100 titles (yes, that's running one hundred miles as part of a race) and has twice won the Badwater Ultramarathon, dubbed the world's toughest foot race (it's a 135-mile race in Death Valley...enough said). He's also a vegan and author of Eat and Run, which I read earlier this year and definitely recommend.

Why someone would have the desire to run that many miles at one time is beyond me, and that's precisely why Scott draws such a huge following and packed the house at this event. It was fascinating to hear him talk about his experiences and how he came to do what he does. His message was one I really believe in: you won't know if you're able to achieve something until you get out there and try it. Whether your goals are large or small, it's important to keep pushing past your comfort zone because what you'll discover can be pretty amazing. Despite all of his success and fame, Scott is a humble, down-to-earth guy and it was an honor to meet him. 

On the rowing front, Kate and I are grinding day in and day out in preparation for the Lucerne World Cup in July. It's been so great to have Kate out here to train with. Stay tuned for more to come on Lucerne. 

Training shot from this week. Photo by Jeremy Ivey. 

National Championships

Post # 134

Today was finals day for the collegiate national championship. It's only held on the west coast once every four years and lucky for me, this was one of those years. It wasn't a big training day, so my Wisco alum friends and I went up to Sacramento to cheer on the Badgers. On the way up, we got word that the Cal women's team (that Julie and I trained alongside last year) won the heavyweight national championship in Indianapolis! It was a really tight race and they pulled out a win. After hearing about that, I knew it was going to be a good day.

Once we got to Sacramento, we got to cheer on the Wisconsin boats as they charged down the course. The lightweights did a great job. They earned a bronze medal in the 8 and a repeat gold in the 4. Really cool to see them getting themselves slowly back to the top.

Back at home, my time with the kids at Artemis wrapped up at the end of the spring season. They're starting their summer season, but I'm taking time to train "for real" instead of coaching, which means I'm putting more hours of my day into training and the much needed rest/recovery that goes along with it.  I'm still involved with the program - I was at a local high school with the other coaches last week to teach kids some rowing basics and try to get them to come give it a shot - but not nearly as much as I was before. It feels strangely empty not seeing the kids and being around their ridiculously funny antics on a daily basis. I'm training at a boathouse right down the waterway from them though, so there have already been a couple times that I'll be tackling a long workout on the bike and will see them rowing by. I of course have to pause my timer for a moment, run out onto the balcony, and cheer wildly for them as they go by. Looking forward to stopping by for a longer visit one of these days.