Christmas Wonder

Post # 185

I remember the excitement and endless anticipation of Santa’s visit as a kid. For weeks my older brother and I would talk about what kind of cookies and milk we were going to leave out for him, how nice we thought he’d be to us, and shared in the wonder of how he made it to every house in one single night. We’d walk towards the living room with eyes tightly closed on Christmas morning and, on the count of three, open our eyes and take in the scene that Santa had left us. It was hands down the best morning of the year.

The wonder of Santa’s visit may have waned over the years, but the Christmas spirit has not. The holidays are all about reconnecting with family and friends whose lives are tightly woven into mine. Sure, we have phone calls and texts and Skype conversations, but nothing beats sitting around the fire with the fam and catching up face-to-face.

I’m already headed back to California but it’ll be good to get back to work, reconnect with the team at Artemis, and get back on the water.

Happy holidays to all – and may 2015 bring us the best yet.

How I get my sweat on at home. Sorry for the blaring music, mom!

Giving Thanks

Post # 184

Oakland, California - Thanksgiving is all about taking a step back from what can be a crazy busy life and reflecting on how awesome everything around us is. In no particular order, here's what I'm most thankful for:

1. My health. It seems so simple, but you can never take that for granted.

2. Having a big goal and actually having the opportunity to pursue it. I feel like the luckiest person alive that I get to wake up every morning and pursue something I absolutely love.

3. Flat water and sunshine and loving where I live every day.

4. In the Arena, for believing in me as a person and as an athlete and for connecting me to the wonderful families and athletes at Artemis Rowing.

5. My fiercely devoted family in Boston who are unconditionally supportive of me and my goals.  My extended family in San Francisco who remind me that home is never too far away.

6. My teammates, who challenge me to be a better athlete and make this tough, exhausting lifestyle fun.

7. My amazing, silly, loving boyfriend who I get to see every day.

8. Old friends who put in the effort to keep in touch even though they're far away. Thank goodness for FaceTime.

9. My work clients who make me more creative and make my days super entertaining. I'm lucky to say that there's not one day that I hate my job.

10. My bed, aka the cloud. (Spent too many nights living on an air mattress to not appreciate this all the time!)

Fall Speed Order

Post # 183

Oakland, California - This weekend was the final race of 2014: the USRowing West Coast Fall Speed Order. It's a two-day event with a test on the rowing machine on Friday evening and a race on the water the next morning. The events are within 15 hours of each other, making it a tough turnaround. I was glad it was a home race for CRC - there's nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed the night before a race.

The test on the rowing machine went well for me. I pulled a personal record (PR) by six seconds over my time in March. I still need to get faster but it's a step in the right direction. I was challenged by a couple parts of the race on the water, but came away with second place behind Kate for the lightweight women and a fourth place overall finish. I see the areas where I need to improve going forward and I'm excited to get cracking on those.

But first, we got a much needed day off. Today I slept in until 7:45 am (such a sleep in!). It was glorious to not have to wake up to an alarm. Seems like fall has finally hit me because I had a full-on pumpkin craving when I woke up. I'm spending the day decompressing in the kitchen making good food with some good music going on my computer. Just about perfect.

Artemis had their final fall regatta this weekend as well. They've been making some awesome improvements this fall so I can't wait to hear all about how this one went when I see them on Tuesday.

Results:

Fall Rolls On

Post # 182

Oakland, California - It's been a productive few weeks back at home filled with work, coaching, and training. While most people are grumbling about the afternoons getting darker earlier, us early morning exercisers were counting down the days until Daylight Savings. Finally we'll be able to see what we're doing for the first hour of practice!

Just a nice Sunday morning coaching session

Artemis put up some impressive results at Head of the American last weekend, most notably a third place finish in the lightweight men's double. That event wasn't a junior event, which means they were racing people of all ages. I've been helping coach their erg workouts and it's been really cool to watch the change in energy of the kids on the team. The boys are more committed and enthusiastic this year because they see their own potential on the regional and national level. They've learned how a far off goal can change your daily approach to practice and motivate you to push the envelope every day, knowing that it'll all add up in the end. Plus they have a lot of fun doing it, which makes going to practice so great. 

As the fall season rolls on, the kids are preparing for a couple more local races and I'm preparing for the USRowing West Coast Fall Speed Order in two weeks. Our rowing club hosts it and it's the last chance to show your speed until April. If you're in the area and want to come watch, pencil the morning of Saturday November 15 into your calendar! 

50th Head of the Charles

Post # 181

Oakland, California - I got to Boston on Thursday morning after a redeye flight and it was nonstop action until I touched down at SFO this morning. I loved that the long weekend was filled with family and friend time: eating my mom's apple crisp while catching up around the table, throwing a foxtail around the back yard with my dad and the pup, going out to dinner with my brother and his girlfriend, and sharing stories and laughs with plenty of old friends. Oh, and there were a few practices and a race, too.

Head of the Charles is the only regatta where people from all ages and skill levels - from novice to elite - regularly compete, making it a massive reunion. This was the 50th anniversary of the regatta that began with a few people racing down the river and has grown into a two-day event featuring 400,000 spectators and over 10,000 competitors. The regatta organizers hosted an anniversary gala on Saturday night where they commemorated the history of this iconic race. It was a pretty special feeling to be in a room with 1,000 other people who have such a love for the storied rowing tradition that is Head of the Charles. It made me remember the joy of watching crews race by from the banks of the river as a kid, long before I ever touched an oar.

I raced on Saturday afternoon and was happy with how it went and where I am in my training right now. I came in fourth place in the championship single. Gevvie Stone, a local competitor, crushed it and took the win. The full results are here, and here's a good shot of my pain cave grimace in the last 1k.

One of the guys on the Hudson support staff showed me the swiss army knife he bought at the regatta that featured the same picture of me that was on the banners around town. I went to the Victorinox tent, told them that those were my legs, and they hooked me up with a free one! Kind of creepy, but strangely cool.

One more thing: congrats to Ben True and Sarah Groff, who got married this past weekend, officiated by the lovely Amory Rowe. A "true" ITA wedding!

Boston Bound

Post # 180

Oakland, California - The countdown is on: only 13 days until Head of the Charles in Boston. It'll be my eleventh time racing at this regatta and I'm really excited to go back to my hometown. Maybe it's the 90+ degree weather out here in California that's making me long for some crisp fall air and my mom's apple crisp or maybe it's the fact that I didn't really have a chance to visit at all this summer. Either way, it's going to be a great trip.

There are twenty one athletes racing in the Championship Single this year (the event I'm racing in) and the start order has just been published. I'll be the 6th boat starting at 4:39 pm on Saturday October 18th. If you watch the live stream and listen to the commentary, note that we probably won't be racing around the bend where they announce until 10-15 minutes after the start time. Results will be posted here.

Artemis isn't going to be racing at the Charles this year but they're bookending that weekend with two local races. It was awesome to hang out with the kids earlier this week and we're plotting to do a trail run together sometime soon. Since each of them is growing another foot in height each week, they'll probably kick my butt, but oh well...

Onward!

Downtime

Post # 179

Oakland, California - Here's a recap of what I've been up to for the last few weeks:

I came back to the US after Amsterdam and was right back at work the next day. My travel had been so unexpected this summer that I had a lot of loose ends to tie up when I got home. The first week back was busy but I was glad to be sleeping in my own bed again. Also happy to see this view: the estuary and docks where we row. 

My boyfriend Hans and I went up to Seattle for his best friend's wedding last weekend. It was a super quick trip but we had such a blast. The weather was gorgeous and we actually got dressed up like real people. 

While I was in Seattle I met up with Grace, who I rowed with at Wisconsin. Grace is proof that the bonds you make when training and racing together on a team last forever. She and I hadn't talked much in three years but we picked back up like not a single day had passed. I loved catching up with her.

The day after I got back from Seattle, my dad came to town. It was the first time he's visited since I moved here so I had to show him all the sights. We packed in as much as we could in the days we had together, including beaches, ferry rides, driving tours, and some cool views. 

It's been a busy couple weeks and now it's time to get back to work. The Head of the Charles is the next big thing on my schedule and it's less than four weeks away. I got this picture in a text from a friend in Boston saying, hey, isn't that you? Turns out the race committee decided to put a picture of my legs on the banners that are now lining the streets along the Charles River. If you're in town, say hi! 

Worlds 2014: That's a Wrap

Post #178

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Worlds 2014 came to a close on Friday for me and my three teammates in the lightweight quad. Although we didn't have the finish we wanted to have here, we fought hard in the B final and put up a race we're proud of. We placed first in the second-level final for a 7th place overall finish. We came within two seconds of the World Record, but the conditions were so fast that the standing record was then broken by 8 seconds by the host nation later on in the day. They did that en route to a gold medal in the event.

The US has picked up medals in a handful of events so far, with three more opportunities coming tomorrow. The strong, building tailwind is causing lots of World Records to fall at this regatta - some of them very, very longstanding (yesterday one was 1994 was broken). In the lightweight women's quad, all three medalists went under the old World Record pace. Yeesh!

I've written a little on this blog about the turn of events in early July and Kate having to get emergency abdominal surgery. She was able to rehab enough to get herself to Amsterdam, then continue her recovery process here thanks to excellent team physical therapists. Against all odds, she raced the lightweight women's single event and placed third in the final yesterday. A bronze medal! The story of her summer is here, and it's well worth a read.

Go USA!

Worlds: Heats Tomorrow

Post # 177

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Race day is upon us and we're in a 5-boat heat with Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Mexico. The top two finishers will advance straight to the A-Final on Friday, with the rest of the boats having to go through the repechage on Wednesday. We're racing at 3:08 pm local time - that's 9:08 am on the east coast and 6:08 am on the west coast.

Follow along on World Rowing's live race feed (where you can only track boats go across the screen for now - live video coming later this week). World Rowing's Twitter feed (or USRowing's) is also a good spot to find results, and throughout the week you can also follow my Twitter feed. Admittedly, I'm pretty distracted during race week and not the best at tweeting updates, so it may be best to try the others first.

Team USA had a great opening day of races, highlighted by the lightweight men's single, women's pair, and women's quad winning their heats and a slew of other US boats qualifying out of the heats. They set the tone for the team and it's time for the rest of us to keep that going tomorrow.

Whirlwind

Post # 176

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - I'm not sure I could've been more spot on with foreshadowing the rest of my summer more in my "Constantly Changing" post from late July.

I last left off at Trials, where Nancy and I raced the final of the lightweight double.

Nancy and me, two days before our final race together

We came in three seconds behind the Oklahoma double. With that result, we'd failed to punch tickets to the World Championships in Amsterdam. My long, crazy season was over.

Or so I thought. I was visiting my family in Boston when I got a call that one of the girls in the lightweight quad heading to Worlds got injured on a training run and it wasn't looking like she was going to be able to race in Amsterdam. They needed someone to fill in, and they needed it to happen fast. I was in Philadelphia for practice the next morning and jumped into the quad with the talented team of Hillary, Sarah, and Mary. Two days later, we were on a flight to Europe.

The three of them have been training in the quad for the majority of the summer, so when I joined them, I wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible and not mess up the good stuff they had going. We've now had a week together in the boat (hooray!) and are starting to feel more comfortable rowing together.

Amsterdam so far has been...rainy. Every five minutes the weather changes between pouring rain/thunder/wind to pockets of sun and warmth. The course has been filling up more every day and by now most countries are here. My favorite parts of pre-race week are seeing athletes, coaches, and support staff - either from different countries or just different parts of the US - that I haven't seen in a while and feeling the anticipation of racing build by the day. Only two more days until the start of racing and three more days until my LW4x races our heat. Go USA!

- Full schedule of racing
- Results page
- Gallery of us training together in Philadelphia
- Press release on the switch

Trials

Post # 175

Princeton, New Jersey - The final day of Trials of the year is tomorrow and we've got CRC boats in three events:

7:30 am - Men's Single featuring Ryan Shelton
7:40 am - Men's Double featuring these guys and these guys
8:00 am - Lightweight Women's Double

Nancy and I have a two-boat race with the Oklahoma double, which means there are no rounds of racing leading up to the final; it's just a one-and-done.

As always with Trials, it's winner takes all. In this case, the winner of each event gets to compete at the World Championships in Amsterdam in the end of August.

Results can be found here and live video is available as well. Here we go!

Constantly Changing

Post # 174

Princeton, New Jersey - If there's one thing that's consistent about rowing (and really, life) it's that it's always changing.

Kate and I started training in the double after returning from our last round of Trials in New Jersey but shortly thereafter, she had to get a very random but essential surgery. Everything went really well at the hospital and, in true Kate style, she was such a champ about all of it. In terms of rowing, we knew pretty quickly that she'd be unable to compete at doubles trials. So after talking to Kate (who is dealing beautifully with the difficult task of recovery, I might add), Bernhard and I called up a few other lightweights to try to make a new doubles combination for Trials. Nancy Miles was super interested and was miraculously at CRC the next day to row with me. Nancy is a student at Stanford and stroked last year's US lightweight quad to a silver medal in Korea. The energy and enthusiasm that this twenty-one year old brings to the double is awesome, and she has a great work ethic as well. She's been a fun person to get to know and work with. We only had a week or two to row the double in California, but have already made some great progress. I'm happy with how far we've come in a short time.

Nancy and I flew to New Jersey last week for what will be my eighteenth regatta at this course by her count. Not sure whether to be proud or slightly depressed about that one. We'll be racing Trials next week and so far the entries show just us and the Oklahoma City double of Michelle Sechser and Devery Karz gunning for the line. Those were the two who represented the US at the World Cup in France earlier this year.

None of us really had any time to digest this turn of events because it unfolded so quickly, but if it's possible for the dust to settle this year, maybe this is it. Kate and I had to let go of the idea of racing the double together. I had to adapt really quickly to rowing behind a new person with a new style. Nancy and I had to get to know each other both as racers and people in a short amount of time. Bernhard had to decide whether this new double even stood a chance at Trials.

Only now do I realize that this big challenge is actually really great for me - and probably for all of us. If things were always normal and comfortable and we weren't forced to test ourselves in new and different ways, we wouldn't learn how to deal with difficult situations. Rowing has taught me that as much as you want the path to success to be as straightforward as possible, it takes you on what feels like the most roundabout, strange way and leaves you wondering whether you're even on the same path you started on.

It's kind of like this. (Credit here)

I'm lucky to have the support of my teammates, clients, roommates, friends, family, and everyone else back in California that make a trip - heck, a season - like this possible. Is this life's way of keeping me on my toes?

Season Wrap-Up

Post # 173

The Artemis season came to a close this week, which is bittersweet. It's always hard to say bye to the kids and wrap up a year, but the team has come a long way since last September.

But let's rewind to 2012 for a second, when I first met these kids. Many of them were shy, not super confident in their abilities, and it didn't feel like they could completely be themselves on the team. It's been incredible to watch the individuals and team change over the past two years. The shy kids are now like Dylan is in this picture. The unconfident kids have now won medals at the Regional Championships. And the team has gelled through common experiences, whether they be fun, tiring, nutty, or nerve-wracking.

I've said it before but I'll say it again: I'm excited to see where this team will go from here. Much of it is in the hands of the athletes on the team and they're taking it to some pretty great places. With three boats making it to Nationals, not to mention an awesome Regionals performance, fall regattas, and an entire year of team bonding, we head into the 2014-2015 with a great platform to build from.

The Road Ahead

Post # 172

Well, it's been quite a summer so far. CRC came back from Trials last week, where Kate and I notched a 1-2 finish in the singles. That finish places Kate on the World Championships team, if she chooses it.

Here's the hitch: the lightweight double that beat us at the NSR back in May recently raced at a World Cup overseas and came in 8th. They had to get top 4 to be placed directly on the World Championships team, so that means the event has been opened up again and another trial will take place in New Jersey in August. Kate and I have always loved the double, so we're excited that we'll get another crack at it this summer. Now having raced fully three separate regattas on the same New Jersey course so far this year, you could say we're getting used to racing there.

If we win that trial in August, we'd be directly placed on the World Championships team in the lightweight double. If not, Kate could still race Worlds in the lightweight single.

Confusing? Yes. Check out this row2k article on the squad so far, which has a blurb about each race at Trials, and an attempt at clarifying some things.

Onward. Go USA!

Trials

Post # 171

CRC is in New Jersey for Under-23 Trials and part of Senior Trials. So far our results have been headlined by our awesome Under-23 lightweight women's quad, who won their final today and landed themselves spots on the U-23 World Championships team. Big congrats to them.

Photo: Bernhard Stomporowski 

The men's quad is also here to race for a spot on the senior World Championships team and Kate and I are racing in lightweight singles. The guys in the quad have been our main training partners for over a year. When all seven of us (quad + me and Kate + Bernhard) were stuffed into the minivan on the way to practice the other day, we joked that it's like we were a big family. It's pretty true, though. We interact with each other every day, both on the water and off, so we cheer for each other's highs and help each other through our lows. We compete with each other all the time on the Oakland Estuary - mainly for best percentages, but everyone knows that bragging rights are really what's at stake. We've experienced crazy, eight hour practice days together and seen each other when we're absolutely dog tired (that's when everyone's in the best moods...). We've eaten countless meals together and been on long rainy hikes and long sunny runs together. I wouldn't rather have another group of people to be on this team with.

Check out the live video feed of the final day of the regatta. CRC is racing in two finals:
7:30 am - men's quad (far lane)
8:58 am - lightweight women's singles (me and Kate, middle lanes)

Go CRC, go USA.

Youth Nationals

Post # 170

This weekend was the Youth National Championships in Sacramento and for the first time ever, Artemis had several boats racing there. Of the three doubles that competed (two girls' boats and one boys' boat), two of them reached the finals and both ended up with 16th place finishes. That's seriously awesome for a group of freshmen and sophomores making their first appearance at Nationals. By the way, one of the girls' doubles was also the one featured in Row2k's Photo of the Day last week - and for good reason!!

The bonds created in high school rowing are so strong that they last well beyond senior year. Case in point: my high school coach is visiting the Bay Area for the week and I get to see him this afternoon AND at a big reunion dinner tomorrow for all of the Community Rowing alums in the area. It's been ten years since I graduated high school (scary) but every time we all get back together, we fall right back into reminiscing about the good times we had in high school. I'm so fortunate to have had that experience and to hold onto so many great friends from it.

Here's a BIG congrats to all the Artemis kids - I can't wait to see you guys later today!

Diana Nyad

Post # 169

Oakland, California - I'm not one to watch commencement speeches. I've heard a few pretty good ones, but otherwise the ones I've listened to or watched haven't been that memorable.

That's why this commencement speech is worth sharing. One of my teammates just graduated from Middlebury and told me I had to watch the commencement speech, delivered by none other than Diana Nyad. Diana is a long-distance swimmer who, among other incredible achievements, completed the first swim from Cuba to Florida last summer. In this speech, she describes how she goes about squeezing every last drop out of life. She challenges the audience to live a life so full and wonderful that you can look back on it and say with confidence that you couldn't have done it any better.

As we hiked the hours away together, my teammate told me she couldn't have had a more perfect speech given to her at her commencement. And even though it wasn't my own graduation, I think Diana's speech is a reminder for all of us: life has its ups and downs, but in the end, you just have to ask yourself the fingernail question. Take a look:

#HowWeBean

Post # 168

When ITA announced its partnership with L.L.Bean last week, I was pumped. Not only are the two such a great fit for each other, but I've always been a huge L.L.Bean fan. Growing up in New England with two VERY outdoorsy parents, my family took a trip to the flagship store in Maine every year to stock up on all the hiking/camping/swimming/playing/traveling gear we needed. As a kid, I was always decked out in L.L.Bean stuff.

It's no surprise that after I left home and started traveling for college racing and, later, international racing, L.L.Bean bags were the ones I used. I've used my tried and true red rolling duffel to haul my stuff to every college race and training trip. It sat in the back seat of my car when I drove across the country in 2011...three times. It has come with me to every World Cup, World Championships and to the Olympic Games. By my quick count, it's been with me to about half of the states in the US and roughly ten different countries. That's one well-traveled bag...and that's just one of my bags. Turns out I have racked up a few of these things:

Four L.L.Bean bags in one picture. I was heading straight from the Collegiate National Championships to U-23 Worlds selection camp and simultaneously trying to move some stuff back to my parents' house in Boston. 

Bushwhacking to the beach in Rhode Island with my striped tote

Heading to the 2009 World Championships in Poland with my L.L.Bean rolling duffel 

The newest addition to my L.L.Bean bag family: the ITA tote

A big THANK YOU to L.L.Bean for getting on board with ITA. We can't wait to see how great this partnership will be.

Nationals: Junior and Elite

Post # 167

Princeton, New Jersey - Artemis is awesome. They competed at Southwest Regionals last weekend, facing crews from all over the lower left quarter of the country. Over the years, they've worked their way up the results table, and this year they finally broke into the Youth Nationals qualification spots: the boys' lightweight double got third place and qualified! It was a first in Artemis history...and these guys are a freshman and a sophomore. I'm so proud of them. Youth Nationals is in a few short weeks in Sacramento.

 Big congrats to Josh and Kenyon in the LM2x!

(this is what happens when you give Dylan and Chris your camera...)

Over on the east coast, Kate and I are through the first two rounds of racing at National Selection Regatta 2. We won yesterday's time trial and this morning's semifinal. In typical New Jersey spring style, we battled a strong, gusty headwind. This photo is a good representation of what racing was like today. We're pumped to get on the course tomorrow for the final. Only the winner gets to race internationally at the World Cup regattas.

Our CRC men's pair sneaked through the semifinal today to make the A final in their event. They race tomorrow morning at 7:20 am and Kate and I are at 7:30. Check out the USRowing results page and follow California Rowing Club on Facebook. We also have teammates racing in Germany and Mexico City this weekend. We're everywhere!

National Selection Regatta 1

Post # 166

Princeton, New Jersey - Another NSR is in the books and I have to say, that was one of the more interesting ones.

When the lightweight singles launched for Thursday morning's Time Trial, the wind had been building. It was still rowable though, so USRowing was running races. While I'm not going to say the warm-up area was pleasant to row in, it was manageable. Just when the lightweights lined up at the starting line (we were the last ones to go), the officials called it off. The wind had picked up too much and we were instructed to row surf back to the dock.

Yeah...not so nice. (Photo by Row2k.com)

Because of the cancellation, the racing schedule got completely reshuffled and suddenly four races (TT, heat, semi, final) got condensed into two. Friday morning's time trial results now counted for a lot more: only the top six would make the A final, the next six to the B final, and the last six to the C final. No second chances.

On Friday morning, Mercer showed us the nicest water of the whole regatta. I placed second in the time trial to Michelle Sechser, who rows out of the Oklahoma City Training Center.

This morning, the top six time trialers actually got to race side-by-side. It was an exciting race; me, Michelle, and Devery Karz all traded spots down the course. Props to Michelle for taking the win. Here are the full results.

Kate raced in the heavyweight event and got to play with a bunch of friends/former Princeton Training Center buds out on the course. She placed third in a competitive field.

I'm about to hop on a plane back to California, but New Jersey will see our smiling faces in just a couple weeks for NSR 2. I'm psyched to get to work in the double!

(Photo by USRowing)

Coast Hopping Begins

Post # 165

Oakland, California - Over the past few weeks, we've been upping the race pace work, which is always tough at first but I start to love it as my body gets used to it. It's all because the NSRs (National Selection Regattas) are upon us, which means only one thing to West Coasters: time to start the cross-country treks. The two NSRs are only three weeks apart, but jobs and a team in California make it a challenge to stay out there in between. Good news is we'll be racking up some frequent flyer miles.

California Rowing Club will be racing three singles (Ann, Kate, and myself) and one pair (Nick and David) at the first NSR. It's the season opener and pretty much anyone who is interested in making the national team this year will be there. It's a perfect opportunity to see where my winter training has taken me. Here's the schedule:

Thursday April 24: AM Time Trial, PM Heats
Friday April 25: AM Semifinals
Saturday April 26: AM Finals

I'll be updating this with info and how to follow along as the regatta gets going. There are 22 entries in my event - that might be the most in any NSR I've ever raced at. I'm glad to see the field growing.

Looking forward to finally letting it loose out on the course!

Experiencing Mexico

Post # 164

Mexico City, Mexico - I'm always down for a trip to explore what's around the places I get to train. This time around, we had the chance to check out the ancient city of Teotihuacan on our afternoon off. I remember learning about this place in high school, but in my mind, you can never really grasp a place until you go and experience it.

Teotihuacan was thought to be built over 2100 years ago and, at the time, it was the largest city in the Americas. We climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun (in the background of the photo below), which is the third largest pyramid in the world. Pretty incredible, considering all the ones in Egypt.

One of the friends we've made through rowing in Mexico City gave us the full tour. Afterwards, we went to lunch at a local spot. I was in the mood for some traditional Mexican cuisine so I got a cactus salad. Kind of strange, right? 

Other than this adventure, life in training camp is exactly how it should be: uneventful. Kate and I are the only CRC members here so we're getting a lot of quality time together...which is to say, I hope I don't drive her totally insane by the end of it or vice versa. I'm thankful to have such a good friend and buddy. I definitely wouldn't make it through without her. 

Into Thin Air

Post # 163

The Speed Order was a challenging weekend because it capped off a tough couple weeks of training. It was a good opportunity for us to have to perform with tired bodies (at least that's what I told myself). Saturday morning was the 6km test on the rowing machine - a familiar test to rowers throughout the country. We each chased down our personal records over the 19-22 minute test. I was happy (albeit surprised) to finish with a personal best by three seconds.

On Sunday, we raced 4 km on the water. Like any distance race, it was a test not only of physical strength and technical skill, but also of your ability to steer the course well. Kudos to these guys, who won each of their events: Derek in the men's single, Gevvie in the women's single, and Nick and Dave in the men's pair.

Kate and I had a couple days to recover ("recover") and get all of our things together and then it was off to Mexico City for an altitude training camp, where we are now. We're rowing on the same course as the 1968 Olympics, complete with the original grandstands and flagpoles at the finish line. Hard to believe they held an Olympics this high up. 

The first few days are a pretty unwelcome adjustment: it's hard to breathe, you're super dehydrated, and your brain feels like it's processing through mud. This morning we took a run around the course with our coach and we were slowly plodding along with heart and breathing rates probably equivalent to an all-out effort. It's a strange bodily experience and I don't feel normal yet. Thankfully our coach is an altitude pro so we know we're not totally crazy. 

The significant up-side is that compared to the routine at home (wake up at 5:30, go to practice, scramble to get to work, go back to practice, throw something together for dinner, collapse into bed), life here is really simple: eat, sleep, row. We suddenly have all this time on our hands so we can bring more focus to our physiological and technical goals, spend time analyzing video, get adequate recovery through a solid PT/nap/food routine, and actually get the 9-10 hours of sleep we probably need every night. This is awesome!  

T-minus five weeks until the first sprint race of the season. Better keep working. 

What? It's Racing Season?

Post # 162

Oakland, California - Hard to believe it, but it's true. We've all been in the winter grind for a few months now, but my teammates and I have managed to keep it interesting with some fun cross-training activities. Last weekend, we went on a sweet (albeit muddy and wet) hike in the Redwoods:

The Artemis kids have already started racing, and I start next weekend at the Spring Speed Order hosted by California Rowing Club. It's just like the Fall Speed Order where we race on both Saturday and Sunday. This race is a good chance for us to see where we stack up in our last long distance race until October. In the area? Want to come cheer me and my teammates on? Here's the deal:

Saturday March 15: 6km test on the rowing machine - PHOTOS / RESULTS
Sunday March 16: 4km race on the water - PHOTOS / RESULTS

The best viewing spot for the 4k race on Sunday is either on the High Street bridge or at the MLK Jr. Shoreline Center. The race starts at the High Street Bridge and ends at the watermelon at the bottom of the "pit" (near the airport)

After this Speed Order, the real stuff gets going. I'll be racing at National Selection Regatta 1 (NSR1) in the single in late April and NSR2 in the double in mid-May. Those are the ones that start to count for selection to the US Team.

I'll leave you with some pics from Artemis practice over the last few months:

Sochi Comes to a Close

Post # 161

The Sochi Games have come to a close and man, it was a spectacular show. Sochi had all of what we come to expect from an Olympics: records broken, come from behind victories, tense final minutes (women's hockey!), surprise upsets, young phenoms stealing the show, and, at the end of the day, a sense that the world was brought together in a very special way. One thing remains constant about the Olympic Games: it is such a monumental event that it's going to be an emotional ride no matter what.

I still have to watch replays of several events (work and training got in the way of my goal to watch the Olympics 24/7), but I what I have seen so far is awesome. One of my favorite events was the women's slalom skiing. It's a fast, technical event that requires unique strength, coordination, timing, and skill. In some ways, it was absolutely heartbreaking; one of the skiers (from Switzerland, I believe) straddled the fifth gate of sixty on her first of two runs and was automatically disqualified. She skied to the side of the course, sat down on her skis, and immediately started crying. Another woman had a great run until the last few gates, where she clipped one, missed it with one ski, and was also disqualified. Knowing that they'd trained so hard built themselves up for this experience, just to have it end that way was written all over their faces. It was tough to witness.

On the flip side, American Mikaela Shiffrin had a ridiculous performance in the slalom. She's an 18 year-old from Colorado who won the gold over women who have 10-15 years of skiing experience on her. I was wondering how she got to be so good and I happened on this video, which explains how she's been studying skiing since she was five. Smart girl. She strikes me as such a fun-loving yet mature athlete. The footage of her standing in the starting gate, staring down the slalom course before her runs made me nervous sitting in my living room, so this girl's gotta be one tough cookie.

Most of all, it was cool to follow Brian and Torin's Olympic experiences. I'm sure they're leaving Russia with a lifetime of memories to share with everyone back in the US. To those two, and all the Olympians: you made us proud. Now that the torch has been passed to the Rio 2016 Olympics, the ball is officially in the summer athletes' court. Time to grind away.

Sochi with Fresh Eyes

Post # 160

Chula Vista, California - Watching the Olympics has always been something I'm interested in, and I'm in good company at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. I'm here for a short training trip and luckily, the Sochi coverage is constantly playing in the dining hall and athlete dorms. 

This is the first Olympics I've watched since competing at the Games myself and I’m finding that I see it with a different set of eyes now. NBC shows the actual athlete performances on TV, but there’s so much more to the story than that. It's fascinating to compare the "real" athlete experience to how it’s portrayed on TV. Take, for example, the agonizing, nerve-wracking minutes, hours, and days leading up to their race that we don’t see, or the fact that the pressure of performing has turned the athletes into hyper-aware human beings. We don’t see it, but they’re constantly assessing how they're feeling (sick, anxious, relaxed, excited, etc), how much sleep they’ve gotten and whether it’s enough, how distracted they are by friends and family who are watching and emailing/tweeting, what expectations they’re trying to live up to, how their teammates are faring in competition, and how to deal with irritating media questions. (One question to a figure skater yesterday was, "you're doing two events, aren't you worried about fatigue?" Talk about imbuing confidence in the athlete!) For many of these athletes, they train and race in relative anonymity and suddenly they’re on the world stage. And, of course, we don't see the tough selection process in the months leading up to the Games, nor do we see the thousands of hours they've put into perfecting their routine in the years beforehand. No doubt about it: it’s a stressful environment to be in.

The Games are a major turning point in every Olympian's life – one that changes every single athlete’s life forever. So here's to recognizing and celebrating the athletes and their entire Sochi experience, not just what we see on TV. They’ve put in a lot of work to get there and regardless of outcome, it’s inspiring to watch them do what they love most. 

Follow ITA athlete Brian Gregg here
Follow ITA athlete Torin Koos here
Gorgeous images of the Opening ceremonies