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.