Sunday Run-day

Post #85

Oakland, California - On some Sundays, we cross-train instead of rowing. Often times, I just go for a run near my house but over the winter, I tried to use my "Sunday Run-day" to explore parts of the bay area. I did Muir Woods in December and it was gorgeous. In February, I ran the path along the beach leading to the Golden Gate Bridge. Last Sunday, I ran the Nimitz Trail at Inspiration Point, which, if you live in this area, you must do! It goes along the top of the Oakland Hills and overlooks the entire bay in one direction and out to Mt. Diablo in the other. I managed to do the whole thing, which is 8.5 miles. Not bad for a day "off"!

Golden Gate run: complete!

View of the bay

Getting There From Here

Post #84

Oakland, California - Here's a great explanation about US Olympic Selection titled "Getting There from Here." Selection is very confusing as each boat's procedures depend on whether it's a big or small boat (no choice there for lightweight women!) and whether the event is already qualified (determined by last year's Worlds).

National Selection Regatta #1 begins tomorrow morning in Chula Vista. It serves as the first trial event for the men's single and the men's and women's pairs. Plenty of my teammates and friends are racing there and all of us up here in the bay area are eager to watch results filter in over the next couple days. With our own selection (NSR 2) only four weeks away, it really feels like the racing season is upon us. I can feel the excitement building every day.

Also, here's the latest training gallery of the US men's 8 group - the guys we train next to every day.

Jog for Jill

Post #83

Berkeley, California - This morning I joined with hundreds of other people in the third annual Jog for Jill 5k on the UC-Berkeley campus. The event raises awareness for lung cancer, a disease that hits close to home for the Cal women's rowing team. In 2010, one of the seniors on the team was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. She had never smoked before in her life. She continued her studies and practices with the team throughout her treatment and was part of Cal's varsity boat at NCAAs in 2010. She became a hero not only to her teammates and friends, but to the entire nationwide rowing community. Jill's Legacy now aims to raise money and awareness for the disease.

Julie, Lou, and me. Lou rowed with Jill and flew in from Massachusetts for the event.

It was a great morning. Even though I never knew Jill, I had heard so much about her. She impacted many people at this university in such a powerful way. She was so courageous and taught those around her to celebrate the things you love every day. This morning, the community got together and celebrated Jill and her lasting legacy, and it was so cool to be a part of it.

Heaven

Post #82

Oakland, California - I snapped this picture of the lake right after we had finished practice the other day:

We'll go out and row in most conditions (unless the water looks like an ocean and we think the boat might swamp), but water like this is a rower's heaven. You can feel the hull moving and accelerating underneath you in a way that you can't when you're battling a headwind or a crosswind. The balance of the boat is generally easier to achieve in flat water and when you get it perfectly, it's magical. Definitely one of my favorite things ever. When the lake first comes into view in the morning and it looks like this, I can't help but do a little cheer in my head, knowing it's going to be a good day.

Only about six weeks until the National Selection Regatta!

["Lots of Links" tab updated recently, too]

Kitchen Projects

Post #81

Oakland, California - Here's one thing I didn't fully understand until after college: a big part of being an elite athlete is eating right. It wasn't that I didn't think it was true, nor was it that I ate unhealthy foods. It was just that I didn't have time to go buy and then prepare interesting, healthy meals all the time. So I did the best I could with what I had at the time.

Once I didn't have to worry about writing papers and taking exams, I had time to try lots of new recipes. One of the advantages of this is that I've distanced myself from processed foods and now I know exactly what's going into most of what I eat. I've successfully baked my own bread and made granola bars from scratch, among many other kitchen projects. Another plus is that I've branched out and tried eating all sorts of new foods like pomegranate, mango, kale, spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes...the list goes on.

Most of my inspiration comes from FoodGawker. It's a website that compiles photos and recipes from tons of food blogs. You can browse the photos and then click on them to get the recipe. I highly recommend it! Here's a blueberry mango quinoa recipe I made up this morning:

And here are the homemade granola bars I've made twice now:

Another fall/winter favorite of mine is pumpkin coconut risotto. Try 'em out and tell me what you think.

Training Trips

Post #80

Oakland, California - January has always been a training trip month, and this year was no exception. The good thing about training in a small boat is that we're very mobile: just load the boat and oars on the roof of the car and we're good to go. I took two trips this month, one of which was to Lake Natoma in Sacramento with Cal (photo below). Unfortunately I have been horrible about snapping photos of my travels so this is as good as it gets:

Natoma launching site

As much as it's been fun to be away, it's also great to be back home. For much of 2010 and 2011, I was moving around so frequently that I didn't really have a place to call home. This year is different and I can't say I'm complaining about it. We'll be back in Oakland for the next two months preparing for our National Selection Regatta in April. (Note: A HUGE thank you goes out to Ann and her family, who have not only been super supporters of mine since the U-23 years, but have helped supply me with a place to live and are largely responsible for me feeling right at home!)

Another side note: for those of you interested in sports research, I came across this New York Times article about the relationship between caffeine and athletic performance. It comes as no surprise to me that rowers have some of the highest caffeine levels of all Olympic sports!

The Olympic Year

Post #79

Oakland, California - We have welcomed 2012, which means we're officially in the Olympic year. There are less than 200 days training days left before the races begin. It's hard to believe that we're so close because it feels pretty far away. There are still three months until our selection begins.

The double is the only Olympic event for lightweight women, so only two of us will represent the USA in London. There are doubles training all over the country, so qualifying will undoubtedly be tough.

Making the Olympic team is a somewhat complicated process. Here are the steps that every US lightweight double is striving to take to be named to the team:

Step 1: Win the National Selection Regatta in April, thereby proving you're the fastest in the US

Step 2: Race at a World Cup and finish in the top 4. (If 5th or lower, then the event goes to open trials in the US in June, where any lightweight doubles can come and race. Winner is named to the team.)

We're not thinking too much about the big races these days. We're just working hard and trying to get better every stroke, every practice, every day. That's all we can control for now.

December Adventures

Post #78

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!

"Winter" Training

Post #77

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

Girls on the Run Final 5k

Post #76

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?

Maya and Coach Anya

Anya and Katya

The starting line

Yamile and her running buddy

Katya, Maya, and their running buddies

Yamile closes in on the finish line

Anayeli is not far behind!

Andrea and her running buddy

Post-race: Coach Molly and Katya

Ne-Kia, Tylor, and Asmani