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

Winter Cross Training

Post #159

As endurance athletes, it's really important for us to get in a lot of miles over the winter to build up our base fitness. I'll be the first to say that as late January rolls around, logging the miles can start to get pretty boring. If I didn't have my teammates to keep the humor, entertainment, and motivation levels high, I don't know what I'd do. Our latest team bonding/cross training was a trip to Monterey last weekend.

Of course, it wasn't a trip to relax on the beach; hiking, biking, swimming, and football were all built into a busy two days. I was part of a biking group that took a long ride down the coast on highway one on Saturday. Ever since I drove highway one back in 2011, I've wanted to try biking it. The trip did not disappoint; most of the my time was spent ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the ridiculous views. Someday I want to bike all the way from SF to LA...or just do the entire west coast. 

Rest stop at the Bixby Bridge

I can tell the whole team is feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle "real" training again. I'll certainly have Team USA on my mind over the next couple weeks. Hard to believe the Sochi Opening Ceremonies are only two weeks away.

Fingers Crossed for Team ITA

Post # 158

If you've been following the Olympics, you'll notice that one by one, governing bodies are announcing the athletes that will represent the US in Sochi. The US Figure Skating team was named today, the hockey team was named last week, and several other sports have rolled in. Naming dates for the ITA winter athletes are coming up soon and I can't help but be anxiously excited for them. We have one bobsledder and several cross-country skiers going for Sochi:

2010 Olympic bobsledder Emily Azevedo placed fourth in the World Cup in St. Moritz this morning. She was in the two-person sled that was 0.1 off of the bronze medal. Pretty impressive. In fact, Emily has posted solid results at all of the World Cup events this season. The bobsled team will be announced in mid to late January.

(From zimbio.com)

Two-time Olympian Torin Koos (cross-country skiing) won the freestyle sprint at the National Championships at Soldier Hollow Park in Utah. Sylvan Ellefson also posted an awesome result, placing first in the men's 30k, followed closely by Brian Gregg, who placed second. Brian's wife, Caitlin, won the women's 20k freestyle race. I'm pretty sure ITA is slowly taking over this sport. Some of these guys are headed to the World Cups in Europe; best of luck to them. The team will be named on January 22.

(Sylvan. From ski racing.com, 1/9/14)

Simply reaching the place where you could make it to the Olympics is an amazing feat. At the same time, I know they're in a tough spot right now; being right on the edge of either achieving a dream or falling short of it is not a fun place to be. The waiting game for the announcement drags on. Regardless of what happens over the next two weeks, they've all had fascinating and extremely successful journeys up until now and I can't wait to see what they do next. This is a really special group of athletes to be a part of.

¡Adiós, México!

Post # 157

Kate and I are heading back home after getting in some serious miles on the 1968 Olympic rowing course in Mexico City this past week. It's been an interesting physical and cultural experience. This city sits at 8,000 feet and the altitude is rough on the lungs and spirit; you're breathing harder than normal and still seeing slower splits on the GPS.

La comida 

La Casa de Botes

Unlike a lot of the places we travel to (read: most of Europe), only one person we've talked to here speaks English. We've had to dig deep into our memory of middle and high school Spanish classes to communicate the simplest things. Our Spanish teachers would be appalled with our accents (or lack thereof) and all the words we've forgotten (how do you say breakfast again?), but hey, we're getting by.

One of the biggest celebrations in Mexico is the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which happened earlier this week. Millions of people made the pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a famous church in Mexico City. We were too busy training to see any of this, but did hear fireworks going off all day long. I mean all. day. long. And all night long. I began to wonder if there would be any fireworks left in Mexico after the holiday. These people know how to celebrate.

¡Hasta luego!