Chula Vista

Post # 187

It's been a while! The last couple months have been really productive and fun. I'm loving rowing the double these days (although I rarely don't love the double) and the weather has been much, much kinder to us than my fam and friends on the east coast.

No filter needed. San Francisco Bay on a gorgeous winter night. 

A bunch of us from California Rowing Club have been taking trips to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA this winter. Most of the US athletes from the Princeton and Oklahoma City Training Centers are spending a few months there, so it's fun for us to go down and line up against them on the water. It's a change of scene and breaks up what can be monotonous winter training.

Logging the miles with KB

We found the best Mexican food San Diego has to offer - thanks to CRC's host mom

Men's team at work in eights, fours, and a quad at the Olympic Training Center

It's hard to believe that there are only about six weeks until our first selection event. This year, our first one is in the double instead of singles. We'll be heading out to New Jersey with fingers crossed that the lakes are melted. From there, we'll have an idea of how the rest of the season shapes up. 

Fun times ahead. Stay tuned! 

Home Life

Post # 186

The past few weeks have been pretty great. I'm back in the Bay Area and getting back to regular life: training, work, coaching, and everything else. This is the view that greeted me the day I got back from Boston:

A nice welcome home, courtesy of the Oakland Estuary

Playing catch on the beach

Artemis has started up again after the break and the kids are as great as ever. I coach them once a week for land workouts, which everyone has a love-hate relationship with. The workouts make you fast, but they can be brutal. This was the "after" picture at this week's practice:

Mixed feelings after an Artemis erg session 

I'm spending a bunch of time on the water and in the weight room these days. I've also had some awesome cross-training sessions recently. I try to mix it up and keep it interesting, whether that's where I run or bike, who I go with, or what I listen to. Now that the Serial podcast is over, I'm back to listening to my standby, the TED Radio Hour podcast by NPR. A sign of gettin' old? You bet. But they pass the time in an entertaining way.

Cross-training selfie on the Golden Gate Bridge? Yes. 

Hope everyone had a great New Year's celebration and is off to a great start in 2015. It's gonna be a good one.

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!