racing

Friends:

I have had a lot of people ask about the Team USA racing schedule and results for the upcoming events in Beijing. There are lots of places to get results and updates online for my event, the Women's Double Sculls:

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/RO.shtml
www.row2k.com/olympics
www.worldrowing.com

You can watch ALL races LIVE at: www.nbcolympics.com

It’s a great day to have off from training. It’s still early, but the forecast is for sixty degrees, gray and rain—a perfect kind of day for lounging and watching a rousing mix of movies and daytime television programming. We get to enjoy an off day today because the last three days had all of us at PTC racing in this year’s second National Selection Regatta. I raced in the women’s double event, which had the most entries of any event this year and produced a lot of competitive racing. This was my first appearance at an NSR 2, and my second NSR ever, having only raced the double at last year’s NSR 3. Last year I placed sixth at that regatta. This year, I won.

There’s nothing quite like loading a four-tiered boat trailer in the pouring rain. I more than most people can appreciate the extra challenges of slick straps, short tempers, constant cold and wetness, and the fine art of monkeying up to the top level of the trailer with little or no traction for the hands or feet, having gained most of my trailer-loading experience in Seattle. Physical and mental dexterity are certainly pushed just a little further in these situations, but I was right at home last Wednesday in the Pacific Northwest-esque conditions as we at PTC loaded the armada onto the USRowing trailer in preparation for a full weekend of racing at the 2007 USRowing Elite Nationals regatta. With all the fun we had loading the trailer on Wednesday morning, I had a sneaking suspicion that the weekend was going to be packed with other fun-filled surprises. I was right.

Wow, what a great weekend. Despite being plagued by pesky thundershowers and mildly oppressive heat all three days, the third NSR turned out well for me and for many of my friends and teammates. The racing in the women’s 2x event was pretty tight, with the field rarely showing more than a few seconds’ spread between top-placing boats.

Imagine this...you are getting ready to race your heat at the World Cup regatta and your bus is an hour late picking you up. Or perhaps you are warming up for your quarterfinal and thunder is sounding in all directions. Not enough excitement? Try waiting around during a heavy rainstorm right before your semi-final due to rumors of a rain delay, only to find out that your race is still on, and due to start in minutes.

How many out there remember the first time they had the toe in their coxless boats? We've started our starboard stroked matrix and yesterday we did our first set of racing. Needless to say, things got a little intersting. On the first piece we almost hit the shore. However, by the second piece we were going straight enough to pull off a win. I'm getting better every day, but it is still a humbling experience to know just what everyone on port side already knows.