Green Lake and Pocock Scrimmage

Pretty good weekend for rowing - Saturday really felt like the first day of Spring for the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday was the Green Lake Regatta, the opening sprint race for Northwest Jr. and Master teams. Both Seattle Rowing Center and my own girls at Holy Names Academy were well represented, taking home a number of top 3 finishes. I am particularly hopeful for my JV and lightweight athletes, both of which had strong performances while missing 4 of their heavy hitter due to injury. It made me optimistic both for San Diego and for Regionals in May.

David Smith was around this week and it was my first week back on the Row Perfects and water full time. My back is feeling great; certainly much better than a month ago. I am getting very jazzed for NSR I in late April. Today we did some 1500 meter pieces at a 30 against the folks at Pocock. Helen cleaned up the women pretty nicely and I held onto to Warren North pretty well - having never beaten him or been within contact of him on the water, to duke it back and forth and barely get taken at the end is a huge improvement for me over the last 12 months. And Ryan rocked out their big guys, though none of those PRC heavies are particularly stellar.

Looking forward to the next 4 week push - one month to the big one. I have my weight sitting at 153 and am looking to find some big guys with whom I can battle out in team boats.

Elk Lake Spring Regatta

Pretty awesome weekend up in Victoria for Seattle Rowing Center. We brought up a hefty contingent of junior and elite athletes. All level performed well. Our junior team won the women's Jr. 2x and the Men's Jr. 2x. We had strong contention in other events, with a number of second and third place finishes that came down to the wire. Our elite team won the women's Open 1x. I raced in the Open 1x against the big boys and finished 3rd with some pretty hearty (and exhausting) racing. I was quite proud of my effort and composure in a gnarly cross wind. I lost only to the largest and fiercest of fat-weight rowers. I also finished 2nd in the lightweight 2x, in which my partner was a Junior with an erg score barely under 7:00. We lost only to the Canadian national team. Our Open 4x race was run uncontested with little to write home about. All and all, and fantastic event. The host were well organized, and though the venue was muddy, the weather was reasonably quality with no meaningful delays. I always enjoy a trip up to The Promised Land: Canada!