Lightweight Eats

When I last updated you all, I want coming off of a great training block heading into the Senior Trials 1 for the single. It's impossible to summarize that race in a word or a sentence or probably even a paragraph.

We had beautiful conditions for the time trial and heats. Thanks, Lady Mercer.

There were some really great things about the week. It was clear that my crazy hard 10 week training block had paid off with fast times: 7:54 in flat to headwind conditions vs. 7:59 in a ripping tailwind from April. I played around with the weigh-in (sweating out 1-2 pounds in July is way easier than I remembered). The field of lightweight women was stronger and deeper than I've ever seen it, so races were tight enough to be fun and strategic. And I discovered that I have a kick-ass sprint.

To get the better semi-final, I needed to win this heat, but I was too conservative and wasn't able to challenge Hillary for the win

But there were also some really disappointing things about the week. I made a few bad racing decisions that landed me with a really tough semi-final. And that kick-ass sprint wasn't good enough to earn me a spot in the four boat final. The depth of the field also meant that, even had I qualified for the final and despite my huge improvements, I wasn't even close to fast enough to qualify the single.

I made up 3-4 seconds in the last 200m, but still missed the final by 0.4 seconds

Keep an eye out for Michelle Sechser, the trials winner, at this year's World Champs. She won bronze in the lightweight double last year, but missed the selection process for that boat due to injury. She will be a strong contender for the top of the podium in the lightweight single.



So where do we go from here? Well.. Boston, naturally.

The Charles River

US Rowing made some positive changes to selection procedures this year, separating the trials for the lightweight single and the lightweight quad and pair. (Previously, the big and small boats were contested simultaneously, forcing athletes to choose.) The trials for the quad and pair will be held August 5-8 once again on Mercer Lake in New Jersey.

With only a month between trials, the scramble began to get a fast lightweight quad together. Plans changed at least three times in as many days before the dust settled, and ultimately, I ended up in Boston with three of the four finalists from the singles (everybody except Michelle, who will be racing the single). Christine Cavallo, Hillary Saeger, Margy Bertasi and I have been training under coach Linda Muri out of Riverside and Cambridge Boat Clubs on the Charles River.

Linda has been kicking our butt with hard work in the quad and in doubles almost every day. It's awesome! And slowly but surely, we are taking four super strong single scullers and becoming one super strong quad.

We'll be racing at trials uncontested. (A lot of lightweight women chose to focus on the newly added lightweight pair or on getting race experience at Canadian Henley.) As long as we can make weight and make it down the course in one piece, we'll qualify to race at the World Championships this September. Of course, we want to do much more than that. Opportunities to do a 2000m race on buoyed courses are few and far between, so we'll be looking to practice our racing and build our confidence with a fast time.

Once we've made it down the course, check back here for a post about just how excited I am (I'm holding it at bay until we cross that finish line) and how to help us get to Worlds. The lightweight quad, as a non-Olympic boat class, is self-funded, meaning we have to pay for every aspect of our trip. The total bill is a little daunting.

As always, schedule and live results from trials will be posted on HereNow (under Senior 2 Trials). Live video streaming will be available on the US Rowing YouTube page. And up-to-date regatta information can be found on the US Rowing website.  I'll be posting more regular updates to Instagram and Twitter as the race approaches, so click on over and follow me there!

Follow me on Twitter! If you like what you read, please share it using the buttons below!