Chula Vista Update: Forecast of 75 and Sunny
We’re getting to the end of a great training trip here in Chula Vista, CA. It’s been a great opportunity to find some great water and great weather (high of 75 here today) with some of the top lightweight rowers in the country. One of the greatest things about the Olympic Training Center so far is the athletes that are here. Sitting at the dining hall after practice and meeting Olympic medalists and hopefuls in different sports reminds us of what it’s all about. Bringing some of the top athletes in our sport together also means that every practice has an extra level of intensity and while Rio is four years away the work definitely starts here.
Even the signs on campus try and keep people focused
Most of the training has been in straight fours (a four man boat where each rower has one oar), which is one of only two boat classes that compete in the Olympics for lightweights. We have had a mix of technical rows, steady state aerobic work and all out race pieces, but when nobody wants to be behind all of the workouts end up being a bit of a race. It’s also not just lightweight rowers out here, fellow GRP rower John Graves showed up for a few days to row with his brother and there are members of both the heavyweight men’s and women’s olympic team that are around trying to take advantage of the great water and facilities.
In between practices we also had a chance to rest in the “AT&T Athlete Connection Center,” a lounge outfitted with TV’s, pool tables, ping pong and plenty of other distractions.
Kyle taking a break
A view of the lounge with motivational quotes and pictures of US Olympians on the walls
Olympic pool table?
We also have been breaking up the rowing with a little cross training by running on trails in the nearby hills and even playing football a couple times. While lightweight rowers may not be the stereotypical football type we have been able to get some fun games in. Tomorrow is the last day of the camp and we’re going to finish it off with our own rowing combine, complete with max watt test, bench press, mile run, tire flipping and other feats of athleticism (or lack thereof). After all this it’s going to be back to as much more skiing in Craftsbury as we can get before heading down to Clemson to get back on the water to prepare for the racing season.