Third day was a charm!
Getting the third day on liquid water under our belts had us feeling pretty good as we finally started to find a solid rhythm during the morning row. Alex, Bridget and I got to row with Bill, a master’s rower at the Newport Sea Base Rowing club. Bill had the honor of toe-steering the quad from stroke seat, which allowed the rest of us to relax a bit and focus more on our technique, and less on setting a rhythm. We had some fun bumping the rate by doing three 2500m pieces at a 22, 24 and 26 stroke rating against Maggie and Julia’s double. Each piece had good improvements as we worked on matching and ratio at pace, trying to maintain a quick and light rhythm.
The next stage of practice was a solid Strength and Power lift. Steve gave us time to refuel and recover a bit after our row before hitting the weights for the next hour or so. Bridget pumped the tunes while we all pumped iron, including Steve! Overall, a solid training session.
After our morning session, we biked home, had our “second breakfast” of the day and took our mid-afternoon nap. Around 2:00pm we all went for a run with Steve around Balboa island. Our run was beautiful and relaxing with sunshine and blue skies. The island has a true topical paradise vibe as yachts, pleasure boats, and sailboats cruise around all day in the sparkling blue-green water. We even ran by a wild Balboian velociraptor hiding in the tall grasses along the shore! Pretty amazing place if you ask me!
52 degrees is still prettty chilly
Footprints in the Sand!
Classic Mickey Happy Face
After our run, the gang split up and explored the island for a bit, discovering quirky shops and yummy treats! Alex and I decided to take the $1 ferry across the canal onto the Balboa peninsula to walk along the pier into the ocean. Along the way Alex was able to get peculiarly close to a local seagull perched on top a pair of sightseeing binoculars! Pretty exciting stuff. Then, we decided to head down to the beach for a nice walk along the water during the “golden hour” of the day. We even dipped our toes into the chilly water for a thorough beach experience! To top off our relaxing evening, we stopped by a local food vendor where we bought fresh corndogs that were absolutely delicious! We considered it our “appetite ruining” snack if you will but, if you know us at all, that’s really not possible. As always we finished the day with a nice family meal. This time we decided to watch a movie while we ate. Steve picked out one of his favorites, Crazy, Stupid Love with lots of laughs, sadness and warm fuzzy feelings before another early bedtime to reboot for practice tomorrow!
Day three in Newport was yet another successful step in the right direction on our road to success!
BLEED GREEN!