Day 5: “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” in Newport Beach

Day 5 started off with some 1-minute pieces in the morning. Alex and Mickey in a quad with Maggie and Julia were up against two junior men in a double. The row had some ups and downs in difficult conditions, but the pieces were good, and competition is always fun. I was in a single, working with Steve on my spinning ability, starts, and 1-minute pieces.

The morning started off dry, until storm clouds came through, and we rowed a bit in a downpour. At least it calmed the water down toward the end of practice (and rain in Southern California doesn’t last more than a few minutes, it seems). We decided to do a double a.m. practice. So, after we dried off, we headed out for coffee and snacks in preparation for our second workout.

A.M. #2 started with a core circuit and then a 50’ sweat sesh on the erg. As nice as it is to row on water, sometimes you just need a good long erg. Afterward, we headed home for a much- anticipated meal.

With the afternoon off, we decided it was time for some exploring!  Alex headed out to watch the Duke vs. UVA basketball game with a friend from LA. Mickey, Steve, and I jumped on our bikes and took the ferry to Balboa Peninsula, in search of fish tacos and coconut water—straight from the coconut. We met up with Julia at Bear Flag, a seafood restaurant Steve discovered during his last training trip. We ended the evening with a dinner whipped up by Mickey and Steve, followed by a viewing of one of our favorite shows.