Wii Commercial!

The Wii commercial is online, starring me and Mags! Click here to watch.

Climbing Mountains

Yesterday Mickle and I did something we haven't done in a long time: hiking! (We used to do this on Sundays during the off-season, but in the competition season, it's tough to motivate ourselves to get out and do things on the only day we're allowed to be lazy.) But since I was feeling pretty bummed about not being in Lake Placid this weekend to watch the Ironman, I figured I'd get off my butt and do something worthwhile. We set out for Cuyamaca Rancho State Park [the mountains east of Chula Vista] early in the day to avoid the heat... and also because we never sleep past 6am, even on our days off.


Cloud-shadows



This squirrel stopped by while I was eating a peanut butter sandwich at the top. Then he used his cute-ness to force me to give him some of my lunch.


Mickle's hiking technique



My victory technique

On the way home we bought peaches, cherries, and pineapple from a roadside stand. *swoon*

Tyler is famous

Woohoo! Check out Tyler's book on amazon!

Pleasant Saturday mornings

I happily woke up at 5:30 this morning to watch the penultimate stage of the Tour. I don't have a tv, so I'm trying to stream it online. (My internet isn't really fast enough to do this, so I'm settling for just listening to the commentary.) Things could be worse. I'm drinking coffee and stretching, getting ready for my own training session which will commence in 2 hours. My training session-- 6x 250m-- is quite different than the Mt. Ventoux stage-- 167 kilometers, including a punishing mountain climb-- but there are lots of similarities, too. I think there's much to be learned from these riders, especially in the category of "Ferocity."

Introducing the women of Team USA

I got to be a coach for a day today and I must say I highly enjoyed being on the other end of the spectrum. I rode on the coach boat, operated the video camera, and shouted encouraging things. I kind of like this whole "coaching" thing! hehe. Here are some photos I took of the day.



The women's k4, front to back: Ariel Farrar-Wellman, Jen Burke, Kaitlyn McElroy, Maia Farrar-Wellman


Mickle enjoying her post-workout recovery snack of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. What a model athlete.


K4, and Mickle and Mags in their k1s behind.

Estrogen Fest '09

Last week, Nathan left for Lake Placid with the trailer full of boats and the men's kayak team. They're enjoying the cool mountain air while we're melting in 100-degree desert heat. But it's okay, because we have a secret weapon: Delyanya Dechava, our interim team-boat coach for Worlds!! Hailing from Bulgaria, she's a 2003 World Championship medalist and was 6th at the Athens Olympics in 2004. I find it interesting to get an elite female's perspective on technique and training, especially since she was so recently at the top of her game.

So, since the track athletes have left for World Championships, Nathan took the kayak boys away, and it seems like most of the employees here at the training center are female, I have named this month Estrogen Fest '09!!

Here is the press release from USA Canoe/Kayak about the Worlds Team.