Week 1 of Sacramento Camp

After having 2 cars broken into on a lunch stop on our way to our training venue, one including a smashed in window leaving 3 athletes with no computers or other personal belongings including 2 passports, we arrived in Rancho Cordova CA for our 2 week long training camp.  Not always the best way to start a camp but fortunately no one was hurt and I won't lie that I was praising God that my bright pink bag sitting with 2 of the bags that were taken (which contained a jackpot of electronics might I add) did not even get touched.  I guess have an obnoxious coloured bag is a good thing.
So after the drama we eventually arrived to meet the rest of the team for rigging at the course.  It is really neat being back at a course I rowed in University for the NCAA championships 2 years in a row.  It is a course that I won the NCAA champion title in the 4+ (coxed four) but also a course where we struggled as a team.  It is a beautiful course and has a 7k stretch of water that we can row which is great for training but very fatiguing after being repeat multiple times a day.
My lightweight 2x partner found out before leaving Canada that she had a rib fracture so she is here with us but training on the bike path with a sweet road bike.  This meant bringing another boat so that I could partner with one of the men.  My new partner is extremely experienced in sculling and sweep and has multiple accolades.  This is great for me as he is able to give me some fantastic feedback that I understand and can put into practice.  Some words make sense and others make sense and also evoke a physical response, and he has the ability to get the sight, sound and feel all in one word.
I also have my single here but I will probably spend a few more days in a larger boat until I figure out the course and get acquainted with the way things go here.  The men get a little verbal and do not mind pushing for their space, so learning to push right back, minus the vocality (or so I try) is important.

All in all I am excited about the results of this week.  It is going to be fatiguing and I know I will have to be cautious of injury.  Please be praying for our safety here, injury free rowing, and good gains as we approach selection. 
Have a wonderful weekend, get out and enjoy some form of exercise.  And when you don't feel  like it just think of all of us here training to exhaustion, then a little walk will seem like nothing :)