Masters Camp

This weekend the boathouse hosted a camp for rowing Masters*. While there were some bad things (which I choose not to harp on) overall it was a great learning experience. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate for most of the camp so our rows were punctuated by 30 mph winds and white caps on the water. Not the ideal situation for rowing, but we made do.

I did learn a lot this weekend. Part of the camp was interacting with the resident High Performance rowers. These are individuals who are hoping to make the National team and eventually represent the US at the Olympics. They are truly phenomenal athletes!

We had one session where Bryan Volpenhein (3 time Olympian, 2 time medalist) spoke to the group. His story was truly amazing! He medaled in both Athens and Beijing but didn't medal in Sydney. He gave us an overview of the preparation it took heading into the Olympics and the experience of the races. He was very inspirational now and is currently working in OKC with the High Performance Group.

I also had a chance to meet lots of great rowers from around the country. We had folks in town from Washington state and Washington DC and every where in between. They all were truly amazed at what we are creating on the river in OKC. So if you haven't come down to the boathouse, come have a look. OKC is setting a new standard!

Overall it was an exhausting weekend with long days and lots to do. I've got some great new blisters on my hands and some new aches in my body! I look forward to meeting my new friends again at Masters Nationals!

* Masters does NOT mean we are the best. Instead the Masters program is more of an adult recreational rowing league. However there are several different competitive levels within a Masters program. I'm intermediate!

Somethin's Cookin'

Happy early birthday to me! So far the lead up to turning 31 (shhh..) has been AWESOME!

Let's start with the inspiration for this blog's title. For my birthday Clay asked what I wanted to do. My job has me traveling so much lately I wasn't in the mood to go out or have a big shin dig. Instead I wanted a quiet evening at home with a yummy meal. Clay has quite the repertoire of amazing dishes but he really outdid himself this year. He decided to make Butternut Squash Ravioli from scratch! That's right, he made the pasta and everything from scratch!

I should have taken pictures of the process (which took ALL day) but I didn't. However, imagine every square inch of counter space covered in some kind of something. And then imagine that he used every dish we have in the kitchen. I think you get the picture. Anyhow, here is the result! It was FABULOUS!

Butternut Squash Ravioli

For my birthday the thing I wanted the most in the whole wide world was my own skulling oars. Last season I discovered how valuable it is to use the same set on a regular basis. While you'll get good calluses on your hands you won't have as many blisters. So this season I decided I was going in all the way.

If you're curious about the process for ordering custom oars feel free to ask. It was a lot of fun! I ordered from a company called Concept II and their customer service was fabulous. But the most exciting part was that I got purple blades! They are beautiful and the most recognizable blades at the boathouse :)!

Just out of the box!

Happy early Birthday to ME!!!