moving, racing, winning, fireworks, and philly

Let's see we left off on Monday, when I found out that I was officially cut from the U23 team.  So then after a few phone calls I found my way onto the pre-elite team down in Philadelphia.  So Tuesday after my last U23 practice, my friend Catherine drove up to Princeton to pick me up.  Tuesday afternoon was my first pre-elite practice in the quad, apparently I had lots to fix, but we made it through practice.

The first things I had to get were bedding and food, so a quick trip to target and $180 later, I settled into my bed and fell asleep in my new apartment with the rest of my new team.

Wednesday we had morning practices and afternoon practice was weights and a 5k.  Settling into our routine and needing a bike led me to Walmart late on Wednesday to pick up the cheapest one I could find. 
Thursday was 500s in the morning followed by an erg 8k for me.  Then we had the afternoon off so I headed downtown to get dinner and go to Whole Foods.  Friday was a short row in the AM and PM in quads, just spinning the wheels and making our legs go.  Saturday we did a 10k on the erg and then watched the girls 4+ racing. 

And then yesterday, Sunday, July 4.  I raced in the intermediate 8+.  We came in first in our heat by 22 seconds and then raced the final in the heat of the day and came in first again by 12 seconds to a different boat.  It was a fun race and we really picked up run and speed on the second race, even though there was a strong headwind.   It made our time slower, but our boat definitely moved faster. 

After racing I headed to my friend Catherine's to shower and have a BBQ with her neighbors.  Which was really fun!  Then we headed down to the boathouses to watch the fireworks.  I met a lot of really hilarious people and saw old friends.  It was a spectacular and fun night.  And then it ended with walking 3.5 miles back to my apartment with my roommate, because her bike got stolen a couple days ago.  Anyways, we made it home and all was well.

Now we are headed to a BBQ and pool swim with the team.  Enjoy a few photos below!

I'll update more often, but internet is shaky here!

At the awards dock.After racing, the Vesper intermediate 8+.Our new watches that we won!

Philly skyline at night!

best ~ Hilary