internet!!

we finally have internet in our new digs! now i can post a lot easier and without going over to the training center.

training this past week: we've had 2-a-days & 3-a-days this week. we started a lifting program with our strength and conditioning coach, dave "davie" williams. it's really great to have someone there looking at form and forcing me to up my weight when i need to. the workouts are short, no more than an hour, and really intense. my traps and biceps killed this week!!
we had two 30 minute massages this week. awesome. really feels great, especially after an intense session, either running or lifting.
our sessions with ric have been really great. it's so fun (but still pretty challenging) to play rugby all the time. only having 6 girls this week means we got to go through drills with a lot of repetitions (i'm sure it won't be much different with 7..). we've done a lot of drills and a lot of mini games.

the food at the training center is amazingly delicious. there are always lots of choices, mostly healthy options, and a lot of variety.

today was a recovery day. we went to the beach with some friends (welcome to cali katie! ..not sure i'm allowed to welcome people since i've only been here for a week, but oh well). it was ridiculous that we could enjoy the sun in january. it just didn't seem right. it got a bit chilly with the wind whipping off the ocean, but was still pretty nice.

after a treat of frozen yogurt, we picked up another couch for our almost vacant living room and headed home. kelly came in this afternoon (yay #7!) and she brought rock band..and brownies! of course, as elite athletes, we didn't eat the brownies ; ) but rock band is fun!

pictures to come tomorrow when i'm not so tired and have the day to catch up on internet/technology stuff.

here comes the pain

it's been a few days out here in chula vista since my last post. we took care of a lot of house things like getting a fridge, a washer and a dryer! our house looks more like a home each day and it's getting pretty cozy. now that things are settling down i'm realizing that this is my new home for awhile. it's a bit sad in thinking about not being home in nyc, but still pretty exciting.

last night i bought a puzzle and we enjoyed family puzzle night. kimber was especially good at finding body parts! even though lunde tried to destroy it in the end (it seems she may not have full control of those extra long arms) it looks great-go team!

our coach, ric suggit, flies in this afternoon and we have our first session with him at 3pm. we're all feeling a little antsy to see what he has in store for us on day 1. right now there are 5 of us here (me, kimber, deven, dowty, lunde). we have about a week together before the rest of the girls come for training camp leading to the vegas 7s tournament-should be..interesting  Vegas 7s rosters (see * near the bottom-cool!)

without internet at the house blogging is tough. we should be up and running by friday night though and i'll be back on track..

star struck

after an uneventful sleepover with Lunde in our new and spacious living room, we awoke and headed to the OTC for breakfast. the food here is so delicious..and nutritious! an egg white omelette (stuffed with peppers, mushrooms & soy chorizo), yogurt with granola, sausage and iced tea was my meal of choice. not having to prepare meals, cook or wash dishes will make this healthy nutrition thing that much easier for me. i'm generally decent with good eats, but this is definitely a step up.

i was in awh as we walked around the campus. just imagining olympic athletes in this location was making me all excited :) before i even saw any athletes i was practically jumping out of my skin with joy! once i did see a few athletes i realized one thing..olympians are huge!! everyone is so tall! ok, not everyone, but the proportion of tall people to not-as-tall-people is very different from regular life. so crazy. i think i stared a bit too much today, but come on--THEY'RE OLYMPIANS! i did not allow myself to take creepy pictures of these athletes, but i make no promises for the future.

we hung around the OTC and played on the computer for awhile then went off to home depot in search of a quick makeshift wall. after being passed around a few times, we were told that plywood would be the cheapest and simplest fix for a temporary wall. Lunde is pretty enthused to make this wall. i am quite confused as to how it will be done.

we headed back to the OTC for lunch then watched the men's 7s team practice. it was really amazing to see them in action! we met some of the players, as well as the strength and conditioning coach, dave williams, who will be working with both the men and women.

a brief period of relaxation came when we arrived back at the house. i sat out on the balcony taking in some rays. back to the OTC for dinner and internet usage. dowty comes in from her cross-country drive tonight. we're also getting beds in the house-thanks to usa rugby!

looking forward to lighting our fireplace tonight!! ..that's right boo..a fireplace :)

racing pigeons!

today was my first full day as a resident of california! the sun came out just for me ; ) i rode with em to her job early this morning-we stopped for drive-thru tuxedo mochas and bagels. i borrowed her car for the day and pretty much drove around all of san diego..good thing i like to drive.

i met with the owner of our house rental and did a walk through of our new digs. it's a great space, but it'll be interesting to figure out how to get 7 women into a 4 bedroom home. i call a room to myself! included in the house are two pigeon coops. apparently breeding racing pigeons is what happens out here! i've never heard of such a thing, but it was quite fascinating. the poop and feathers he left behind were much less interesting..

we can see the Olympic Training Center from our back yard, as well as some really beautiful scenery. i enjoyed sitting out on the balcony..just me and the sunshine! after an amazing meal of steak, veggies and sweet potato fries i'm ready for my trek (borrowed car from shaina this time-thanks!) back to chula vista from em's house (or, more likely, onto the couch--sorry Lunde).

san diego or bust!

january 17th marks my first night in san diego! i feel quite relieved to be here, especially considering i didn't have a complete emotional meltdown upon leaving (stay tuned, i'm sure it will come soon)..

on sunday i landed in nyc to a warm kermit (fontaine's jeep). we ate delicious food and enjoyed a very pleasant night together. monday was filled with errands and my last supper. and oh man, what a last supper it was! cheesecake factory. 2 friends. fastest order (without a menu) on record. all this made for an amazing meal and a comatose drive home, well worth it. on tuesday i enjoyed leftovers of chicken and biscuits and banana cream cheesecake-yumm!

after creating a joint bank account with my lady, we packed the car and headed off to the airport. upon arrival at the curbside check-in i realized that both my id and my credit card were left at said bank of newly founded joint account. ugh. fortunately, i packed my passport in my carry-on and was able to use a new check card that i hadn't previously used to pay the obscene luggage prices delta charges.

the flight over was quite productive. i watched hairspray on my laptop, finished harry potter 5, filled out all my paperwork for the otc and finished a few logic puzzles! i had the entire row to myself which was a sweet bonus. i landed safely in san diego where my dear friend em picked me up at the airport.

we headed to a restaurant where "the best burritos in san diego" are made. delish!  i'll sleep my first official night as a west coast resident on em's couch. tomorrow marks move in day and hopefully find a bed and refrigerator day too : /

fin!

camp is officially over. yesterday we played short scrimmages in the afternoon and watched the 15s squad scrimmage for 40 mins. there were some really amazing hits and line breaks! this morning we played a lot of games-really fun-and only trained for an hour. after showering and packing i find myself with 1.5 hours before we load the buses to go to the airport. it was a great camp filled with running..lots of running! it was great to see friends from all around the country and to hang out as a group.

in looking forward, it's beginning to set in that i'm moving across the country..to play rugby..everyday. i have waves of sadness in leaving and waves of excitement in going. i think once i'm over in california for a few days it will begin to settle in that it's not just another camp or tour where i'll be home in a week. i have no idea what to expect out of training full-time, but im sure it will be h*ll and happiness all rolled into one big fluffy rugby ball.

for now i will enjoy the last minutes with the 100+ players here at camp before heading back up north where i will enjoy my last moments with my love. i hope time moves a little slower for the next two days..

15s is fun!

the morning started off well with another 7s session. we focused on passing and kicking for awhile then moved into some more open field games. it was fun and way more relaxed than yesterday. we still worked hard, but it was an ease up from our previous intense sessions.

in the afternoon i was happy to hear that i would be joining the 15s squad! we began with a meeting about nutrition and how to keep a good diet. there were some good takeaways..and a lot of chuck norris "facts". (If you have $5 and Chuck Norris has $5 Chuck Norris has more money than you.) i can't say i know much about chuck norris, besides the fact that a lot of people think he's funny i guess, but nonetheless it was still the most hilarious nutrition talk i've ever been to.

we started the outdoor part of the session playing scrimmages. yay! we played two 3 minute periods of continuous rugby (no stoppages at all), with a 2 min break between. we did that twice. it involved quite a bit more contact than our 7s practice and i loved every moment of it!

john, the performance coach, led the backs through a kicking and catching progression. he's so great about breaking down elements of the game into small, achievable pieces then putting them all together again. not only did i feel accomplished after the session, i learned some really cool drills to do with just 2 people. cheers for john!

im not nearly as tired as i was last night and i'm already up later than i was. time to trudge back to hogwarts in hopes of finishing book 5 sometime soon..

10.5 hours sleep!

Day 1 of training camp is over and I was way too tired to share any news. In the morning session we raced each other, which can be pretty much half the game of 7s, did quite a bit of passing and played a lot of games. Nigel, the USA Rugby CEO, led us through some scrumhalf passing as well as one game that extended for about an hour. The games were challenging, but really fun.

 

After session 1! 

(dorms behind me..practice fields behind the cars to the right)

During session 2 we played more games. We set up one drill where we were chasing a breakaway runner-I really like that one, but it can be pretty hard. After about 2 hours of training we finished the day with fitness testing. Oh boy! This was the first time I actually felt good about how I did in the testing-thank g*d! It wasn't amazing or anything, but I didn't collapse and I held my own throughout the 10 mins of flopping on the ground and came out better than I expected. Yay for speed endurance training (thanks boo!)!

 

After session 2! 

..thus the 10.5 hours of sleep : )

So day one is over and I'm onto day 2. I'm feeling pretty good, although quite sore. Ready for lots of rugby fun!

tampa or bust!

a few changes occurred since i last posted. yesterday was my last day at work. although i didn't cry, i was quite emotional for most of the day. i was given a gold medal, upon receiving which i was told i didn't need to leave now--since i already won gold! i also was given an amazing book filled with letters from the boys as well as notes from my colleagues. this is a great memento to take out to san diego!

today i flew to tampa, fl to take part in one of the biggest, if not the biggest, training camp i have been to. there are three 15s teams here (senior, all-americans & u-20s) and the senior 7s pool. i'm currently waiting at the airport with a group of the girls awaiting the bus that will take us to the training center. we'll be here until sunday...then i fly out west! crazy time!

i'm still a bit in shock about this whole thing, but it seems like it's really happening..

the beginning..of the end

time has been flying since i was invited to san diego to train/play rugby full-time. it's still pretty crazy and unreal to me..and im definitely still in shock. of course i feel totally honored and privileged to embark on the journey of a lifetime. training at the olympic training center-near real 2012 olympic athletes-will be wild!

last night was my farewell karaoke bash with nyrc. i cried, naturally, but it was great to be with the team one more time : ) this week marks my last two days at work (many tears there as well). i cant believe im really leaving!

as for today-my new phone (thank you face-time!) is waiting for me in a box next to the bed and what feels like 70degree weather is waiting for me outside..what a day!

cheers for the return of the no legs no run blog (tyshawn: you're welcome)..i look forward to sharing this insanely amazingly crazy journey! : )