USACK Team Trials

The first day of USACK team trials went really well. I was super nervous to race since it was the first race of the year. We have done lots of time trials which has helped however nothing can replace that first sprint race of the year, and  it can be nerve racking! The heat went well, stayed relaxed in the start gate and brought it off the line quickly then was able to settle into a nice comfortable pace. I did not want to slow it down to much because of the blustery side wind. I find that going slower in a side wind causes me to be blown around a lot more then just powering through it. I ended up winning the heat which helped me regain some of my confidence. The final was in the afternoon which is a significantly more pleasant time of day for me as I am not a morning person. The side wind was still blowing but not nearly as bad as it had been earlier. I got off to a good start and was able to hold it throughout the race. Part way through I did run into a stick which momentarily stock on my rudder bring me to what felt like a screeching halt,  but it ended up popping out so I quickly regained my boat speed and was able to fend off a late charge by my awesome K2 partner to claim the win!
 The K2 was the next race and it was a lot of fun we felt connected in the boat and were able to have a strong controlled race and put another win in the books!
Tomorrow is the 200m races which will be lots of fun.
One thing I realized was that I really need to work on my confidence throughout the year and not just the day before a race lol. But one thing that helped me out as I was fretting the night before the race  was this episode of a kids cartoon called Kong fu Panda and the secrets of the furious five http://youtu.be/950xNU2O6Uc . I know it sounds silly but it was really great, plus it made me smile.
As always the boathouse district put on an awesome race!