Training Log Archive: Charlie

Very surprised that after a month off I had this much zip. 21:01.8, best of the rowing year so far, beating my 21:10.3 from last May. Lagged a bit in the middle, and unwilling to dig deep enough in the last 1000 to try for under 21. Another time. Maybe after another month of recuperation.

Weight about where I left it. Not surprising. Last year I lost a few pounds, but there was more eating this year, and certainly less running. Sleep is more or less an aggregation. Zack picked me up at JFK last night at 11:40 (plane was late) and I got about an hour on the rte 8 stretch, then about 3 hours of actual sack time before getting up at a late hour for Ratlum, 5:45 am. It will probably take a while to get my clock straight.

C • Breaking 21 3

At Fiumicino, awaiting first leg to IST, then a longish layover and heading to JFK, theoretically arriving 955pm. Cab to Jess's place where I will meet Zack and drive home with him. Figuring home maybe around 3 am +/-

C • Buon viaggio di ritorno a casa 2

Very nice day in Ostia, ancient port city of the Roman Empire. I had seen many photos, but had no concept of the scale. It is an enormous area, mostly quite ruined, but some of the buildings quite intact, including a theater, the Forum, the Forum baths, a Capitolium, various houses, etc. really fascinating, and the first really beautiful day of my trip. Mostly it has been cool, cloudy, occasionally some rain. Then after several hours among the excavations, a beautiful lunch at a fine seaside restaurant, a real pranzo. Calamari, moscardini fritti, spaghetti with calamari, mussels, clams and shrimp, big ones with the heads on. A nice pitcher of Prosecco, pronounced "onesto" by Tullio, and a caffè macchiato. Very fine, and seemed like a nap would be in order.

C • Ostia 8

A very fine evening with Tullio and Giulia and their friend Umberto who had accompanied us to Ostia. Their younger daughter Cristina came over with her young man Emiliano and a chocolate cake for Giulia's birthday, and it was generally a fine time, picking up about 40% of the conversation, less from Emiliano who is very fast and doesn't enunciate, more from Cristina who is very expressive, and getting filled in periodically in English by Tullio and Umberto. A very nice party. There was a lot of prosecco, and one over chilled bottle of champagne. Long travel day tomorrow.

Event: Flying Pig XIX - U.S. Individual Champs - Sprint-Middle-Long
 

There's been a lot of walking around town, and of course a lot of study, but pretty limited internet. Finished up at school today around 3:30 and hopped the excellent high speed train for Rome, having said goodbye to all my new friends, as well as a few from last year. Nice evening in Rome with my friends Tullio and Giulia, speaking Italian, eating, drinking wine, and watching a bit of TV. TV here is a bit over my head. They talk too fast for me, and I just don't have the context. However, I certainly recognize a bunch more of the political figures after a week or so. Tomorrow maybe a trip to Ostia, which would really be entertaining.

Out tramping around the neighborhood with Alvaro after dinner. Remarkable fellow. He decided he wanted to go for a walk without dogs, because he wanted to walk uninterrupted by all the sniffing, peeing and visiting they do. As much as he walks, one might think he would be slender, but that is not the case. After we came back he took the dogs out in succession. No idea when he might have returned from the last one, because I went off to bed around 1015.

C • Alvaro 1