Nation Team Trials

After two weeks of training with the team in Oklahoma City, we finally got to do some races! This regatta was National team trials. Like usual in OKC, we had some serious wind for a lot of the races. 500m day had a pretty serious headwind which makes times slow, but I've always loved a good headwind. 200m day (race picture below) was a little bit calmer and sunny. I'm very proud of my team; everyone did quite well in all of their events. I raced all of the senior women's races. I got 3rd place in both singles distances- the 500m and the 200m. I'm very happy to say these results got me a spot on the World Cups Team! Now I'll race in Portugal the 2nd weekend of May, and Germany the 3rd weekend- representing my country: Merica. This summer will be really fun; full of European adventures, hard training, and races!

Painting for the USA Canoe/Kayak Auction

USA Canoe/Kayak is hosting an auction this Friday to raise money for the national team. I painted this for the event. I found a little time around my mid-day training naps :) This image was originally posted in a newspaper shortly after the 1984 Olympic team trials. In it is Jay Kearney, Jim Terrel, - and my own dad, Rod McLain, is the guy jumping the start on the left.

Driving out to Oklahoma City with the Team

We all drove out to Oklahoma in two cars. Had to play a few car games and make some fun pit stops along the way - like 'walking in Memphis.' It's great to have such an awesome team/family!

Getting Ready for National Team Trials

It's been a long winter of training. We just finished about a month of speed work to get us ready for the national team trials in Oklahoma City in a couple weeks. That will be the first big race of the season, and our results there will let each of us know what our summer will look like. From there we might be invited to big international competitions over the summer including World Cups, PanAmerican games, and World Championships. I'm excited for the season to start!

Huge thanks to Zach Wilkinson, for coming out the other day and taking pictures. This guy is great! He takes all his pics on his Phone6, and they are impressive photos.

Check him out:
twitter/instagram - @zswilkinson

New Boat

Hello world, meet my new boat! Time to start Spring training with a new Nelo Quatro - I named her Frelsi.

Heading Home from PanAms

We had a great regatta at PanAm Championships, Mexico City. Now I'm headed home. I competed in a bunch of races (K1 1000m, K2 1000m, K4 500m, K2 200m, K1 5000m) and I'm thankful for all of the experience I earned from this regatta. Thanks to all my teammates, coach, as well as the Mexican team and new friends for their support.