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Hey all,
So sorry I have been a super lame captain the last two weeks. Between working on my car and having to avoid collisions with boats from Winnipeg that come into my lane, it’s been kind of busy. Not to mention the fact that thanks to the DMV not getting my license paperwork processed faster, I now have to wait until september to take my MCAT. SO FRUSTRATING. Anywho, back on topic. We are returning to BMC in under 9 days! WHO IS EXCITED? For anyone who actually bothers to read the things that I post, Mazz and I discussed getting hats as our team apparel item this year. We’d get wicking hats with some kind of BMC themed embroidery. Colour selection is important- I do not support black, purely because unlike me, you guys fry to death as it is on the course. Tell me what you think between white or gold/yellow. If any of you are actually reading this, I’ll post my version of lyrics to call me maybe, as demanded by my competitive women’s eight, after we raced a 400 meter dash, after the quote of the day. Purely for your enjoyment. As you read them, imagine me singing these lyrics to the song tune, loudly, while blasting this. Humourous, right? Partying in Canada after racing was more entertaining, though…
We are down to the wire. I hope you guys are ready to blast off this season, because Mazz and I are so excited to be working with you guys. We have high hopes for this season, and we know we can do really well (esp. at Charles) if we all keep up the hard work we have put forth this summer. Now, Lina and Vanessa are still on the mend, but both have told me that things are going well, all things considered. Lets keep all the positive momentum going that we can, ladies- we set the example for the future underclassmen, and we know at least two of them who are joining us. They are ready to strive right along with us. Who’s ready to make this the fastest boat Bryn Mawr has ever had?
“It’s neither the catch nor the drive that makes a great rower
A great rower is found somewhere between the oar and the slide
between starboard and port, bow and stern
A great rower is found within the heart
Where blood coarses like the fresh open water
Into each fingertip, each line of the quad and the back
Driving and recovering back to the heart
Where no mind, nor state of pain can touch…
-John DeMello”
Two’s sculling up at the catch
Ref’s alignin’, calling the start
I looked at Stroke, the flag fell,
But now we’re on our way-
Wish five would stay in their lane,
twenties and tens for the dash,
We started passing lane five,
But now lane three’s in my way
Our rate was holdin’,
JL unis, shoulders burnin’
Late dash, wind was blowin’
Where are the refs? I’m goin’ crazy!
Hey, We already raced,
And this is crazy,
But I’m your coxswain,
Row for me, maybe?
It’s hard to look right,
Past you stroke seat,
But here’s my bow marker,
Row for me, maybe?
Hey, We already raced,
And this is crazy,
But I’m your coxswain,
Row for me, maybe?
And all the other crews
Try to beat us,
But here’s my bow marker,
Row for me, maybe?
We took a ten on my call,
Started to walk on bow one,
We sprinted all the way in,
But still, lane three’s in my way
I call, and protest and steer
Must Weigh ‘nuff, it’s unreal
How could this happen, such a mess
But Lane three’s in my way
Our rate was holdin’,
JL unis, shoulders burnin’
Late dash, wind was blowin’
Where are the refs? I’m goin’ crazy!
Hey, We already raced,
And this is crazy,
But I’m your coxswain,
Row for me, maybe?
It’s hard to look right,
Past you stroke seat,
But here’s my bow number,
Row for me, maybe?
Hey, We already raced,
And this is crazy,
But I’m your coxswain,
Row for me, maybe?
And all the other crews
Try to beat us,
But here’s my bow marker,
Row for me, maybe?
Winnipeg came into our lane,
Refs missed it so bad
Refs missed it so bad
Refs missed it so, so bad
Winnipeg came into our lane,
Refs missed it so bad
And you should know that
Refs missed it so, so bad
It’s hard to look right,
Past you stroke seat,
But here’s my bow marker,
Row for me, maybe?
Hey, We already raced,
And this is crazy,
But I’m your coxswain,
Row for me, maybe?
And all the other crews
Try to beat us,
But here’s my bow marker,
Row for me, maybe?
Winnipeg came into our lane,
Refs missed it so bad
Refs missed it so bad
Refs missed it so, so bad
Winnipeg came into our lane,
Refs missed it so bad
And you should know that
Row for me, maybe?
Good evening, all! I hope you have been enjoying the Olympic rowing races, but have also kept active during this. Perhaps we need to come up with an exercise game to go with watching the olympics? How 10 scullers for every “uninformed” comment done by olympic commentators? or 10 jumpies every time a previous race is mentioned (ie, Beijing, Athens, Atlanta)— 20 every time they mention the games at Atlanta (1996)
Anywho- we’re into the last month before Bryn Mawr arrivals. I hope you’ve all had productive summers. Currently, Vanessa and Lina are experiencing surgery recovery– Both say things are going well (hurrah- good news!) Let’s keep our eye on the prize, and stay focused right into August 31st- can’t wait to see you all!
If anyone here is secretly dreaming of making the Olympics, I can tell you exactly how to do it, two words: Sustained Obsession. The obsession isn’t so hard. But keeping it sustained is a tough nut to crack. A heart-felt enemy can go a long way to sustaining your obsession. Love your enemy.” – Brad Alan Lewis
Hey all! Hope you’ve had a good week so far. I’ve been keep at doing yoga and the body weight exercises, working on my car (more physically intensive than you’d imagine…), and chasing around rowers at my boathouse. Please take not that we are back to lifting this week (if you have been following the schedule), and that we have less than 40 days left to Bryn Mawr return! (I know, exciting and depressing all at once!) Hopefully you’ve all kept hydrated, and have been staying in tune with any injuries you had prior to the summer starting. Please make sure to update the captains and Coach if something has gotten worse, or developed, and maybe place a phone call to the trainers- they are in during the summer. Lina is having her shoulder surgery this Friday, so let’s be sure to keep her in our thoughts this weekend. I’m sure she’d love a hello from those of you who know her.
In the meantime, let’s hear from the rest of you- only two people per week have commented for the last two weeks- let’s get some more participation! I know some of you are busy, and some don’t have internet access (or it is spotty), but the rest of you definitely have time for a two minute post once a week, even if you just say, “I’ve been following the workout schedule.” Just check in with us so that we know how you’re doing- studies have shown that it is easier for a group (like a team) to continue on an exercise plan IF they have confirmation from the members of the group that everyone is exercising too.
An excellent quote at this point:
“Marathon runners talk about hitting ‘the wall’ at the twenty-third mile of the race. What rowers confront isn’t a wall; it’s a hole – an abyss of pain, which opens up in the second minute of the race. Large needles are being driven into your thigh muscles, while your forearms seem to be splitting. Then the pain becomes confused and disorganized, not like the windedness of the runner or the leg burn of the biker but an all-over, savage unpleasantness. As you pass the five hundred meter mark, with three-quarters of the race still to row, you realize with dread that you are not going to make it to the finish, but at the same time the idea of letting your teammates down by not rowing your hardest is unthinkable…Because what it takes to win races is the ability to reach inside and pull out something to keep you going.”
Hello all! We are more than halfway through summer training at this point, and I hope everyone is feeling more fit by this point. If you haven’t been checking in regularly, let’s have you all check in now to share how you are progressing, and use this to propel us forward into the second half of summer training. Keep positive and focused- I know those of you who don’t have rowing clubs near you are itching to be back on the water, but the land fitness will help get our strength up like nothing else. It’s the off season training that makes champions, not just the time that every one of our competitors also puts in during the regular season. I didn’t get a whole lot of exercise this weekend apart from the hectic running that is usually associated with helping fellow club members at a regatta with oars and such. But my women’s eight got second (not bad, for a boat that hadn’t done more than two or three high rating practices previously…)! So over all my weekend was good. How about everyone else?
Quotes for the week:
In rowing I found a sport that demanded some skill, granted, but placed a much higher premium on plain hard work and persistence.
— Harry Parker, Harvard Freshman Crew Coach (1961-1963); Head Coach Harvard Crew (1963-present)
Eight hearts must beat as one in an eight oared shell or you don’t have a crew!
— George Pocock
Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the Heroic makes Heroes.
— Christopher L. (Kit) Vallhonrat, USNA 1993, quoting Disreali
(And the week before that as well)
Hey all! I am so sorry I was AWOL last week and part of this week. Last week was a super busy week, and as some of you know, I got a stomach flu on Monday. Goes to show you what happens when you hang out with small children too often! (JK… but actually) So right now, we are almost halfway through summer training! Everyone has posted to the blog at least once (I know a few of you have a spotty internet connection) and I am happy that you all check in every often, even though it would be great if you all posted once a week. I am exited for all of your summer doings outside of the summer training as well! It seems as though you guys are all doing a great job staying hydrated (super important, in light of the recent heatwave- some girl where I am from decided to go running when it like, 98 out, and she died because it was too hot out) and none of you have created new injuries! Always a good thing. Also, as you all know from the email, we’ll have Lina back in time for the spring season! (Cheers all around!) But in the meantime, let’s all work extra hard to be competitive this fall. I cannot express how fortunate I count myself to have all of you as my teammates, because you are all dedicated and you work super hard to accomplish your goals, all with enthusiasm to boot. Let’s keep it up through the next half!
Because I lack a gym membership, and by the time I get off the water in the morning, it is too hot to go running as of late, I have been doing indoor yoga and the body weight circuits. How has everyone else been? Hope your 4th of July was fantastic! I got to watch the fireworks from the boathouse my island sits on.
An apt quote from Nike’s “Just Do It” series:
“All your life you are told the things you cannot do; all your life they will say you’re not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you’re the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. They will tell you no, a thousand times no, until all the no’s become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no quite firmly and very quickly. But you will tell them yes.”
P.S.: For your rowing/athletics amusement:
http://greatdaytobeanathlete.tumblr.com/
http://the-rowing-commandments.tumblr.com/
http://whatshouldrowerscallme.tumblr.com/
Hey all! Sorry this is a little (ha, multiple hours..) later than usual in being posted. I hope that all of you are staying hydrated- especially those of you out on the east coast this week. Please be careful everyone- it is so easy to not realize that you are dehydrated. Please also pay attention to your bodies- especially if you are injured! I cannot say this enough- care and prevention can keep you out of the trainer’s room more often than not.
Let’s also keep up a positive outlook though- we ended the season in the best shape our team has ever been in as a whole, and we’d all like to keep it that way. I know for sure the seniors would all love to beat the spandex off Mt Holyoke and Smith as Seven Sisters this year, and I am sure the rest of you would as well. We’re coming into the middle stretch of the summer pretty quick here, and 5K pace is going to be crucial. For those of you who joined in the spring, it will be a bit of an adjustment, but you’re all strong, capable women. Let’s keep the momentum going and be faster than the competition!
Inspirational quote for the week comes from two WSU coxswain’s views on Crew:
In no other sport is the word TEAM so meaningful as in crew. Together in a shell, eight oars and eight sliding seats act as bindings – stroke to seven, seven to six, six to five… all the way to the bow. One rower’s demon haunts the entire boat; perfection in one oarsman means nothing. A set boat and solid row is achieved solely when eight minds think identically, eight bodies melt together to form one machine… You see, it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about competition with yourself – going out there to do your very best, to give it your all, to have nothing left. It’s about supporting your teammates, pulling for them when you have all but lost faith in yourself. Crew is a sport that demands all of these things. It is not a sport of fame; it is not a sport of popularity. Rowing is above all that. Rowing is a sport of purity and strength, constantly made better by you and I.
Ladies! Lets try to make a push this week to be active AND to post about being active! While we would love and encourage you to do the summer workout program, we would also love to her about non-crew related activities! If you know of someone who is being active but hasn’t been posting, encourage them to post! I know I have slipped a little, but having to take 5-1/2 long hour practice exams will do that to you… I know sometimes it can be easy to forget to post- write yourself a post-it note reminder (or a reminder of any kind, really.) I hope you all have been having productive as well as enjoyable vacations thus far, and Mazz and I really hope to see some of what you have been up to posted to the blog.
Alright- we can do this! Let’s work our hardest and give it our all- remember, you’re not just doing this for yourself: you’re doing this for everyone on the team too. Let’s support each other. The fastest crews are the crews whose members know that everyone in the boat will undoubtedly kill themselves on the oar every stroke, and that trust is what gets them through a race. Let’s strive to become one of them- I know we can. Let’s see it!
Marathon runners talk about hitting ‘the wall’ at the twenty-third mile of the race. What rowers confront isn’t a wall; it’s a hole – an abyss of pain, which opens up in the second minute of the race. Large needles are being driven into your thigh muscles, while your forearms seem to be splitting. Then the pain becomes confused and disorganized, not like the windedness of the runner or the leg burn of the biker but an all-over, savage unpleasantness. As you pass the five-hundred-meter mark, with three-quarters of the race still to row, you realize with dread that you are not going to make it to the finish, but at the same time the idea of letting your teammates down by not rowing your hardest is unthinkable…Therefore, you are going to die. Welcome to this life.” — Ashleigh Teitel
Hello everyone! Welcome to the now “third week” of training. We start weights this week, and bump it up to four times a week for the Bryn Mawr schedule. I know Mazz, Lina, Rachel, and Marta have been running. Liz has been taking a spinning class; Vanessa has been bringing home some hardware for swimming this summer- excellent work! Swimming is also great cross training for the legs and more upper body strength. I’ll be competing in my first regatta this weekend of the summer- Yay! (PS- if you’re not mentioned here, post so we can know what you’re up to! And if you know someone who isn’t posting, tell them to post! We want to hear about all the ways that you are staying active- not just the summer training schedule.)
There was also some great racing this weekend down in Tennessee at Junior Rowing Nationals. There were some awesomely fast times in Oak Ridge. Mosey on over to Row2K and check it out.
For the the moment, I know those of you are are rowing this summer are focuses on 2K’s- I also want to remind everyone that this summer we need to think of endurance for that 5K length. Longer runs and bicycle rides/ longer time cardio will help us all to keep in shape so that we can have the speed and the power to outlast the competition this fall.
Also remember to stay conscientious of your body this week as we adjust to going back into the weight circuits. If it hurts, and you can tell something does’t feel right, stop. If you’re not sure, Terry is in his office all summer. Trust me- give the trainers a call. Drink lots of water- I know that where I am, it has been hot and relatively humid.
Finally, the inspirational quote for the week: Rowing is a sport for dreamers. As long as you put in the work, you can own the dream.” — Jim Dietz
Sorry this wasn’t up sooner- evidently the blog service decided not to post this at the scheduled time! Anyways…
It’s the second “week” of the training schedule, so hopefully we’ll see some more of you trickling in. Don’t forget that on Sunday, June 10th, we start weights. There is a set for those who have access to a gym, as well as those who do not have gym access. This week we are adding in the Jump rope workout as well. If you do not have a jump rope, simply do the motions without, picturing hoping over a low obstacle or something. Good luck, and let’s have a fantastically athletic week!
“The feel of a good row stays with you hours afterward. Your muscles glow, your mind wanders from the papers on you desk and goes back, again and again, to that terrific power piece at the end of the workout when it felt as if you and the boat were flying, as if you legs were two cannons and your arms were two oars and the great lateral muscles of your back were pterodactyl wings and the brim of your baseball cap was a harpoon.” — Barry Strauss from Rowing Against the Current
Is here! And you all know what that means- Summer training has begun! I know some of you have been rowing, or running already, but here is what is on the slate for today:
- 2 Plyometric exercises of your choice
- Small Tempo run #1.
If you can find a track to do your tempo run on that would be great. What also works, as Liz has suggested, is a football field! I’m sure most of you live near a high school with a field of some sort. Otherwise, if you’re like me, and this isn’t quite the case- women’s colleges are notorious for not having football fields, and the college next to my house has no fields with marked lines- you can pace it out by taking decently large steps (think strides.) Be sure to warm up well before doing these with about 15 minutes of cardio (running, etc.), stay hydrated, and stretch afterwards! Have fun and let’s see how much participation we can get!
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