Rowing: That Is the Question!

Welcome back to New Jersey and full-speed winter training! We returned from Thanksgiving break to mid-60s, sunny, summery weather, and are now confronting chilly December mornings and the joys of winter wind. But whether the training's indoors or out, it's all focused on getting us stronger, fitter, and tougher for the racing in the months ahead!

The GMU field house!

I had a great Thanksgiving break, getting to spend an awesome few days in Washington, D.C., with my boyfriend, Kyle. I also got to hang out with the George Mason women's rowing team, and even got the chance to share a little bit of my rowing experience with them (thanks for sticking around after morning practice, y'all!) At the end of my presentation, there were several really great questions, and I realized I haven't ever put up a post where I asked my blog readers exactly what they wanted to know. So...here it is. Ask away! Just post your question at the bottom of this post or email me at esther.lofgren@gmail.com!

Some of the questions I've been asked before: How can I get faster on my 2K? How do you get ready for a 6K? What do your hands look like? How much can you squat? What do you eat the night before a race? How did you learn how to scull? What qualities do you think make a good coxswain? Where do you find tall jeans? What's a video that you watch to see good rowing? How do you keep the boat from riding down to your side?

Racing with someone I learned a ton from--thanks, Shoop!

If you ask most elite rowers--and elite athletes in general!--most will tell you that they learned much of what they know from observing and asking people they thought trained and raced well. I continue to do just that, and I'd be happy to share what I've learned with you. Please send me your questions, and I'll answer them as best I can!

Happy training!