Mom Fit!

It's been a long time since I posted anything about training, because the last year or so has been a bit of a roller coaster (in a good way!) of getting pregnant, being pregnant, having a wonderful baby girl, and getting healthy after giving birth.

Our little dumplin', Ryan Valkyrie!

I've just picked back up into working out daily, and it's humbling - but also feels so good to be back. Unfortunately, the nearest on-the-water rowing is a good 45 minute drive away, so I'm only able to do that some weekends, but the good news is that there are lots of beautiful places to run, hike, and bike nearby.

The first four months of being pregnant, I was trying to manage all-day morning sickness nausea with doing some training. It wasn't easy and I have a lot of respect for women who keep training at a high load while feeling like that! I also had to give up running after just a few months because it got really uncomfortable. Thankfully, rowing and erging still felt pretty okay for most of my pregnancy. I raced the Head of the Charles, in honor of my cousin Byron, with my mom at 7 months pregnant, and we actually went more than 2 minutes faster than our race a couple of years ago! (Shoutout to JL for hooking me up with a maternity unisuit!)

Lofgrens 1, 2, and 3 - just finished racing HOCR, 7 months pregnant!

For the last month or two of my pregnancy, I ran out of exercises to do that weren't really painful or uncomfortable, and ended up doing a lot of walking and light hiking, as well as some squats and stretching. An interesting thing about the last months of pregnancy is that your body produces a hormone called "relaxin" that literally relaxes your joints - for me, that meant I got super flexible even though I wasn't actively trying to get stretchier.

Ryan arrives!

Little Ryan came along at the end of a 24-hour labor, arriving at 3:33am. For those wondering: yes, it is harder than a 2K. I think being a rower helped with overall pain tolerance, but probably the best thing you can do to prepare would be those (awful) workouts where you're going for an unknown number of intervals, and you just have to keep going and not be able to tell that the interval you're on is the last one. I didn't want pain meds during labor or delivery, and thanks to having the support of my husband and a great doula (who's also the #2 Muay Thai fighter in Germany...what?!), was able to do that.

First family walk...

Thankfully, Ryan and I were both doing pretty well after she joined us, and we were able to go for a first family walk just a few days after we got home. I mostly walked for the first month, and tried to get a lot of sleep (not so easy with a newborn, nursing, healing, etc.) The second month postpartum, I started doing a little erging and some core. Our gym was sponsoring a 5K erg contest, so I decided to step up my training - doing 5K steady state pieces, 500m and 1K and 1500m interval sets, and other prep workouts. I ended up with a 19:02 5K, which I was pretty proud of, considering I'd had a baby less than 10 weeks earlier!

Around the time that I went back to work, I decided I wanted to work out every day. I didn't realize it at first, but I got really dehydrated and my milk supply was affected. I didn't know what was going on and got really worried, and backed way off of working out. Thankfully, it resolved quickly, and I've been able to get back to building up into training again.

It's really weird, as an athlete whose life pretty much revolved around being in touch with my body, to go through a year-plus where I was constantly feeling weird or nauseous or uncomfortable or just - not like myself. I love our little girl, and going through this journey has made me respect even more the women in rowing and in other sports that train while pregnant, have their baby, and get back to training and continue to dominate. I am also so grateful to be part of a sport that I've already been able to get back to. I'm also linking up when I can with a running group for new parents here - "Stroller Warriors" - and it's awesome to have a group that is so supportive of each other.

"Stroller Warriors" PT testing day. Pullups!

When you're part of a team, it's so much more enjoyable to push yourself to go faster and try and go just a bit further past what you thought you could do. In some ways, it's humbling to be quite a bit slower than I have been before. In other ways, I'm really proud of how quickly I see myself getting stronger and fitter. I also feel lucky that so many of my U.S. teammates and international competitor-friends are going through similar journeys now/recently/soon - and to see all of us kicking butt, in our own ways!

I'll be working to post more regularly now - it's tricky with a little one! - but I'm hoping to be racing at the Charles again this year, if not sooner, so... playlists at the very least. It feels great to be back at it! Thanks for all the support. Go USA! (And go moms!)

HOCR 2013: For the Love of the Charles

If all of American rowing has a Homecoming weekend, it's Head of the Charles here in Boston, Mass., and it's glorious. Every year I wonder if it's just something I'm nostalgic about, but day one is done, and no, it's just as wonderful as I thought it would be.

It's impossible to duck into a coffee shop or even walk 20 feet without running into a former teammate or rowing friend. The whole weekend passes in a blur of new stories and familiar faces, although over the years the evolution has shifted from new significant others or fun summer coaching gigs to babies, jobs, houses, rings, surgeries, family, and everything else. Our worlds have gotten so much bigger, but the rowing world, even as the schedule at the Charles is full to bursting, remains so wonderfully interconnected.

Every year I've been in training, no matter how in or out of shape I am, the trip down the race course remains equally lung- and leg-burningly painful, although it never seems as excruciating after, recollecting a magnificently-made turn or boat passed with teammates. In spite of myself, I'm already looking forward to racing again the following year.

And the great thing about the Charles: it is the epitome of the rowing family. We're packed into our extended (rowing) family's living rooms, sleeping on futons and floors. It's unthinkable to have a meal this weekend that isn't shared with a long-missed friend. Rowers span over seven decades, generations upon generations, and it's impossible to tell who's the most excited to be here. We're a family brought together by love--the love of this crazy sport and everything that comes with it.

I'm racing tomorrow in the Championship Four at 2:39pm--I'll be bow #4, sitting in stroke, and could not be more excited to tear up the course with an awesome crew, coxswain, and everything I've got. If you're not on the banks of the river, watch live racing here. Good luck to everyone racing and GO USA!!!

It's 2K, 2K...

Photo courtesy Allison Frederick.

Howdy from the Chula Vista OTC! We're halfway through our winter training trip here, and California is still awesome. We've been able to get in a lot of good training sessions on the water thanks to a pretty mild winter. The camp group training for the light men's four has just joined us--all we need are Julie and Kristin from the light women's double to come down for another camp and it will feel like the gang's almost all here!

We're a few weeks out from the National Selection Regatta, which will be held for the first time out here instead of at the Princeton Training Center. And although we're not racing there this year, it's also just a few days until C.R.A.S.H.-B.'s, which was one of my favorite races as a member of Radcliffe Crew. I thought I'd share some of my ideas about getting ready to have a great 2K erg test.

Confession time: I had a period when I really struggled with erg tests. I would go out for every test shooting for a PR, and if I realized it wasn't going to happen, it was mentally very challenging to keep pushing myself to the end. What was the point of the test if it wouldn't show that I had worked harder and gotten fitter?

As an older and more realistic athlete, I now understand that while ideally every erg test is a PR, you can and should still have a good test no matter what your training and preparation have been leading up to the test. Sometimes an erg test will happen when you're training for a race later in the year, or when you've had to spend some time recovering from an injury or focusing on school or your job. Being prepared for an erg test is first and foremost about doing the things that work for you, but I thought I'd share some of what I like to do to be ready for an erg test!

It boils down to being prepared, and I like to break it down into three parts: the week before, the two days before, and test day. Confidence comes from knowing you've prepared. If you can check off those boxes leading up to the ergo, you'll feel mentally and physically prepared, and that's a huge step towards having a great test.

THE WEEK BEFORE: Test plan, playlist, logistics.
Having a plan for your 2K is extremely helpful. Your coach can give you suggestions for a race plan—usually what works is something similar to an on-the-water race you’ve had that went well. A few times in the week leading up to the test, make time to sit on the erg for 2000 meters and visualize your race plan while holding steady state splits. Practice transitions—when you want to increase the rate or drop your split—and rehearse in your mind encouraging yourself through a good test. If you have no idea what your plan is, check out my post on the three best 2K erg test strategies.

If you can listen to music for your test, make a playlist several days before. A 2K is only two or three songs long, so pick ones that you know will inspire and encourage you. I’ll be putting up a playlist this weekend that you might find some good ones on! Check back Monday for my February blog playlist! You can also look through my teammate Megan Kalmoe’s playlist that includes one song from each of the women training here in San Diego.

If your erg test is somewhere besides your normal boathouse, figure out logistics ahead of time. Make sure that you know how to get there and plan backwards so that you can arrive with plenty of time. Figure out what options are available for warming up and cooling down, and plan to bring a book if you’re going to be there well ahead of your race. The first year I planned to race CRASH-B’s, I showed up at the event site ready to register and come back later to take my test—only to learn that I was supposed to pre-register, and I only had 30 minutes to test in the “Bullpen” before it closed! Planning ahead will make race day that much easier.

TWO DAYS BEFORE: Sleep, nutrition, hydration, final preparation.
As you probably already know, a good night’s sleep the night before the night before your race, as well as the night before your race, are very helpful towards performing your best. Try to get the things that might normally keep you from that—such as schoolwork, work, errands, etc.—done earlier in the week so that you can be relaxed, get to sleep early, and log some good ZZZ’s.

Eating well and staying hydrated will also ensure you have a good performance. For the two days before your race, stick to foods you’ve eaten before and that you know sit well. Drink lots of water and other fluids, and if you’re not trying to make weight, consider adding a little salt to your meals to increase hydration.

The day before your test, if you are able to, do one last erg walkthrough. See yourself hitting your goals for each 250- or 500-meter portion of the test. The night before, pack your bag with water, snacks, your sweats, your mp3 player, and whatever else you want to bring to the test, so that you know you won't forget anything for the big day!

Philadelphia City Rowing throwing down at the Center City Slam this morning! Photo courtesy smugmug.com.

RACE DAY: Stay calm, focus in, trust yourself.
After so much preparation, your race day will hopefully be without too many hitches. You’re physically and mentally ready—all you have to do is your erg test! Don’t worry if you’re still nervous about your ergo. As my dad says, “Everyone walks to the boathouse a little slower on test day.” But also be excited for the opportunity to test the work you’ve done and knowing that you’ve prepared for a personal best.

This article from High Performance Rowing has specific nutrition and warm-up recommendations for 2K testers—it’s definitely worth checking out! One thing that was especially helpful for me: you can fuel up with a solid meal 3-4 hours before your test, but stick to gels or electrolyte beverages within 2 hours of your test, so that ideally you're racing on an empty stomach.

Ali warming up for a 30-minute! Photo courtesy concept2.com

My PTC teammate Ali Cox also put together a great post for Concept2 last year about the specifics of race-day readiness for C.R.A.S.H.-B.'s, which you can find here.

This is a long post, but if you take anything away from it, I hope that it’s that with a bit of preparation, you can put yourself in a good position for having a personal best on your 2K! And also that you will probably look better than this when you're in your last 250.

Sprinting for the finish a few years back. Beastmode!  Photo courtesy row2k.com.

Good luck with your 2K preparations, and check back on Monday for the February playlist!