Henley Sunday: Double the Fun!

Sorry it’s taken me so long to post—Saturday and Sunday of this week were a bit crazy, and I’ve finally just started to feel like we’re settled in here in Lucerne.

The USA ladies of the 8+ and the 4x with the Remenham Challenge Cup (8+) and Princess Grace Challenge Cup (4x)!

Sunday was another adventure at Henley. It started off with a bit of a bang-up during our paddle in the “Tall Quad” (rhymes with “awkward”) in the morning. I didn’t realize that motorboats were allowed to double-park inside the booms, and took off half my rigger during our trip down. Thankfully, aside from my rigger, the rest of the equipment was fine, and everyone was fine as well. After we got in from the row, I found out that unfortunately my teammate Erin Cafaro wasn’t going to be able to race that day. Thankfully, she’s doing much better, and is back in the 8+ for our racing this week in Lucerne.

The aftermath.

I headed down to the course ready for a day of racing and resting. We launched the eight and had a solid warm-up down to the start. After making sure we were aligned and both sitting ready, the official in the launch started us, and we were off! Our race was solid, if not quite as fast out of the blocks as the boat’s race Friday. We pushed towards the end, including a big move where we all pulled for Cafaro. We ended up tying the course record that the eight had set on Friday, which was really exciting to find out afterwards. The British national team definitely pushed us, and I’m sure there will be some good hard US-GB racing here in Lucerne.

Last strokes of the Remenham Cup final!

After our race, I felt like a crappy boatmate, but I was told to go recover and rest while the rest of the boat derigged and prepped the eight for travel to Lucerne. Luckily, the showers at Henley are freezing, and I had packed plenty of snacks, recovery drinks, and water, so I was good to go. About 40 minutes after I finished my cooldown from the 8+ race, my 4x teammates arrived to start warming up for our Princess Grace final! So, it was back to work.

We launched and had a much less eventful row up to the start than our paddle that morning (thankfully!) We were early to the start, and were hanging out waiting to pull into the starting blocks when we started being heckled by some tipsy teenagers on the bank. “Where are you from?” I pulled on my uni so they could see the “USA” down the side. “Oh, USA, huh? Well…row this one for Sarah Palin! I mean, for KFC!” Luckily, before they got to Walmart, it was time to row it up to the start.

Final strokes of the Princess Grace Challenge Cup. Photo courtesy row2k.com.

We had a really solid start, and as we lengthened down, we discovered we were in the middle of the best piece we’d had together as a boat. We executed our race plan and were able to push out, bit by bit, to a little bit of open water. It was really exciting to have our best piece be the final—it’s great to have awesome teammates who thrive under pressure, too!

Me and J.P. Newport/Harvard pride!

We only had a few minutes after the race to meet and be excited about the great race we’d had, because then it was off to get dressed in twenty minutes to get to the Steward’s Enclosure for the awards ceremony! We managed to get in a shower, throw on our dresses and hats, and powerwalk over just in time (there is no running at Henley!) Being in the medal stands were a great experience. I got to catch up briefly with J.P. Hogan, who won in the Harvard 4+, and with whom I’ve trained over breaks at the Newport Aquatic Center for the past few years.

Sir Matthew Pinsent was also our trophy-tender (you don’t leave with the Cup, you leave with a picture of the Cup!) and it was such an honor to meet him. After teasing our quad when we asked for a boat picture with him—“Ah, yes, the women’s quadruple sculls, the event for which I am best known”—he congratulated me and our team on our successes.

Pimms Cups with two of my favorite ladies, Meghan Musnicki and Elle Logan!

After all of the hoopla, I finally got to sit with a few teammates, friends, and parents, and have the obligatory Henley drink, a Pimms cup. Well, I didn’t entirely make it through the Pimms…turns out my stomach wasn’t up much for celebrating after all that racing. But I enjoyed the half a Pimms, and all of Sunday’s racing and Henley adventures, quite a bit. And I’m so proud of Team USA for our success throughout the racing. What a great first trip to Henley! 

Henley Saturday: Doubling Down!

  Today started off with finding out that I would be racing both the 4x and the 8+ in the semifinals today. Not something I expected to be doing at Henley, but also a great experience and what ended up being two really great races.

  In the eight, we got a lap on the course during morning practice to row together, and after about 500 meters, I felt ready to race as part of the crew. I then jumped back into the quad and we got in a paddle together. After a quick trip to Starbucks, it was time to start warming up for the 8+ race at 11:30. We had a solid warm-up and went into the race feeling good and excited to race. The rest of the boat set the course record yesterday--to Barrier, Fawley, and overall--and we went after it again today, managing to beat the 2006 record (this time in a headwind) by 3 seconds. It was a good piece, but also one we felt we could build off of. It was a good step towards the final tomorrow at 12:20 against Leander (the G.B. eight).

  It was a pretty quick turnaround from cooling down from our 8+ race (there is no cooldown area on the course, so crews either jog or erg to cool down) to warming up for our 4x race. Luckily, the showers are FREEZING, so there was no need to locate an ice bath! Refreshed, we headed back out into the lunch break madness for our 4x warmup. After passing a gentleman who'd overturned his kayak in the middle of the racing lane, we made it through our warmup and to the starting line. The umpires were a bit late getting back from lunch--we discussed it with the Aussies and decided there must have been some really delightful cucumber sandwiches at tea--but otherwise the race went off without a hitch. 

  We had just gotten into our base strokes when THWACK!!! My starboard oar hit what I thought was a buoy, until I realized that there are log booms at Henley, not buoys...and regardless, the hit was on the racecourse side! We all looked out and saw that I had in fact clobbered a duck, which I would like to think then righted itself and swam away, but which Elle (2-seat) confirmed was not doing very well after the hit. However, we did get a big kick in the pants from the incident, and found another gear. We ended up with a win to advance the boat to tomorrow's final at 3:40, again against Australia (we raced their 4x today; tomorrow will be against what we've heard is their W2x combined with their LW2x, and who set the course record today).

  Our teammates in the other USA 4x had an extremely challenging race against the other Australian quad, who threw down some very high ratings--from what the announcer said, "striking a 38" for much of the race--and in spite of also breaking 2001 course record, they did not advance. Some other USA crews today also had great but challenging races: our M8+ finished just 2/3 of a length down on defending world champions Germany in their first race together, our M4x was back the same distance on the G.B. quad, and our M2x was back 3/4 of a length on the 2010 WRC silver-medalists G.B. However, our M4- advanced with a 3/4 length win over Australia, and will race the final tomorrow at 3:00 against G.B. Gevvie Stone, who is preparing to try to qualify the 1x for this year's worlds, advanced to race against Knapkova tomorrow at 11:50.

  All in all, it was a great day for racing. We decided in our boat meeting after the 4x that the duck helped power us along--Elle: "Really, there were five of us rowing that race." R.I.P., little ducky, but we're on to the final in the 4x and the 8+ is ready to race as well. Time for bed here. Go USA--good luck to all crews racing tomorrow!

***Photos courtesy of row2k.com***

Henley Friday: Ready for Our First Race!

We are getting ready to head back down to the course in a bit and prep for our first race! We are lining up against Nottingham R.C. in the first race of the Princess Grace Challenge Cup at 11:40 here (that's 6:40am Eastern).

Training this week has been a bit of an adventure, but it's been really exciting to get to train and prepare for racing on this historic course along with the rest of our team and our international competitors. I think I've earned my bow seat stripes with steering during the lunch breaks the past two days. The lunch break rows consist of dozens and dozens of crews launching and heading down for a lap or two, exactly at the same time as nearly every pleasure boat unmooring and heading back up the course. Since the practice lanes are often only wide enough for one boat, it makes for some very exciting steering and very quick stops.

At one point, mid-power strokes, I happened to look over towards the course--we were right against the wooden booms--and saw a motorboat just off our oars, cutting across the course and heading directly at our boat. An extremely quick hold, a lot of yelling, and somehow both boats emerged unscathed...at which point I realized it was an umpire launch!

Anyhow, we're excited to finally be racing and to open up the throttle and go! The best source for live results  are the @henleyregatta Twitter feed, and there is a live race radio broadcast at http://regattaradio.co.uk.

Go USA!

Henley Royal Regatta: Day One Done!

After a marathon of planes, trains, and automobiles, the USA Women's squad arrived in Henley-on-Thames this morning and got right to work getting ready to race this weekend. I'm racing in one of the two quads we brought to the Henley Royal Regatta, with boatmates Caryn Davies, Kara Kohler, and Elle Logan. It's my first trip to Henley, and I really enjoyed getting to take in some of the sights around town today, as well as rowing on the historic and slightly-terrifying-to-navigate-on-the-outside-Bucks-lane course! I put together a little video of our adventures today...now I'm off to get on the right sleep schedule!

Fun Times in the One-Times:How to Succeed in the 1x without Really Trying

It's summer again. Championship racing is either just over or just beginning for you. And chances are, you will be hopping in a single at some point this summer, whether to race it, because there's an odd number of rowers at practice, or because your coach has told you it will be "good for you."

It's no secret that the single is the most technically difficult boat to row. While some might claim it’s the naturally-asymmetric pair—perhaps also because of the pair feature that the late coach Mario Katunarich explained as, "If something is wrong, it’s either you or the other guy…and it's usually the other guy”—the responsibility of moving the single rests entirely on you. Unlike an eight, where there is a coxswain calling "Ports—tap down at the finish!" or "Catches in!", in the single there is simply a constant internal monologue: "Row better—me!"

The women's team has spent most of this year sculling, in singles and larger boats, and we are currently training in singles for at least one practice every day. Although I've been sculling for more than ten years, this is the first year that I've really felt I can move a single well. Every day is still a learning process, though! I talked to some of the best scullers on our team, who are also rowing in singles right now, to see what insights they had on rowing the boat. Believe it or not, the best scullers in the world are thinking about the same things that people just learning to scull should be thinking about! Sometimes, it's funny to me how simple our sport is (although rowing the single is anything but simple!)

--The single only moves forward when your blades are in and your leg drive is connected to them. The single actually moves very slowly. For steady state, unlike an eight, you could actually keep up just by running along the shore. Therefore, it’s that much more important that you make sure you are connected before you drive, because an ineffective catch will not only add less speed, it will make the heavy boat even heavier and slower before your next catch. Stesha Carlé, who raced the 2x at the 2010 World Championships, says that one of her favorite drills to build a good leg drive is the reverse pic drill.

Sit comfortably at the catch with blades flat on the water, feeling your body weight down in your hips, with your core engaged so that your chest isn't supported only by your quads. Square your blades and bury them. Tap down with both hands and "bounce" in the water, fully submerging and fully releasing both blades, about one catch every second or two. By itself, this catch placement drill is great for feeling comfortable in the boat and confident at the catch.

To build off of the catch placement drill: after ten catches, use your last catch to connect and take a top-quarter stroke (use about 4-6 inches of your track, moving only your hands—to catch—and your legs to drive). Row top-quarter on the feather for ten, then lengthen to legs only for ten strokes. Take your time, making sure you can feel the blade submerge before you drive the legs. Add the body: place the catch, drive the legs, connect the torso. Don't jerk the finish to yank the blades out—tapping down lightly at the end of the connection will pop them out. Finally, add the arms. Don't worry about your boat speed; just try to feel the connection from the catch all the way to the finish in a smooth, aware motion. Try to carry that feeling over into the rest of your row.

--The worst thing that can happen in the single is that you'll flip. Okay, actually, hitting something could be worse, but most of what holds us back from trying to make technical changes is the fear that we'll lose our grip on an oar, catch a crab, or do something else that will cause that long, slow, tip over, as the thought "Agghh! I knew this would happen!" flashes through our minds. All in all, though, flipping's not that bad. Imagine being a pole vaulter or a ski jumper and having your coach tell you that you need to make a technical change. At least we're not 25 or 80 feet in the air when we realize we're having an "Oops!" moment!

We all try to be comfortable in the single—the boat’s inherent instability is one of the reasons it’s so difficult to row well—and pause drills and square blade rowing are the means to achieving better comfort and a feeling of control. Multiple-time NSR1 single winner, Head of the Charles Champ Single winner, and U23 World Champion Gevvie Stone says that core awareness and square blade rowing help her stay balanced and level in the single. “Not only does square blade rowing help the balance, but it also helps me to be more horizontal on the drive and recovery,” said Stone. “It also helps me have a cleaner release and catch,” she added.

Besides square blade rowing, the same pause drills and catch placement drills you did with your high school, college or club program in sweep boats are very useful for improving in the single. Drills such as a double pause at the finish—tapped down, blades off the water—and then at the gunwhales—with knees relaxed, arms extended and body over—can help you find relaxation on the recovery and a confident catch. Stone focuses on engaging her core and feeling connected to the footplate through the entire stroke to keep rowing well, even through the final strokes of a race.

--Don't pull so hard! When you're trying to learn to scull or make technical changes in the single, one of the worst things you can do is to get competitive and try to go at a certain speed or beat someone else on the water. If it's a piece that your coach is timing or a race, don't hold back. But if it's a technical row, treat it like a yoga class—it's not about "beating" other people, but about focusing on yourself and improving the things you need to work on. If you're only focused on beating someone else, chances are you're not thinking about putting your blades in before you drive, or you're going to tense up in the boat because you're not working on the set.

"The single is reactive—you can't throw yourself around," says the stroke of the 2010 World Championships quad, Natalie Dell. "Everything has to be three times smoother and more patient than you think it needs to be." Taking deliberate and effective strokes will ingrain good habits, so when you do bump up the pressure, you'll be able to think about racing, not just whether or not you're going to catch a crab!

For those looking for a magic bullet: unfortunately, the best way to get better in the single is to...take more strokes in the single! But if you focus on these things, you will find yourself rowing better very quickly. Just remember to relax, breathe, and maybe even enjoy it!

**Photos courtesy of Katelin Snyder and USRowing**

One Down, One to Go in Essen

R to L: me, Sarah Zelenka, Jen Kaido, and Sara Hendershot accepting our medals!

Yesterday was the first sculling race for half of our boat--and the first win for them, too! After having our exhibition race/race for lanes cancelled in the morning, we had a straight final in the afternoon. International races are always a bit touch-and-go in the warm-up area, and yesterday was no exception, especially with about half the crews competing here being Under-23 and almost entirely without coxswains. We made it to the line feeling ready to race, at which point we were told we were moving lanes because one boat had scratched--and because an EIGHT would also be racing in our event! The official's racing instructions included: "In the eight: pay no attention to the starting command or lights. You will be started ten seconds after the quads."

It was a bit crazy, and we couldn't help but relax a bit in our boat--your coach always says, "Be ready for anything out there!", but I'd never have guessed that would include racing an 8+ while in quads. Anyhow, we executed our race plan well, especially in some choppy cross-tail to cross-head conditions, and ended up with a 3.4 second win over the other USA boat. We were both well ahead of the third quad, a Swiss U-23 boat that was a little over 16 seconds back. All in all, it was a good first race for both boats--we were excited to finally be racing!--and fired us both up to come back this afternoon and race each other again.

B to S: Adrienne Martelli, Ashley Kroll, Desiree Burns, and Mara Allen.
Photos courtesy of Mara Allen.

This afternoon, we're racing another straight final, this one at 3:28 (9:28am EST). Results will be available soon after via the regatta website here. We are event #66: SF 4x- A. As of now, we will be lining up against a senior Swiss quad and the U-23 German quad. And, who knows, maybe even another eight or two!

Exploring Essen and Racing Updates!

Yesterday, we practiced twice in the morning--some good hard pieces and a circuit--and had the afternoon off. Since we're in lovely Essen, we decided to take a short jaunt to the downtown and look around before heading back for an early dinner and bedtime to get some pre-race resting in!

I thought I'd put up some photos to introduce the crews...unfortunately, intermittent launch availability has made it a bit tricky to get photos of us rowing, but here are some from our trip to downtown Essen!

The Mostly Mercer 4x: Adrienne Martelli, Ashley Kroll, Desiree Burns, and Mara Allen.

The Pretty Much Princeton 4x: me, Sarah Zelenka, Jen Kaido, and Sara Hendershot.

We didn't get a chance to see too many of the sights, but we did get to check out the Essen Cathedral, which was lovely! It was rebuilt after it was bombed out in WWII, but Gothic cathedrals are always beautiful, even if they're mostly from 1958!

Visit to the Essen Cathedral

 We also managed to get a few rowing-related photos (credit to Mara Allen and Jen Kaido):

The whole crew, at our first practice in Essen!

Jen Kaido, Sarah Zelenka and I fiddling with rigging and hanging out...

Our boat (almost) in action!

Our fearless leader, Annie Kakela. Andreas working his magic.

We have a few updates on our races. We were originally supposed to have heats Saturday and Sunday morning and finals in the afternoons of both days, as we were entered in two separate events. It now looks like we will have a straight final Saturday afternoon, and possibly also on Sunday. We are still not sure of our competition...our coaches have said that it will be some of the teams that were originally entered on the Entry List, and possibly some new ones. As of now, here are our race sheets:

That's all the news thus far from Essen...more to come tomorrow!

Grüße aus Essen!

Essen Slideshow

We arrived in Essen on Monday, and we're absolutely loving it. We took a quick red-eye flight from JFK to Düsseldorf, and then had about a 45-minute drive, mostly through gorgeous German countryside, to Essen. It's an industrial city, but most of what we've been able to see--the area around our hotel and the racecourse--is beautiful.

Essen racecourse, looking towards the starting line

There are eight of us here, comprising two quads. We are racing this weekend in what will be the first national or international sculling races for many of the group--two elite sculling events here that each have a heat and a final. I've never raced on an eight-lane course before where all eight lanes are being used, so there are some firsts here for me, too!

My quad's lineup is, from bow, Sara Hendershot, Jen Kaido, Sarah Zelenka, and myself. Our teammates are racing with the lineup of, from bow, Adrienne Martelli, Ashley Kroll, Desiree Burns, and Mara Allen. We're being coached by Annie Kakela and Katie Bitz, and assisted by the always awesome Andreas. We'll get some photos together today and put them up so you can see our smiling faces! In the meantime, please 
check out the photo slideshow above to see our travel and training adventures so far.

Everyone loves a red-eye!

We have been training a lot--building back up to our training volume from Princeton while also getting ready to race this weekend. I don't know exactly how our event names are translated, but we will be racing four times on Saturday and Sunday, which I'm very excited about! It seems early in the season to be doing so many 2K races, but then again, NSR1 has already happened and NSR2 is next week, so we are ready!

Today we had amazing water--it's been a bit windy so far this week--and were able to get in some good work, 2K pieces that I think helped us very much with getting ready to race. We will do a bit more race prep tomorrow before fine-tuning Friday and then putting it on the line on Saturday!


I'll be putting up photos and another post tonight from our adventures around Essen today (afternoon off!), so check back soon! You can also find out more about the Hügelregatta here: http://www.errv.com/10Regatta/regatta.php

6K ESSENtials Playlist

While most everyone who races and reads this blog is in the midst of 2K racing, we're prepping for 2K racing and taking our final 6K of the season on Saturday. I also found out Monday that I will be racing in a quad at the Huegel Regatta in Essen, Germany, on the first weekend in May. I'll be bringing my camera, of course, and documenting our travels, adventures, and racing there, so stay tuned! The USA will be bringing two quads--as of right now, my lovely boatmates are Sarah Zelenka, Jen Kaido, and Sara Hendershot, and we will be accompanied by Mara Allen, Desiree Burns, Ashley Kroll, and Adrienne Martelli. Some newbie scullers, but also an Olympic sculler and some U23 and Senior team medallists. It should be good racing experience for all of us!

So, lots of hangin' and bangin' in the near future...this calls for a new playlist! Special thanks to Elle Logan, Catherine Starr, and occasional bike buddies Kady Glessner and Ellen Tomek for their contributions and inspiration.

You know the drill...repost on Facebook or retweet before the end of the week to win a copy of the playlist!

6K ESSENtials -- April 2011 Playlist

1. Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia) - Patrick Stump

2. Baby Don't Cry (Remix) - Tupac ft. Wyclef Jean

3. Everlasting Light - The Black Keys **Check out Megan Kalmoe's awesome camp video featuring this song here!

4. Remember Me - Blue Boy

5. Knock You Out (ft. Emily Haines) - Tiësto

6. Beyond Right Now (Pretty Lights Remix) - STS9

7. Sunday School - Pretty Lights

8. Finally Moving Remix - Pretty Lights

9. Hidden Hand, Hidden Fist - STS9

10. Touch Me - Rui Da Silva

11. Feel I'm Falling (Vocal Mix) [ft. Jennifer John] - 16 Bit Lolitas & Raz Nitzan

12. My Love Is Your Love (Jonathan Peters Radio Mix II) - Dyme & Whitney Houston

13. Hick Chick (Dance Mix) - Cowboy Troy **Check out Sarah Trowbridge's amazing camp video featuring this song here!

14. XXXO (Fulton Yard / WaltBoogie Remix) - M.I.A. & Jay-Z

15. Up All Night - Alex Clare

16. Under the Sheets (Chiddy Bang Remix) - Ellie Golding

17. Feel It In My Bones (ft. Tegan and Sara) – Tiësto

18. The Ghost Inside – Broken Bells

19. Son's Gonna Rise - Citizen Cope

20. Back to the Life - Spoon

21. Failsafe – The New Pornographers

22. Waiting for the End - Linkin Park

23. Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You) – Old 97’s

24. Shooting Stars – Bag Raiders

25. Heartbreaker (ft. John Legend) - MSTRKRFT

26. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) – Florence + The Machine

27. Yeah Yeah Yeah - New Politics

28. Help I'm Alive - Metric

29. Intro - The xx

30. Symphonies (ft. Kid Cudi) - Dan Black

31. California Stars – Billy Bragg & Wilco

32. I Feel It All (Diplo Remix) - Feist

33. Erase Me – Kid Cudi & Kanye West

34. You Be Killin Em - Fabolous

35. Six Days (Remix) – DJ Shadow & Mos Def

36. Here I Come - The Roots

"It's Not About the Bike"...except for when it is.

Home for the past few weeks...Mercer bike dungeon. Thanks to the juniors
for the politically correct and supportive sign.

I've just started rowing again after four and a half weeks of cross-training. Yes, this was my second stint on the bike so far this year. The good news is, overall, my training time on the water has been more than my training time on the bike, and I've actually managed to gain fitness both times on the bike. I've finally rejoined the rowing group--still not 100% on weight training, and I'll be testing my fitness on the water and erg this week for the first time in five weeks, so we'll see where I actually am!--which is a definite step in the right direction. But I just thought I'd take a moment to write about my thoughts about being injured and things I've learned from being injured about how to recover and bounce back as fast as possible.

1. Rest as much as possible. Whether your injury is from overuse or from a sudden event, your body needs to put energy and healing into whatever is injured. When you are not at practice or school/work, you should be icing, resting, napping, and hydrating. It sounds cliché to say, but rest really does work.

2. Take pressure off your injury when you are cross-training. Common rowing injuries are back strains/disc problems, rib problems (stress fractures/stress reactions, intercostal strains, chostochondritis, etc.), hip problems, and shoulder problems.

• If you cannot bike comfortably for cross-training, try wheeling the bike into a weight cage that is set up for back squat at a height you can rest your arms on (the bar should go under your armpits, like you're at the edge of a swimming pool). This can keep the weight of your upper body off your low back and may feel better.
• Running can be a good cross-training tool if it is not painful on your injury. Try jogging for five minutes and build up in five minute increments. Be aware that running requires an engaged core (can be hard on your lower back) and can jostle injured ribs and shoulders.
• If you have an injured rib or shoulder, try to avoid using that side of your upper body while cross-training. For example, when biking, don't use your injured side to brace against the handlebars, or to pull yourself up or balance while standing on the bike.
• Similarly, if you find that there are some weightlifting or circuit exercises you can do, do not lift plates or move weight equipment around with your injured side. It feels silly to always pick things up with one hand, but you will heal more quickly if you're smart about it!

3. Keep your injury and the muscles around it loose and mobile. One of the worst things you can do to an injury is let it get tight, and let the muscles and tendons around it lock up. Always follow your doctor or PT's recommendations, but in general, heat your injured area up before you work out, and always ice after.

Heating pad--available at CVS for ~$20

Take a knee next to the ball, then stretch over and extend.

   

Alternate back and forth between Cat (top)
 on the exhale and Cow (middle) on the inhale.
After 10 of each, press back into your heels
for Child's Pose (bottom).

Ice pack--available at CVS for  <$20

Once you have heated and also warmed up a little, try some light stretching and mobilization of the area. For example, when I injured a rib last year, I would bike lightly for 15 minutes with a heating pad over my rib. I would then try and open up my side by stretching over a physioball and doing some gentle yoga moves, such as Cat/Cow and Child's Pose. I would also stretch between pieces on the bike and after practice, and then ice for 15 minutes immediately after.

4. Listen to your body. The surest way to stay injured or re-injure yourself is to ignore symptoms--whether it's your injury hurting again or something new bothering you--and push through. When you are building back into training, your body won't be used to things, so it won't be pain-free. At the same time, there is a difference between "unused rowing muscles being used again and feeling tired" and "my rib is hurting again, the same way it did when it was stress-fractured". Your body may try to use other muscles and tendons to compensate for what was injured, so be sure to heat, stretch, ice, and rest a lot as you start rowing again.

5. The mental energy that being injured requires is greater than the physical energy you put into cross-training. I work very hard to stay fit and not lose any power when I'm injured, and I have to work much harder than that to stay positive and keep myself focused on my long-term goals. There's no easy way around it--being injured sucks. You want to get back on the water and row. It's painful to see lineups every day that you're not part of. You have to watch people PR-ing on erg tests and winning practice pieces or races and getting faster, and there's nothing you can do about it. People ask you every day "How are you feeling? When will you be back? Are you rowing today?"...and you have to not get angry at them because no, you're still not 100% and you don't know when you'll be back! That being said, focusing on healing and taking it one practice at a time is the best way to let your mind stay calm. You can't race people on the water or on the erg at the moment, but you can train as best you can off the water and heal as quickly as you can, and those two things will get you back onto your team and training for your goals as soon as possible.

Injury prevention, healing, and building back into training are all inexact sciences. Your best bet is to be smart, focus on being positive, and treat your body as nicely as you can--it's the only one you've got!

This One Goes to '11

Afternoon off means...time for the playlist to go up! Last week's Grammy's plus plenty of car time/erg time over the past month has made for some good new tunes and some awesome remix ideas and introductions. This playlist's a little more electronically-oriented than my previous ones, but still perfect for the start of 2K race season (or the continuation of 6K erg season, for some of us!)

This One Goes to '11
(All links go to the iTunes store for your previewing and/or purchasing pleasure.)

1. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
2. Barbra Streisand - Duck Sauce
3. Starstrukk - 3OH!3
4. Save Me - Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark
5. I Wanna Fly (Michael Mind Project Radio Edit) [feat. Jamie Sparks] - Sunloverz
6. Shine On (Heiko und Maiko's Gute Laune Edit) - Sunloverz
7. Dog Days Are Over (Yeasayer Remix) - Florence + The Machine
8. Tenderoni (MSTRKRFT Remix) - Chromeo
9. Pyramid of the Sun - Maserati
10. Dirty Talk - Wynter Gordon
11. Somebody to Love (Remix) [feat. Usher] - Justin Bieber
12. Only Girl (In The World) - DJ Dizzy
13. Tonight (I'm Lovin' You) [feat. Ludacris & DJ Frank E] - Enrique Inglesias
14. I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) [More English Extended Mix] - Pitbull
15. S&M (Joe Bermudez Chico Radio) - Rihanna
16. New Babies; New Toys - Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark
17. Human - The Killers
18. Cameras - Matt & Kim
19. Ahead Of My Time (Feat. Daddy Boastin') - Teddybears
20. She Came Along (feat. Kid Cudi) (REUP Radio) - Sharam
21. White Night - The Postelles
22. Rolling In the Deep (Jamie xx Shuffle) - Adele
23. Firework - Katy Perry
24. The Newark Airport Boogie - Electric Six
25. Don't Trust Me - 3OH!3
26. Derezzed - Daft Punk
27. Cobrastyle (feat. Mad Cobra) - Teddybears
28. F**k You! - Cee Lo Green
29. Runaway - Kanye West & Pusha T
30. Daylight - Matt & Kim
31. Pigeons - The Hundred In the Hands
32. Young Blood - The Naked and the Famous
33. Until Heaven Stops the Rain (feat. Mattic) - Wax Tailor
34. Coming Home - Diddy - Dirty Money & Skylar Grey
35. Something In Common - Free Energy

Howdy from Oklahoma!

View of downtown Oklahoma City from Devon Boathouse

This post comes from the land of country music and big ol' boathouse dreams! Eleven of us from the Princeton Training Center are here in Oklahoma City, training out of the new Devon Boathouse for two weeks.

So far, our experience has been awesome. We kicked things off our first night with a trip to Earl's BBQ, which was only made better by the Grammys playing the same night: BBQ plus Bieber?! Amazing.

The training center itself is perhaps the nicest boathouse I've ever been in. There's a large erg/bike room, two weight rooms, four locker rooms, tanks, a perpetual swim tank, an ice bath, an altitude training room, and conference rooms with sweeping views of the Oklahoma River. Oh, and can't forget the giant flat screen TVs in every room! Everything is brand new--they've literally been painting and hanging pictures this week, and putting the finishing touches on all of the different rooms.

Our on-the-water experience has been okay. We arrived here the day the temperature shifted up about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but although it's been warmer and drier here than it's been for our teammates still training in California, it's also been windier. In the works for the training facility is a 40' high wall that will run the length of the 2K course, trying to minimize the impact of the often strong winds on training and racing. The rowable 5K length of the river is partially sheltered already, as it's dug into the banks, but the best water we've had so far was with 9 MPH winds. That doesn't stop the 40 athletes or so training here from going out in singles, pairs, doubles, and single kayaks every morning, though!

Yeehaw! The ladies of USRowing: Team OKC 2011!

The OKC High Performance Center had an open house-style event on Thursday to show off Devon Boathouse and to welcome us. We met the leader of the push to make Oklahoma City a high-performance rowing and kayaking mecca, OKC Boathouse Foundation Executive Director Mike Knopp, and received some awesome cowgirl hats to help us fit right in here!

Teammates (twins?) Amanda Polk (standing) and
Natalie Dell (testing), mid-test

Today we're back at Devon Boathouse to get lactate testing done, administered by Dr. Fritz Hagermann. It was really neat for me to have this opportunity, because Dr. Hagermann actually did lactate testing on both of my parents in the late 1970s, at the since-closed Lake Tahoe Olympic Training Center.

Me with Dr. Fritz!

For everyone who asked, January's playlist is now February's playlist, and will be up this coming week. Just in time for you to find your pump-up jams before spring racing starts! (And just in time for my birthday!)

Good luck to everyone racing tomorrow at CRASH-Bs (and to Linda Muri & Co. with the volunteering)! Here's to puke-worthy PRs all around! :)

Kicking off the New Year!

So 2011's been around for a week and a half now, and it's been a pretty good start.

We're back in Princeton, slogging through snow everywhere, but getting some good training in and getting back in rowing and racing shape after the funny schedule of Worlds this year.

A November bike mishap led to training for a month on an elbow that I didn't know was fractured (oops)...I've been logging some miles on the (stationary!) bike while I waited for it to heal, but have started back up on the ergometer after getting an all-clear last week. It's frustrating to feel like I wasn't able to start the winter season exactly how I'd envisioned doing so, but I've definitely improved my fitness, and I'm eager to get back into the team's workouts so that I can show that.

Two big things: first, my friend Jen Whiting wrote a really neat piece about our 8+ from this summer and the experience of training with the group here in Princeton. We sat down for dinner a couple of times this past summer and fall, and I think she did a really great job on the article. It's the feature story in the latest Rowing News Magazine, which you can check out in a boathouse near you or order online here.

Second (for all you ergers out there!) I will finally be putting out my January playlist this week! So get excited. Props to Adam Barhamand (you can find his music-focused blog here) for once again putting together an exceptional genre-spanning collection that pointed me in some good directions for the playlist. I'm planning on putting together at least one playlist per month for this year...so if you have any suggestions for songs, artists, good music blogs, or anything else, feel free to leave them via comment or email!

Happy training,
Esther

Hello from Chula Vista!

Hello, world!

I've revived this blog, which I've kept on and off since 2007, in the hopes of 1) more regularly publishing content and 2) not needing to start a new blog for each USRowing-linked event! This year's two blogs can be found at the following links:

2010 Lucerne World Cup
http://usrowinglucerne.blogspot.com

2010 World Rowing Championships
http://usrowing2010nz.blogspot.com

We're coming into the final few days of our week-long camp at ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA (near San Diego). The camp has been great so far--nice weather and good conditions have allowed us to get in a bunch of training. I'll try to post more pictures before we head out on Sunday, but for now, enjoy a brief panorama of the weight room/cross-training tent. It's really neat to get to work out here in part because we get to train alongside athletes from other sports. This morning, I was in there with athletes from track and field, weightlifting, boxing, and BMX. Cool!!!



That's all for now from San Diego...

NYT article: HS sports make women better at life

First, this is the article I'm referencing:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/as-girls-become-women-sports-pay-dividends/?em

Sports had a huge impact on me. Even when I was sure I was not going to pursue volleyball, basketball, or even rowing at a college level, being a part of a team sport and learning to push myself when I sucked at something made me part of who I am today. (And yes, just got to revisit that when we were up at Lake Placid, and I had to skate-ski for two or three hours every day while being painfully bad at it.) I don't know if this was true for other women, but sports helped me feel like my height and strength could be positives, when otherwise my middle-school self felt awkward about towering over my classmates and insecure about my looks. Learning how to work with teammates to win a game, learning the discipline of practicing a skill until you know how to do it well--I don't know how many hours I spent in our back yard, serving the volleyball at a chalk "X" on the wall--and how to be "coachable"...all very important things that come up on a daily basis, whether or not you're an athlete today.

As Dr. Betsey Stevenson says in the article: “It’s not just that the people who are going to do well in life play sports, but that sports help people do better in life...While I only show this for girls, it’s reasonable to believe it’s true for boys as well.”