I'd rather be Rowing.

Life as a rower that will always be a novice at heart. Dream big and row fast.

[madfox4]

We all pull for something. Some pull for friends or teammates or coaches. At some point you pull for yourself. You pull for your goals. You  pull because you are afraid of being beat. You pull for that .05 of a second that makes all the pain worth it.

[madfox4]

School is back in full swing and I'm adjusting to life apart from the team. I miss it so much still. I got a new pair of shoes recently but I've been nursing a nasty shin splint for the past few weeks. Today I finally took my new shoes out for my first longer run in them and completely busted my heel. Hopefully the stain comes out. I'm looking forward to some scenic distance running this fall!

[madfox4]

Eat local

[madfox4]

It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.

Sir Winston Churchill

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Boathouse mornings

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Gorge Row 2015

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Looking Back

It’s been a week since I raced at conferences. The team had a great season. We worked through a lot and really grew as a team and individuals. I ended up racing 4 seat in our last race. The final lineup of that final boat was in the top five most interesting lineups I’ve been in. We had 2 coxswains in the boat, one at cox and one rowing bow seat. Just looking back at how well our last race went given the circumstances, I find it all so amusing. This season I rowed every seat in probably about a hundred lineups and I learned so much from each seat and lineup. I had so many different pair partners, ones that I really got to know, and ones that only lasted half a practice. I learned this season about the importance of expectation. In high school I always felt like I was accomplishing so much because the standard was on my level. Collegiate rowing has been so much different because of a small difference, the expectations. This year I’ve learned to never stop raising the bar. When more is expected from you there seem to be less ‘wins’ but looking back I’ve come so far because of that expectation. Sometimes I feel like I see a goal number and there is no way I’ll reach it, but the pursuit of that expectation has taken me so far beyond the limits I had defined for myself.

I had a great year rowing D1. At this point I don’t know what is next but summer is sure to be filled with rowing and running. For now, dream big and row fast.

[madfox4]

Where We've Been and Where We're Going

Tomorrow is the day. I was just thinking about how nervous I am about our race and I realized that I am one of only 24 rowers representing our university. That is pretty cool! I am just reminded that rowing is such a unique sport; we can see where we've been but not where we are going. I would have never imagined I would have this opportunity and I am so thankful. I have just been remembering all the work that I've put in and that our team has put in. In our boat meeting we talked about all the teammates we've lost along the way. We talked about trigger words that we like the cox'n to say and I realized I have way too many favorite phrases. As a boat we carry the fight and I really like that. When I hear carry the fight I think less about the fight of that stroke and more about circuits three months ago. We've fought the fight and now it's our time to prove what we've already won.

[madfox4]

Spring

[madfox4]

The New Normal

The past couple of weeks have been some of the busiest and insane weeks that I remember. We started spring break with a weekend of racing. Over the break we had two training sessions a day and we ended the break with a scrimmage on our home course. The week after spring break I got hit hard with school work. It was probably the most difficult academic week I've had in my college career. At the end of that week I got to watch half of my team go to the San Diego Crew Classic. I was upset not to be going but I was beyond excited for my teammates that got to go. All of the boats we sent did really well! Also in the past few weeks training has been changing up scheduling. Last week we started having morning practices in consecutive days which is a bit different than the old schedule where we only had morning practices every other day and not consecutively. Honestly the few changes or seemingly small changes have been very significantly felt by me. At the end of the day that is what I love about this opportunity. I am not the athlete, student or person I was 3 weeks ago. Three weeks ago the amount of training and school work seemed insane but things change and it just becomes a new normal. The new normal is teaching me even more about goals, commitment and time management. I wouldn't trade the new normal for anything. Time to stand on your own two feet. Today is the day.

[madfox4]

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

Thomas A. Edison

[madfox4]

The importance of teamwork is unlike any other sport. There are no stars on the team,” Jack says. “You are totally dependent on everyone doing their part.

Coach

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A Long Week

This week we got a lot of snow. The snow has gotten in the way of school a bit but not rowing. We've been on the water quite a bit, even with snow on the ground. We have a race this weekend and we're all pretty excited. Tuesday morning we did a really fun circuit race and there was rope climbing as one center. I climbed the rope more times Tuesday morning than I have in my entire life. It was great. The only ill effect is the rope burn. Today I was reunited with my pair partner from the fall. We rowed stroke pair and we were both so excited to be back as a pair. The boat set was the best it's been in a while and we were able to focus on a lot of other technical things today. I'm really glad the week is drawing to it's end. Weekend racing should be fun! Can't wait.

[madfox4]

Winter reflection

[madfox4]

Travel, School, and Ice

I spent the past 4 days in Florida. It was not super warm but the weather was much nicer than the ice storm we returned to. For the first 2 days in Florida we did some training and I rowed bow seat in various line ups. On the first day of racing coach assigned me to stroke seat. I was very caught off guard by the change but it was exciting. I was pleased with how the boat did in our race Sunday. The boat was port rigged and I'd been rowing starboard so naturally my hand bled all over during our race pieces. We got a day off to focus on school today and my hand has had time to start healing up. We also don't have our normal morning practice tomorrow because of the half inch of accumulated ice on the ground. Everyone is anxiously waiting for news on whether or not classes will be held tomorrow. I'm hoping not. Anyway not much else going on here. Next race is the weekend after next.

[madfox4]

Travel shoes

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Landing in Florida. Let spring season begin!