Monday, July 19, 2010

7/19/10

THE EIGHT WON GOLD!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Yes yes yes yesyesyesyesyes!!!
Ahem. Now that I've gotten that out of the way...let me break down the last couple of days for you.
On Sunday the B eight had their final in the intermediate eights race. They came sixth place, but considering the fact that this is the TOP six, it still wasn't that bad a turnout. We had a practice in small boats Sunday evening, and spent much of the day anticipating the rapidly approaching regatta and the final indicator of what we'd put into the past month of training.
Today we woke up at an insanely early hour (ie, six am) to be shuttled to the race course. It was rather violently rainy this morning, and as we all sat under the large white pavillion tent, the start to the day seemed less than promising. Luckily, the rain had entirely cleared up by 8:45, which meant the races could begin roughly on schedule. The first race we entered was the women's double. We had two boats in it, and while the B boat was first and the A boat was second, the A boat was awarded the gold medal because the B boat was entered as an "exhibition boat". In the straight four we placed last, but it was really more of a learning experience than a heavily weighted boat. It was the eight that we had all trained for and bet a month of hopes and fears and sweat and blood and pain on. For each of those 240 strokes, we had taken thousands of practice ones, and sitting up at that starting line and thinking back to the first day when we all flocked into the campus of the college for the first time...it was surreal. As a boat, we'd pulled together and eaten together, watched crappy movies and braided eachother's hair, punched and tickled and hugged each other and there we were, poised at the starting line on a cloudy day in Tennessee that, to most people, would be like any other but that was to us, the momentary pinnacle of existence.
Nine sisters, winning together.
No one else had a chance.
We just threw it all down on the water and the boat literally SURGED. By the first five hundred we were on the bow ball of the other two boats, and we just kept opening the gap, finishing the piece eleven seconds ahead. The power coursing through that boat was immense, larger than life. It was, in all respects, the perfect race.
And then it was over.
And we returned to the real world, and derigged our boat and posed for photos and updated our facebook statuses. We went to a barbeque and played silly games and flirted with boys. Some of us left. The rest of us will part tomorrow.
But we didn't forget. We will never forget.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

7/17/10

Hey all! Sorry about the ridiculously slow lack of updates. Here's the racing lowdown:
Wednesday: The A four and the B four both raced. The B four was first in thier heat, and thus secured a position in semi-finals. The A four was in the faster heat (for obvious reasons) and was fourth in thier heat, which still qualified them. We basically chilled at the hotel and the JL tent the rest of the time, and of course the girls who didn't race worked out. We also went on water for another practice run after the races were over. It was about eight thirty and it was pretty hectic with all crews in as mad a dash is possible while holding a 56 kilo boat for the dock. Not to mention almost forcing people out of the lanes. Needless to say, we didn't do that again.
Thursday: Was the pairs race! The B pair didn't qualify, but one still has to give them credit for beating a boat even though they didn't finish in the same lane they started. (Please note, I'm not giving them flak for that. If it were me, the boat would have run aground). The A pair achieved second in thier heat, which did qualify them for semis. It was a good day all around. Thursday night we went to the grocery store to restock on food. (Which couldn't even all fit in the fridge...)
Friday: Was the eights race!! There are no semi finals for the eights, but instead the top two go directly to finals. In the first heat, the B boat was first and of course qualified. The A boat was in a faster heat, and unfortunately got third. This ruffled a few feathers because the A boat had the third best time and beat the B boat by twelve seconds but still didn't get to go to finals. Lady luck is a fickle mistress. Friday night was a dance party at Bar Knoxville's teen night. It was a lot of fun, but one does have to wonder how many times it's really necessary to play "Party in the USA". Still, it was really great getting to better know the other CanAmMex athletes, though rowers aren't exactly renown for thier dance moves. The four's semi-final was also that night, which unfortunately made them late for the dance. The A four got fourth place in the event, which means they're not going to finals, but the B four got third and went today.
Saturday (Today): The A pair raced this morning and got fifth in thier event, though their start was shaken a bit by the fact that the person holding them at the stake boat didn't let go when the race started and it offset their course. Though this isn't enough to physically impact a boat, MENTALLY that sort of interference at the beginning of a race can shatter a rower's concentration, especially on tricky events such as pairs where most aren't overly confident to begin with. They did contest this, but since they didn't do so before breakage (in the first hundred meters, before the bouys change color) it was disregarded. The B four raced this afternoon and also got fifth in their race. (I would like to point out, in their defence, that these are all intermediate races. They would smoke the juniors) Tonight we went out to dinner at O'Charley's and now we're bouncing around the hotel on a sugar high. The end is drawing near...it's saddening to even think about.
More later. Tata for now!
Saturday:

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

7/14/10

So much has happened! Yesterday, after fifteen hours of traveling (due to the fantastic reliability of our airline) we finally made it to the racecourse in Oakridge, TN. The lake is extremely pretty, and better yet, the water was pretty much perfect. We rigged and went out in small boats to practice. For some of the lineups, this was our first time out on the water in our boat orders. The two fours came from the B boat, and the A four was divided into pairs and one straight four (which isn't rowing this regatta, but is racing CanAmMex). After practice we had enough time to go back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before going to a reception for the CanAmMex rowers from all three countries. It was a lot of fun because we hadn't even met the American boys, much less the other teams and it was cool to hear about how the selection process played out in other countries. Mexico didn't show up for some reason, but we got along great with Canada and there was spinach dip so...it wasn't too upsetting.
Today was the first day of Club Nationals. The only race today for us was the fours, which were entered in the intermediate category (as opposed to Junior). The B four won the first heat with 7:57 and the A four was fourth in the fast heat with 8:04, which means that both boats qualified for semi-finals. We then returned to the hotel for some down time and after the last race of the day we returned to the course for additional practice. One small side note: because we're representing America in the CanAmMex regatta, all our purchases from JL are half off. It's a good day.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

7/11/10

Hey all! Sorry about the delay, but on the plus side I have lots to talk about. So tuck yourself in and grab some milk and cookies: it's story time.
On friday morning we got up earlier than usual to row with the Development campers. We didn't actually race them head on but rather took out two waves of three eights mixed with both CamAmMex and Dev campers gin each boat. We pulled three 1:50 races (the reasoning behind that time being that it is the split necessary to achieve a 7:20 2k). The boatings were slightly uneven because they weren't handpicked but rather randomly selected by pulling names out of a hat. It was still a lot of fun though and it was an all around pleasant experience, if not necessarily overly rigorous.
Because we were to have Sunday practice, we had Friday afternoon and Saturday morning off. Saturday afternoon however, it was nose back to the grind. We went out in A boat and B boat lineups and did three ten minute pieces at low rates, as well as practice starts. There was a lot of experimentation and correction in order to get down the intricices of starts (for example, it's difficult for some people to train themselves not to swing thier body over) but by the end of the practice both boats felt much improved.
This morning, we went out in the same lineups as yesterday afternoon. It was a difficult practice: we did four eight minute pieces at low rates, but the closeness between the two boats on each piece added a level of intensity. The A boat won the first two races; the B boat the second. Something that is slightly frustrating is the fact that it is so easy for a boat to delve into "sloppy rowing" or to get frantic and indulge in reverse ratio and thus make the burning in one's legs all in vain. The row wasn't necessarily good for everyone (although the B boat was definitely pleased), but we left the water aware that we're capable of more and that everyone has off days. The key is to not let yourself over analyze or doubt yourself or the boat based on one bad row. It's difficult to push that voice aside sometimes, but having the discipline to train your mind on motivational lines of reasoning is about as important as having the discipline to not let up the pressure during a race. After all, what are you going to do when it's the third five hundred and you're being walked? Just roll over?
This afternoon we did a series of shorter pieces in the same line ups. We warmed up like we would before a race, then we did five pieces of forty seconds at race pace (about a 32-34) then up two for ten twice (so over all, the whole piece was about a minute and fifteen seconds). After those five we made a huge switch: The stroke of the B boat switched into the A boat, the bow of the A boat switched into stroke seat of the B boat, and the A boat stroke became the B boat bowperson. Definitely not what anyone was expecting. After this switch, both crews did three more pieces, this time only thirty seconds at race pace. After we landed we de-rigged the boats to get ready to leave for Tennessee tomorrow. We were informed that even though the boats hadn't yet reached thier full potential as a technical unit, as we have enough time and potential to work out the kinks the original line up we went out in would be the people in the boats, although there may be some inter-boat seat switching. We still are unaware as to the line-ups of the small boats, but everyone is super excited for Tennessee and our first race. Not to mention a change of scenery.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

7/8/10

Today was an exciting day.
We started off in yesterday afternoon's "A boat" and "B boat" lineups. Our mission for the day, which began at the ungodly hour of six in the morning, was to hold our own in a scrimmage against the HP girls who are going to Germany. We knew going into this that we were the underdogs, and our game plan was pretty much to just put it all out on the water and hold them as much as we could.
So when the "B boat" not only pulled ahead of the "A boat" but also the HP eight...we were pleasantly surprised, to say the least.
Each piece was five minutes long and broken into chunks by rate. The first two minutes was at a 26, the next a 28 and the final minute was a solid thirty strokes. We went into the first one expecting to do only one if we somehow managed to win (which we did) but afterwards, we still thirsted for more. On the second piece we switched out a couple of girls and ran again, and the same for the third. Both of these pieces ended with us next to the HP boat. In the final piece they pulled ahead by half a boat length, but we still felt rather proud for holding onto them. As we docked, the question on everyone's mind was clear:
"Where's MY ticket to Germany?"
In the afternoon we did three ten minute low rate pressure pieces. We did seat race during the pieces, and like the morning there were also intervals for each piece. (3 minutes at a 22, 2 at a 24, one at a 26 and then back down)It was a solid row on the part of both boats. It's going to be a difficult selection. Whoever makes it into the top eight is going to do so by the skin of thier teeth.
Stay tuned.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

7/7/10

Hi all! Welcome to the first post!
Today was the first day after the cuts. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the process, what happened was: 23 rowers and 4 coxswains were invited to this camp and after two weeks of training and evaluation (as well as two 2k tests) seven of the rowers and two of the coxswains were sent home. It's sad and a little strange to watch one's friends go, but at the same time it's a really exciting feeling to have made it this far and it just makes one want to strive that much more for the top eight. We have sixteen girls and two coxswains left. The way it's going to be divided is as follows: there will be a first eight and a second eight both rowing at Club Nationals, as well as two fours and two pairs. Of these line-ups, only the first eight will recieve the honor of rowing the CanAmMex regatta, and also breaking up into a four and two pairs for said event. We leave for Tennessee on the twelth.
This means that after today, the rowers only have six practices (two a day) in which to prove themselves. It's going to be intense, to say the least.
This morning's practice (after warming up) was a low rate pressure piece. The two boats were set with lineups that should theroretically make them equal, though one did pull ahead from the other by half a length over the fifteen minutes. This boat (with a few seat swithces) was thus unofficially dubbed the "A boat" for the afternoon practice, and broken up to practice elsewhere in a four and pairs while the "B boat" worked as an eight on starts. These lineups aren't set in stone, however. One main difference between this camp and most people's experience on thier team back home is that, at home, the girls here are all the top of thier programs: used to having an erg score a good twenty or thirty seconds faster than the second best and comfortably settled into an undisputed role of "top dog." Here, there is no room for complacency. The moment you think you're safe and become sloppy is when they switch you for one of the eight girls breathing down your neck for that seat. It can be slightly stressful, but it also gives you a chance to push yourself and expand your definition of what you think you're capable of.
Which is why people stay, despite the lack of air conditioning on campus.