Closing out the World Championships in Bulgaria

This is a long oneJ….

Whether it was in dance, sport or work, I have always found myself analyzing my performance to determine whether I gave it everything I could.

I can honestly say that at this regatta (the World Championships!!) I gave all of myself!  I felt the worst after the repechage where I think I went beyond my physical capabilities – my mind was forcing me to just keep pumping my legs until the finish line but my body was running on empty.  I had weighed in that morning very light (around 55.4kg) and so after the race I was quite fragile as I couldn’t drink or eat for a few hours – Andrew even said I looked like a skeleton:S Eek! 

However, the B Final race was a different story.  The race took place in the morning, so our crew didn’t have to wait around for a day before weighing-in.  We got to wake up, do what we needed to make weight, and then race (all before 9:30am) – this was perfect for our plan to eat our faces off for the rest of the dayJ.  Not only was this scenario better for my stomach but it also proved to be better for our performance – we went out hard and had just enough left in our tanks to do a solid finish!

Part of what also contributed to our strong race in the final was the fact that we had improved enormously as a crew over the course of the regatta.  Unlike most of the other crews, we were all rookies at the Senior level and so our learning curve was steep.  It’s intimidating to go up against World Cup Champions (Poland) and medalists (Denmark), Olympians (two athletes from the Korean boat were in the Lightweight Women’s 2x in London), and the rest of the experienced field.  As I said before, we were nervous in our heat, but as we got more racing under our belt, we became more confident (in ourselves, in each other and in our training that brought us to Bulgaria).  We deserved to race in this field and that was evident in the Final.  In the repechage we were about 2 seconds back from Sweden, and in our Final we were 0.56 seconds back.  If only there had been 10m more in that raceJ.  The conditions were also quite calm on Saturday, and so there was no change in weather from the B Final to the A Final.  We still would not have medaled, but we definitely would have been competitive in that A Final which is exciting to learn.

(Lindsay, Erin, me and Liz after finishing the 2km race in the B Final)

I’ve really appreciated “living in the present” - you can’t spend your life asking “what if” all the time.  There is a lot to be enjoyed in the here and now!  I was more present in that Final than ever before.  Partially because my mind and body were working as one with my crew, but also because I knew it would be my last race (although funny enough a recruiter from a random university in the US approached me and gave me his card…I’m a wee bit too old for that now, haha!).

I have been in competitive sport since I was 14 (when I did my first triathlon) and I have come to a point where I am truly happy with stopping here.  Of course I’ll ask “what if” (what if I committed to rowing full time, what if I moved to one of the training centers, etc), but the priority for me at this stage of my life is my family, friends and career.  Plus, rowing is in GREAT hands with the lightweight women who are committed to this amazingly beautiful sport!

I’ll definitely find myself competing at local regattas, but I’m really excited for this next chapter of my life where I will try new things…together with my friends and husband.  Spin classes, cross fit…maybe an Ironman?!

I say Ironman because I have set my eyes on a new goal…of course you have Laura! Haha.

Since my early 20’s I’ve wanted to do something at the grassroots in sport, specifically for young girls aged 12 to 16.  My goal would be to start a program as a charity (volunteer based) where the priority would be to build confidence in young girls through sport.  For me, my self image issues started and ended with Triathlon.  Having just read “Life without Limits” by Chrissie Wellington (Ironman multi-World Champion and record holder), I know I’m not the only one who has dealt with this.  Eating disorders are far too prevalent and so hopefully through this program I could catch girls at a young age to help them love themselves first.

This is where Ironman may be coming into the pictureJ.  The sport of triathlon is where I had low self esteem – at the age of 15/16 I was told by coaches that I was fat (I really wasn’t), I had child bearing hips, and that I shouldn’t set unrealistic expectations for myself to be a successful athlete.  I went out to prove them wrong when I set my eyes on the Long Course World Championships.  I made top 3 in my age-group in 2004 and qualified for the 2005 World Championships.  Unfortunately my eating disorder contributed to my failed attempt at completing the race in Denmark.  Through rowing I have learned to truly love myself (inside and out), and so by revisiting triathlon I think I will be demonstrating through action that “failures” can turn into “successes” – it would be more about the journey here and less about the result (although my competitive nature may come into play a bitJ).  I would like to see if I could set this program up as a charity so that I could raise money for it through the Ironman.  Money raised would go towards equipment such as bands, medicine balls, ropes, space etc.  Right now I have a head start with the support of Genuine Health products (pre, during and post workout snacks for the girls to use as fuel and recovery) – thank you Genuine Health!

Stay tuned for more on this.

For now, I’m off to Greece with my husband where I will recover from an amazing journey with rowing.  With no need to weigh in every morning I will truly get a chance to enjoy the treats that Greece has to offer, yum! 

Thank you all for joining me on this amazing ride!!  I truly believe that you can do anything you set your mind to, so hopefully I've helped motivate you to do the same and pursue your dreams.

I’ll post pictures and videos later:)

Some race recaps: heat and repechage

Imagine…

-          your throat feeling as if you took a razor to the inside of it

-          your body feeling so weak that it takes effort to speak, let alone eat a piece of bread

-          you feeling so nauseous that every breath you take makes you want to lean over and hurl

Well, welcome to the finish line of a 2km rowing race!

Yesterday we got our nerves out in our heat, and today we raced.  Both resulted in similar finish times but they were very different conditions and very different performances.

Our heat was the first race we had ever done as a crew.  It was also the first race for all of us at a Senior World Championship, so perhaps nerves got the better of us as we failed to advance straight through to the A Final (top 2 crews) and were put into the repechage.   As you may have learned while watching the Olympic rowing events, a repechage is held for the crews that don’t automatically advance to the A Final after the first round of heats, and so it’s a “second chance” for crews to make it to the A Final.  The remaining crews not advancing would be put into the B Final.

On the international stage crews are ranked, and so there is an A, B, C, D, etc Final.  A final is for ranking the top 6 crews, B final is used for ranking numbers 7 to 12, etc.

Today was quite the race.  I can honestly say that I have never emptied the tank as I did today.  I had absolutely nothing left and I’m not even sure I remember taking the last 10 strokes, ha!  Physically I did, but I was definitely going into another land.  I know I wasn’t the only one feeling this way.  Aside from our crew, I noticed other athletes from other countries demonstrating the same type of discomfort and agony.  Phew, at least we all worked hard and the race wasn’t a walk in the park for anyone!

In this repechage we were in one of the far outside lanes…as we later learned, it happened to be to our disadvantage as the wind was unfavorable and swirly.  But, that’s something you can’t control and it’s just the luck of the draw.  We had the lane and at the end of the day, there are no excuses.  Race with power, strategy, passion, heart, sweat and blood - Checkmark on all of those today!  Yes, there was blood (let’s just say my knuckle doesn’t look too prettyJ).  We led off the start and were top 2 with Australia until around the 1700m mark.  Then came the unexpected wind change and more fun with the water.  As hard as we all pushed, we couldn’t match the crews making their moves on the other side of the course, China and Sweden joined Australia to cross the finish line before us.

We will now have the B Final on Saturday morning around 9am Bulgarian time (that is WAY too early for Canada, so I’ll update you after the race).  We will be racing Sweden, Korea and Japan.

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't."

Let's see what Saturday brings:)

Update before race day

Now, I know I said I would try to give you a history lesson, but I have to admit that on our trip to the ruins I got a bit distracted….with shopping.  I do hope to go back to see the ruins and fairly learn about the history, but I have to tell you that I got some pretty wicked deals on shoes!  Shoes are SUPER cheap here and so I purchased many pairs (high heels of course)!  I don’t know why the prices are so good, but I’m not going to complain.  Shopping is great for releasing any stress.  My teammates and I have gone to the mall across the street from our hotel quite a bit, and even paid frequent (daily) visits to the grocery store just to plan what exciting snacks and meals we can eat.

The mall is a bit different than what you would find back home in Canada.  There are flat escalators (like the ones you find at the airport when you don’t feel like walking from terminal to terminal with your luggage), and there’s a café on every single floor.  Cafes are pretty big here in Plovdiv and you can find one on almost every block.  Each have great outdoor seating and probably really good parties at night…soon we’ll get our chance to enjoy the partying after racing!

However, back at the course there is no partying…there’s focus.  It’s interesting to note that although sports can be very different, the environments in which you compete can be very similar.

No matter what, you will most likely find yourself assessing your competition: how strong they look, what equipment they’re using, etc.  For lightweight rowing there’s the added dimensions of also assessing how much you think your competition weighs and how much they may have to sweat down.  But that’s all external and not what the focus will be on race day.  It’s all internal from here on in and tomorrow I’ll have my eyes glued to the back of my teammate sitting in front of me.  Focus.

The race venue is no joke.  The course is just over 2km (the distance of the race) and 7 lanes wide with a beautiful backdrop of mountains and greenery.  Along the course there’s a path that coaches bike down as their athletes are racing.  I’m prepared to hear voices yelling in all different languages during our race tomorrow, but the only one I will be focused on is Liz’s (our bow seat).

Since spectators can’t follow the race from beginning to end, there is a jumbotron (big tv) placed in front of the grand stands for spectators to watch until the crews racing down the course get closer.  The best seats in the house might be those of spectators watching from the eating area under umbrellas from the 1800-2000m mark.  Cheers will be loud at this point as families, friends and rowing fans will be encouraging their crews to cross the finish line first.  Across the grand stands is a long row of flags lining the side of the course – seeing so many countries represented here is exciting and reminds me just how big this event is!  With 991 athletes competing I know that there is bound to be many memorable races:).

Below is the link to the race website for those who want to follow and see our results.  We are racing on Wednesday August 15^th at 6:04pm Bulgarian time (11:04am EST, 8:04am PST).

You can see the schedule and maybe the races here:

http://www.worldrowing.com/events/2012-world-rowing-senior-and-jchampionships

Results will be posted here:

http://wrsjch2012plovdiv.com/

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND LOVE!!!

Until tomorrow

Welcome to Bulgaria

What a week it has been!

Last Sunday we departed Toronto International Airport for Bulgaria.  It was quite a long trip but it is clearly well worth it.  It’s good that we came 10 days before racing as each of us needed some time to adjust to the 7 hour time difference (ahead of Toronto).  At first I thought I wasn’t affected, but then on Day 4 and 5 I felt like a truck ran me over…not once, but over and over and over…and over!  This truck may have even dumped some concrete on my face, ha!

Fortunately that’s all passed and my body has somewhat adjusted.  As a lightweight rower it’s especially important to adjust because you want your body to respond to food and sleep the same way as it does back home.  Losing weight over night is a big deal, so it’s nice when it starts to line up normally.

(Our Quad on the race course: Lindsay, Erin, me and Liz)

We’ve had some really productive sessions on the water this week too.  At this point it’s not so much about gaining speed with fitness, but it’s more about gaining extra milliseconds with improved technique and timing.  Each of us is a perfectionist in our own way, and so it’s nice to know that each of us is committing to making the right changes to improve boat speed.  It will all come together on Wednesday August 15^th when we race in the Heat around 7:40pm (Bulgarian time).

Aside from always learning how to be a more efficient rower, I’ve learned a lot about “team”.  In individual sports you can do your own thing…put headphones in, do your own warm up, race prep, etc.  In a team sport, like crew, there needs to be a balance between doing your own thing and also adapting to what works for the crew.  Whether it was track, cross-country or rowing, I’ve always been about everyone trying to do the same thing in warm-up, visualization, etc.  But this doesn’t always work and I’ve learned that it’s okay that it doesn’t.  Everybody has a different level of “excitedness” (is that a word?!) that they need to be at in order to perform in their Ideal Performance State (IPS).  Where one person may need to be at the top of the chart with a high high high level of excitedness (like me), another may need to be more calm and relaxed before racing to get into their IPS.

IPS is definitely something that I’ve come to get a grasp on recently.  It takes time to get to a point where you know what your IPS is.  Get in some good and bad races, analyze them, and then evaluate what kind of environment needs to be created in order to get you to perform at your best.  For me, I have to add that a pre-race snack can also add to my IPS.  Having that delicious white pita with nutella and banana seems to do it everytime these days.  Sadly enough I think I sometimes dream about itJ.

Now separate to rowing it’s been an emotional (in a good way) week because my mother completed her last chemo session on Wednesday!  She was accompanied by family and friends at the hospital when she got to ring the bell to announce that she was done her chemotherapy treatments!  Of course there will be quite a lot of discomfort felt in the upcoming days as the drugs kick in, but it’s reassuring to know that this will be the last time she has to go through it.  Radiation will begin in September and she’ll be ready to tackle that obstacle with a strong mind and body!  Love you mamaJ.

(My mom and sister with my two adorable nieces)

Today we are going to see the ruins and so I’m sure I will (try) give you a history lesson on Bulgaria when I write next time.  No judging pleaseJ.

Ps.  GOOD LUCK to everyone racing in the Finals this Henley week-end!!!



New to the Genuine Health Ambassador Team

First off, HUGE CONGRATS to our Canadian Men’s 8+ and Women’s 8+ on winning silver at the Olympics!  I have no doubt Canada has more medals coming…

Now, I have to be honest, cutting weight at this level is harder than I originally assumed.  I’ve been a lightweight rower for several years now and I’ve never been as cautious about weight until now.  One reason is the fact that my target for racing will be about 8-10 pounds lighter than what I was this winter.  No big deal.  So because of this and my always-busy schedule (rowing, working, being a wife (it takes workJ), daughter, sister, friend, etc…), I took it upon myself to approach a health company called Genuine Health to see if I could be added to their roster of ambassadors.  Olympians, National Team athletes (Triathlon and Skiing), Personal Trainers and more are already part of the great ambassador team.  Genuine Health (http://shop.genuinehealth.com/).

I’ve seen and experienced how their products improve health and wellbeing in a natural and pure way. 

A colleague of mine who had breast cancer suggested that I have my mom try greens+ when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer.  My mom incorporated greens+ into her diet to strengthen her immune system and boost her vegetable intake.  She was on a mission to get strong and healthy before chemo.  Thanks to her health focus, my mom has stayed strong through 5 of her 6 chemo sessions, and will have her last one this upcoming Wednesday!:)

Soon after, I started to learn more about Genuine Health products for myself – I now have come to love proteins+ and activfuel+.  Below is a killer recipe that includes proteins+.

 * I originally got this delicious Chocolate Black Bean Pudding recipe from Lindsay (our team stroke seat and recipe master!).  I just made some minor tweaks.  And that’s the beauty about it, you can change it as you please and it will always taste amazing!

- 1 can of Black Beans

- 1 cup of Cottage Cheese or Greek Yogurt (or both if you like)

- 4 scoops of Genuine Health’s proteins+ (I use chocolate, yum)

- 1 tbsp Cinnamon

- 2 tbsp of Cocoa Powder

- 4 Dates

- Drizzle of Honey

Mix all of the ingredients in a blender and then put it in the fridge to cool off.  THANK YOU LINDSAY!!!

This is a picture of the Chocolate Black Bean Pudding with home-made granola sprinkled on top and fresh blueberries.

Clearly this is very high in protein, but when you are cutting weight, this is a must!

Now because we’ll be travelling, I won’t be able to take the puddingL.  But I have made up for it by baking these granola bars with proteins+ that can continue to give me that extra energy and boost of protein that I need during travel.  I remember writing about this simple recipe before, but now with the chocolate protein powder, you will experience these treats at a whole new level!

-          2 Ripe Bananas

-          2 Cups of Oatmeal

-          2 scoops of proteins+

-          Anything else you please…I add in dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, almonds….

Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

I will continue to be posting about new Genuine Health products I try, and also provide other recipes that you can make easily at homeJ.

Packing and getting ready for take-off…..

Talk soon!