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:)