Women in the Canadian Lighweight Quad

First off, I hope everybody is watching the Olympics!  You can’t help but feel motivatedJ.  As I’m a rower, I have to say that a MUST see race is the Women’s Eight (8+).  Canada and the US are known as the top two crews at these Games, and so I have no doubt that Thursday morning’s final will be an incredibly tight and amazing race to watch!  Every inch counts!

As for us here in London, ONTARIO, training is going super well.  I’m really lucky to be training with a group of amazing girls.  I’ll tell you a bit about them – I’ll go from the front of the boat (stroke) to the back (bow):

Erin Snelgrove

She is our energizer bunny.  If she isn't rowing, she is most likely speeding by on her running shows from point A to B, then B to C, back to A, then to C, and so on.  As our stroke seat, she keeps the rhythm of the crew solid and strong.  She has some experience as well on the international stage, having competed last year at the Junior World Championships, and recently at the Under 23 World Championships

Lindsay Sferrazza

Lindsay is our in-house Chef and Recipe Master!  I have learned that eating healthy doesn't need to taste so bland;)  My husband will be forever grateful, haha.  She has been rowing since High School and collected countless club, Henley and CU medals!  With her drive, it is no surprise that she successfully made the switch over to the lightweight rowing and will now be on the World Stage.

Me

The pic below says it all - I'm a little crazy:)  We got our uniforms today so I got a little excited.  I may be wearing all of the clothing still...and it's starting to get a little hot to say the least:S

Liz Fenje

She is our powerhouse!  She can absolutely demolish me in the weight room (but it is awesome to get pushed by her).  As our bow seat, Liz calls the race.  It's one of the hardest positions as she has to call the race all while racing at 150% herself!  No big deal.  We all trust her though.  Her resume stands strong with 3 years on the Under 23 National Team, an IRA win this year with her Stanford crew, and more.

Needless to say, I am humbled and honoured to row and compete with these girls.  We have 5 more training days left until we leave for Bulgaria, and so we will all continue to stay focused and make each stroke count.

ps.  Congrats to Argos and all athletes who competed this past week-end in Welland at RowOntarios.  New champions were crowned.  It'll be exciting to see that strong races will be had at Henley this year.  Good Luck everyone.

Until next time (in Bulgaria!!!!!),

LSM:)

Final selections made!

Since May, the other lightweights and I have been under review by the National Development Coach every day for every workout.  We did unofficial and official seat racing, time trials in the 1x, 2x and 4x, and specific workouts where the coach would be able to see how we perform: looking at our consistency, crew dynamic and weight management.  Because I performed quite well in the first double matrix of seat racing, and my weight has shown to be consistent, I was not included in the final seat racing that took place today.  That said, I still did a solid training session by doing two hard 2km pieces in the single (1x) alongside the other athletes who were either supporting or competing for the final spot in the boat.  They did an amazing job and gave it everything that they could - each are true champions!

At the end of the day, only four athletes were named to the boat and I can finally confirm that I am officially one of those four athletes in the Lightweight Women’s Quadruple Sculls that will be wearing red and white at the Senior World Championships this August in Bulgaria!!!:)

Back in April after the National Development Trials I was over the moon about simply getting invited to try-out and move to London Ontario for this opportunity – a 28 year old, married, full-time corporate world woman (I was definitely scared about entering a new environment).  But the end result of being named to the boat is something I am truly thankful for and will not take for granted – there is still a lot of exciting work to be done before the big event! 

Everyone who came here to London to try-out has so much to be proud of and nobody can take that away from any of usJ.  Many of the athletes have had an incredible impact on me, and although some of them are no longer at the Centre (for now, but watch out they’ll come back!), they continue to motivate me through their determination and ongoing pursuits of their dreams!  Thank you!

It will be an exciting couple of weeks to say the least.  Especially this year since the World Championships will take place right after the Olympic rowing races – during our training we’ll be able to watch Olympians go for Gold in England!  Is there a better way to get pumped up and motivated?  I don’t think so!

Aside from the training and racing, it’ll also be exciting to see (IN PERSON) the athletes I have read about and admired for so long.  One of them is Ursula Grobler from the USA.  Although she is not Canadian, I have a lot of respect for her as an athlete as she currently holds the world record on the rowing machine for 2km (Lightweight Women).  She will be racing in the 1x at the World Championships, and so will many past Olympians and previous World Champions.  Many up and comers will be there as well since the Junior World Championships will also be held in Bulgaria at the same time.  I am so proud of one of the Junior athletes I have been fortunate to train alongside back in my Don Rowing days: Kieran Tierney - Congrats!

Thank you to everyone who has continued to support me on this journey.  It has definitely been a learning experience and I know that the learning doesn’t stop here!

I’m hopeful that my next blog will be to show you the Canadian gear - don't be surprised if I wear them to work for the months to follow World'sJ.

Have a great week-end!

Small things can make a big difference!

The past week gives me reason to write today.  As I previously told you, I’ve been moving around a bit to get in some solid training while the Under-23 team is in Lithuania (They are racing incredibly well by the way!  Check out their races on worldrowing.com and cheer on these amazingly hard working athletes).

So where did rowing take me this week?...Miami? No…Vancouver? No…Welland?  YES!  I bet if you asked most people, they wouldn’t be the first to jump in a bus to go to Welland, but after this week, I would come back in a heartbeat! Of course that’s if my work, friends and husband came with meJ.

Aside from the hundreds to thousands of motorcycles I saw today (they meet every Friday 13^th in a local town), the hardcore gardening I did for my mom (I have an entire new appreciation for it!!), and the several local farmer’s markets I went to, I got to spend this week at my parent’s “farm” (more like a country house in the middle of farm country) with my dad - my mom joined us today after work.  It was amazing as I haven’t spent this much time with my dad in years!  I felt like I was a little girl again – we ran all errands together, had delicious meals and also made a trip to Bulk Barn where I was able to take advantage of his Senior’s DiscountJ.  Below is a picture of a dessert I made for us from a recipe my teammate gave me:

Black bean brownie with black bean cocoa pudding on top, greek yogurt, strawberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup. You can’t feel guilty when you eat BEANS now can you?!

Spending time with my dad this week helped me remember that it’s important to slow down and appreciate the little things in life too.  In Toronto I am always in a rush…rush to rowing, rush to the office, rush back to rowing, rush home to see my husband, rush to put my food together for the next day, rush to bed…I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about!  It’s nice when things slow down a bit, and yes, sometimes it means driving slower too. 

I think this appreciation carried into my rowing this week.  Both my partner and I slowed things down in our 2x (in terms of our stroke rate, not speed don’t worry) and we really focused on moving the boat in the most efficient way possible.  We looked at ourselves and analyzed our movements to make sure that we were making the most of each stroke, together as one.  Small movements have a way of disrupting the set of a boat, and with our focus we have eliminated a lot of these movementsJ.

It is also nice that we had a nice stretch of about 10km to row on without any cross winds or turn arounds.  Below is a video of the National Development Centre where we have been training out of all week.

At the NDC we were fortunate to train with some friendly and speedy rowers.  They also know how to have fun - after some practices on hot days (pretty much EVERY DAY!), they jump into the water to cool off.  Unfortunately if we did that in Lake Fanshawe in London we might grow a third eye:S…not kidding! 

So my advice for anyone reading this before the week-end, is that you remember to appreciate the little things around you – it could be a person, something material, or a moment.

Enjoy!



The value of sportsmanship

It’s been a while, so I am sorry for not writing sooner.  Truthfully, I’ve tried to hold off until July 21^st – the date when the four athletes will be officially named to the quad for the World Championships in Bulgaria.  But after today, I have something I want to sayJ.  After this though, I will continue to try and hold off until July 21^st, ha!

Since some of our under 23 athletes are overseas preparing to race (and kick butt) at the 2012 Under-23 World Championships, I have been continuing to train here in Toronto, London and soon Welland with other athletes so that I can maintain and improve on my fitness. Lucky for me, today there was a local regatta here in London that I was able to compete in.  It’s always good to get racing experience and challenge yourself, even though I felt like crapola again after my 2x race this morning (the heat, heavy training week and lack of electrolytes got the best of me, but fortunately my partner Lindsay and I still won, mind over body I guess).

Competing today put the biggest smile on my face!  Why?  It’s really great to be able to see familiar faces, friends, and coaches.  The rowing community is fantastic, and somehow you find yourself becoming friends with people you race against.  Regardless of the outcome, everyone knows the other is pushing as hard as they can to be their best on that day.  So I think it is incredibly important to have good sportsmanship and be respectful and supportive of yourself, crew, and opponents (yes, opponents). 

I’ve seen this best reflected in a video I saw of the 2008 Ironman World Championships in Kona.  Chrissie Wellington (one of my role models) holds the world record in the Ironman distance, and is just an absolutely humble, modest and inspiring woman, plus she's super fast!

History: I actually went to watch the race in 2003 when my brother competed, and I saw with my own eyes how amazingly supportive of one another the athletes can be. 

Here is the video I am referring to:

This video really hits home for many reasons:

-          With respect to sportsmanship, it has been defined as many things, and one definition says “respect one’s opponent, and treat others the way you’d like to be treated”.  Rebekah Keat does just that when she see’s Chrissie on the side with a blown tire.  In rowing it’s a bit harder to reach over and help others, but attitude alone can make the same kind of impact. 

-          Always be prepared for any scenario when you are competing

-          Never make an excuse if you are held back, dig deeper and fight harder to prove to yourself that you CAN

Here are some pics from today:

Congrats to everyone who raced and gave each stroke their all!

Racing and Lessons..never a boring day.

First, I want to start off by saying that it is always sad when a great athlete retires.  A couple of week ago a really big role model of mine retired, Tracy Cameron (Lightweight Rower, 2008 Olympic Bronze).  I won’t get into the “why”, but I will say that I am really thankful and privileged for having met her and raced against her.  She is up there with athletes like Chrissie Wellington (Ironman).  So thank you Tracy for everything you have done for our sport in Canada and around the World!

Now, onto my life here in London.  Busy times to say the least!  I have been juggling work with training, and I must say that I fully understand why full time athletes don’t work 9-5pm jobs.  First off, the hours don’t allow for it.  We row either twice a day and do weights as a third workout, or row twice and then cross train as our third workout.  It’s getting a bit harder now that the weather is getting hotter too!  Recovery is most important, and so making sure fuel and fluids are taken in a timely manner is crucial.  So, on most days I find myself at my computer/blackberry in between workouts and in the evenings to keep up and get ahead of the upcoming day(s) – no more late night showsL….but I may make an exception for The Bachelorette tonightJ, don’t hate.

The “Under 23” category crews have been selected.  They had a defining race this past Friday in the form of a time trial that finalized who would be in what boats, and I must say that I am super impressed with these women – they are strong, fast and determined!  I’m really motivated and fortunate to train with them each day.  Although not officially part of my selection, I also raced this past Friday in the time trial.  I say “not officially”, but really, we are in selection EVERY DAY!  A couple of us Senior athletes competed as well to see how fast we could go against the clock, each of us in our single sculls (that a boat, not a typo - skull).

These are my rowing blades on the dock at the London Training Centre at 5am.

I weighed in at my target weight and then went off to fuel before the race, set to start at 7am.  It was 5am and so I thought I had more than enough time to eat and drink as I usually do before practice.  But unfortunately I didn’t follow the “usual”.

My “excitedness” (yes that’s a word!) got the best of me and I double dosed on some of my pre-race drinks/meals in hopes that it would make me go faster…not so much Laura, not so much.  This double dosing is what I feel led to a VERY uncomfortable post-race experience, ha!  I couldn’t properly warm down after the 2km time trial because, well, my stomach didn’t like me all that much.  As I struggled to carry my boat back up to the boathouse after the time trial, I started to gag every other step…gag….step…gag…and so on.  Honestly I was scared that I might drop my boat!  At the same time some athletes from the local rowing club were taking their boats up, and so I would lie if I didn’t say I was trying to hold it in.  But on I went with my loud gagging noise.  I think I looked behind me at one point to pretend it was coming from somewhere else…”who did that?”J.

After I got my boat up I took some time to try and recollect myself so that I could get back to normal, but sooner than later my stomach won the fight and it was racing hard to get all my fluids out the door!

What had I done?!  I guess between nerves and double dosing, my body didn’t absorb the contents and instead they just sat in my stomach from 5am until after my race.  It could be that the force and pressure from racing acted as the final motivation for the contents to sit still no longer.

So, the lesson to be learned – do NOT try anything new on race day!  Practice new foods or drinks during training sessions so that you could see how your body responds first.

Sometimes we know these things, but practicing them is another story.  I will continue to make a conscious effort to always learn and apply what I have learned in the opportunities ahead. 

Now I’m off to apply what I have learned about relaxing…it is done best when watching “The Bachelorette”, ha!

"How much do you weigh?"

Hi!  I havent written in a little while because there's a lot going on...balancing work (yes I'm still working but it's remote while I'm trying out for the National Development Rowing Team), full time rowing here at the National Training Centre, and family/friends.  In a week I'll write more about the selection process and the new lifestyle I am now living, but for today I'm going to write about something that most people try to stay away from...weight!

"How much do you weigh?"

How rude to ask!  Would you feel offended if somebody asked you this?  Weight can be such a touchy subject, but if you should ever find yourself sitting with lightweight rowers then you’ll see how “touchy” is thrown out the window.

Most of the time when lightweights are brought together, we talk about foodJ.  Athletes in general love food as #1) food is DELICIOUS and #2) it is looked at as fuel for the machine, your body.  The added dimension for lightweight rowers (as well as wrestlers, martial artists and other weight restricted athletes), is that we have to perform at a specific weight.  For female lightweight rowers there are two standards:

1)      If you are in a 1x (single boat) then you can weigh no more than 59kg

2)      If you are in a 2x (double with 2 people) or 4x (quad with 4 people), then the average of the boat can be no more than 57kg!  This means that there could be an athlete below this and above this number, but the average of all four has to be 57kg.

The last time I think I weighed 57kg was back in Grade 9!!  And guess what, should I make the team that Canada sends to the Non-Olympic World Championships, then my target weight would be 56kg..that’s 123.2 lbs!!  I think I was 2 years old when I last weighed that …clearly kiddingJ.

In addition, lightweight rowers have to weigh in 2 hours before their competition.  This tight timeframe between weigh in and competition is meant to decrease the amount of sweat runs or other things that athletes do in order to lose weight – it has proven to be quite dangerous and some have paid big negative consequences due to poor preparation.  This is why I started preparing back at the beginning of April.  I was a solid 60kg then, and over the past 2 months I have dropped down to 57.6kg.  May not sound like much, but it takes time to teach your body to adapt and become steady at a new weight.  It’s also hard when you are trying to put on muscle because as most of you know, muscle weighs more than fat.  So the balance is to lean out, gain muscle but keep losing weight, and increase performance…fun times eh?!

I learned some hard lessons back in Triathlon (although not a weight restricted sport), and I have grown to truly understand my body and learn a great deal about food/water intake: what, when and why...

In general I’ve learned that:

-          Carbohydrates s are NOT bad for me, I need them…and I love them!

-          I perform best when I eat WHITE bread (breaks my heart because I was always against it) with almond butter and a banana before competition.  It digests better and doesn’t overwork my system for race time.

-          Drinking water the day before a weigh in will not negatively impact my weigh in, but rather it’ll continue to help cleanse my internal system and better prepare me for competition/training.

-          Protein intake is essential for muscle building…I used to be set on only eating egg whites, but in my own reading and research I have found that whole eggs are more beneficial and the cholesterol quantity won’t impact me as I previously assumed.  Of course speak to your own doctor if you have concerns…I am not a doctor.  It also helps to have a dad who has his own chickens, so I am fortunate to have some of the best eggs out there each week.  And no, the eggs are not the ONLY reason why I visit my parents every week-end ha!

-          I need my protein smoothies within 30 minutes of training completion so that I benefit from my training and have a solid recovery.  The best part about this piece is that here at the National Rowing Training Centre it is standard for every rower to have a smoothie as soon as we get off the water.  YUM!

-          Eating many meals throughout the day is better than eating 3 large meals in a day…and breakfast IS the most important meal of the day, so make it fun and exciting by mixing it upJ…greek yogurt with berries and granola, eggs with a whole what English muffin and fruit, banana/oatmeal pancakes, etc.

I can go on forever, but my message here is that if you are/aren’t an athlete, it is important to look at what you eat.  You are what you eat.  And so “yes”, some days I feel like a triple Oreo McFlurry, and that’s okay, but in general it’s good to understand that what you are putting into your mouth can affect your mood, energy and more.  I can definitely tell you that when I've had that Oreo McFlurry I experienced a mood change...for the better, ha.  I haven't had one since April though, but when I do I will be a VERY happy person!

Next week a number of us here at the centre will be getting body assessments, blood work and a consultation with a Nutritionist.

I’m keeping a log for the next 5 days of what and when I eat, so we’ll see what the Nutritionist has to say.  I’m looking forward to learning more and finding out if there are ways I can better perform through food!

Keep you posted;)

I'll leave you with some pictures of meals I've had in recent days:

Sirloin Steak over brown rice (with sliced Onion, Red Pepper and Garlic), and a fresh home-made juice of Beets and Apple.  Don't worry I have gum on hand:)

Cooked Orzo (a type of pasta) with Red Pepper, Mushrooms, Onion, Carrots, Grilled Chicken and Avocado.

Happy eating!

Adapting...new city, new (temporary) home, new boat

It’s been one week so far here in London, and things are going pretty darn well…it helps to have a Bulk Barn, Winners, GNC, nutrition house, Sobey’s, McDonald’s and Subway near by…dangerous too:S

Of course I am missing my husband, family and friends, but I am fortunate in that I get to see them on week-ends and skype on weekdays.  Also, being away gives me a reason to push even harder in training because I need to make it worth “being away”…make every stroke on the water or rep in the weights room count!!  I’m not here to play.  I am here to get faster with teammates I hope to race with in AugustJ.

Speaking of which, I have been pleasantly surprised by the environment here at the training center.  No doubt there is constant pressure on each of us to perform, but that pressure is elevated when I realize that I am here on my own free will because I want this, I want to get faster, and I want to be a part of something that could be really great!   Also, it really isn’t hard to be motivated when you are surrounded by such strong and committed women who are working hard each day to be their best.

Between training sessions, I find myself working, cooking, reading, and walking my new best friend here in London…she’s a bit hairy, not so smelly, and clingy…but she is adorable:

 Madison and me

Now one of the biggest things I am learning right now is to “adapt”.  I'm sure at one point or another you've had to adapt to something...it could be as simple as going to a party where you know nobody (and no, you aren’t crashing the party,ha!) and you have to get a feel for the environment before you let your true self come out.  The biggest adaptation I feel that I am making right now is rowing in a quad (a boat with 4 people).  I am no longer in my single and now I have to adapt my stroke to others.  It is really humbling and I have to stay open minded and alert when being directed to change certain parts of my stroke.  At the end of the day, the goal is to move a quad (four people) as though only one person were rowing it.  I need to perfectly mimic what the person in front of me is doing…so hopefully my many years of dance experience will come in handy.

Above are some speedy girls I raced with last summer.  We only had the warm up on the race course to "adapt", and it got us a Gold medal at provincials, so I know it can be done:).

The challenge I give you (if you want), is to stay open minded and see where you can better adapt in your life.

Happy "adapting" (haha)