Getting Through Winter

Post #31

Concord, Massachusetts - After having been asked about my favorite workout songs by the high school girls I've been working with, I decided to put together a list of the best ones. These are the tunes I've worked out to a million times, but never get old. They're the ones that put a smile on my face and make me pumped up and love what I'm doing. They're the ones we blasted out of the boathouse at 6 am, knowing that we were probably waking up the entire city of Madison.

It should be noted that most of these songs were discovered and made popular (at least on our team) by Heidi. Heidi and I were teammates at Wisco and she is an awesome person. She was a coxswain on the team, which means she sits in the stern of the eight and steers, strategizes, and gets everyone working together. Aside from being a great friend and teammate, Heidi is also well known for her ability to find new workout songs and assemble them into playlists that we listened to all winter long. Her songs from college are loaded on my iPod and still get me through even the toughest workouts, especially those full pressure pieces in a big, dark, quiet erg room by myself in the dead of winter.

Heidi and I (and Margot!) at work for the Badgers at 2007 Head of the Charles

Wisco spring training trip (junior year)

Top 10 Steady State Songs:

1. Show Me, Mint Royale ft. De La Soul

2. Touches You, Mika

3. Church, T-Pain

4. Heart of a Champion, Nelly

5. Good Day, Nappy Roots

6. Daylight, Matt & Kim

7. The Sweet Escape, Gwen Stefani

8. Use It, The New Pornographers

9. Bulletproof, La Roux

10. Hard to Beat, Hard-Fi

Top 5 Testing Songs:

1. Love Today, Mika

2. Bring Em Out, T.I.

3. Lose Yourself, Eminem

4. Oh! Gravity, Switchfoot

5. Here it Goes Again, Ok Go

Building Community

Post #30

Concord, Massachusetts - Over the weekend I took a trip up to Hanover, NH to visit Amory and her family, see ITA's new home, and meet the ITANH runners. I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed with everything: the delicious meals, the gorgeous house, Amory's adorable kids, the exciting plans for ITA's future, and all of the warm people - athletes and non- that I met. Hanover may have been chilly and snowy, but ITA is certainly bringing warmth to the community there.

Speaking of which, Amory and I got to talking over coffee about how we as a society build community in the age of iPhones, iPods, and iPads. Our discussion reminded me of a postcard I randomly picked up a couple of years back while training in NJ. I had been thinking of posting it here for some time, and promised Amory that would, so here's the list. It can definitely spark some thought, so feel free to let me know your reaction.

How to Build Community

Turn off your TV

Leave your house

Know your neighbors

Look up when you are walking

Greet people

Sit on your stoop

Plant flowers

Use your library

Play together

Buy from local merchants

Share what you have

Help a lost dog

Take children to the park

Garden together

Support neighborhood schools

Fix it even if you didn't break it

Have pot lucks

Honor elders

Pick up litter

Read stories aloud

Dance in the street

Talk to the mail carrier

Listen to the birds

Put up a swing

Help carry something heavy

Barter for your goods

Start a tradition

Ask a question

Hire young people for odd jobs

Organize a block party

Bake extra and share

Ask for help when you need it

Open your shades

Sing together

Share your skills

Take back the night

Turn up the music

Turn down the music

Listen before you react to anger

Mediate a conflict

Seek to understand

Learn from new and uncomfortable angles

Know that no one is silent though many are not heard. Work to change this.

(I take no credit for creating this list. http://www.northernsun.com/n/s/3118.html)

CRI and Row2k Article

Post #29

Concord, Massachusetts - Yesterday I did an impromptu speech at Community Rowing (CRI), the club I rowed at in high school. My coach is still there, so I always make a point of coming in to say hi when I'm home. The club is so different than when I rowed there. Back in 2000-2004, we rowed out of an ice-skating-rink-turned-boat-storage-spot. Since I graduated from high school and left Massachusetts, they've built a huge boathouse. It's a great facility with lots of space. The team has also grown in size since I was there. Back when I was on the team, there were only about thirty of us who did the winter training program. Now, there are about fifty girls doing it. I'm glad that rowing is growing in popularity! The girls had lots of great questions and it was a treat to get to talk to them.

I'm honored to announce that Row2k has done a feature article on me that can be found on today's homepage. If you want to hear all about Worlds, summer training, and my favorite races, head on over there!

Ohh Oh, Boston, You're My Home

Post #28

Concord, Massachusetts - I want to start out this post with a shout-out to the Brookline High girls' rowing team! I came to their practice and spoke to them earlier this week about my background and my Worlds experience. They had great questions - from nutrition to training to racing. We even got down the nitty-gritty details of splits and 20k times. Gotta love it! It is always rewarding for me to share my experience and what I've learned with the next generation of rowers and I loved talking with the Brookline girls.

For the first time in a long time, I'm at home for long enough to take advantage of training on the Charles. This morning, I was out there in crisp, sunny, 38 degree weather for a solid 80' in a friend's single. It was magical. I was one of the only boats out there and since I went early on a Sunday morning, even the city was quiet. There were tons of people running on the path along the river to keep me company though. I forget how much I love the Charles when I'm away!

The Charles. A friend sent this to me years ago. Credit: Charles River Conservancy

Row2k, the main source of news, results, and photos for the rowing world, interviewed me for a feature article last week. The interview is set to be posted in the next couple days, so keep an eye out for it. They even asked a question about ITA! I'll link it when I see it.