Catch-22: Tory's 22nd Birthday Workout

My favorite part of my birthday is usually the workout I make for myself, because it means I can eat a lot of cake. This year,  I enlisted  my Naval Academy attendee brother to help me put together something awesome. Unfortunately, since I am drugged up on DayQuill and have spent the day thus far in bed, this workout didn't happen for me today. However,  the birthday magic of over the counter drugs seems to be working and I plan on tackling this one tomorrow. Here's a birthday present from me to you!

Cardio
22 minutes of erging
22 minutes on the treadmill
22 minutes of the stair climber

Circuit: Furious-22
22 pull ups
22 leg lifts
22 russian twists with medicine ball
22 medicine ball throws
22 dumbbell plank  rotations (11 each side, with10 lbs)
22 diagonal wood chops (11 each side, with 25 lbs)
22 knees to elbows or hanging knee tucks if too hard
22 push ups
2:20 of plank (1:30 front,  :25 each side)
22 burpees

Then go eat 22 pieces of cake for me!

Disclaimer: Not my actual cake

DIY: Easy Team Gifts - Hair Ribbons

Our team doesn’t order team gear until January, so the biggest distinction between the members of the varsity team and members of the freshmen team is the lack of red Marist Crew clothing. The seniors on our team decided to help the freshmen out by making hair bows for them. Although hair ribbons are something usually reserved for volleyball or softball teams, they appreciated it! Here's how to do it:

Ingredients

·         rolls of 2 different colored hair ribbon ($12 at Michaels)

·         fabric paint ($4 at Michaels)

·         elastic hair ties ($3 at Rite Aid)

Procedure

1. Cut hair ribbon to a length that can be tied into a bow. We cut the ribbon to be about 14” long.

2. Write your team acronym or number on hair ribbon in fabric paint. 

MWC for Marist Women's Crew

3. Wait for fabric paint to dry. This usually takes a couple hours.

4. Tie two different colored ribbons onto a hair tie.

Angie put the hair tie on a bottle to make it easier to tie the ribbon on

5. Tie the ribbons into a bow. 

 6. Give to team members. Smile!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your food overindulgence and extra sleep. Don't forget to vote for your favorite nail polish name in the Poll section of the blog! 

Reader Contest: Win Nail Polish!

The Background
At practice last year, my team was talking (as usual) about nail polish. We were discussing how much we like the names of the colors. They might sound a little ridiculous at times, but they are just so damn catchy, it's hard not to smile when you hear names like "My Chihuahua Bites" or "Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window". However, there aren't many "athletic" sounding nail polish names (OPI's "Yo-Gotta Get This Blue" is probably the closest thing I've seen). This contest is to see who can come up with the most creative, athletic sounding nail polish name. It can be related to any sport or any activity as long as it's creative!

Contest Rules
Submit your name (and a way to contact you), your nail polish name, and what color you imagine it to be via email or the comment section below.
For example: Tory (trainingintransition@gmail.com),  "I'd Rather Row and Lose Than Be a Cheerleader", bright pink

In one week, readers will be able vote on their favorite nail polish name.

And the prize?
My two favorite nail polish colors. It's a surprise! =) And I will ship anywhere. Yes, even to England. So comment or email me  and WIN!

Marist Crew at Head of the Fish

Fall Race #2: Head of the Fish in Saratoga Springs, NY

Last weekend, our team traveled to Saratoga to race in Head of the Fish. It was our last weekend of fall racing and it was a big one. Our schedule had us at the Fish on Saturday and at the Fall Metro (a new race for our team on a 2k course in New Rochelle) on Sunday. Since all the varsity girls and some of the freshmen were racing multiple events each day, we went into it prepared for a lot of racing in a short amount of time.

Head of the Fish Course (courtesy of Saratoga Rowing Association)

We arrived in Saratoga around 8:30 am to windy and very cold conditions. For the women, the first races of the day were the varsity 8+s. The 1v8 raced the same line-up we had the previous weekend in our still unnamed new boat. The 2v8 raced a line-up they had never rowed before, composed of a senior, two juniors, a sophomore and four freshmen. 

1v8

 

Despite having a strong race in Delaware, our eight did not have a good race at the Fish. The Fish is a little bit shorter course than Delaware (3.7k vs. 4k) and it is a lot straighter. We were also racing in a field of 17 rather than 7. All of these factors meant that we needed to be aggressive right from the beginning and row at 32 spm to be competitive.  We ended up racing at 30 spm, which just wasn’t enough to hang with a stronger field. I think another contributing factor was the fragmented practice we had the Friday before the race.  I think that one of the reasons last spring’s 1v8 raced well (in the few races Mother Nature allowed us to have) is because we had been rowing together for a long time and we worked well with each other. I believe a team builds a certain kind of cohesion after going through years of training. I think our eight is still in the process of figuring each other out, as is expected with a transitioning team. As much as it was upsetting to have a disappointing race, I think it was a good learning experience. Now we know we have to work on keeping higher rates, and we have all of winter training to get stronger, tougher and become more of a team. I am very excited to see what we can do in the spring once we iron out the kinks.

2v8

The fours had much better races in a bigger field (28 boats). My four had the same lineup as Delaware but the 2v4 was composed of the stern 4 of the 1v8 and the 3v4 was composed of the upperclassmen from the 2v8. The 3^rd four had a good race, considering this was another line-up that had never practiced together. The 2v4 felt that they raced better than they had practiced, despite a broken cox box. My co-captain, Maggie, sat in bow seat and “coxed” the race. They placed 7^th, showing that they were not about to let adversity stop them from having a good race. 

My four had a great race. It was probably one of the best races I’ve had in my entire life. From the beginning, everything just seemed to go well. We built confidence early on by passing the boat in front of us and carried that mentality throughout the entire race. We kept the rate at 31 spm and just cranked on it the entire time. I was in flow state almost the entire time, which rarely happens to me in sweep races. I felt totally focused and in control. The only thing that made the race less than perfect was the last ten strokes. We got cut off going into the finish and our coxswain had to hit the rudder hard to avoid ramming them. But other than that it was a fabulous race and we placed 2^nd. 

Silver medals!

 Both freshmen 8+s did a great job too. They raced in their same line-ups from the previous weekend, something that I think contributed to their success. When I was a freshman, we didn’t have enough people to have a set lineup, which doesn’t allow the boat as a whole to learn from mistakes and get better together. These freshmen are also ambitious and competitive, whether they have rowing experience or not. The 1F placed first, snagging the coveted Fish Head trophy (yes, it’s a real fish) and the 2F placed 10^th, beating a bunch of first freshman crews. 

The actual Head of the Fish!

 We got on the bus to find out that Fall Metro had been canceled, due to the freak fall snowstorm. Although it was very disappointing to have yet ANOTHER race canceled (totaling half of our fall season and the fifth canceled race in 2011), I think we ended on a good note. Our eight race might not have been what we wanted, but we came back in the fours to end the day strong. The freshmen had another solid racing experience with great results.We got in a great day of racing before the snowstorm hit and then we got to go home and play in the eight inches of snow that fell while we were away. 

Post Race Snowsurfing

Marist’s coverage of the Head of the Fish can be found here.

Row2k results can be found here. 

Lineups 

1v8 cox: J Guzzardi 8: F. Siclovan 7. M. Kolb 6: T. Fillipini 5: M. Ladouceur 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta 2v8 cox: Z. Christopher 8: A. Devorak 7: S. Moriarty 6: K. Wilson 5: S. LaRose 4. M. Banks 3. E. Waskiewicz 2: M. Soprano 1: N. Washburn	1F8 cox: S. Cillo 8: A. Devorak 7: S. Moriarty 6: M. Romer 5: S. LaRose 4: K. Wilson 3: S. Blau 2: T. Mullaney 1: A. Khoury 2F8 cox: K. Perkins 8: B. Logue 7:  L. Hehir 6: K. Melendez 5: N. Culhane 4: K. Orzech 3: M. Perry 2: N. Washburn 1: K. Mahoney
1v4 cox: B. Rodriguez 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta	2v4 cox: Zoe Christopher 4: F. Siclovan 3: M. Ladouceur 2: T. Fillipini 1: M. Kolb	3v4 cox: J. Guzzardi 4: M. Banks 3: E. Waskiewicz 2: M. Soprano 1: N. Washburn

Bits and Pieces: Some Sports Psychology Humor

Two weeks ago, I took a sports psychology test. There were three long essay questions and we had to answer two, however, if we answered three, we got extra credit. Even though I had no idea what essay question number three was, I decided to give it my best shot.

Question
In preparing a mental focus for competition, coaches should help athletes answer two questions. What are they and how will the athletes answering them create a "sense of expectancy"?


Answer

I cracked myself up anyway. I apparently made my professor laugh as well, because he gave me an extra credit point. (And for the record, I got an A on the test!)

Head of the Ch....er....Marist Women's Crew goes to Delaware

 Fall Race #1: Marist vs. Temple, Delaware and LaSalle at Delaware

Marist Women's Crew

The first race of our season was originally not supposed to be our first race. The Poughkeepsie Regatta, scheduled for Oct. 1^st, was cancelled and we had to wait three weeks to race for the first time. This was a new race for Marist, as all the crews invited had not been picked to race in the Head of the Charles. Although our team was depressed to not make the time-honored trip to Boston, I think that the racing that happened instead was worth making the trip south.

We left school at 11am and made it to Delaware to rig and practice on the course. The river that Delaware rows on reminded me of my home course on the Passaic River with lots of bridges and multiple turns on a narrow river set in an industrial area. Personally, I like courses like this because lots of landmarks make a race go by faster. Our coxswains are very aggressive and good at steering, which makes 100% of a difference on that kind of course. The varsity 8+ and both freshmen eights were able to practice on the course before heading to the hotel to shower and eat.

The next day, the team left the hotel at 7:45am to get to the course. The race schedule was as follows:

9:50 varsity 8+

10:10 varsity 4+

10:30 freshman 8+

11:45 varsity 8+ round 2

noon varsity 4+

12:15 freshman 4+

*bold races had Marist boats

Varsity 8+

Because our boat had only three rowers returning from last year’s first varsity eight and three sophomores with very little racing experience due to the ridiculous number of race cancellations in 2011, I went into this race apprehensively. In all of rowing, I feel like it is hard to go into a race in a boat with people you have never raced with before because you don’t know how people mentally handle racing situations. There are breakdowns even at the Olympic level. However, we had an advantage: we raced in a brand new boat filled with rowers who were hungry for a race. And it completely paid off. Our sophomores proved themselves to be focused and intense and I think our boat rowed better in the race than it had in all of our previous practices. We started out strong, and had a fantastic middle move and a strong sprint. The steering was great and we definitely gained time on other crews because of it. We placed 2^nd to Delaware, beating Temple and LaSalle as well as the 2vs from the above schools. Overall, I think it was a great first varsity race for our sophomores and is hopefully a good indicator of a strong spring season.

Freshman 8+

Pre-race huddle by the 2F8

Marist had two boats in this race, one boat of six experienced rowers and two novices and then a boat of all novices, including the coxswain. I could not imagine tackling that course as a first race for an inexperienced coxswain and I think that Sam deserves the MVP award for the day for staying calm throughout the race. The 1F placed 2^nd by 7 seconds to Delaware and the 2F placed 5^th, great finishes for a first race of the season, especially versus a team with a home course advantage.

Varsity 4+

1V4+

Marist also had two boats in this race. Both boats had very strong races. As is typical with fall racing, my boat had practiced in our line-up once and the 2v4+ had never practiced in their line-up. Delaware started first, then the 1v4+ and the 2v4+. We began to walk through the Delaware boat in the first 500m, but needed to hold back due to a tight space under the second bridge of the course. We walked through them and had a great second 500m. Our middle move at the Delaware dock was probably the best 20 strokes I’ve taken all year. Our awesome freshmen cheering for us from the shore inspired our boat to take some great strokes. Jen, our coxswain, steered a fantastic course, as did the 2v4+ coxswain, Bree, whose boat I could see the entire time. 

2V4+

The 2v4+ also passed Delaware’s 4, a little before the halfway point. The only thing that would have made this race a little better would have been if Delaware, Temple and LaSalle had done what we did and rowed fours with rowers from the varsity eight. The field would have been more interesting, but it was a good race nonetheless.

Freshman 4+

Post race pictures

Marist entered one experienced freshman four in this race. From what I heard from the girls and their coxswain, they also had a great race. They placed 1^st in a field of three boats. They also had not rowed in their lineup prior to the race, but felt that they were able to match up really well during the warm-up. This allowed them to row well and put together a very solid race.

I really enjoyed this race. The course was different from what we usually race or practice on and the change of scenery was welcome. It was a relaxed racing atmosphere, but efficiently run. From the perspective of introducing 17 freshmen to collegiate racing, it was perfect: no chaos, no angry officials, a pleasantly small venue (my standard for this is measured by the distance between the trailer, the dock and the food tent) and clean port-a-potties. The parents did a great job with the food tent (as always). The bus ride was a little long for a one day race but what promotes team bonding more than being stuck in small space with over thirty people? (Well, besides having a great day of racing.)

Lineups

1v8+ cox: Z. Christopher 8: F. Siclovan 7. M. Kolb 6: T. Fillipini 5: M. Ladouceur 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta	1F8+ cox: N. DeVito 8: A. Devorak 7: S. Moriarty 6: M. Romer 5: S. LaRose 4: K. Wilson 3: S. Blau 2: T. Mullaney 1: A. Khoury	2F8+ cox: S. Cillo 8: B. Logue 7:  L. Hehir 6: K. Melendez 5: N. Culhane 4: K. Orzech 3: M. Perry 2: N. Washburn 1: K. Mahoney
1v4+ cox: J. Guzzardi 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta	2v4+ cox: B. Rodriguez 4: F. Siclovan 3: M. Kolb 2: M. Banks 1: E. Waskiewicz	1F4+ cox: Z. Christopher 4: A. Devorak 3: S. LaRose 2: K. Wilson 1: S. Moriarty

 Results can be found here. 

Thanks to all our parents, supporters and coaches! And also to the UDel crew team for putting together a great day of racing!

Tory's Top Ten Reasons to Hire a Rower

As I move into my senior year of college, all everyone (read: parents and relatives and other assorted adults) wants to talk about is “after graduation”. Seniors hate this question. The average college student wakes up at noon, procrastinates as much as possible and drinks three nights a week. For any athlete, this isn’t usually an option. For a collegiate rower, it’s impossible. Anyone who knows our schedule knows that we wake up before 6 a.m. to train and usually have to have finished our day by 11 p.m. in order to get adequate sleep. In that time period, we have to balance multiple practices, classes, homework, and stops for frequent eating. In this respect, I feel that rowing prepares athletes for the real world better than college itself actually does. As a rower, I believe that I have some advantages in the job market that many of my peers do not have.

1. Rowers are used to early hours. You need me to get up at 6 a.m.? That’s 45 more minutes of sleep than I got six days a week in college. I also won’t show up for work bleary-eyed and needing a coffee IV, unlike many other recent college grads.

2. Rowers work really, really hard. In rowing, the ratio of practice time to racing time is depressingly high in favor of practice. Almost three hours a day, six days a week between September and May for six minutes of racing approximately ten times a spring. We’re used to putting in a lot of work for a small payoff.

3. Rowers are used to being yelled at constructively criticized. I spend most of my mornings hearing things like “Mather, relax your shoulders!” and “Square up earlier!” through a megaphone or a microphone. Being told I need to work harder on a project or that I’m not doing something in the right manner isn’t going to phase me.

4. Rowers are used to dealing with people. Name the person that you dislike in your office. Is it the person who constantly complains? The person who never pulls their own weight? The person who throws you under the bus to make themselves look better? As a rower, I have dealt with all of those people. I haven’t just simply tolerated them either. I’ve had to work with them and trust them to have my back in a racing situation, meaning that I am fully prepared to work with these people in an office environment.

5. Rowers are team players. Too many times in my rowing career, I have been upset at a teammate for not showing up to practice and not allowing me to row because of numbers. I have vowed never to be that teammate and work as hard as I can to not allow my actions to hurt other people.

6. Rowers are humble. In rowing, there is no MVP. It doesn’t matter if I have the fastest erg in the boathouse or the most experience in my boat; I don’t have the option to do well until every other person in my boat gets faster as well. A standout athlete on a mediocre team in any other sport gets recognition; a standout rower usually does not.

7. Rowers are punctual. Showing up to practice late usually means punishment in the form of hills or sprints. While I might not encounter that at a job, a fear of being late has been ingrained into my skull. In fact, I’ll probably show up fifteen minutes early to make sure my desk is set up correctly and to make sure there’s a full pot of coffee brewing.

8. Rowers have good time-management skills. We know what it takes to balance a busy schedule. Procrastination is not an option when it comes to excelling in both school and rowing. Rowers have a keen ability to pick out what urgently needs to get done and what can be left for another day.

9. Rowers are strong. Need the communal water bottle changed? I can do that. Need a heavy box lifted off of a high shelf? I can do that. This might not be a reason to hire a rower, but it certainly helps us earn our keep.

10. Rowers are good at making coffee. But only if you like it strong. When it comes to caffeine, I don’t mess around.

Now this article isn’t meant to bash Average Jane College Student. There were many mornings where my alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. when I wished I was her. Sometimes I wonder if employers look at my resume and think “Why would she put so much time into a sport? Maybe if she had put that much time into her grades, she would have a 4.0!” But I do think that college doesn’t always prepare people for “the real world”. I believe that I learned more people skills and discipline on the water than I ever did in a classroom. With that being said, would you hire me (and my teammates)?

O.P.I. and O-A-R-S: Rowing, Nail Polish and Femininity in Sports

The Marist crew team is full of people with very different personalities. Part of being on a team is using everyone’s different strengths and weaknesses to work towards a common goal. Besides rowing, however, we do have one thing in common with each other. Our team loves nail polish. Granted, it’s not everyone, but the amount of times one of our rowers has been distracted by another rower’s nail color is probably more than our coach would like me to admit on the internet. On the surface, this seems very shallow. What kind of athletic team goes out of their way to care how their finger nails look? Shouldn’t they be working harder? 

I used to be this doubter. I’ve never been a girly girl and the only “feminine” accessory I rock on a regular basis is a pair of fake pearl earrings – not because I necessarily think they’re pretty but rather for the fact that I think my earlobes rival Dumbo’s without them. As a freshman, I was teasingly chastised by my teammates for my bare nails. At one point, one upperclassman was so upset by this fact that she painted my nails in a parking lot while we were waiting for a hotel room the night before a race. Sure, I had the time to paint my own nails, but once they started chipping I didn’t care enough to redo them. Bare nails had always been fine with me and I didn’t see a reason to change.

Tory's nail polish "collection" prior to Summer 2011

Then, one day this summer, I had a less-than-perfect day. I’d had a bad row, a rough day at work and things just weren’t working out the way I wanted them to. I had a random and immediate urge to go straight to the mall. Surprised by this abnormal coping mechanism (normally I like to hit the gym), I went with it. I ended up at a store in the Poughkeepsie Galleria that was selling O.P.I. brand nail polish for $2.79 a bottle – when full price is usually $8.50. I bought two bottles and went straight home to paint my nails. To this day, I still have no idea where this overpowering urge to paint my nails came from. But I did it, and it made me feel much better. The next week, the same thing happened. I’d had a bad day, I bought a new color, painted my nails and felt better. 

Tory's current nail polish collection

What is the reason for this? My theory is that stems from a subconscious desire to make our tough hands look more feminine. It’s no secret: rowing has a lot to do with the hands. Sure, the rest of our bodies get beaten up pretty badly from the endless miles on the water and the erg combined with lifting sessions. However, it is our hands that manifest this work. The first weeks of practice everyone has gross blisters, but a month or so in, girls on our team are going callus for callus with gym rats who spend their free time with their hands wrapped around a weight bar. Calluses are a sign of hard work. Back in the day, women with rough hands were members of the lower class, because they could not afford to have servants doing manual labor for them. I believe that remnants of this stereotype still prevail today. If a guy has callused hands, he is considered manly. If a girl has callused hands, she is also considered manly. The same word is taken two completely different ways by different genders: one a compliment, the other an insult. 

I don’t believe that the desire to gravitate towards things considered to be “more feminine” is solely felt by rowers. My friends Steph (volleyball) and Dani (softball) said that their teams feel the same way too. During competition, both volleyball and softball teams have elaborate braided hair styles complete with ribbons to match the school uniform. And this isn’t just at Marist. If you look for a picture of Jennie Finch, arguably the best softball player in the US, you will see that she does the same thing. (She even has her own store to promote her look.) Female athletes often get a stereotype as “butch” or “manly” and I think that gestures as small as wearing pearls and painting our nails helps us feel that we are subconsciously fighting that stereotype. 

Jennie Finch: playing like a girl, winning like a champ

Last winter I deadlifting was in the weight room with my teammate, Angie. I was halfway through our set when she looked at me.

“I think your pearls go way better with the bench press than the deadlift bar,” she said teasingly. I just laughed. Sure, I might look silly walking around the free weights in a pink tee shirt and pearls. But once I start working, I don’t think anyone continues to laugh. I am a firm believer in a “look good, feel good” mentality. I know that painting my nails alone won’t help me win a race but I know that looking good combined with knowing how much hard work I put in on a regular basis means that I am going to feel damn good going down the course. 

Rowing Calluses vs. Rock Candy by Esse

 Next Saturday, our team races against Colgate in a four-mile re-enactment of the old IRA regatta. I’ll be racing in the women’s varsity eight, proudly representing my school in red and white. But you can be sure that my nails are going to be painted the most kick-ass color pink I can find. And my calluses? Well, they’re pretty awesome too.