As our team geared up for the President’s Cup, our annual dual meet against Army, there was one worry in everyone’s mind: would we even be able to race? Last year, the race was cancelled due to high winds. We were hungry for a great race, but with high winds predicted again this year, we just wanted to make sure we could race at all.
Luckily the morning of the Cup was perfect. The water was flat and it was sunny, a rare sight on the Hudson in April. Every year the race alternates venues and for my senior year, it was a home race. Not only is this great because it’s awesome to race on a very familiar course but we also don’t have to load (and then un-load) all of our equipment onto the trailer, a task that is often drawn out and frustrating.
Rowing up to the start
Despite a rocky first 300 meters, our V8 had a very solid race. Our start was frantic and rushed but once we calmed down, it felt very smooth. Our third 500, usually the weakest part of our race, was actually the best part. We crossed the finish line twelve seconds ahead of the Army V8. After our race, the Women’s 1F and 2F placed 1st and 2nd in their race against Army’s freshmen crew. This meant that in order to sweep the events, our V4 had to win.
Our V4 after the race...whitecaps barely visible in the background
By the time our V4 was ready to race, the conditions completely changed. We had a strong tailwind, racing against the current, conditions that create white caps. Our race was a pretty rough in those conditions, especially because we haven’t practiced in fours since the first day of spring training, but our line-up proved to be successful, as we beat Army’s first 4+ by eleven seconds. We were happy to have gotten the race in, but the Novice 4+s were not so lucky. The conditions had worsened to the point that it would have been unsafe for them to race and their race was cancelled. Marist Crew was successful in retaining the President’s Cup for another year!
Seniors and the President's Cup
After the races, we had a ceremony presenting the Cup and honoring all the seniors. It was really nice to see the administration supporting our team in person and it was a nice event for the parents, who probably often wonder why they spend their free time freezing at the side of a riverbank waiting for a split second glimpse of their child rowing by. As always, the ceremony was a reminder that the year is flying by and it’s almost time for “the G word”.
For results, see row2k.com. For Marist’s coverage, see goredfoxes.com. Marist Crew also swept the MAAC Rowing Awards for this week, where our V8 and V4 won both awards for the women’s side. Go Red Foxes! Happy Easter everyone!
After our less than satisfactory result at the Murphy Cup, we put some serious work into practice during the week. We knew that we were faster than our result showed and this weekend was the weekend to prove it. With V8 race on Saturday against Trinity and UConn and a V8 and V4 race on Sunday against SHU, Drake, Canisius, Iona, University of Albany and Fairfield, it was time to show the rowing world some semblance of speed.
Coventry Lake, CT
Saturday morning our race took place in Coventry Lake, CT. As rowers, we’re used to early mornings, but a 5:30am bus with freezing temperatures made this morning harsher than most. The UConn race has traditionally been the coldest race with the most miserable racing conditions on our schedule and it seemed like this year was going to be no exception. Once we arrived at the course, we were pleased to find that, while it was sleeting, or snowing, or precipitating somehow throughout the morning, the water was fairly flat. My pair partner from last year and I were especially pleased. Our joke from last year’s race was that it was a stern six crew team and a bow pair swim team, as we came off the water with about six inches of water in our hull. This year was better already!
In our race, we had a good start, but Trinity and UConn got off the line faster than we did. Because we were testing our new “super secret senior starboard stroke” (direct Tom Sanford quote) line-up, we took a power 15 instead of a power 20 before we settled, which put us at even more of a disadvantage. However we fought back through the second 500 and by the time we reached the 1000m mark, we were even with Trinity. We had decided before the race to delay our middle move in order to focus on strength through the 3rd 500 and we took our middle 15 at 800m to go. This allowed us to walk on Trinity, a place we stayed until the end of the race. UConn beat us by 3 seconds, but we were very pleased with our race. To see the results, click here.
Race prep for MAACs!
Sunday morning we were allowed to sleep in until our bus left at 8am for the Sacred Heart Invitational in Shelton, CT. Our team had never been to this race before and for me personally, it was exciting to go to a brand new venue, something that never seems to happen in my rowing career anymore. Sunday was much warmer than Saturday.
Conditions for V8 racing were similar to the previous day’s race: relatively flat water. We had a great warm-up. It was a little nerve wracking to get on the line with schools we knew we would be facing again in the MAAC championship but we were excited to see what we could do. We had a strong start, but not as strong as Drake and Canisius, who came off the line faster than we did. However, we made it back on them very quickly and were in the lead by the 500m mark, a lead that we kept until the end of the race. It was great for our boat mentally to have two strong, solid races in a row. We were lucky with the conditions but the opportunities were there and we took them. Overall, it was a very productive weekend for the V8 and we were awarded with MAAC crew of the week for our performances!
V4: Picture from Head of the Fish....the water was NOT that flat!
Conditions for the V4’s were very different: The wind kicked up to create a decent amount of chop and we were pretty sure our race was going to have to be cancelled. Fortunately, it held off long enough for us to race one four that was the same line up as Head of the Fish and a four composed of two girls from the V8 and two girls from the 2V8, who had also won their 2V race. Despite the tough conditions and less than smooth race, both Marist V4's placed 1-2 in the event. It was very exciting for our team to have both crews handle the conditions better than the other five crews in our event and overall, it was very good weekend of racing for our team. To see the results, click here.
As per April Fool’s tradition, we pranked our coach by calling him halfway through our trip home and telling him we left a teammate at the race course. He caught on fairly quickly, but there’s nothing as fun as giving someone driving hundreds of thousands of dollars of rowing equipment a heart attack. Sorry, Tom, we had to. Happy April Fool’s Day! Hubba hubba hubba! Go Red Foxes!
The way time works on a break is different than the way time works in real life. On a vacation, one second it's the first day, full of possibilities, and then the next second, you're headed home with a sunburn and five extra pounds around your waist. The way time works on a training trip is different. The first day goes incredibly fast as you're readjusting to getting on the water all the time. The next four days your body tries to commit suicide with the amped up level of training. Then it's the end of the week and you're wondering where the time went.
Our training trip was very productive this year. Unfortunately, our varsity team is so small that we do not have a 2v and while our freshmen boats are making good progress, we were unable to practice with them as much as we might have wanted to practice with another boat. However, having the individual coaching attention definitely helped our boat improve immensely. Instead of boring my readers with the "eat, row, eat, row, eat, sleep" of the everyday, I will highlight the best ten things that I did on my last spring training trip.
Rowed mixed line ups. There are years where mixed line ups are incredibly painful, and then there are years where mixed line ups are fun. With a fairly talented freshmen class, this year mixed line ups were fun and incredibly competitive. We did six pieces between two eights and the difference between winning and losing for every single piece was less than a seat. I love racing, and that was awesome.
Didn't erg...not even once! I did not touch an erg handle for ten whole days. It was fantastic. A mid season break from the erg is both mentally and physically refreshing. And I loved it.
At our favorite ice cream shop Spill the Beans
Ate as much delicious food as I wanted to. There aren't many times in my life where I can justify four full plates of food per meal. In fact, the only time I can justify this is during training trip. Did I possibly eat more than I needed to? Maybe. Was it totally worth it? Yes.
Did pieces with another team. I love racing...and I love racing other people. With our freshmen needing to practice by themselves, sometimes it was tough get the extra kick that we needed to really push ourselves. Luckily, Purdue was nice enough to give us the opportunity to piece against their 1v, 2v and lightweight 8, which was very competitive and enjoyable. I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my entire life, but it was awesome.
Got immersed in good books. Like everyone else in the world, I spent our training trip reading The Hunger Games. Like the savvy millenial that I am, instead of buying the hard copies, I downloaded the Kindle App versions. I have to say that it was the best choice I made for the trip and the best $17 I've spent in a long time. I was able to devour the first book on the bus, even after everyone else went to bed. Then when I decided that I needed to read the second and third books, I could read in bed when my roommates went to bed.
Stroked the Varsity 8. It has always been my crew dream to stroke the Varsity 8+. Realistically, I am not the correct size, nor do I have the correct length of stroke to stroke a competitive Division I V8. Although I know I will likely not stay in this position for long, it was exciting for me to remain in stroke seat for more than ten minutes.
Channeled my inner child. Who hasn't wanted to jump on a hotel room bed? And yes, I know my mother told me not to, and I know you're not supposed to, and I probably shouldn't be writing about this, but honestly...it was great.And I promise I will never do it again.
Jumped in the lake. I have wanted to jump in Lake Hartwell since I first saw it and our boat finally took "the plunge" this year. It took some guts...and maybe someone pulling me in a little bit but I can say that I did in fact participate in a wet t-shirt contest on my college spring break. It was just the PG version.
"If the coxswains keep talking about their social lives during this erg test, I'm going to throw someone off the balcony."
Freshmen imitating their first crew practice
Laughed til I cried. One tradition our team takes part in that seems to be prevalent in the rowing world involves performing skits for our teammates. We divide up by grade and imitate our teammates. The senior class chose to verbalize what we think when we're erging (ex: "If I have to hear N***s in Paris one more time, I'm going to scream" or "Pretty sure someone just farted"). The three juniors held a Marist Crew version of "The Bachelor". The freshmen divided into three groups to imitate the three stages of crew season so far: first week in the boat, fall racing and winter training, all while doing hilarious impersonations of our three coaches. As good as our skit was, I think the juniors and the freshmen did an amazing job of making me laugh until I cried.
Got off the line with very fast crews. On our last day of training trip, we raced Clemson, Indiana, Purdue, Syracuse, Iowa and Boston University. All of these crews are very fast and we knew that it would take everything we had to hang on for the start, never mind the entire race.While our race wasn't great by a long shot, we had an amazing start and hung on for a good twenty strokes until we got walked on. Check out the video!
I have to say I still haven't knocked off everything on my Clemson training trip bucket list, such as rowing the 1x on the Clemson course or running the Death Valley stadium stairs, I am very happy with how things went this year. And who knows, maybe I will pull the alumni string and come back with the team in the future!
One of our team traditions is to surprise the new people on our team with goody bags on the bus to our training trip. This year the five seniors on the team combined our efforts to create goody bags for everyone on the team. Along with a team picture, some candy and homemade Rice Krispie Treats, we made Marist Crew themed keychains.
Hemp:$5.99
Key rings: $4.99
Beads: $2.99 for each color
Wingnuts: $9.99
We got the craft supplies at Michaels and the wingnuts at a hardware store.
Do It Yourself!
1. Measure the hemp so that you have 2 strands, one significantly longer than the other. I think our shorter strand was around 16 inches and the longer one was 32 in.
2. Fold the 2 strands in half and thread them through the keyring.
3. Tie a knot at the top so the strands are attached to the ring.
4. Separate the strands so that the two longer stands are outside of the shorter strands.
5. Loop the left longer strand over the two shorter strands, but under the right longer strand.
6. Loop the right longer strand under two shorter strands but over the beginning of the left longer strand.
7. Pull both of the longer strands to make a knot at the top.
8. Repeat steps 5-7.
9. Do this continuously until you have about an inch and a half of knots.
10. Put the first bead on the two center short strands.
11. Repeat steps 5-7 to make two knots.
12. Add the second bead on the two center short strands.
13. Make two more knots and continue adding beads in a similar manner.
14. Gather all four strands together and put the wingnut on the keychain.
15. Tie a knot at the end, cut the excess string and you’re done! One down…40 to go!
Training trips make you sore – that’s why they are called “training” trips. I’ve found that anything to alleviate soreness is useful to pack. Back stiffness is something that happens a lot on training trips and our room usually has a lineup of people to use the heating pad. The Stick is the same and probably the best $25 Christmas present I’ve ever gotten. Very useful for rolling out calves and hamstrings or – if you have a particularly nice teammate – glutes and forearms.
2. Sunglasses
This easily forgotten item (when it’s barely over 32 degrees at home) is a training trip necessity. Eyes need sun protection just like your skin does. Six hours a day on a bright sunny lake is not good for your eyes. I love Oakleys but I know a lot of people who also like Rudy Project. Just make sure they have UV protection – good sunglasses are worth shelling out the extra cash.
3. Pepto/Tums
I’ve never been on a training trip where someone hasn’t had stomach problems. The change in food and the extra workouts can magnify any minor issues. Last year it got so bad that our team – who celebrates such training trip holidays as Wacky Wednesday and TieDye Friday – dubbed one such day Poop Your Pants Thursday. Beautiful, I know. I personally carry Tums everywhere, but for those who don’t, pack some for the trip.
4. iPod (with new music)
One of the best things about a training trip is spending every minute of every day with your team, however, it can be one of the hardest things too. I like bringing my iPod because it gives me a little bubble of alone time – when the headphones are in, people usually don’t bother me. Training trips can be a tough time mentally as well as physically and listening to music helps keep me sane.
5. PreWrap
This cheap band serves two purposes: It can help warp a sore wrist or ankle, but it is also a stylish hair accessory. And by stylish, I actually mean functional. This is the only hairband that can keep my hair out of my face (I think that’s due to the fact that I have an abnormally small head). Our team usually wears red, but it comes in all different colors and patterns, like floral, leopard print, and tie dye (above) .
6. Epsom Salt
Whether you bring this or buy it en route, Epsom salt has always had a place on training trip. We’ve perfected the art of healing blisters: get the ice bucket, fill with warm water, dissolve Epsom salt in, put blistered hands in concoction and commence swearing. Epsom salt – as I’ve mentioned before– is a great way to keep blisters clean and on the right track to becoming callouses.
7. Extra Water Bottle
Of course you’re going to bring one nalgene, but are two really necessary? I think yes – hydration is vital to good performance and water bottles get lost constantly. Is it in the room? The cafeteria? On the dock? Did it get left in the boat? Did the coxswain accidentally drop it in the water? Just bring an extra and even if you don’t lose the first one, you can have one for water during practice, and one for your -ade of choice after. Or you can be nice and lend it to your pal who didn’t follow my advice.
8. Raingear
Training trips normally take place somewhere that’s always warm and sunny, right? Wrong. I thought that until it poured the first three days of our trip my freshman year. I ended up having to go to Walmart to buy pants because my only pair was constantly soaked. Fashion aside, water proof jacket and pants are good choices. Bring them.
9. Team bonding activity
Whether its Apples to Apples, a deck of cards or copious amounts of OPI nail polish, doing something the team can enjoy together is smart. There is down time on these trips and although napping and watching TV may seem like a better choice, you’ll miss out on that time that your teammate hilariously pronounced “mucus membranes” as “mu-chos mem-bra-nays”…and thought it was right.
Getting excited during an intense game of Ninja last year!
10. Positive Mental Attitude
Training trips are hard. I wish that someone had told me that when I went on my first one – all I heard about was how much fun you have. Yes, training trips are fun, but it’s important to be prepared for a lot of work. When it’s 90 degrees out and you’re on your fourth of who knows how many five-minute seat racing pieces, it’s going to be a PMA that gets you through. Training trips put everyone through a lot of scrutiny, whether it’s through video, seat racing or just a lack of privacy. It is important to be positive about the work that you are putting in and how it’s going to help the team during the regular season. Because, really, that’s what you’re there for.
Honorable Mentions
Pillow and blanket for the bus
Good bus movies (usually easy to follow with same volume all the way through…Inception is not a good choice)
Team gear (a given)
Every pair of spandex you own
Every pair of socks you own
A scale to make sure that you’re not losing or gaining too much weight during this intense spike in training (and eating!)
Last weekend I participated in C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints in Boston, MA. This was the second year I have gone, and like most second year events I think it went better than last year. My score won’t tell you that, but well, that’s what this blog is for.
I like going to C.R.A.S.H.-B’s because it gives a more definite purpose to winter training. I love competing and as much as I enjoy competing against my teammates, it gets kind of old to me fairly quickly. C.R.A.S.H.-B’s feeds my need for competition and helps break up the time until we race on the water again. I also believe that the more experience I get competing in different areas against different people will help me to be more mentally prepared to race in any situation on the water. All that being said, I raced pretty terribly in Boston this year.
Everything was set for me to do well. I was much smarter with my diet than last year and felt very strong despite my weight loss. I had great pre-regatta workouts, including a 2k only one second off of my P.R. from last year. I had four great nights of sleep before the race. I weighed in with minimal stress (well, less stress than last year, anyway). I had a fantastic pre-race playlist. I warmed up well. I had a good coxswain. I was less stressed about the race than I was the year before. But I just couldn't hack it.
The thing that I like about erging is that there are no excuses. I didn’t have a bad race because six seat rushes her slide or the coxswain didn’t take a good line or stroke seat didn’t keep the rate up or the set was off. I had a bad race because I raced badly. I think that’s why it has taken me so long to write this post; because I accepting that I did poorly is not something I do particularly well. It’s even harder when I had to return to a team full of people who watched me taper throughout the week and who were rooting for me.
However, I’m not upset I made the trip. I always try to learn from my mistakes. I know I have to be a lot more focused on my own race, rather than let the environment and the speed of the people around me scare me into going out too fast. I have to use my cardiovascular strength to keep the rate high when my legs get tired. I have to be able to turn a bad first thousand into a good piece. At this stage of the game, a PR isn’t going to come unless I want it 110% of the time, whether I'm at on the water, on the water, in the weight room or in my kitchen contemplating eating six cookies for lunch instead of a salad.
At least my erg face isn't so horrible...but Clarkey kind of looks like Mario in that red hat!
I also enjoyed the trip because, being the huge rowing nerd that I am, I just love being around rowing people. Because I’m a nice person (a.k.a. wanted to keep my gas costs down) I drove three freshmen guys to and from the race. While providing a great deal of amusement, they also jogged a lot of freshman year memories that I had forgotten about. Sometimes I feel that dealing with senior captain stuff gets in the way of me appreciating how much I truly love the sport of rowing and it was great to be reminded. I also enjoyed spending time with Marist alumni who make me realize that if I work hard, I can have a future in rowing after I graduate. I also got to spend some quality time with my often pair partner and housemate, Angie, which is always fun (and she had a great race). I think that I can learn something from every “generation” of Marist rower, whether it’s about the sport of rowing or just enjoying myself with new friends.
But at least my taper wasn’t for nothing. I destroyed my 5x5' PR the Monday I got back, so I got one good erg piece out of the weekend. It just wasn’t the right one at the right time. But, as things go in the rowing world, there will always be more 2ks and as many more bad pieces I will likely have, I hope they teach me how to have more good ones.
Special thanks to Catherine, Sopko, Fish and Victoria for letting us crash in their dorm the night before the race and good luck to Harvard Swimming at Ivies this weekend!! Go Crimson!
And for your listening pleasure, here is my very girly pre-2k playlist that I am pretty sure no one else in the entire world would like. Haters, keep hatin'.
1. Fixin' to Die - G. Love
2. Rolling in the Deep - Adele
3. Redneck Woman - Gretchen Wilson
4. Dirty Talk - Wynter Gordon
5. I Wanna Dance (With Somebody Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
6. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
This recipe is not mine at all. I take no credit for it. My coach, Michelle, got me hooked on these shakes from DashingDish.com. The owner of the blog, Katie, has come up with a low calorie, high protein shake that actually tastes good. Yes, not a lie, it ACTUALLY TASTES GOOD. Throughout my athletic career I have tried and tried to get myself to tolerate protein powder. I know I don’t eat enough protein but I am picky. I also don’t like eating things I don’t like. Most people would say “suck it up” but I think that this recipe helps solve my problem. So Katie, I owe you and your blog a lot.
Here is the main recipe for a basic shake that I modified a little. You’re supposed to use all cottage cheese instead of yogurt but to be honest, cottage cheese creeps me out. I tried half cottage cheese and half yogurt for a while but the cottage cheese never blended well enough and every once in a while I would get a salty cheese explosion, which is why I mainly use the yogurt. I also like a thick shake, so I put more ice cubes in it, but the less you put in, the thinner the shake will be. You could also add more yogurt depending on how you want it to taste.
Base Ingredients
6 ice cubes
½ cup water
¼ cup plain Chobani
1 scoop protein powder
1 tbsp sugar free Jello powder or pudding mix similar flavor to protein powder
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste (Katie uses sweetener to reduce calories but I use real sugar because I worry about cancer and chemicals and all that good stuff)
Here are some variations that I’ve tried with different powders and add-ins, etc. These are just my varations and the more shakes I make, the more I play with the ingredients to get different consistencies and flavors.
Mocha Shake
Ingredients
Calories
Protein
6 ice cubes
0
0
½ cup coffee
1 cal
0
¼ cup plain Chobani
35 cal
7g
1 scoop Designer Whey Protein in Double Chocolate
100 cal
18g
1 tbsp Jello chocolate pudding mix (sugar free)
30 cal
0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste
7 cal
0 g
TOTAL
173 cal
25g
*I think that the Designer Whey Protein doesn’t mask the protein flavor as well as some other brands so sometimes I add some Hershey’s syrup to make it more chocolate-y. But the coffee instead of water gives it a little extra kick and the caffeine is great for when I have a class right after practice.
Vanilla Shake
Ingredients
Calories
Protein
6 ice cubes
0
0
½ cup water
0
0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt
35 cal
7g
1 scoop Platinum Hydro Whey protein powder in Velocity Vanilla
140 cal
30g
1 tbsp Jello vanilla pudding mix (sugar free)
30 cal
0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste
7 cal
0 g
TOTAL
212 cal
37g
*This one is my favorite! And it’s the only one that all three of my shake-drinking housemates will eat, so I often double the recipe and divide it between the three of us.
Banana Cream Shake
Ingredients
Calories
Protein
6 ice cubes
0
0
½ cup water
0
0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt
35 cal
7g
½ medium sized banana
52 cal
.5
1 scoop Gold Standard Casein in Banana Creme
120 cal
24g
1 tbsp Jello vanilla pudding mix (sugar free)
30 cal
0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste
7 cal
0 g
TOTAL
244 cal
31.5 g
*The change in protein is on purpose. Unlike whey, casein is a slow acting protein which takes longer to digest, which helps me not wake up from my nap marathons ready to eat my entire refrigerator.
Berry Berry Shake
Ingredients
Calories
Protein
4 ice cubes
0
0
½ cup water
0
0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt
35 cal
7g
1 scoop Platinum Hydro Whey protein powder in Velocity Vanilla
140 cal
30g
1 cup Stop and Shop frozen berry mix
65 cal
0g
Optional: sprinkle of sugar to taste
7 cal
0 g
TOTAL
247 cal
37g
*The best thing about this one is that it can be made with any kind of fruit, frozen or not. I use the frozen kind because it’s cheaper and then I don’t have to use as many ice cubes or yogurt to make the shake thicker.
Cookies and Cream Shake
Ingredients
Calories
Protein
6 ice cubes
0
0
½ cup water
0
0
¼ cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt
35 cal
7g
1 scoop Platinum Hydro Whey protein powder in Velocity Vanilla
140 cal
30g
2 Oreo cookies
106 cal
0g
I tbsp. Jello chocolate pudding mix (sugar free)
30 cal
0 g
TOTAL
311 cal
37g
*So this one is definitely less healthy than the other ones, but after a really hard workout, I figure I deserve it. I consider this shake to be a “once in a while treat”, but I look forward to it because it’s so good and almost makes the pain of an awful erg workout worth it. Almost.
Other things that I’ve added to various shakes:
·almonds
·chocolate chips
·caramel creamer
·lemon jello mix
·strawberry jello mix
·oatmeal
·cinnamon
DashingDish also has a lot more variations here, most of which I plan on trying in the near future. BodyBuilding.com also has some good looking recipes here. It’s amazing how versatile this can be and basically anyone can make a shake that fits their taste preference and calorie needs.
However, unlike Katie from DashingDish, I don’t consider these a meal replacement. Whether you do would depend on how often and how intensely you’re working out. I usually eat two big meals a day (breakfast and dinner) with three or four smaller meal/snack type things in between, so I consider the shake to be a small meal.
I have to say that my favorite thing about the shake is how quick it is. I can roll out of my nap ten minutes before I have to head to class and I have a quick and easy on-the-go snack AND I can make them from easy ingredients that I almost always have around the house.
It should be noted I am not any kind of nutritionist or expert, just someone who likes to eat and is interesting in staying healthy! All the calorie and protein counts are done by me, according to the information on the packaging. Please let me know if you find any mistakes or if you make a great new shake that I have to try!
**Special thanks to my art major friend Angie for teaching me Photoshop....hopefully my pictures will be cooler now!
