Greetings from Breisach, Germany!  The team and I are having a training camp here in preparation for the second world cup regatta.  Two of our pairs and a double raced the first world cup and now we’re all training in this great little German town set atop a hill. 

I was injured before we left and I am proud to report that I have been rowing for a week and a half already, and feeling great!  We row on the Rhine.  When we launch, we go up stream on the French side and row back down the German side.  I have never been to France and am looking forward to our weekend trip to Strasbourg, France!  We leave the hotel in a half hour, so I have to go prepare my bag of tourist garb.  More to come later!

 

The month of April seemed to go on forever.  It was a long month for me because I was injured and missed a great racing opportunity at the Second National Selection Regatta. 

On April 12, I started to have pain in my right ribs.  I was really worried about this because I have never had rib pain before.  Whenever I hurt, it is always my low back that gives me struggles. I have become really good at navigating my symptoms and treating my back pain and considered myself very healthy!  However, back and ribs are connected and my ribs took the brunt this go around. 

After many days on the bike, physical therapy sessions, and thank goodness, a bone scan that showed no fracture, I am just about ready to row again.  For training, I have been on the stationary bike and doing some really hard weight circuits.  I’m feeling strong and ready to go.  I have trained on the erg for short easy rows and feeling really good.  Once I get up to sixty minutes on the erg pain free, I can hop back in a boat!

This time away from the water and away from training with the majority of the amazing women on the team has truly reignited my love of rowing and training for the Games.  Not that I wasn’t motivated before, by no means!  I was so excited for the NSR and really wanted to race the pair in Munich.   But like any relationship, absence makes the heart grow fonder.  That could not be more true to me right now. 

My teammates, Elle Logan and Caroline Lind, had a great race last weekend and won the women’s pair at the NSR.  Susan Francia and Anna Goodale came second and will join Elle and Caorline in Munich to race in the first World Cup.  The rest of our sweep group will join them afterwards and train in Germany in preparation for the Lucerne World Cup. 

As my physical therapist said, April showers brings May flowers.  Bring on May!

 

April 3, 2008

Back in Princeton, our schedule has not changed much since our training in San Diego.  The only big difference is that it is still cold here!  Spring is on the way as the leaves here have just started to pop and I am sure the warm weather will be here soon.

As for the daily grind, we are rowing at 9am and 2pm.  We lift a couple times a week and that is about it!  I’m doing the usual eat, row, eat, sleep, eat, row, eat, sleep, eat, sleep a long time, repeat! 

Next big thing on my rowing mind is NSR II where our women’s pairs will be racing.  Lots of work to do between now and then.  I better get to it.