Canadian Henley

Alright so Tom and I head toward Canada on Monday. What started out as a 7 hour car ride turned into a 13 hour ride because of being stuck in traffic at the border for 3 hours! So after we get checked in at our residence I find out that there was a miscommunication and I have no place to stay. I end up sleeping on a dorm couch that was never intended for a 6'1'' man. I was forced to sleep on my side in a semi-fetal position with my arms crossed, which caused me to wake up every hour or so when my arm go numb. I also had no blanket so I wake up because I was freezing! The guys in the place must have set the AC on north pole. About 3AM i go walking around looking for a blanket, sheet, towel, jacket, anything. I find a wind breaker and that is how I spend the rest of the night.

The next morning Tom and I go for a practice row. It was less than spectacular. There were so many boats on the water. My mind was all over the place. But, I still felt that we were going to be alright on the water.

Race Day

We get the course early and just relax. We made sure we got on the water with plenty of time to warm up and practice our starts. We got our starts together and as we head to the line we are feeling really good about our race. We line up and get ready for the race. We start our race and nail our start and are mid pack at the point-of-no-return 100m mark. We are still in the running at the 500m mark and going strong. We pass through the 1000m and are solid but have lost a little on the field due to a problem of staying off the Starboard boeys. We are now in forth and moving toward the finish with about 750m to go. I hear Tom yell back at me that he thinks we are now in lane 8 (we are suppose to be in lane 6). I swear that I don't remember crossing any boeys. I think Tom is crazy and dismiss it because I am sure we are still in lane 6. As we move to the 1300m mark I hear the Referee say that we are out of our lane and need to correct now. I look up and see the shore approaching really fast. Tom stops his stroke, I change the point and we bee-line back to lane 6. We get back in our lane, now solidly in last place. We pick it back up knowing that we have ground to make up. We know now that we can't qualify but we are going for a solid time. We move into the last 250m. We take a 5 on the fly and move into our sprint. About 50-75m from the end Tom and I both hear, "Penn AC let it run." So we stop rowing. After sitting there for what feels like 20 sec, he says that we should keep rowing because we aren't done. We pick it back up and finish our race. The Ref says that he said "Lane 3 let it run." I am still suspicious. We finish, disappointed but it is done. Later, we find out that our time is 7:29. Not a great time but alright given our difficulties. Looking at the other times, we may have qualified if we were in a different heat. It was a sad end, but Tom and I were both glad to not be in the eight.

The next day I left the course and headed back to Philly to relax, do some sight-seeing, and pack for home. It was a good summer and I learned a lot. I am looking forward to training in the upcoming year with what I have learned. To really shave the seconds off my time. I am going to take a little time off from training at the suggestion of an old coach to let my Back recoup and get ready to hit it hard again... in a week or two. Looking forward to some cross training with my roomie and some good cycling.

Week 7

Monday of this week was an interesting start. In the morning I was in my Single because we had people not show up for practice. This irritated me because Tom and I are suppose to be racing a little over a week. It happened again in the after noon so we said something to Christian. Instead of doing a water practice I sat on the erg for an hour. Erging in the humid summer air is fun...

Tuesday evening we were going to not be in the double again so we said something to Christian and he shifted the line-ups so we could practice. We were doing pieces. They were OK but not our best we needed to clean up a lot.

Wednesday was reserved for a totally small boat practice. Tom and I got 12 miles in and had solid rating and swing together. In the evening we were going to go out again but it was canceled due to thunder and lightning. So instead I was again on the erg and doing some weight lifting.

Tom and I decided to do an extra practice on Thursday morning and we did some pieces with a pair. My head and body never really got together. I think my Head was still in bed. I was doing an awful job of steering and we just never really got together. In the PM Tom and I decided that we would take this practice and do nothing but starts to try and clean it up. We ended up doing almost 3 miles of them. They got better but never quite there. We were having rating issues; not getting the rating up not settling, etc. We decided to ask Christian and see if we could get a little attention next practice.

Friday morning Tom called me and we decided to take Friday morning off because we were both exhausted from working and the extra practices. This was I feel a good idea because we had a really good evening practice. We were told to treat our arms like ropes and just focus on the legs at the starts. This is possibly the best analogy that I have ever gotten in regards to sculling. It translates so well into the stroke. We were able to get our rating up to a 40+ off the start and our connection and rating were a lot better in our 1000 meter piece we did. We also got complimented on how good the start looked and how crisp/clean it was.

Sat: was another set of pieces, including the best 1000m Tom and I have done yet. We are going to be fine at Canadian Henley. I then spent the rest of the Saturday and Sunday working for the Sultans of Schlep. It was two incredibly long day of moving stuff. When Sunday night came I was beat. Thankfully I don't race until Wednesday of this week and can recover a bit. The money is good, but the work is tough.

On Wednesday Tom and I race at 2pm in Canada against 4 other boats. We need to place in the top 2 to move onto the finals because the eliminated the Semi-finals for the event. I am very positive about the race and am looking forward to it.

Week 6

So I got back from Club Nationals were we won overall points trophy at 1 AM in the morning and went to bed. I woke up and went to the gym to do some lifting and stretching. In the evening we had to unload the trailer at the boathouse.

Tuesday morning I got up and went and did a 40 min piece on the stationary bike. That evening was fun cause Tom and I found out that we were going to field a Double (2x, 2people/2 oars each) for Canadian Henley. It was a steady state row just getting use to rowing together.

On Wed. we found a pretty decent set of oars and went for another swing row. In the evening we changed boats to a Blue Hudson. It is better to row but we knew we needed to adjust our positioning.

Thursday was another Steady state piece and drills. Tom and I are coming together, but much prefer to row in a headwind.

Friday Morning we went for an hour and it was a pretty good row except for the 4x of Juniors that nearly hit us. I feel that if you are coaching a squad of middle schoolers you should not leave them to their own devices. Oh well...

That evening we were out again but it was awful Tom and I just didn't have our heads in it so we cut the practice short at a 10K and resolved to hit it hard on Saturday.

Saturday was a great row. We started practicing Starts and those came together really well. We also did 500 meter pieces to start to find our race pace. It was good we move together well and have decided that we are not going to suck at Henley. We did almost 2 hours of rowing and ended with a great cool down that was set and powerful. That afternoon was a party at the boathouse that then moved to one of the rowers houses. It was fun. I left early cause I was working on Sunday which turned into a very long day of moving stuff with the Sultans of Schlep, a Moving Co. in Philly. It is good money, but I know I don't want to make a living moving other peoples crap.

Week 5 And Club Nationals

Sorry all that this post is late but it was a busy week and Then I was off to Club Nationals. To Start with the week of before club Nationals we had Monday of because we were racing on Sunday. As I did not make finals in my eight I took Monday to do some Aerobic Erging 2x 20 minutes and a total of 11500 meters. On Tuesday I lifted in the morning and in the afternoon I was in the 4+ where the focus was mainly Technique with Vince and he built the stroke up from recovery and then the hang to move quickly through the water with connection. Finally focusing on the backing in of the blade to make sure that that connection occurs earlier.

Wednesday was Steady state with Vince in the Cox Seat. he is a Vulgar little Sicilian and a amazing coach/cox and individual. We rowed at least 12 miles and were ahead of the other eights in the last half of the work out. It became clear that it is possible to accomplish almost anything with determination. If you bring that with you no one can beat you. The misconception with steady-state rowing is that it is an "off" day or a swing row. Steady state is a Hard day of rowing where the mental focus is technique. This is different than piece day where the focus is to be tough for the rowing and the technique is natural. In the evening we did 1500 meter pieces and did alright. Some of the people in the boat needed to find the motivation to do well and we pulled it together for the last piece. AS Christian said, "Winning is mental. If you don't think you can win why line-up?" It was interesting to row so hard that my legs went numb.

Thursday I lifted in the morning. In the evening we started with a Steady row focusing on the swing. Then we did 1 min pieces at a 32-34-36-38-36-34-race simulation. It was alright.

Friday in the morning was another day of Steady state for an hour and the evening was devoted entirely to Balance and Blade tricks.

Saturday was 3 by 2Km at full race simulation. We did not far to well the first 2 but then we won our third. I believe this happened because everyone finally was tired to relax in the race and also they finally got tired of losing.

We then left on Monday to head to TN for Club Nationals. It was a long 10 hour drive. We practiced on Tuesday. Then I raced in the Eight Heat on Thursday. We cam in third easily so coasted to the Semi-finals. On Friday was the Semi-Finals and We needed to place in the top 3. I feel that we could have done it. We were solidly in third and were hanging with second place. through the first 1200 meters. And that is where it went down hill. Our Coxswain called for our move at the 1300 and for whatever reason the rating dropped and the I feel the oars go heavy and the boat got heavy. Needless to say we lost all of the momentum and positioning we had. and ended up losing the Semi Race. So the rest of the week was hanging out and going on runs in Oak Ridge. Penn AC fared rather well though winning the Men's overall and the Combined Team Points Trophies.

The focus for the upcoming weeks are on Canadian Henley. Which is the first week in August.

Vierten Woche

This week was an interesting week. This week also ends with my first weekend of racing.

Monday morning I was in the single and did a lot of steady state rowing along with balance drills. Coach came from behind and said I was looking good. Thank goodness for the small compliments. In the afternoon I sat 4 seat in the eight. We did a lot of speed work. We did a great job against the lightweights and we beat the A/B Boats off the start. I was told that I looked better and more confident on Port side. I have been trying to convey this to them since the start. Evidently, Seeing is believing. Tuesday was 3 min pieces at 4 seat in the eight, while they seat-raced in the fours for top eight. Nothing really noteworthy happened. Wednesday I sat 3 seat in the morning for a nice swing row. IN the evening, we concentrated mostly on Technique of the catch. I met a very cool coach by the name of Vince. He spattered his rowing analogies that would make a sailor blush. But, when I talked to him after practice we spoke of the importance of laughing and having fun in rowing. You really just have to enjoy rowing.

Thursday was my chance for seat racing. We split up into 3 4+ boats and did mainly 3 min pieces. I won my seat race. But the whole time I sat 3 seat which is starboard. I didn't do spectacularly (no surprise) and was sequestered to the third eight. Toward the end he switched the line-up a lot and wanted us to race a 2K. The were very stacked line-ups. It is hard to feel like there was a point to the seat racing when it appears the coach comes with a line-up in mind and sets it up for that line-up to win.

Friday morning I sat 2 seat in the 4+ and it was less than spectacular row. It is annoying when you are working your butt off and others aren't even breaking a sweat. Lazy people are annoying. Get your head in the game or get out of the boat. In the afternoon, I took the scull out for a row and did a practice 2K. It was alright but I had some trouble getting up to steam. On

Saturday we practiced our eight line up for racing and it was off-set, and the feeling in the boat seemed to be general discontent.

Sunday we raced and were in the fastest heat so it was no surprise to anyone that we didn't advance to finals. The set was better, but the rush was a little hard. It also seemed as if our Cox was signing her name on the course rather than a straight line.

Sadly there is no tech talk for the week. I would just like to say pause at the catch to find length was a good drill just for my own personal coaching notebook.

I feel as though I am getting stronger and more capable in the boats. However I felt a little drained this week. It could be the shear amount of working I did, lots of moving peoples crap up numerous flights of stairs. So I am crossing professional mover of my list of careers.

Week 3

This week was a pretty standard week of Rowing. Though an Olympian that I got to meet made the comment that it is better to live in the middle ground. He meant that we all have great days and bad days but you have far more average ones. Don't let the bad ones affect you and don't let the great one lull you into false security.

Monday I went for a swing row in the scull in the morning and sat port side 2 seat in the 4+ in the afternoon. A good day but again average. Tuesday found me again sitting 2 seat in the 4+ but with a different bow seat. This however was an awful set (balance) day. It improved by the end but was definitely below par. Wednesday I sat 3 Seat in the eight and we went for an hour steady state and were filmed. From the filming I found my flaws that I have when it comes to sweep rowing, which basically comes down to dipping at the catch, or front of the stroke. In the afternoon practice I sat bow seat in the 4+ and we practiced starts. The one thing that is completely different from Penn AC and OU rowing is the pace. At Penn AC the pace is so much faster. In the 4+ we started out at 40+ spm (strokes per minute) and we settled out at a 34-36spm. It is faster but still does not feel rushed which is a great feeling and phenomenon.

On Thursday we split up into 2 eights and a 4+ and raced against the juniors in 6x500m pieces; 2 representing each of the start, body and finish of the race. I sat 3 seat in the eight that we were told was considered the "B" boat. We won all six pieces by at least half a boat length! The starting pieces we raced out of the start at a 42-44spm and settled to 37, with times of 1:23 and 1:19! The body pieces were done with a substitution to the boat at four seat. It is interesting to see the switch happen between two boats side by side. It saves time and the Girls at OU are going to have to learn this in the fall. The body pieces were done at a base pace of 36ish spm and put up a time of about 1:36 for each. The finish piece resemble the start in reverse though. We put up a time of 1:33 and 1:30 in those. It was a good day of racing.

Friday was 4 seat in the eight in the AM and this is the practice that the tech tips come from for this week. In the evening I was again in the single.

On Saturday we did 2 by approx. 2K race pieces because the coarse was closed for the Philadelphia Triathlon. I was in the scull. my first time was 7:24, nothing great but I had to wind a coarse through stopped master's rowers and had a bit of trouble with my point. The second was much better, clear and straight coarse, with a time of 6:45. That is the good news. The bad news is that I am unsure where I will sit for the upcoming Independence day regatta. I was told my eight rowing is very "raw". Of course this should be no surprise since I spend so much time in a scull and prior to this summer had not touched a sweep oar in basically over a year. But, I feel I hold my own in an eight while I think on the race pieces earlier in the week. But, I was told that I look good in the scull, so take that for what it is.

Tech Tips: (sweep)It is very important to keep even oar handle pressure from your point of weight to unweight. This would be the handle path from about half "hands away" to right be for the lift to the catch. The best way to practice this it to do pause at varying points in the sequence on the recovery. It is also very important to get to the "body prep" position TOGETHER and to remain sitting tall and bending through the hips. Another way to help keep this tall position row with your head/chin up. Try to see the person in front of you on your same side over the shoulder of the person directly in front of you.

(scull): It is best when developing your sculling technique to build your stroke from the finish because it sets the balance for the entire recovery. It needs to be quick and clean from the finish and fluid all the way to the catch. Balance is easy to get in a scull at hands away, and body prep. The goal is to keep that balance as you approach the catch. To work on this rowing on the square (or as close to square as possible) and pauses in the recovery.

Week Two and a Rowing Metaphor

This week started out pretty rough. I was still on the Starboard side and it just wasn't clicking. For those unsure of the difference Starboard means that oar is out of the left side (rowers' perspective) of the boat as opposed to Port. I have rowed Starboard numerous times in college but never raced on the side. I just felt that I was unable to perform while concentrating on the new side changes. I felt like a novice rower again and not like a rower with four plus years of experience. I decided to talk to the coach about whether or not I would be given the chance to row port again. He said that there was no worries about being denied a position due to being below par as a Starboard. He said that we are focusing on rowing together and that it would probably serve me better to get comfortable on the new side because in a couple weeks when seat racing comes I could row both.

The next day I took out the scull (2 oars/one rower) for some steady rowing. I also went out that practice with a pair (2 oars/2 rowers)and another singe. It was interesting to see that I could keep up fairly well with the pair. Thursdays practice was in the 4+ (four rowers/four oars/one coxswain). It was an excruciatingly slow practice. It was nice to get the one on one attention from the assistant coach but a workout it was not. The main focus on this practice was getting connection at the catch, more to follow. After a day of feeling like the remedial boat I was back in the scull, where I feel very comfortable, for a long hour+ of steady rowing.

This brings me to Friday evening practice. I was in the eight (eight oars and rowers, one coxswain) sitting still starboard in three seat. This practice we were followed exclusively be coach Warren. This practice the focus was balance and swinging/rowing together. This was possibly the best practice of the week. I learned more about how to move and stay balanced in the boat than I did while rowing at OU. I will save the technique forum for the end. It was fun and a new feeling to be in a boat that moves at 16 strokes and under(very slow) completely balanced (set) and have the oars of the water. Out of this practice also came the Rowing metaphor of the week.

The Metaphor is "Row like a Predator." To move the boat well one needs to be confident and fluid in their movements. Thinking on the difference between predators and prey, you can see the how a lion moves in comparison to a rabbit. The lion moves in deliberate fluid/agile motions. Its movements also look relaxed, and relaxed rowing is fast rowing. The lion doesn't even look as if it is trying as it stalks its prey, they don't even see it coming. However, the rabbit is timid and unsure. This moves onto how conduct yourself in races. Be a predator, row confident and no one can beat you. When you are sitting at the starting line look at your pray, your competition and pity them. Pity them for being foolish enough to enter a race against you, even if it is a national team. That is a powerful thought to have and that confidence can win races.

The week was capped with a tough practice of 4 x 2K race pieces with the other eights. While our boat line-up did not win the pieces there was improvement piece to piece. I also got to experience what it feels like to do a 2K is 6 Minutes and under. It is an amazing feeling to move that fast and to be that controlled. Very freeing.

Now I am going to make some notes on Technique for my own notes and for any rowers who are interested. The big things are to be relaxed yet deliberate in your movements. Rowing is a very simple movement but rowers are in the pursuit of perfection. To perform the stroke perfectly with as little effort as possible. Contrary to what your body tells you it does not help the balance of the boat to tense up to correct the balance. Be fluid and make minor corrections. Other important fact of the stroke are to feel the transfer of weight in the oar from your hands to the oar lock as you move from the finish to hands away to the catch and through the drive. The last point that was stressed this week was connection at the catch. The feeling of suspending through your latisimus and pull the weight of the blade. There are three points of stability in the boat, feet, seat and oarlock. By keeping those connected we form a strong, stable triangle for power. It is also extremely important to the drive to get to the body prep before the knees break to lighten the load by keeping the boat running. This can make the difference between picking up 300 lbs for 200 strokes or only 80 lbs.

Drills to remember: Pauses, Tap, legs only.

Week one

Alright we hit the ground running. After my baptism I again went out on Friday morning in a double (2guys/four oars). It was an enjoyable first for me. It is much more stable than the single and can be fun to be rowing with someone else instead of being left with your thoughts all the time. Friday afternoon was my first practice in the sweep boats (one oar per person). I went out in a four with coxswain (4+). it was fun to get back into a sweep boat after what was essentially a year long hiatus. It was also a new experience to have a unfamiliar coxswain. The main difference that I found between those that I have had before and my new one is basically they always talk. There seems to be no silence on the coxswain's mic. This is not to say that it was annoying, actually the opposite was true. It was helpful to have someone give direct feedback all the time when the coaches where working elsewhere.

On Saturday I was again in a 4+. The emphasis of this practice was mainly technique. So here is the tech jargon that those not interested can skip and move to the next paragraph. The main thing that coach Warren wants us to focus on for the summer is quick, connected catches. This is to say that there are two parts to the catch, actually placing the blade in the water, and possible more importantly, the connection point where you actually start moving the boat. I talked later to my friend Nick (coach Bivins) about this and he put forth the following metaphor: It is like a drag racer to fast on the power application and you spin your wheels to slow and you are slow. Coach Warren also pointed out that this is where one sees the difference between Novice rowers and elite rowers (the smaller the distance it takes to get the boat moving). This is my new area where the most time is going to have to be made to improve in the sweep boats. After practice I was exhausted and spent the rest of the day relaxing (i.e. napping).

Sunday was our free day. I spent it wondering around the city just finding what there is to find. I found a whole foods grocery and made my way through some of the closer museums to see admittance prices and so forth. I like Whole foods but would also like to find a more general grocery. I don't really care at this point if my eggs come from chickens that have been caged. I am still looking. I am also now tied in with the Philadelphia rent-a-rower. It is a ad hoc business where people hire rowers to do odd jobs so we can make some scratch. I will be tarring a roof on Tuesday. Monday starts a new week and there is no rest for the wicked.

First Day of School

I made it to Philadelphia. That is the best place to start. Moved in on Wednesday. I know live on the 8th floor of a building that overlooks the Art Museum. The apartment is nice and the bed looks like it is going to be very comfy. I moved everything in and got situated. I also moved my boat into its new home at 12 Boathouse Row. It seemed happy there.

First Practice happened on Thursday. I find my self in the land of giants. I am one of probably 3 guys who is 6'2'' and under. I also found myself on Sculling duty. There seems to be right now 21 guys in the program. So there is a guy that rotates out in the practice to the single. It was a interesting practice. I set out on my warm up. Once I get down to the opposite end of the course, I started doing technique drills. I quickly find that while I can row a single, I have not payed enough attention to my technique. Trying placement drills (where you basically move your oar in and out of the water) and concentrate on remaining loose while maintaining balance. About mid way through I move to the catch and pause to balance, and promptly flip the boat. I got baptized. So I am now not only under my boat but also get to swim in the Schuylkill River. I then finish out practice rowing on the square, which is also pretty dificult. I rowed approximately 9miles in all.

I am still the "new guy" it seems. It is still young in the program, and there is not much talking amongst the guys except those that already now each other. I met one guy after practice. His name is Tom and we chatted about rowing the single. I head home and make dinner and grab a shower to wash the river off.

I am going to head to bed early cause I have practice at 6AM. This is going to be an interesting and fast week. Photos are soon to follow.

Thanks everyone!

Thanks to all of you that wrote your well wishes and decided to follow my blog as I start this adventure.  It is starting to sink in what I am about to embark on.  I talked with people and never realized till the past few days that I leave for Philly in less than 16 days.  

I met this past week with a former coach of mine just to shoot the breeze and talk about the program and my aspirations and where I see myself heading in the future (in addition to a couple beers, comparing notes on coaching and shooting pool).  As I sat there listening it began to sink in the caliber of  athlete that I am going to have to become to accomplish my lofty goals.  He put it matter-of-factly that I am going to have to compete with just experience and my learning curve will be a smidge steep.  I knew this going in but hearing it from someone else always helps. I also talked with him about trying to get my name out there and "discovered".  He assured me that the right people are always watching and they will find me if I work hard and that the best way to to speak up is with my oar.  We also discussed micro goals for the upcoming training cycles.  Now that I am comfortably in the sub 1:40/500 meter split range for a 2K, I need to start focusing on my 6K averages.  (For those that do not know in crew one measurement used is your 500 meter split; how fast you can row 500 meters.  Also there are to types of tests on the indoor rowing machines that are preformed most often 2Km and 6Km.)   My new goal is by 2010 to have my 6K down to sub 20min.  This corresponds to a per 500 split of 1:40 and under.  This is going to be a challenge but do-able.  

On the Job front I am still looking for gainful employment in Philly.  I have been told that the club is going to try and provide some hours for us, but I would still like something a little more concrete.  Thankfully, I have already lined up my Apartment and those funds it is just coming down to working enough to eat.  I am confident that I will find something.  I have put in my application to be a Soda Jerk in the Old City. So I may be doing that in a classic diner get-up complete with bow tie.  

In the future I am going to try and up date this blog as regularly as possible (maybe once a week and when fun stuff happens). But I don't want to bore you all with constant updates of the same old stuff.  I encourage you all to become followers and if you would like I believe there is a way to follow it via email at the bottom of the page.  This will probably be the last blog I post till I move to Philly and get settled in.  Thanks again to everyone.

The Journey Begins...

As many of you know, I have been rowing for approximately 4 years now.  What some may not know is the profound effect that it has had on my life.  Rowing is such a huge part of my life that it has affected my decisions for these past 4 years. Even though some may say that some of those decisions where not the best I would not change them for anything. 

Something else people may not know is that I have decided to train for the Olympics.  Some may not believe that this once 230lb. band geek from high school would ever be able to make the Olympics, but it is true.  I have been working hard in the past 4 years to transform my body for the better.  

Now, realizing that training for the most competitive games in the modern world does not happen over night I have begun to train the best way I know how on my own.  This can get me only so far.  I have found out that I preform best when competing.  And although I would not trade my time with the Ohio Crew team for anything, I have suffered from the "big fish little pond" syndrome.  That is why this coming summer I am moving  to Philadelphia  to train with the Pennsylvania Athletic Club (Penn AC) in their Senior/elite program.    This blog is going to chronicle my summer and future training cycles to try and make my Olympic dream a reality. I will try and get as many updates as possible with pictures and results as I can.   

I had the opportunity to visit my future boathouse this past weekend and now am excited and know that this club is where I belong. I got to sit in the trophy room and as I sat looking at all the trophies and banners of past Olympians and world champions that came from this club. I couldn't help but feel awe at those that came before me.  I sat there and listened to my new coach (Warren Holland) explain the type of training and the expectations of the summer program.  They were simple, " At Penn AC you will learn to be a champion."  His expectations were even simpler, "Gold in everything, every event we enter we take Gold."  This expectation was also echoed as a warning/ultimatum, "If you don't come here with that mind set then it might not be the place for you."  How is this going to be accomplished?  The practice schedule is as follows: MWF 6AM and 6PM practice and TTh 6PM practice with another practice on Sat at 6PM if it is a non-racing weekend.  Doing the math, that is at least 9 practices a week of hard rowing for at least 2 hours.  The events that are on the schedule are The US National Regatta (NJ, June 25-27), The Philadelphia Independence Regatta (PA, July 3-5), The US Club National Regatta (TN, July 15-19), and the Royal Canadian Henley (Ontario, Aug 4-9).  At each of the events there is the possibility to race up to 6 times. For those that know this is no small feat. Every race is done in such a way that you are completely drained after just one 2000 meter race let alone racing for what could be a 12K or a little over 7 miles.  After the summer, there is also the possibility to stay on with the club to train year round with their elite program.  

Needless to say my time is going to be full this summer. I have found my place to stay, subletting an apartment that is about 5min from the boathouse. I am still working on a Job. I have been told that there is a possibility of day labor and under the table gigs through the program, but it is not guaranteed, and until the day that I make the national team I bear the weight of my training both monetarily and physically.  So even at the risk of sounding mercenary, any support that you would like to throw my way is appreciated: words of encouragement and well wishes for those days that are inevitably going to be rough, grocery money, care packages - it's all deadly.  

I appreciate all of you that have been with me up to this point and want you all to know that you all have meant so much to me.  

So the gauntlet has been thrown, and Rule #76 applies: "No Excuses, Row like a Champion."