Daily Rowing Blog: Mueller at U-23 Selection Camp
6/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Junior Felice Mueller is attending USRowing's 2011 Women's Under-23 Selection Camp in Princeton, N.J.. She has been selected by USRowing to compete in the 8+ and 2- that will compete at the 2011 World Rowing Under-23 Championships July 21-24 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Mueller will share her summer rowing adventures with MGoBlue.com throughout the selection process.
• USRowing Announces 2011 Women's Under 23 National Team Selection Camp Invitations (April 4)
August 1
I can't believe that half a year ago I was in a rowing slump, pulling some of the slowest times I've ever pulled in the past three years, and now I'm coming off of another season having gone to NCAA's, and won two medals at U-23 worlds. I remember back in December telling some of my friends that my ultimate goal for the summer would be to make the eight and the pair this summer for worlds. I am so happy that it happened for me. I really learned a lot this summer, and I'm lucky I got a lot of racing experience. I continued to learn and re-learn about rowing in the pair but I also learned a lot about rowing and racing in the eight. I feel so much more confident in my body and my ability to race hard and bounce back.
I did not know how my body was going to react to racing in two events. The only time I've ever been in two events was when my friend Lauren Shook and I raced the Senior A and Senior B pair events at Canadian Henley the summer before my freshman year at Michigan. After all of those races, I felt dead. That was only four races spread out over a week. At worlds, I was going to have five races in five days with two on Friday. I wanted to do it, and knew I could, but I was a little nervous. Especially after Grace and I did a 750m piece a two days before our first race. We started, and went straight into the buoys. We stayed there the whole time bobbling in the waves and strong tail wind. We never really found a good rhythm and on top of that, it really hard. Grace and I decided we had to have a more relaxed start, and when we settled into our base pace, we needed to get our bodies over and our blades in the water. I hoped we were right. We practiced in the eight until race day.
In the end, I'm so happy I did both. It was cool to feel how completely different the eight is compared to the pair. I had obviously been flip-flopping between both in practices and knew there was a difference, but racing pronounced it more. In the pair, I just focused on staying extremely relaxed and in the eight there was definitely more of a sense of attack and kill. If I could put a soundtrack to both races, the pair would have been "Can I Kick It" by A Tribe Called Quest, and the eights race would have been some heavy metal band where someone is screaming the whole time. Not that the eights race felt out of control, the final was actually an awesome race, but it was so much more intense. Maybe it's the addition of a coxswain and increase in stroke rate.
What I'm most excited for is to bring my experiences back to Michigan. I'm glad I had another successful summer. This time around, I knew what I was doing a little bit more and was able to control my racing more. Last year, I had no idea what was really happening. I kind of just went out, put my head down, and pulled. This year, I made sure to breathe and fallow a plan.
I have to conclude with this: It's weird, I've been writing this final blog for almost three days now. Not straight, obviously, but putting in a few hours each day, and I still cant really figure out how I want to conclude this summer of rowing. It ended so suddenly. It was a great summer. It was the first summer I wasn't looking forward to having some time off. I worked really hard to make it to where I am now over the whole year. But like I said last year, nothing feels different. I'm ready to come back to school and have my best and final year of rowing at Michigan. I hope to help lead my team to become the toughest, hardest working girls in the country.
July 11
Things are going great! I'm always cautious when I say that because it seems like good fortune comes in waves. As soon as you realize that everything is going famously, your luck seems to crash and burn and no one wants to talk to you anymore. However, today I'm not that nervous to say it because 1) I've just finished a workout so I'm high on endorphins and 2) things actually aren't that great I'm just really excited to leave for Amsterdam.
We leave on Friday to go overseas. The best part about leaving on Friday is that I can make up new lyrics to the Rebecca Black Friday song and make it about Amsterdam. I think of lyrics when I go on my warm up run in the morning. I will not share them with you all because if my artistic words haven't made the song any better, I will be extremely embarrassed. It's hard to make that song worse.
I don't know too much about the venue in Amsterdam. Someone told me the course is off in the woods. Someone else told me it was right in the city. Today Anne informed us that the "warm up" area might only consist of a 1900-meter row up to the start line. So… that's different from what I'm used to. We normally get in around 6k of warm up before we start pieces. To practice for this in our last days we're going to begin warming up on the erg, then jumping straight into our boat to fit some twenties and start work into 2k before beginning race pieces. Other than a potential warm-up area deficiency, I'm sure the Amsterdam course is very nice. Actually, Brett Sickler raced there when she was on the U23 team back in the day. She said she enjoyed it so I will enjoy it too.
Today Grace (Luczak) and I practiced in the pair. It was the first time in our boat in a while, but things are feeling good. I'm surprisingly confident about our rowing together despite not having practiced too much. Although, I wish I knew exactly what speeds we were going. Our boat doesn't have a speed coach this year, and I don't even know what splits we should be holding at different rates. It's comforting that whenever we come in from practice Anne always says times were good. But, Anne could secretly be working for Romania and lying to us about our fast speeds when really we're going as slow as my mom's novice eight. (My mom is doing learn to row, and she raced 2x500 meters this past weekend and their times for the 500s were 3:50 and 3:40. To be fair, my mom caught a crab on the first piece which is why the time is so slow.) I would just like to be sure about speeds.
The senior national team is back from Lucerne so I can drool over them again. This afternoon Tom Terharr, the national team head coach, came out in the launch with Anne. I''s so intimidating because he just sits there so stoic. He doesn't say anything, doesn't smile and a lot of the time, it appears like he's just enjoying going for a boat ride rather than looking at developing talent. It's like he's playing hard to get, and obviously all the rowers out there want his attention. Anyway, usually when his launch is anywhere near my boat I end up catching a crab or missing water or something. Today things went fairly smoothly though. Small victories. I feel like by the time you reach the senior level, that's what you have to rely on. Things are too close and competitive to have any huge successes. If I can do a 250-meter piece in the presence of the head coach and not catch a crab, I'm going to say things are going great.
July 8
I think I am going to die. I have never felt so exhausted in my entire life. That's a lie. I'm being dramatic. I think I felt more tired my freshman year during spring season when I did not sleep for more than a few hours in a 72-hour time span. I will rephrase my first statement. I think that my body might implode due to extreme fatigue causing me to be physically incapable of supporting myself. If I am gone tomorrow you will know why. I will probably feel this tired only a few times in my life.
That was still extremely dramatic, but I really can't believe how tired I feel. I'm not mentally tired, but it's my body. Yesterday we did thousand meter pieces, and I was fine. After practice, Anne Kakala our coach, pulled us aside and reassured us that we should be feeling tired because this has purposefully been a high volume/high intensity week. At that point I looked around at the other girls and thought, ha! Look at these wimps. I'm feeling great! I could go on training like this forever. We then had the afternoon off, which just made me think I would be even more energetic for the next coming practices.
This morning, the past week hit me like a ton of bricks falling all the way from heaven. I really don't know how I went from feeling fairly normal, to feeling like a Gameboy on its last battery life when the screen gets all flickery and faded. It's the same feeling you get right before you get sick and everything is ten times harder than it should be. I am not worried about getting sick, however, because other girls in my boat are feeling this way too.
This morning we did 18k and I felt like I was rowing like an idiot. I was doing all these weird things with my body because I'm tired, which only made the water feel heavier, which only made the practice worse. We then had lifting, and then 12k on the erg in the afternoon. We've been averaging around 30k a day. The crazy thing is, the national team does this all the time plus more. They do 42k in a day like it's normal, and then they still have jobs and lives! If I did 42k in a day, I would make it my Facebook status, then go eat 10,000 calories and fall asleep.
July 7
I would like to preface this blog post with an apology to the national team members that I totally creep on. If ever they read this, please disregard… everything.
While showering today after morning practice, Grace Luczak came in and put on music. This is not abnormal; she does this every time she showers. It's quite nice. Occasionally you can get a chorus singing along, or a mini dance party in the bathroom. Today the song playing was Last Friday Night by Katy Perry. I started laughing because thinking back to my Friday nights over the past couple months compared to the Friday night of the song, or even typical Friday night's for college students, I look like a grandma. If I'm not in bed by 9:30 p.m., I start to get cranky. I've been able to stay up and watch three movies since I've arrived at camp, and usually I can read between one and ten pages in my book (a new book! I'm done with Salt: A World History) before I'm asleep.
I then tried to recall what I actually did last Friday night, and realized that I surprisingly had a lot of fun. Last week my best friend, mom, and coach were all in Princeton at one point or another. My typical sleep, row, eat, sleep, row, eat sleep schedule went out the window. I began to skip afternoon naps, stay up later, and neglect blogging… I pretty much turned into a rebel. I did really fun activities with everyone who was visiting, like go to sculpture gardens, explore, eat and catch up. But, last Friday night trumped everything.
My friend Frank Sedlar was staying at Sarah Trowbridge's house for a few days while he was racing in Princeton for elite nationals. Both of us could not believe his luck. He was excited because Trowbridge is dating Brian Volpenhein, a three-time Olympian and male rowing legend who was in town for racing, and I was excited because he was staying with Trowbridge, a Michigan rowing alumna and five-year senior team member. You may be thinking, how could life improve any more? Well, Sarah invited Frank and the other rowers he was with (ME!!... and a few other people in his boat) to a barbeque.
The barbeque took place on Friday night, and was hosted by the Dwyer's, a very generous family who houses rowers in times of need. The spread of food was unbelievable, and they had an amazing salt-water pool. Trowbridge did not hesitate to jump in and get us all playing a game where you have to throw a ball across the pool, jump in, and then get out again so that someone can throw the ball back to you. The goal is to not have the ball hit the water. Frank and I couldn't believe that we were playing pool games with Olympians, like it was totally normal. It was hard at times to not freak out and start sneakily taking pictures with your phone to send to your teammates as proof of your actual interactions with the senior team rowers. I was able to restrain myself. Barely. Thankfully the Dwyer's posted some photos onto Facebook. I've already gotten calls from teammates wondering about how exactly I got myself invited to such an event
So, that was my awesome Friday night. Now everyone is gone. But exciting things have still been happening!
July 4
So about a week after trials I'm finally updating you all with the actual events of trials. I hope I can remember all the important details.
To be honest, going into the racing I felt nervous because races are hard and unpredictable. That being said, I also felt like I was completely in control of the outcome of the race. I was extremely confident going into the final race on Wednesday (June 29). Part of that being that we had come 20 seconds ahead of the second-place crew in our time trial the day before, but I also understood that there were only three boats entered in our event so there was no qualifying for the final, so no one was really racing.
Time surrounding a race is so strange. It goes by so fast leading up to the race, and then right as you begin to paddle into the start it almost stops. The 50-minute warm-up before our race seemed like it might have been 20 minutes at most. However, the time it took for us to paddle into our lane and get ready to start seemed to last forever. Right before the start I try and breathe and think about being in that peaceful, quiet moment, and not having my thoughts drifting into the frighteningly near future of the race. When the announcer begins to poll the crews, and you have to sit up at the catch, that is the longest minute and a half I think I've ever experienced. I take that back, the last minute and a half of a 2k is probably the longest minute and a half I will ever experience. Still, waiting in the catch position for the start isn't necessarily the most comfortable position. Often time my hamstrings begin to pull and my legs start shaking and then I get distracted wondering what's taking the announcer so long, and then I have to remind myself to breathe again.
The start of this race was no different. We got off the line very well. I think I remember we were up on all crews off the start. Surprisingly during the race I wasn't thinking about racing to make it to the world championship, I was thinking about racing hard and just making the boat I was in then feel as smooth, relaxed and powerful as possible. I thought the base rate in the race felt long and relaxed. It may have been because I was rating at a 32-33 throughout the race.
After crossing the line first and bringing the boat in, the win hadn't hit me yet. For whatever reason, maybe because I was so focused on being internal in the boat that external outcomes did not affect me, or maybe because I had already experienced this last year, but it just felt like we were coming in from a practice.
It wasn't until later in the day when I was with my mom talking about the race that I really realized what this win meant. I get to go to race for America in the top-ranked Women's U23 pair for the second year in a row! To make matters about 10x better, I get to do it in Amsterdam! I find it funny that seven of my immediate and extended family are coming to watch me race at worlds in Amsterdam, however, when I was racing in Beijing, China, or Brest, Belarus, no one came to watch me. Needless to say, Amsterdam is going to be a pretty cool city. My only experience with Amsterdam was a visit in third grade. I don't remember anything. I'm excited to go race there because I've heard great things about the course. Brett Sickler said it was nice when she went to U23s, and some of my friends who were on the junior team and raced there said that they loved it. I feel so lucky that I get to go and experience this as well!
Now that I know I'm on the team and in the pair I've been able to relax a little but not too much. There is still a bit of selection work we need to do in the eight, and it looks as though I may have the chance to race in both the eight and the pair. That will all be ironed out this week and finalized on Friday (July 8). This year is so different from last year, in that it seems the selection process never ends!
June 24
I know I said the pair would be sorted out Wednesday, then Thursday, but it wasn't over until today (Friday, June 24). Margins between me and the other top-ranked port, Olivia Coffey, were too close to call on Thursday. Today, by order of Tom Terhaar we went to 2k time-trial pieces. Apparently, the way the national team sorts out selection problems, such as the one we had picking the port for the pair, is by sending one lineup down the course to race a 2k for time, bringing the boat into the dock, switching the other person in the boat, and racing again. Whoever has the fastest time wins. Crazy, I know. They do not take in fatigue factor. Us ladies are supposed to be fit enough to be able to handle doing double 2k pieces with minimal rest.
Anyway, this morning I was the first to race down the 2k with Grace Luczak. After a start and ten, the rate was capped at a 34 until the sprint. My piece went well, I thought it felt good and relaxed throughout the body, but my sprint was lacking. I was able to bring up the rate to a speedy 35 in the last 250. We came into the dock to switch the lineup, and I went to go do my cool-down. I felt the tail wind pick up a negligible amount, but still it made me nervous. Then, right as I was finishing the 4k cool-down, I saw the second pair lineup of Grace and Olivia come down the last 500. They looked really good, and Olivia had a sprint that started at the 500 that made mine look like child's play.
Despite my success in the pair last summer, I understand that sometimes there are pairs that can just match up better. I truly believe that's how Kroll and I were so successful, because we had been rowing together for two years (and because we're beasts). I sat and waited in the boathouse for Anne Kakala to come deliver news of what had happened. I had asked before I raced if she would come pick me up in her launch so I could watch the rest of practice (the pairs got up extra early at five to get the pieces done so that wind wouldn't be a factor). After a while, she rolled up and I walked down to her launch. She did not say anything immediately. I sat down quietly, my heart beginning to beat into my throat.
"So, you got the time."
I don't even know how I responded to this, I was so happy. It turns out I had won by five seconds, not that much of a lead at all. So Grace and I will be racing together in trials on Tuesday (June 28) and Wednesday (June 29) to see if we can be named the U23 woman's pair for this summer! I can't describe how honored and excited I feel right now. I can't wait to begin racing again!
June 22
My huge fan base is probably wondering what has happened in regards to the seat racing that was supposed to occur today. Well, it didn't. Final seat racing was moved to Thursday. For the past two days, the four girls who are in selection for the pair have been rowing two different pair lineups and doing steady state pieces against each other. I suppose that's still seat racing, but the final decision comes down to tomorrow's open rate racing. I've been doing well. Both boats I was in were moving, but at worlds you're not coasting down the course at a 26. Whoever can move the boat best tomorrow will be the pair. Well, hopefully the decision happens tomorrow. If margins are too close, racing will extend to Saturday and possibly beyond. Joy.
I am currently writing this post in a Starbucks on Princeton's campus. The people surrounding me also working on their computers look as though they're writing novels and restructuring America's education system. I am playing with my hair and listening to music.
I'm actually here because the dorm I'm staying in doesn't get very good internet, and I need to watch these lecture podcasts for a class I consistently can't attend. I can't go due to practice schedule, yet I have to keep signing up for this class because it's a requirement for the art school. It's a horrible cycle and now I have 33 lectures I have to watch and write essays on. I only have four more, I think. Today, I watched a fabulous lecture by Sir Ken Robinson. To be honest, I'm grateful that I've gotten out and stimulated my mind, even though I complain about having to watch all these lectures. Since I've been at Princeto,n I've only left the dorms in search of food. It's nice to be out and actually doing something besides sleeping and eating.
June 19
I'm currently sitting in the St. Louis airport. We're at a layover en route to Princeton. I have been counting down the days until we leave Oklahoma and suddenly that day is here. Looking back, it feels like we spent almost no time in OKC. Will I miss it? That answer remains to be determined. I can reveal that I'm still looking forward to arriving in Princeton and so far, for the few hours I've been gone, do not miss Oklahoma. I may miss the few friends I had to leave behind, Pedro and Peggy. They were both really ugly ducks. Pedro would waddle to our room and tap on our door. We would occasionally feed him. Peggy had no foot and would peg-leg around on her little stump. Those two were my favorite feathered creatures that lived in Isola Bella with me. But actually, even now I don't miss those two. I'm just so excited to finally get to Princeton.
So, what lies ahead besides a few hours of being crammed like sardines into a tin can and forced to breathe stale, recycled air? The end of selection. Over the next week boats are going to be finalized for trials. I am going to be racing on Wednesday against the other top-ranked port to see who will get to be in the pair. Like last year, the fastest pair of girls will be selected to race in the pair at trials and hopefully worlds. However, this year it seems that the pair may also be racing in the 8+. I'm excited for this opportunity. But since I've gotten that news I've noticed that I have just been trying to pull hard in the pair in hopes that my raw speed (ha!) will make the boat move fast. I keep having to remind myself that pairs move well when you're relaxed and just tap it along together, not ripping, tugging, and heaving through the water.
And we're here! I never thought I would be so excited to see the Princeton Theological Seminary again, the place where I spent countless hours by myself playing Nightclub City on a rock hard bed, and eating only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That was last summer. This is this summer. I've moved on up to the top floor. The bed is still rock hard, the room smells like dust, and I'm all-alone again, but at least it's in Princeton. I'm not the only one who shares this sentiment. When we got in the vans to leave the Philadelphia airport I hear Rosie, an American citizen from Australia, say, "this is already better than Oklahoma." I agree. Although, I should give OKC the benefit of the doubt. It would have been much better if we had been able to leave Isola Bella and explore the actual city.
This afternoon I don't think we'll be doing much. The boats aren't here yet (bummer). So it looks like I'll be taking a nice long nap then going for a "recovery jog." That will probably entail me briskly walking around town looking for places to eat. I love Princeton so much already. That is, until the final seat racing begins, and then I may be singing a different tune.
June 15
For the past two weeks my life has consisted of row, eat, sleep, row, eat sleep. That's it. I'm not even trying to make my life sound boring. That's what I do. Occasionally I watch Gypsy Weddings on TLC, or read my book on the world history of salt (yes. I'm still reading it), but other than that I stick to the three things I'm good at. I've even developed a game for after morning practice. I see how much food I can eat before I pass out in my bed. Yesterday was pretty impressive, I had three sandwiches, an avocado, yogurt, pretzels, and two bowls of cereal before I had to go nap. Yes, this game sounds disgusting and tragically American, but after I weighed in two pounds lighter than last week I'm excusing this behavior as necessary for my survival.
The highlight of being in Oklahoma City is definitely the USRowing Training Center, which is like rowing in the future. The building looks like some small-scale modern opera house. Open the door, and air conditioning envelops your body. The walls are all white with nothing on them, except for an occasional vintage summer Olympic poster. There is a fitness room upstairs, with new ergs galore. From the fitness room, a glowing white, florescent spiral staircase leads down to an Olympic lifting room. The lifting room is connected to the boat bays and looks into an all white indoor rowing tank. With my lack of a life or entertainment here in Oklahoma, it's an exciting day when we get to travel to the US Rowing Training Center. We go there to lift, do core, or erg.
Over the past few days my life has gotten much more exciting. It all started Saturday, June 11. We went to the training center to do core as any other normal day. However, when we got there, a carnival was set up on the racecourse for drag boat racing! There were so many Oklahomans in muscle T's and jeans watching the boats race by. We got to see boats speed down the racecourse at 180-200mph. You couldn't actually see the boats, but you could see a huge wall of water speed past you. We even witnessed one boat break a world record. On top of the boat excitement, someone brought over three tiny puppies to let us girls play with. All the girls were squealing and having a puppy photo shoot. I can't deny that I was one of them. After that, we were taken to the mall to watch X-Men: First Class, which was amazing. Sunday was 6k day, and I also got a surprise bouquet of flowers. Monday was boring again. Yesterday was exciting because it hailed hail the size of tennis balls. Today was exciting because in 1500 meter race pieces three pairs (including mine) crashed into a bridge.
After re-reading this, I've realized that my life probably hasn't gotten more exciting, I've just been in Oklahoma for too long. Only three more days until we go to Princeton and I get to see my old pair partner, Ashley Kroll!
June 12
Insanity: the state of being seriously mentally ill; extreme foolishness or irrationality.
Anyone who rows is insane. You put everything you have, all emotions, energy, and strength into a six-minute race, which you've trained all year for. On top of that, you have erg tests.
Today we had a 6k test. I did not do very well. Actually, I'm quite proud of my first 5k, it was perfect. However within the last thousand, my splits just kept coming up despite my efforts. The most frustrating part about this is, this isn't just one bad test. I've taken bad erg tests almost all year.
My last great test was in November, I PR'd on a 6k with a perfect negative split. After that, things stopped going my way. I was sick off and on all winter which was extremely frustrating, especially after feeling so strong so early in the season. I kept pushing myself harder than my body could handle to try and get back to where I had been in November. In the end, I continued to get slower.
But what happened today? Going into this I felt extremely strong. I was excited because I thought I could PR. I planned out the test well. I kept my ending goal a bit more conservative than what I thought I could go. I warmed up well, had eaten well before, prepared for the pain that was to ensue and where I would feel it. I do this before all my tests; I set myself up for success. I know how to test well.
Today, going into the last thousand it was hard, and I mean really hard. However, I never doubted that I could just hold my 1:50 split until the end. I wasn't putting the pressure on to do something amazing when it felt like my body wouldn't be able to sustain that for a whole thousand meters. And yet, my split started to creep up. I kept trying to stop the positive split and hold it. It's just so demoralizing when you're putting everything you have into trying to succeed, and you're watching yourself fail. After the test, my friend Olivia said it looked like a dementor had come and eaten my soul. I probably looked similar to the photo of me on the Michigan Rowing poster this year. For those that haven't seen that picture, I look like my 80-year-old grandfather on his deathbed.
There are a few things that I could blame this poor test on. But I've been finding reasons as to why I haven't been performing the way I want to all year. Nothing has changed. I don't think my body should have failed me in that last thousand. I know what I'm capable of, I know what I've done and I'm stronger than this.
All that being said, my average split wasn't so bad, and my first 5k was amazing.
My mom defines insanity as doing the same thing over and expecting a different result. I wonder if there is something I'm doing wrong in preparation for these tests. Regardless, I can label myself as insane.
June 10
I just received a letter from my mom, in which she expressed concern that I'm going to put too much pressure on myself because I set the bar so high rowing at U-23 World Championships last summer. Funny. I was just thinking the same thing.
Coming to this camp, I have aspirations of doing exactly what I did last summer. I want to win a world championship and set a record time. The thing is, it's a whole different year. There are different people I have to race against, different conditions, different places. It's all completely different.
I always want to be the best, and last summer, although I came up short in erg pieces and steering, I could see going into the second week of camp that I was one of the strongest ports there. This year, I came into the camp with the expectation of being the best port here. In the first rotation of pairs, the boat I was in got second in every piece. Suddenly, I'm doubting my abilities. Last year, I did not have all these expectations. Last year, I was just trying to prove myself. I recorded every result so that I would have proof of my success in case the coaches decided not to boat me because I couldn't steer a pair and I wasn't big or fast enough to be in the eight.
After this rotation of pairs, the boat I was in won every piece. My partner for this rotation was previously in the winning boat for the first rotation. Despite our success, I'm wondering if my being in the boat had an equal, negative, or positive effect on the boat. It's nearly impossible to tell because the conditions are different and the girl I was racing, Heidi Robbins (Princeton, who's good, a little too good), had to leave with the other Princeton girls to go race at Royal Henley. They'll be back on the Fourth of July.
Overall, I've learned (again and again) that worrying about how good or fast I am compared to others is completely pointless. It doesn't help, and probably just makes you slower. I witnessed this first hand today in our 1500m pieces. The first piece, all I was thinking about was pulling hard in an attempt to make this pair more successful than the last winning pair. We only won by a small margin. The second piece I tried to relax a bit more, but continued to think about pulling hard. We won by a bit more. The last piece, I thought about rowing with the raging cross tail wind and taking the tension out of my shoulders, we won by the biggest margin yet. I've proved this to myself countless times, but it's so easy to blind yourself with mental chatter. I do the best I can; I can't control how others perform. I shouldn't expect outcomes that haven't happened yet. I just need to focus on being where I am, right now.
June 6
Success! I did very well on my max power and one-minute test. I've improved by more than 20 watts on my max power test and almost two splits on my one-minute test. I even had the fastest one-minute test average! To be fair, we don't have the likes of Kara Kohler and Taylor Ritzel (among others) training with the U-23 team this year. Those two have made it up to the big leagues. They pull 2k's in the 6:30's. They would have completely shamed me on this test. Regardless, I am still proud of myself. Although, the sad truth is, I can probably attribute this success to weight gain. Some of you may be thinking, silly Felice! You've probably just gained muscle. I don't think eating Mr. Cheesy cheese bread dipped in garlic butter and ranch equals ripped muscles. (Not that that's all I've been eating this year, don't worry coaches!) I'm just saying, I'm two pounds heavier than the last time I took this test and five pounds heavier than last summer, and I've gotten better at this test each time I take it
Speaking of eating, with this increase in volume I have become a food vacuum. More so than usual, and that's saying something since I'm the girl that goes to a restaurant and orders two entrees. After 16k step pieces in pairs and a circuit this morning, I've eaten a bar, protein shake, two sandwiches, a plate of pasta, and a peach. And I'm still hungry. I've decided to drink a water bottle and wait a few minutes before I head back to the kitchen again. Thank goodness Julia isn't rowing lightweight and blogging about it this summer, or she would be cursing me right now.
Today marked an exciting day in selection camp, as we have started our pairs matrix. The matrix works like this: we row pieces against each other and the clock with one partner for three days of a rotation. The first day we just get used to being together and get in some volume, the next day we do step pieces (like really hard steady state) and the last day we do 3x1500 meters. My partner for this first rotation is Kelly Pierce from Princeton. I will not know how we did until second practice when the results from this morning will be posted. I would like to say, however, that my steering this summer is borderline amazing. Last summer's steering would be like a baby giraffe trying to take its first steps compared to this summer's steering, which is like an Olympic runner. Maybe not quite that good because I still can't fully stay in my lane, but at least I'm kind of near it all the time.
June 5
It's incredible how lazy athletes are. We had morning practice off today, and I think I've seen my roommates for maybe a total of five minutes. I think one girl is still sleeping; I am unsure if she has left her room yet. It's noon. It seems that we've gotten so used to our schedule of sleep, eat, row that even when one of those key factors is taken out, we still stick to sleep and eat. I woke up this morning at 9:30 a.m., grabbed breakfast with my friend Bill, who is also training out here, came home and slept for another hour, woke up and ate lunch. I was about to take another nap before I worried that I may not be able to fall asleep tonight. (Because that would be tragic after 13 hours of sleep.)
Today we're doing our max power test and our one-minute test on the erg. These two tests you can't really prepare for, unlike 2k and 6k tests, which you can improve dramatically with training. I've been able to bring up my max power a bit by lifting and gaining weight, but your max power is essentially what you were born with. Thank or curse your parents. It's because you can't prepare for these tests that I am not extremely nervous. Also, I don't think the coaches are expecting too much out of me. I was pretty much consistently at the bottom of the erging pack last year, so for me to make a sudden jump to the top seems a bit far-fetched. Not that I don't plan on getting there one day, it's just I haven't improved that dramatically from last year.
Also! I've found out today that the apartments I'm in aren't actually 30 minutes outside of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City just has a huge radius. There's a small metropolis center with a few skyscrapers, but the rest is spread out mini-malls. It's kind of bizarre. But as my friend Bill said, "Why would you build on top of each other when there's so much space?"
June 4
I have been in Oklahoma for three days. When I arrived, the receptionist checking me into my hotel/apartment for the next three weeks asked if I was excited to be in Oklahoma City. I pondered this question, we're actually 30 minutes outside of Oklahoma City in strip mall heaven. It's blazing hot outside and I am going to put myself through extreme pain for the next month and a half, so I responded "yes." She smiled at me and said, "Yeah, Oklahoma City, it's kind of like Hawaii!" Thankfully I did not have to respond to this statement, and I just smiled. I haven't noticed too many similarities. To be honest, I haven't noticed too much about Oklahoma at all.
Part of that is because the only place I've gone besides the boathouse is the grocery store and the post office. There does seem to be a lot of wildlife out here. I've seen a cat, a frog and an armada of evil geese that swarm the man-made pond here at the development center. The geese sometimes block the paths. The baby geese will chase you and snap at your feet while the adults hiss. It's terrifying.
For the past few practices we haven't done much besides steady state. We're rowing out of University of Oklahoma boathouse. It has nice water and buoyed course, but the last thousand meters smells of cows. The practices have been a lot more volume than I've been used to because of spring training. My legs, traps, lats, and fingers are all so sore! I was talking to (U-M assistant coach) Annie Hildebrand in the van today about next week's training schedule. She said something like, "you guys shouldn't even be tired as of now, this has been easy. The volume really amps up next week." Joy.
Other than arriving, nothing really notable has happened. I can't wait for real seat racing to start so I can see where I am in the mix and what girls I need to keep my eyes on. Well, eye. I woke up the other morning with pink eye. This camp is about to be awesome.
