Fuck Strathclyde

So, it's all done. What we worked for all summer was thwarted by the wrong boat in atrocious conditions. There was about an 18 mile an hour tailwind, which was pretty much the one condition that didn't favor us. The waves were huge, we couldn't find a rhythm, and we got fourth. We were 1.18 seconds out of gold, .3 seconds out of the medals. I hate excuses but we are very frustrated at how things turned out because we are confident that we were the strongest boat here and that we essentially got fucked over. The hudson we had was bullshit, especially in water like that, and it's very frustrating that circumstances like that ended our summer. Either way, this summer was a lot more fun than last year, and I'm really going to miss the guys from the boat. We had a pretty fun night last night, fairly mellow considering it was an after party. Woke up and went for a run this morning, feeling like I can always say "oh, I'll do it tomorrow," but I'm glad I did it, it made me feel a lot better. Now we're playing trivial pursuit in the dining hall while we wait for the bus to come. I'm really excited to get home and just have some different time... things have been pretty monotonous this summer, but really good people. We are sad that things didn't turn out how they could have but we've had fun. Who knows where my rowing goes from here, but despite the horrid thoughts and emotional rollercoaster (unlike anything I've ever had before) that came right after the race ended, I'm not sure I'm ready to quit yet.
Got some sweet gear from trading, perhaps more on that later. Now for a day and a half of traveling, wooty woo. Onwards.

Now digital posting

So it's Saturday, we're playing Trivial Pursuit with the boat after a nice dinner altogether down in town at Di Maggio's, an Italian place right in the center of some clubs, a great place for some very eccentric people watching. Sooo since that last analog post...
We tried to practice Friday morning, but Jesse missed the bus and alos it was horrifically windy and rainy so we cancelled practice, came home and chilled out. Went back in the afternoon and it was still really windy but less rainy. We had a pretty crazy practice due to the wind, and we still didn't have a good skeg. After practice, though, Rainier Empacher helped us by putting a fullsized skeg in, which was a pretty impressive gesture as Hudson stole his family's boat design... he didn't have to do it but really hooked us up. So now we have fancy, normal slides, rudder, skeg, and hardware. Woooo. The boat feels way better. Went to lunch yesterday with dad before practice, which was again fun, going through town and to some Italian restaurant. The restaurant ended up being kinda crazy expensive but we found some delicious minestrone and lasagna that we shared.
Last night I must have been crazy tired or something, cause I set my alarm for 8am to get some breakfast, then for 9, then 10, then 11:30 until I got up to catch our 12 o'clock bus. Lots and lots of sleeping. Went down to the course amidst crazy wind and rain and had some lunch, then hung around the course until it was time to go race. We had a fairly shitty semifinal, but we qualified for the final, so that's good. We had a much better start than the heat, which was good, but the rest of the race was pretty mediocre. We beat the Canadians again, sending them to the 2nd final, but lost by just a little bit to Great Britain and Estonia. We really could have gone through them, but didn't, so that sucks. Now we're amped up for the final though, and I really think we can do some serious damage. We just have to put it all together and be very aggressive, and we've got what it takes to blow it open. I'm excited, it will be roller derby for sure.
Other than that, it's just a kind of crazy time, thinking about racing and leaving and plans afterwards and all that. I'm nervous but excited for tomorrow, it's a different feeling than before the race last year. Last year we were stil trying to think we could win but were talking about magical plans to make it happen; this year we just have to stay within ourselves and do what we are capable of and we will win, which feels good. It's really fun to have my dad here and get to see him all the time. Sounds like things at home are going well and I'm excited to get some time off and chill out both in Washington and in Woodside. Then I need to figure out what I'm doing with my life and submit my resume to Mike Callahan...
Time to kick some serious ass like never before.

Music: I'm keeping my iPod on random and trying to see how far through my 11979 songs I can get through. I might have to cancel it tomorrow to listen to some angry music to get ready to kill some people tomorrow, but I'm sure that my 10 hours in Newark Airport will give me plenty of time to see what lurks in the depths of iPodland.

Analog Blog Postings

Here's some thoughts I handwrote when I couldn't find a computer. Now Jesse Johnson is letting me use his, so I can write some shiz:

It's Thursday the 26th, day after my 22nd birthday (22!? Holy Shit!), and I got a nice little belated present today in winning our heat. It was a little wet and windy, but not quite as bad as the forecast predicted, leaving rowable conditions. We had a strong warm-up with the boat feeling more collected and together than we have during the past couple crazy days. Our starts and 20s started to feel really solid and sustainable and definitely calmed someo f the worries I'd been having. We lined up and I felt relaxed, we took of with a decent but not great start, and were going. We fell a little behind Canada and Poland, even with the Netherlands. It looked liek about 5 seats to me although apparently Canada got out to about 8 seats at one point. We took a big move at the 1000m, and the boat flew. It was unlike any move I've had in a boat before, it was so defined, strong, and committed that we pushed a length up on the field and held it to the line. Awesome race, really fun to smoke Canada. As Murph reminded me though, "It's who wins last." Australia won their heat in 5:58, Germany in 5:57, us in 5:59, but I know we have a lot of speed to gain. We were strong, but partway through the race I thought to myself "I am rowing badly," skying my blade and whatnot. But our rhythm was strong, our effort inspired, and we fucking won. No racing tomorrow, just paddling, semis on Saturday. Going to dinner with Dad soon, should be fun.

Later:
Had a really fun dinner with dad. FIrst we puttered around the Buchanan Street shopping district, then eventually a place that looked suitable to sit down and eat called Blane Valley Pub. Good food, surprisingly cheap (3.50 pounds for a bacon cheeseburger). We just had a good time chatting. He had a Guiness, naturally, I had a strongbow. We went to the bus stop for him just in time as his bus was coming and some of my boatmates were walking by. Left him there and tried to go see the Simpsons' Movie but it was sold out, so we mosied around, came back and watched House, and are now going to bed before a 7AM depart to practice. Onward.

Holy Shit We're In Scotlandbut it won't let me type in the main box because I'm on alex's iPhone but things are good but windy and my dad's here. Bday

The Future of Posting as We Know It

Today has hardly existed for me. Got up early and went to a very windy practice in which we did one 3k piece and brought it in. The wind was probably a good practice for the shitty weather in Scotland, and our rowing seemed fairly decent all things considered. I was abnormally tired after practice and promptly fell asleep for 4 hours. I gradually woke up and watched some TV, then got some stuff ready and took it to the UPS store to ship home. Now I hear Kevin Baum is rolling in to town so hopefully I'll see him for a bit before practice at 6. It's kind of weird that it's our last day in Princeton, I should probably start packing... anyways, that's all I've got for now, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to post before we leave because of said packing and rushing, and then who knows what the internet situation in Scotland will be like, but I'll do my best. Maybe I'll steal Osborne's iPhone and write from there. If it works over there. Whatever. Onwards, to Scotland!

Weather You Like It or Not

Couple of crazy days of weather out here.

On Tuesday I finally started to feel like a real human again after a really bad couple of days being sick. It was a nice dry, sunny day, probably in the 90s, and I lay out by the pool and swam some, which was refreshing and added to my feelings of revitalization post-catatonia. The sun and dry heat was replaced with dark clouds and thunder showers the next morning. We went out on the water through intermittent rain and thunder, waiting and staying out until we saw lightning. The lightning came partway through practice, so we hightailed it to the dock, with lightning striking almost directly overhead as we went in. That was the end of rowing for the day, and we went back to the hotel for long naps before a barbecue for everyone at the Dwyers’ house. The barbecue was fun, an amalgam of mens’ and womens’ teams, with Brian Volpenhein cooking up a feast for everyone. He made everything from scratch, ranging from gourmet macaroni and cheese to hand-made brats, which were probably the best sausages I’ve ever tasted. The rain came and came, seeming to only gain strength with time, and eventually everyone gave in to the weather and jumped in the pool. That got cold, so we dried off and came home. Today, the weather threw another curve ball and hit us with some of the densest fog I’ve seen. We still went out on the water, struggling to see boats in the lane next to us, but doing some 45 stroke pieces with the senior team. The pieces went fairly well, we’re still locking down our stroke but things aren’t going badly. Definite progress all the time, we’re just looking for those last few percentage points that will make the difference. After practice, the fog started to burn off and all of a sudden it was in the high 80s again. Magical.

I think everyone’s getting pretty excited to leave, though the weather is a factor in our minds for the trip too, as it is supposed to be very different from what we’ve had all summer. Calm heat will probably be replaced by cold, rain, and wind in Scotland. I have some longer clothes, luckily, but a lot of people are worried as they only really have summer clothes. Last year we got some nice JL longsleeve rowing shirts, but this year the gear package was a little more modest and some people are lamenting the absence of warmer rowing kit. I’m sure there will be some rowing clothes stands there, but that will probably be pretty pricey… perhaps we’ll follow the girls’ team’s lead and go to a sports store here and get some longsleeves.

That’s pretty much all that’s goin on… we’ve been told we can reroute our return flight once we get to Scotland, so I might be able to fly directly home (well, probably not direct, but at least not stopping back on the east coast) and get there closer to when my dad gets home. Then the big question is what I do once I’m home… I want to go down to Woodside for a bit before the looming Florence trip makes it infinitely more difficult to see Caroline. There’s also talk of the possibility of training in Princeton, but I’m not sure the legitimacy/desirability of that option at this moment. Primetime for me would be going home, getting some time to decompress, getting a job that’s interesting and fun (read: coaching), and getting to mellow out in the NW for a while. How it will all fit together will have to wait to be seen; as has been the norm for the past few months, I just have to take it step by step and see what options open up with each progression. T-Minus 2 days until we leave… crazy that it’s actually here, the days have all blended together and flown by in this monotonous lifestyle, and now the wish that was so far off this spring (I didn’t think I was going to get invited, let alone make the boat…) is upon us.

Better!

Ah, the day after being really sick is a great reminder of how great feeling normal is. I've been pounding dayquil, sudafed, airborne, and ibuprofen and things are finally feeling normal.

We've had a good few days of practice; the boat is really coming together and we're starting to see some speed. Today we did minute on/minute off with the senior team, and were able to hang with them throughout the workout and actually steal a few pieces, which was exciting. Tonight we're going back to Lake Mercer, which I don't really like as much as Carnegie, but whatever. Had a nice morning of feeling rejuvenated. Biked in the hotel fitness room for a bit, then cooled off in the pool which felt really nice under the 90 degree sun. Also buzzed my head today, not extremely short but not long. Spose I should take a picture of that and post it... maybe later. Getting into the Business Center has been annoying, so I've been on the computer less. I think that's about all I have to update... things are pretty quiet out here. Caroline's out in rainy Hawaii, Mom's finishing up a tour of Southern Cali, Coop's coaching and Dad's selling houses on the Island... miss them all very much and am trying to figure out the best way to spend time at home and in Woodside and make it all work when I get back. Should be an exciting next couple weeks, traveling around some more and then returning home. I was thinking last night that I spent 9 days in hotels for IRAs, 3 days in a hotel in Hanover, will have spent 14 days in this hotel, and will have 10 days in Scotland... that's 36 days of hotel living this summer. Craziness. I want to settle down soon!

Music:
Yesterday while I was sick I listened to Devotchka a lot, the guy who did the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack. He's awesome, and it was good nappy/sick music. Top track from Sunshine: "How It Ends." Yum.

Off to do more nothing and more rowing. It's a good life.

Sick

So I got very sick this weekend. I think it's the flu or something... it started as a little bit of a sore throat, then yesterday developed into horrible head cold/achiness everywhere. Very unpleasant, I slept most of the day. Last night was very uncomfortable, and I didn't sleep well, but I feel a little better this morning. Still kinda achy but rowing was fun. We did low rate 2ks today and were posting some good times; the coaches seemed very pleased. Saturday morning we did pieces with the senior team again but I don't quite remember what they were... 2ks, I think... 32-34. The boat is moving well and people seem to be having fun, so that's good. We had Saturday afternoon off and hung out with the guys and some of the girls team. Mosied through Princeton, then met up with some senior team guys, then crashed. A friend who's living in New York came to visit for a while in the afternoon, so we hung out with Jake and Silas and played wiffle ball homerun derby. All in all it was a good day, although I could kind of feel the sore throat coming... little did I know how bad it would get. Anyways, last week before we head off to Strathclyde, so that's very exciting. I'm going to go drink tea and sleep and hope I start to feel better.

Friday

I'm very pooped out so this will have to be a brief recap. This morning we did 12 x 250m against the senior team, who were in 2 8s and a straight 4. I thought we did well for ourselves, hanging tough on all, beating one boat on a few pieces, and beating both boats on the last piece. One senior guy proved his reputation by talking shit and getting pretty threatened by us, resulting in his accusing us of "starting half a length up" when in fact it was the boat he was stroking that was pretty high on the rate. Mike Teti helped him understand this. After practice Mike told our boat "good job" and the morning passed with no snide comments from him, which surprised us all.

Callahan and Topher seemed pleased with the pieces as well. On a side note, we found out tonight that Callahan has been given the Men’s Head Coaching position at UW, with Bob Ernst returning to being the head coach of the UW women. Quite an interesting little switcheroo. Anyways.

After that, Silas and I went to the Laundromat with Jake to hang out for a bit, which was fun. Lots of fun to catch up and chat with Jake. After that we came back home and went to a 5 o’clock evening practice, which was pretty mellow and technical. Things seem to be progressing nicely, we’re starting to get some things. Went to dinner with some guys after that, then a birthday party for one of the girls from the U23 8+ in Princeton. Now, it’s definitely bed time, as we have more piecing against the senior boats tomorrow… 2ks this time. Sure to be lovely.

Whatever, they’re only human.

Book My Plane Ticket

We had our official time trial today, going off at 7:30. We woke up a little after 5:30, left at 6, and got down to a cool, fairly windy course. Lots of boats down there for the last day of trialing, hoping they'd make it. The wind was crossing a bit, but was supposed to turn to a tail part way through the course, so we had high hopes. We had a fun dinner last night at Macaroni grill, a fun italian place on Route 1 we've gone to whenever we're here, and I think that having some time to all be together and decompress a bit was really good for everyone. Callahan after practice last night said something about us all looking somber and depressed and to have fun with the piece, and I think it was partially true, everyone has been pretty stressed out about actually qualifying and making it official. So we launched and starting warming up in circles next to the course. We were to be the first boat to go. Other boats got on the course and were warming up too. The beginning of our warm up was a little shaky, not perfectly set as we moved to all 8s and just kind of not feeling totally together. Then, all of sudden, we turned around one of the buoys on the warm up course, and when we picked it up again everything seemed to fall in to place. The boat was set, the rhythm felt easy, and I was stoked. It was sweet to just really feel everything slot into place. we went to the starting area and had to kind of readjust for a bit as we waited for the start as it was a running start with no stake boats. Then, after some waiting, they told us we could go. We took a few paddle strokes, then started our build, coming into the line strong. Up for a bit, then settling down, first to a 35, then to a 34 for most of the piece. We knew we had to average 43 second 250ms. We stayed under that for a bit, kept pushing, working to stay flat and aggressive. Yesterday our 3rd 500 was a bit slower, so as we crossed the 1000m I turned it up a little bit, probably everyone did. We kept posting good splits, under 43, went into the last 500 and took some moves to the line, and crossed. Adam said he was "positive" we'd made it, as we hadn't seen splits above 43 seconds, but you can never be too sure. I was pretty spent, having felt yesterday's piece a little bit in my muscles. We paddled painfully to the dock and brought it in. Mike said they weren't releasing times until all boats had gone. Slowly we heard word that we went 5:38, 6 seconds under the standard. We were excited, but not positive yet. We washed and derigged the boat to take to Princeton to train there for a while, and then once all the boats had finished our time was official and we were relieved and stoked and filled out fun paperwork acknowledging that we would accept our spots, go to Scotland, get gear, etc. Probably the best paperwork ever. We had a little talk with the coaches saying good job, now we've done the first step but now have to work hard to make this boat as fast as it can be. Matt Imes, Teti's second in command, was congratulated us and told us that a 5th place would not happen again, that the US does not get 5th in the 8, and that people are intimidated by us but also want to beat us more than any other country. So now we can move forward with a little less tightness for a while and some focus on making things go smoothly. We're racing the senior guys on Saturday, so that should be interesting...

There were some definite bummers with the trials today. 2 that bummed me out specifically. First, the unofficial time had the pair making it, so they were getting ready to find money and go. Then, the official time came back different, saying they had missed it by 2 seconds. Huge bummer. So, they were out. Then, the 4+s time came back, and they missed the standard by .02 seconds. 2/100ths of a second. Inches. The head of USRowing told them to protest it and implied that they would be granted a berth to Scotland, so things weren't sure but they were confident it would work out, and filled out all the fun paperwork. We loaded the boats and took off, watched Harry Potter 5, and went to the family's house where the 4 was staying and where some guys stayed last year, some monster house in Princeton. We hung out, grilled some stuff, and then the phone call came: the board had denied their petition, they would not be going. They were really, really bummed. Obviously a huge let down after thinking they were good to go. I talked to Craig, who congratulated me and the boys and said we have a special Nike order coming to reward us, and as we talked about the other boats missing it by so little he said "well they should let them go and make them contribute like $500." I told him that the trial boats were planning on paying for ALL of it, even if they had made the standard, and he was dismayed that USRowing wouldn't develop these guys and give them the opportunity to have this experience, especially after being so close. I agree with him on that, I think if the guys wanted to pay their way and go, they should have been allowed to. The results would be on them, but they should at least have had the opportunity. Lame. So, said goodbye to those guys as we left the Dwyers', who were wonderfully accommodating and said they were going to have us over again before Scotland. They like rowers.

Oh yeah, all of that was possible because we had the afternoon off. Tomorrow we go to Princeton at 6:30 to rig the boat and row at 7. Carnegie is beautiful so it should be fun. Now, time for me to go start Tim Robbins' Villa Incognito as I finished the Sedaris book. I've read Villa before, but a long time ago, and I remember it being one of my favorites. So onwards with that, and getting better at rowing.

Music: Brandi Carlile - "The Story" She's from Seattle, and I like all of her stuff quite a bit, but she totally wails on this song. I want to see her live very badly. It's on repeat.


Trials:
(from tom peszek and row2k.com)

Livin the Dream in Princeton (?)

Even though we probably do even less in Princeton than we did in Hanover, life seems a little more active than Dartmouth ever did. Driving on highways to and from practice, going to Nassau Street for breakfast, all of it contributes to feeling like we’re a bit closer to civilization. It’s a bummer to not be as close to Princeton proper as were last year. Being within walking distance of Nassau made it a bit easier to get out and about, but the hotel is a good 10 minutes from town by car so we’re kind of stranded unless we all go together. We may go see Harry Potter today, which would be fun. More fun than watching bad movies on TV. We actually watched the last Harry Potter movie on TV yesterday, so I think I’m all caught up.

Practices have been interesting, kind of up and down as we try to pin down how we want to row and fixing the things that we do unconsciously but making us end up rowing slowly and not together. Those are the probably the most frustrating things about rowing; the things you don’t even think or know you’re doing. I may be hanging up my blade, rushing the slide, or pulling with my shoulders too much and totally think I’m doing it right. To fix it, we have to realize that what we feel is right is not, then try to pin down how to do it right, and ingrain those specific feelings as the correct way to do it, and repeat that feeling. These are the little things that make the lat 5% of the rowing stroke intensely intricate and difficult, while first 95% of the rowing stroke is an extremely simple motion. I don’t even think you can actually ever complete that last 5%. It’s like an asymptote, where you can always get closer and closer, but only by smaller and smaller increments, never quite reaching the goal. I remember being shocked when Coop explained this to me when I was younger… if you start at 1 and continually divide by 2, you will never reach 0. Anyways, I’m rambling.

Last night’s practice was pretty good, showing a little bit of promise for the direction we’re trying to go. It was also a little cooler, which was nice. Cooler means high 80s instead of high 90s. The coaches talked to us about what had gone wrong that morning, when we did some short pieces and the free speed just never came. We all felt like we hadn’t been quite focused enough on our warm-up, and the coaches talked about some of the problems they’re seeing within the stroke. We launched with a bit more conviction and focus and felt quite a bit better. There was still some disconnect and choppiness and the coaches asked if we remembered some of our best rowing at Hanover, when we did some short builders that were smooth and strong and flat. They asked if we remembered how that was right after a lot of feet out rowing, which can be one of the most frustrating drills for a rower. With your feet removed from the shoes, you have no safety net at the end of the stroke, requiring you to finish firm but smooth, and always running the risk of going too far back and losing connection with the shoes, resulting in a weird and precarious balance on your butt. So it’s not always a very fun drill, but it makes people row better. We did that for a while, compounding it with other drills too (arms only, legs only, legs and arms, square blades, etc.). The boat was way smoother and way more set than when we were rowing normally earlier, so that was good. We did some builders that felt pretty good, certainly better than before. There’s still a lot of work to get things all put together, but it was good progress.

This morning we had the option of trying to do a time trial today, finagled by Callahan because we were supposed to only have one chance while every other boat had 3. This would allow us to try and take advantage of the best conditions. So we went down not knowing what we were going to do, but being prepared to try. There was a bit of a crosswind when we got there, but we were going to try it anyways and if we were holding a good time going through the 1000m mark, we’d keep going. We had a pretty solid warmup, again people felt a bit more focused after realizing that if we aren’t focused we’ll have a shitty day. We lined up and had a solid start, settling a bit low (33 ½ to 34) but we felt pretty rhythmic, which is what we’ve been looking for. We were putting up fine times as we went down, and finished knowing we were around the time standard but not quite sure. We paddled in, pretty tired and extra sweaty from the humidity. Callahan met us on the dock and said we went 5:48, so we were all kind bummed, missing the time standard by about 4 seconds. It would have been nice to get it done with and move on. After we’d put the boat away we met in the boat bay, and Mike didn’t seem pissed, and asked us what we thought of the piece. Most said it felt pretty good, albeit low on the rate. Turns out that the crosswind at the beginning of practice had turned to a headwind, and no boat qualified today. In fact, all the other boats had been between 10 and 30 seconds off of their standards, so we actually didn’t do that poorly. Tomorrow the course will be run in whatever direction has a tailwind, so we should be able to do a bit better than today. Damn wind. Tonight we’re going to go for a short row at 6, which allows a bit more time after practice for dinner, which will be nice. I think things are coming together; we all need to get a little flatter, a little more quick, and work out a few timing issues through the boat, but I think speed is coming. Another week and a half out here and I think things should be running pretty nicely. I hope.

That’s about all… just watching stupid TV, reading, etc. I’ve been reading the David Sedaris book, which is fun, though the stories in it are pretty crazy, self-depricating, and kind of depressing and sad sometimes. Some of his humor lightens it all up, but sometimes they end just kind of sadly… Anyways. May get to see Jake and Banks tonight, which would be awesome. Don’t have much else… bought a bunch of food at Wegman’s yesterday, along with a little Styrofoam cooler that, when combined with heaps of hotel ice, is serving as my refrigerator. I have enough stuff to take care of most meals and snacks, which is a lot better than that first day of being hungry and not really having any opportunity to get food.

Revisited songs of the last 24 hours:
Cat Stevens - "How Can I Tell You"
A simple song with sparse instrumental support, Cat’s lyrics and voice carry the song and always make me think.
The Arcade Fire - "Wake Up"
One of my favorite songs ever, I put this on my PAL this morning as I slowly got out of bed. Wasn’t ready to stop sleeping, but this song always makes me feel more alive and ready to do good things.

Evening Update

Hey Folks,
After writing this morning I went to Best Buy to get my computer looked at and, alas, it was not my wireless card that was faulty but the slot in my computer that it goes into, so it looks like I will no longer have wireless. I will have to trek ALL THE WAY downstairs to use the internet. Horrible, I know. It'll probably be better for me to not be attached to the internet at all times, anyways. I read a lot of my David Sedaris book today, Dress Your Children in Corduroy and Denim, and that's been a lot of fun. Bummed that my computer's messed up, but it's given me almost 5 years of good service and can still work if I use a cable. 5 years in computer time seems like the equivalent of a golden retriever living to be 90. Good stuff.

After Best Buy I was very hungry and didn't have much food besides granola bars, so I went to the "Cafe Nicole" (high class, eh?) downstairs in the hotel. Everything was pretty expensive and I didn't want a burger or anything like that so I had a moderately priced caesar salad that ended up being large and yummy. I was the only person in the place, guess they don't have too much traffic except for big groups at the hotel. It was nice to sit in a quiet place and eat and read and chill out for a while. After I had finished my salad at a leisurely pace, I went to my room and read some more until I fell asleep. Woke up a bit later and hung out with Silas and Osborne for a bit, then went to the Wawa to grab sandwiches for some dinner as practice had been moved to 7.

Practice was hot, real hot, even at 7. It wasn't an especially long practice, but we didn't some killer high intensity stuff, kind of learning exactly how hard you can truly pull. As Callahan said, "Make it extremely unsustainable." We had a speedcoach in the boat, which is a little computer thing that gives 500m splits like an erg, and we were trying to get the splits as low as we could at various rates, first by 4s, then 6s, then by 8s, having some friendly competition within the boat by 4s and 6s to see who could get it lowest. No one really stuck out, which is probably good. All the pairs were within a second or so of each other. By 8s we were really flying, and eventually got the rate up around a 36, and started to see some pretty crazy low splits. At least, they seemed really good to us; the coaches don't really tell us if they're fast or not. Regardless, I think we have some top end power, now we just have to use it properly.

Now I'm back at the hotel, chilling in the little closet/computer space. I'm going to go bike in the hotel's exercise room for a bit because my body is kind of sore and stiff from traveling and working hard today. Then it will be glorious bed time, with practice at 8 tomorrow instead of 7, which is nice. Talked to Craig this afternoon, which was entertaining as usual. I think that's about all I got... I got car magazines in the mail today from my mom so I'm a happy boy. Much better than this morning. Onward.

Back to the Start

Seems that I have returned to where this journey started. About a month and a half ago I left Stanford for Princeton, NJ, and spent some time in a hotel on Route 1. Then I went to Camden, then Hanover, then Stanford, then Hanover, but alas, I am back in a hotel on Route 1. We left Hanover yesterday about 4 and had a long drive to Princeton. I went in the truck with the pair and the coaches, which was fairly fun considering the conditions. Could have been worse, had I been in the back seat of one of the other small sedans that drove. We made it, many hours later, dropped the boat off at Lake Mercer, and came to the hotel exhausted and cranky. Got to my room, got a bag ready to run out with for 7am practice, and passed out. Practice this morning was mostly just intended to kind of stretch us out and get back into the swing of things. My back was definitely tight from the drive, and it was kinda crazy for everyone to be on the big lake with all the senior team guys. We'll have to learn how to relax and let things flow some more. It didn't help that Mike Callahan and Matt Imes (a senior team coach) were talking loudly between launches about who was in our boat, how we were rowing, and the major problems with our boat's rhythm. That threw everyone for a loop for a bit and the boat only got worse. Maybe it was intentional. Either way, things got a little bit better towards the end of practice. It's extremely hot and humid here, even at 9 in the morning. Sweat doesn't evaporate so you just stay hot. Luckily the hotel is nice and well air-conditioned so it's a bit of a haven from the badness. We don't have kitchenettes or even microwaves, so the food situation is a pressing issue that we should figure out soon... no one wants to eat out for every meal, but we can't really keep much here besides cereal/granola bars/etc. Hmmm...

The hotel also only has wireless internet, and my wireless recently broke so I'm writing this from their "business center," a little closet with a nice computer set up and all that. Hopefully I can figure out what's wrong with my wireless and get a new card if necessary... if it's not the card, I may just be proper fucked and have to come down to this little cave any time I want to use the internet. I much prefer to browse emails and YouTube from my bed... argh.

Anyways, here starts life in Princeton for a bit. Still some things to be figured out... food, computer, rides (we have 11 people and 2 cars... hopefully we're getting a van today). We have practice at 6 tonight so hopefully it will be... well, a little less like the burning depths of hell. We're doing some speed work tonight and pieces tomorrow, not sure if it's with the senior team or not. Guess I'm going to go get some good reading/music listening/sleeping done... there's a lot of time between 7am and 6pm practices.

Medium Update...

Still not too much exciting happening but I figured I'd at least give a quick update... did a kind of preliminary 2k time trial today with a racing start but basing at 32 the whole way down. Kind of a rough piece, not as smooth as it needs to be, but we posted a decent time and I think the smoothness will keep coming. After that we derigged and put the boat on the trailer to go down to Princeton tomorrow (I will be riding with it, the coaches, and Dave and Derek for 6 hours...). Then I just kinda hung out at the house for most of the day, eventually Derek came over and we 3 chilled out. Went for an expedition through the rain to get lunch in town, which was pretty fun. Took my PAL with me so we had music the whole way. Later met up with folks at Ramunto's and wrapped our pizza-and-beer consuming there. Moved on to hanging out around Dartmouth with some folks people had met through our time here, played some fun games in a frat basement we invaded, went to all kinds various and ultimately lame places, and eventually came home. Dave is outside creating blockades on the street with random construction signs and watching their effects on traffic... I'm tired so I think I'll pass.

Leaving at 4pm tomorrow, so I'll have the day to chill out, pack up, clean my life up from the Nelson's, and roll out. Should be interesting, sad that Debbie and Dan aren't here to say goodbye.

Well, that's about it. See you in Princeton.

Happy Birthday to Dad.

A little GoStanford.com Love

A nice little article came up on gostanford.com about all the different Stanford kids (except Kreek... old man) trying for national teams this summer. Pretty cool that there's so many Stanford people in the international rowing scene now... just found out Kerry Birk and Elle Logan made the girls' U23 8, which is very exciting. Anyways, thought the article was worth noting, check it out here.

Good morning practice today, bumping the rate up and trying to get smooth while going hard and fast. Did 250m on/250m off at rates of 32-38. Still pretty choppy on some pieces, but some started to feel easy and smooth. It's funny to feel like you're working less hard but know you're moving faster. I need to smooth out my stroke and make it a bit more linear... working on it. Time for a shower and a nap, and then maybe trying to ship some shit home.

More Transitions A-Comin'

Haven't been writing too much recently... there hasn't been a ton to write about. Rowing's been good, it's nice to have the pressure of making the boat off now and just have the excitement of pulling hard and trying to make the boat go fast. It's getting a lot better, we're getting good rhythm and movement. We did some starts today which were shaky but showed some potential. Once we started to relax and focus on prying the boat more than just flipping out, we started getting out pretty darn quickly and finding the rate fairly easily. That was this afternoon; this morning we did 2500s at 26-30 which were reaaaallly long, but pretty fun because it's a long time to just hammer away. After doing so many 1500s, though, it was pretty killer.

Other than, just been hanging out. Lots of talk and speculation about how the trial boats are going to get funding/do at trials and all that. We're heading down to Princeton on Sunday to train, race the Senior Team, and trial on Thursday. Should be interesting, should be a loooong drive down there... 6 hours in the back seat of a small BMW. Woohoo. Had a barbecue tonight put on by the Hanover rowing club... nice to talk to some folks, have some food, etc.

That's really about all that's been going on. Had a pretty mellow Fourth, just hung out with Dave and Silas, napped, got dinner and beers... it was pretty gray and rainy all day. This evening was the first time it got back to its warm self. Anyways, bedtime, then more rowing. Who woulda thought.

Doin' Good Things

Nothing's for sure. As I think I made clear, or at least tried to, in my last post, I don't believe in jumping the gun and getting too excited for things before they're for sure. I'm very wary of counting chickens before they hatch, if you will. That being said, today brought some good things. This morning's practice brought seat races for both Mark and Alex, through which they both performed admirably and strongly, enough to warrant them being put back in the A boat for the afternoon. It also brought some insanely fast times for our 1500s... very, very fast. Who knows if these will convert to other courses, but if this is truly a 1500, we are going fast. Which is good. We did 3 x 1500 at 36, though the 36 proved difficult and we usually sat 1/2 a beat or a beat low. Either way, still good strong pieces, and the coaches seemed pleased with the quality afterwards. The A boat was rowing much better in the Hudson than yesterday morning, which was good. It's still a challenge to set and row well in a boat made for a boat average of 230 pounds as it rides out of the water pretty far thus making it more tippy, but we're getting better, and I'm excited to see how our skills and unity convert to a smaller, more appropriately-sized boat.

And luckily, we will be getting to try an appropriately sized boat. The coaches announced after practice that they are pleased with the lineup in the A boat they have now and are going to move forward with it. This entails a rate-capped 2k time trial here on Saturday, then, barring a disastrously slow result in that, going to Princeton to do the official 2k time trial next Thursday to qualify for World's. So this is good news. Not definite, and no chickens to count as of yet, but good news. It's a bummer for some of the guys not in the boat, the heartbreak of not making a boat is a terrible one. They are trying to figure out if they will trial pairs or a four or what... the communication line between Mike Teti and the coaches here seems kind of garbled and unsure... so we'll see. Time will bring more definite news, but for now I'm happy with this positive step.

Watched Lucky Number Slevin tonight with several of the guys which was fun. Interesting movie, kind of a poor/stupid man's The Usual Suspects. Walked home and talked to the family, which was nice. Aunt Jane and Uncle Pat are arriving on Bainbridge tonight so it's a bummer to miss them, especially for the Fourth of July, also known as Official Pat Laughlin day, but I'm sure they'll have fun and I'll have fun with them when I get home. We get tomorrow afternoon off, which should be nice. Not sure what I/we'll do. Anyways, that's all the news that's fit to print for the night, probably more than is fit to print. Deal with it.

Happiness

Helluva weekend. As the quick post stated, it started out pretty well, with things going decently at practice. I was part of a weird switch, me going from 7 seat in the Bish boat to 7 in the Aish boat, but not directly… the 7 in the A (Charlie Cole, Yale) went to 5, and Steve Full (UW), who was 5, went to 7 in the B. Then we won by a good margin even on top of them catching a monster crab (bummer). So that started things off right. Then I came home, had a yummy breakfast and watched Wimbledon while I waited for Caroline to show up. She made it in good time and we went to check into the Hanover Inn and peruse town. The weekend with her was awesome. Mellow, fun, relaxing. Having a home base of the Inn was awesome so that we could be on our own schedule and not really have to worry about anything else. We did nothing and lots at the same time… tried out lots of the different food places around, including an awesome dinner at the Canoe Club on Saturday night. Tons of yummy things… mussels and tomato-basil soup (separate, but shared) to start, then I had yummy raviolis and she had salmon… a pretty delicious and awesome restaurant, comparable to Bainbridge’s Four Swallows. On Sunday we farted around town some more, went to Lou’s to brave the Sunday morning rush and get some awesome breakfast. Hung out in the Green and ran into Mark, Alex, Adam, and Derek there on their way to Ratatouille, which we decided to join in on. Very funny and cute movie, up there with any of the great Pixar flicks. More yummy food and fun but a pretty mellow and early night as I had morning practice today. Got up early today and walked to that in a much cooler morning than any last week. All weekend was kind of blustery an overcast, with the sun poking out for moments of great warmth, then back to cloudy chills. Went to Lou’s again this morning, it was much mellower which was nice. Hung out, cleaned the hotel room, played in the Green with a new Aerobie I bought at a little toy store on Main Street, just chatted and enjoyed the day. Went swimming for a bit, which was pretty chilly on account of the blusteriness but we had a good time. Watched some Planet Earth at the Nelson’s and hung out until it was time or me to go to afternoon practice, and thus for her to head back to Marblehead. Pretty sad to be separated again as it’ll probably be a while before we see each other again, but it was an awesome weekend and I keep assuring her (and myself) that time will go quickly and we’ll see each other very soon.

As far as rowing goes, this morning I started out back in 7 of the B boat, then partway through practice (just a technique practice, no racing) did pretty much the same switch as Saturday morning except that this time Steve was in 3, so Charlie went there. That practice was pretty atrocious, pretty windy and we couldn’t get the Hudson to set for shit. People were just rowing pretty differently and it was frustrating for us as well as Callahan. This afternoon they decided to have the boats practice at different times (B at 3, A at 5… *note* I’m only calling these by letters to make it easer… they seem like A and B boats but with coaches and camps like this I wouldn’t put a label or name in a seat until it’s at the start line at Worlds…). This afternoon’s practice was much, much better. Being the only boat out there made it much less stressful as we weren’t trying to battle paddle or be distracted by other boats but we could just focus on what Mike was telling us and what we were doing. Mike seemed in a better mood and miscommunications were met with jokes and a willingness to try it again as opposed to “Fuck”s and “retard”s. We worked on using strong connection to lead to a solid impulse as everyone swings together, and I felt like we were making some good steps towards having a unified and strong stroke. We did some builders (between 7 and 15 strokes of raising the stroke rating) at different slide lengths, from ½ to ¾ to full. These went ok but not great, and the pieces tomorrow at 36 should be tough. Hopefully we’ll keep the rhythm we started to develop today and really bring some speed that will legitimize this as a worthy boat. Things are definitely coming to a climax as this has kind of been identified as the final selection week… yikes. I won’t predict or expect anything, as I said, I can just hope to keep doing my best and hope that things keep going positively as opposed to negatively. That said, and obviously not finalized at all but obviously of import to many who read this (are there actually people out there? I know Sammy comments… and my dad says he reads it…), today Silas was stroking the A boat and Mark and Alex were 5 and 4 in it, respectively.

Only napped about 5 minutes today so it’s definitely bed time. I did get some nice packages from my mom today with books, though, so maybe I’ll read a little! If I remember how…

Today is 5 million times better because:

a) Caroline's on her way right now
b) My family makes all problems go away
c) I won a seat race (finally)

Time to go enjoy this glorious weekend.

A not-furious rundown.

It’s been a crazy end of the week and I’m so glad this week is almost history. Caroline is coming into town tomorrow (it was supposed to be tonight but her flight was cancelled last night… yet another part of this ridiculous end of the week), and I doubt I’ll be wanting to write too much until she’s gone so I figured I’d give a quick rundown of recent events that wasn’t fueled by unbridled hatred for the assfuck that stole my sandals. Pardon the profanity, but it still makes me pissed thinking about it.

ANYWAYS, other things…

So it looks like I haven’t written since Wednesday night, which makes sense because Thursday and Friday seem, in my mind, like they are rolled into one big crazy game. Thursday morning was one of the most intense practices I’ve ever had. 4x1500m at 34. I really think it was the hardest I’ve ever pulled on the water. Some hard rock helped that, and after each piece I was dead but by the starting line I was ready to go crazy again. I was in 7 seat and had a blast. Our boat did pretty well; both boats were putting up blazing times for 1500s. Like, seriously fast. Anyways, after a good morning I had a mellow day as usual and then went to afternoon practice, where they again separated the boats into what looked like potential A/B boats. I was happily in 3 seat of the A boat. For the first third of practice our boat was being very careful and trying to row well, which ended up leaving us quite a bit behind the other boat. Callahan remedied this with a “STOP BEING SO FUCKING CAREFUL AND PULL. THIS IS ROWING.” With all the power we had in the boat, we made up about 10 lengths pretty quickly and led the other boat for most of the rest of practice. I left feeling good that I had been in the boat, but wary that it would only be fleeting… and for good reason.

This morning, we went back out to do more pieces (originally planned for Saturday, but Silas had a wedding in Chicago he left for this afternoon, thus making this morning his last practice for the week… quite possibly the MOST inopportune time to leave…). I was back in 3 seat in the A boat again for the first piece, again 1500s at 34. That piece our boat had about zero rhythm and length and struggled to get the rate above a 32, going down the piece mostly at 32 ½ or 33. We were down to the other boat for most of the piece, only pulling out a very small victory at the end due to brute force. Then I got switched for Brad Wurnst, a strong but young kid from Princeton. The boat held rate this piece, and I lost the seat race by 7 or 8 seats. So that sucks. Maybe I suck, maybe the rate sucks, but either way, the whole thing sucked. It was nicer to be in the other boat, though, because Silas was stroking and laying down a great rhythm. He was then switched for Dave Naughton who was stroking the other boat. Dave did well in our boat, but Silas won the race by a lot. I was happy for Silas, but still frustrated at how things had gone down for me. This afternoon, the boats seemed kind of separated but not totally A/B… I was in the more B one. Things are very tense within everyone’s minds though they’re staying civil to each other and friendly. Next week apparently we’ll be trying out combinations more than direct seat racing… I want a chance in 7 seat as I think I contribute more there than anywhere else, but maybe there’s just not a place for me there, which would suck. Who knows what’ll happen, but it was an intense end to the week. One more practice and it will be totally done… finally. This week must end.

Caroline just got into Boston and is driving to Marblehead with her dad, then to drive up here tomorrow morning. That’s very exciting. I got an invitation to Lake Winepesaukee from family there. They have a beautiful place on the amazing lake, so it’d be great to get up there, but tomorrow Caro may be tired of traveling. Perhaps we’ll try to get up there for Sunday. It will be very nice to have something to look forward to during the days besides frustrating rows, Wimbledon, and trying to sleep the day away. Talked to the whole family today, which was great. Coop’s been partying lots and may take a break, silly boy. Dad sounded good, mostly just listened to me being bummed this evening. Mom sounded good too, very cheery when I talked to her this evening on her way back from Bremerton. Fun to talk to them all, I don’t think I’d talked to Coop since graduation. They keep going through it all and remind me what it’s all about.

Soundtrack currently:
I have a short playlist that has been rocking me pretty hard. It calms me during the day and relaxes me as I go to sleep (I’ve been napping well, but having trouble sleeping at nights…) It goes as follows:
Cat Power w/ Karen Elson – “I Love You (Me Either)”
Belle and Sebastian – “Meat and Potatoes”
Interpol – “The Lighthouse”
Feist – “So Sorry”
I just realized my playlist is virtually an essentialist guidebook to sad-bastard-indy music, and I’m ok with that. The songs are all awesome, the last 3 are new to me and still blowing me away every time I listen to them. I was just given the original “Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus)” that Cat Power covered, and it makes her version even better. It’s simple at first listen, complex under more listens, beautiful every time. Karen Elson’s unfinished singing is Nico-esque (She’s a model-turned-singer, duh… though trying to sing high, not low). I love this song (me either). The Belle and Sebastian is hilariously tongue-in-cheek and impliedly vulgar, with a fun melody. The Interpol is entrancingly ethereal with what sounds like 50 mandolins all playing at once, with the Interpol guy’s voice coming through and making progressions unexpectedly but perfectly. I expect it to stay just being kind of out there strumming and then all of the sudden it’s a gorgeous melody. The Feist is pretty much just classic Feist… a beautiful voice with simple backing, almost countryish but not really. Very mellow and calming. Anyways, that’s my rundown, that’s the music that’s keeping me from breaking things.

To whoever stole my brand new Rainbows while I was rowing:

Fuck you.

I wish I could actually find you so I could unleash all of the violent thoughts I am having right now.
Thanks for stealing a gift from my mom. Thanks for putting me out $50. Thanks for making me walk home barefoot. I hope my footprints that had just begun to form are uncomfortbale for you and make you fall and twist your ankle and get run over by a fucking truck.

Fuck you, asshole.




(post-anger realization: this post makes my top photo so appropriate. that is all -nr)

Afternoon off = more time for screwing around

Ahhhh, Wednesday. How medium you are. Woke up today pretty rested, so rested in fact that I woke up several times last night. Went to practice, which was fairly unremarkable other than today I was 7 behind Dave Naughton for the first time, the boats were mixed again, and our boat didn't want to pull hard. We were doing reduced slide drills adding pairs, and we'd go ahead for just stroke pair, hold even with 5 & 6, start losing seats real fast with 3 & 4, and lose them slightly less quickly with bow pair. It's not like we had weak guys either; it just seemed like people didn't really care to try and NOT be way behind the other boat. Anyways, that's just rambling. As I said, unremarkable.

After practice I came home and puttered around for a few hours but never fell asleep, which probably accounts for why I'm pretty pooped now. After sitting around I got kind of restless and decided to go into town and maybe find a book to read, or something to do. Just putter around somewhere other than the Nelson's basement. Though the basement was nice and cool... it got up to about 99 this afternoon. Yucky. Just as I was about to go do my town-puttering, Dave and I got a call from Josh Richardson saying some people were going swimming down on the river and that he was in our driveway, and asked if we would like to come. A funny order to do things, but we got ready quickly and hopped in the car. Lots of the rower guys were down on a public dock hanging out in the sun and playing in the water. I accepted the challenge to try and touch the bottom of the river and successfully did so, proving my feat by returning with some mud and a few mussels I found in the muck. My ears/head hurt for a while afterwards; the lifeguards said it's 25 feet... I think more like 20, but either way the pressure did some damage. After that we all left to see Life Free or Die Hard in West Lebanon (apparently the rural Poulsbo/Silverdale/Bremerton of New Hampshire...). It was nice to be in air conditioning through the heat, and the movie was surprisingly entertaining. I hadn't wanted to go and thought of going to another movie, but I'm glad I went. It was one of the more quality action films I'd seen in a while... extreme, but not too much CGI to make it annoying. And Bruce Willis played a great irreverent badass. Being with a bunch of goofball rowers was fun too. After that we returned to the lake for a quick dip just as the lifeguards were closing the public dock due to thunder... so we went to the boathouse and jumped off that dock.

After that we went into town. I split off to go through the bookstore, my original puttering desire getting a little satisfied, and bought a book with "Rashomon" and some other short stories by Akutagawa in them. I've heard the story is great and I think the movie is fantastic, so I thought it would be a good reintroduction to reading for pleasure. I was trying to think of an author that I have some books at home of, that I've really enjoyed... but he's still on the tip of my tongue. I'm going to try and remember and then maybe have my Mom send those books. Villa Incognito! That's one! Now I just have to find his name... going to Google... TOM ROBBINS! Ding dong. I love finding names you've been trying to think of for a long time. Anyways, I want to read more of him.

After leisurely perusing the bookstore, I met up with the guys outside Molly's, a nice-but-reasonable restaurant that reminds me a little of the Pub on Bainbridge. Had a fun dinner with the guys and had some fish & chips, which I haven't had in a while, reminding me more of home, and Coop. Fish & chips always reminds me of Coop. Walked home very full after dinner and am now working my way towards bed. Apparently tomorrow we're doing pieces in the morning, so that should be extremely exciting... or not. Maybe fun, probably pretty tense.

Soundtrack currently:
Feist- The Reminder
Early today was a nice mix of Mickey Avalon, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beach Boys.

"The H... Is O"

The heat is on.

It was about 95 today during our second practice, though luckily not that humid. By the end of morning practice it was probably mid to high 80s, so some of us took a dip in the river which was glorious. It was chilly, but not take your breath away chilly. Just the right temp to be extremely refreshing. The few that did it in the morning were joined by a larger contingent in the evening. We just put the boats away and jump in in our trou. Also serves as a bit of decompression and time to cool off from the intensity of the workouts, which is ramping up considerably.

This morning we were in mixed 8s and did 4 x 1500m at 34. Silas and I were stroke pair in the Resolute, with Dave Naughton (Cal) and Charlie Cole (Yale) stroking the Hudson. The first piece both boats struggled to hit the rate and ended up about 2 beats low, but our boat won by a little bit of open water, which was nice. Josh Richardson (Mich) switched out of our boat for Jesse Johnson (UW), we paddled back to the start (actually the finish, we do these pieces up stream), and started the next one. This time both boats seemed to be on rate better, and our boat won by about a length, maybe a seat or two less than before. Then we switched Derek Rasmussen (Wisco) for Andy Collard (Yale), and I think we won by about a length again (not sure... results fuzzy on this one). Maybe a few seats open by the end, but it was more of a last push than the second piece, when we got a lot of space in the beginning and kind of stuck. The last piece switched Steve Full (UW) out of our boat and Mark Murphy (S) into it. In the first 500 we had a length and knew things were going pretty well for our boat and not so well for the other one, so we kept pushing and it ended up being a pretty large victory… like 15 seconds. Once things start going like that for the other boat, I know from experience, it’s very hard to get them better. But good on Mark for having a damn good seat race.

This afternoon we went down and they called out the boat lineups. For the past long time they’ve been pretty even boats, and today was that day where they call out ones that seem pretty different. Being in the boat that didn’t have the guys who could be considered “sure things” for the final boat, it was fairly apparent that we were more of a “B” boat than we normally have. This was a frustrating realization, and maybe I was the only one that made it, but it scared me and got me thinking that maybe I just won’t make the boat. Then there’s the thoughts “well, there’s the pair,” but that’s not really satisfying. I was frustrated and bummed for the first bit of practice. The boat definitely had a little less energy on the way out, and while we weren’t rowing terribly in the large waves and whipping tailwind, we fell behind the other boat on the paddle all the way out, only serving to increase my frustration. As we picked it up coming back, though, my frustration was now more solidified than my initial bummedness, and we started the way back home with a bit more aggression and legs, which kept us close to the other boat. Being close to the other boat only served to increase my effort, and we stuck with them for the whole way back, which was rewarding. As we got close to the dock, we did some builders, bringing the rate up for about 10 strokes, stabilizing for 10, then going up for another 10. We took some seats on the first one (which was at half slide), and I think the boat was really starting to get into beating the other boat. At ¾ slide we took some seats as well, went under the bridge and spun to come back home, and had one more at full slide. We geared up for this and took about a length, which made me feel good, amped, and aggressive. I felt good that Silas and I could lift with good length and rhythm, and that in the end, though not full pieces, we could take some away from the boat that had seemed so stacked. It may not mean anything, and I still may not make the boat, but it felt good to feel like I was doing everything I could and trying to give the coaches a reason to not close the books yet.

Thus, the post-practice swim was very necessary to cool the body and the blood. People asked about treading water and I gave a quick lesson on eggbeater; they were impressed with my meager residual ability to get my trou out of the water. Most guys went to Ramunto’s for some salad and pizza (pizza is getting heavy and greasy and yucky after nice, healthy, home-cooked meals at the Nelson’s), and as always it was fun to be in a group of nice guys.

Came home and have just been puttering in the room, sitting on my bed reading car magazines and listening to music. A lovely way to spend an evening. Of note that didn’t fit in earlier, a box came for me today that I had no idea who from, forgetting that Craig had told me he sent a box. It came full of probably 150 GUs, my last small paycheck, and some data DVDs filled with photos of the rowing season from Roger. Overall, a really nice package that I shared with the other Stanford guys. Nice that Craig would still think of us, support us, and do it all on his own, especially for me, as I’m all graduated and whatnot.

Who knows what tomorrow brings? I don’t. The coaches certainly don’t tell us. They did tell us that we get tomorrow afternoon off, which will be nice, though it probably means lots of hard pieces either tomorrow morning or Thursday, I’m ok with that. May go swimming in the river in the afternoon as it should be another scorcher. Just gonna keep doin what I do, tryin to stay positive and get through this point, which seems familiar from last summer, when things are getting dicey, tense, and the unknowns become so much more important, but no more known.

Music of the Day:
Still extremely varied, what with all my new stuff, but listened to some good Belle & Sebastian (check out "Meat and Potatoes"), which I liked a lot.

This Will Bore You

This post should bore you. Today was boring, and I come to my blog not in excitment with notable things to remark upon, but in utter boredom, with nothing else to do before it reaches a reasonable time when I don't think I'll wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to get back to sleep. Alas, read on if you're as bored as I am.

Had a good morning practice, mostly just paddling and continuing to get things more together. Did a little bit of rate lifting but no real pieces. Came in feeling good relative to most mornings recently where we've been worked pretty hard and I've felt pooped. Despite being upbeat and not destroyed, I still felt kinda sleepy and after watching some race cars on TV, I took a nice 3 hour nap. Woke up, had "lunch" around 4, went to practice (still full from lunch... too close). Practice was good, and we did the 250m on/250m off pieces again, but only 12 this time. We're starting to push rate (28-36), which can exacerbate problems or make free speed really fun. I've been rowing behind Silas and with Will England behind me, which is a fun stern 3. The first 4 pieces (2000m) were pretty rough and punchy, and we lost all 4, so we went into the second set trying to relax and lengthen out. This seemed to work well and the boat coalesced around acceleration and we were finally able to pull together and get some speed. We won the next 8 pieces, with a couple of the last set feeling really good with lots of relaxation, send, and speed. It was fun to get faster over the day and start beating the other boat, which had been faster almost all the time. So we came in with the wind picking up and our morale a bit higher after finally feeling some good things. Today was also probably the windiest/choppiest day on the Connecticut I've seen thus far. Came home, barbecued a burger and listened to some more new music and read Automobile. Now I'm pooped, may watch some Planet Earth until it seems like a reasonable time to go to bed. Looking very forward to sleep.


Listened to too much new music to list it all, but a few tracks that stuck out:
"Notorious"- Turbulence (remixed by Diplo)
"Meat and Potatoes"- Belle & Sebastian, Funny Little Frog
"Littlest Things"- Lily Allen, Alright, Still
"Intro"- Chromeo, Fancy Footwork

Weekend = 1.5 Days Between Rowing

Soooo the weekend came. It was a welcome relief from rowing, and in the end was a good weekend, but had the beginnings of a shitty time.

Saturday started off kind of rough. I really didn't want to get out of bed when my alarm went off. Then I went to practice, where we did 4 x 1500m at higher rates like 32. My boat won the first two by a bit, then Tom Peszek and I got switched, and that boat still won, by a little more this tim. So I lost a seat race, maybe half a length or something. Whatever the margin, losing races sucks. Another seat race on the next piece put Alex Oz over Martin by a bit. We rowed home as the thoughts flew through my head like "well fuck, might as well pack up and buy a plane ticket now." It was extremely frustrating to lose that race. Camp's not over, and one can never know what the coaches are thinking, so I know I have to have hope and keep doing everything I can, but it's discouraging and never good to lose races. So that started the weekend off on a bad note.

I walked home and immediately went back to bed. I got up a while later and promptly burnt my eggs-in-a-nest. Things were just peachy. After the nap I was a lot less cranky than before, but still kinda bummed. I relaxed in the house for a while and then Dave and I went to a barbecue at the dorms where some of the guys are staying. It was fun, volleyball and Brats-By-Murph and some beers and all that. After that we went to Emerson’s (a Dartmouth Lightweight who befriended us) frat house which was conveniently right next door to play Pong (ping pong balls and beer cups do not Beirut make… and Dartmouth people will take your head off for thinking Beirut is cooler/called “beer pong”). Then the whole team went to Ramunto’s for some dinner and beers. Had a good conversation regarding film and music with Adam Barhamand, the Wisco cox, and we decided to trade music and watch my newly acquired Bicycle Thieves DVD today (Sunday). The night continued, wandering around Dartmouth/Hanover, looking for more fun, resulting in little. We went to the Canoe Club where I ran into Jesse and Liz, Amelia Siani’s housemates, and ended up hanging out with them and their friends for the rest of night, which was really fun. They’re excellent people and fun to hang out with. After that, the rowers had disappeared to some other godforsaken, pee-smelling frat house and I walked home to crash nice and early.

Slept in today to start off a very nice lazy Sunday. Watched car racing for a while (the Speed channel is perfect TV) and did laundry. I love the starchy feel of clothes that dried on clotheslines in the sun. ANYways. I then biked over to Adam’s for the aforementioned media extravaganza. He’s at a beautiful place right next to the Hanover country club. We traded music and I had my collection expa

nded/shamed considerably by his 26000 songs. I got some new artists I’m excited about and got more music by some of my favorites, which was probably more exciting. Then we watched Ladri di Bicycletta, which was impressive as always. Rode back home, had a nice dinner with the family/Dave, watched some Planet Earth (“Deserts” tonight… very cool). Pretty darn tired so I’m going to bed early, hoping that tomorrow’s practice isn’t too rough/my rowing stock is unsalvageable. We’ll see. Caroline is coming out on Friday, 5 days from now, which is very exciting. I think I’ve said this before, but it’s very exciting to have a friend, especially a non-rower, and especially Caroline, coming out to get to putter around Hanover and the surrounding gorgeous areas with for the weekend.

Soundtrack of the day/night? Where to start…
Still “Pet Sounds,” which Caroline sent me. Still getting into it, but definitely enjoying it.
Some Ratatat that Adam had that is extra underground and I hadn’t heard… the 9 Beats album is awesome and a welcome new dose.
That’s about all for now, but with my 9 gigs of new music, I’m sure there will be some more new stuff to come.

Here’s to having this week not suck.

Pictures by Murphy:

^Me Outside Ramunto's^

^Smelly, Silly Dartmouth Frat^

Music Notes

Thought last night's playlist was worth noting:
"Yellow Ledbetter" - Pearl Jam
"Summer '68" - Pink Floyd
"Heart of Gold" - Neil Young
"Don't Let it Bring You Down" - Neil Young
"I Believe In You" - Neil Young
"Red Sun" - Neil Young

Then this morning's soundtrack was Ratatat, always a good choice but takes some reminding, which Adam Barhamand did on the ride home from practice. Just thought those were some good, revisited songs that were worth sharing.

Had a tough morning practice (16 x 250m on 250m off). 4th practice in a row of hard work, but it feels good/tired. Our boat won all the pieces, maybe with a few ties, so that was good, but everyone is pretty pooped. Nap time.

What kind of fuckery is this?

A bit less to report/revisit tonight than recent times... had a hard morning practice, 4x2k at rates between 20 and 26. I was sitting 5 seat behind Silas and in front of Oz, which was fun. Some switches were done, but none of us were included. Our boat lost the first piece by a little, won the second by a bit, then lost the next two, post-switches, by quite a bit, which sucked. Losing is never fun. The free speed that seemed to be being fostered while Greg Hughes was here has been kind of pushed to the side for now... I think Mike Callahan is approaching things from about the exact opposite way as Greg. Greg was micromanaging and getting the small things perfected from the get go, with the bigger things to come later, whereas Mike seems to be wanting us to just swing together first, and pull hard, and then maybe later he'll go back to the small technical stuff. It's kind of frustrating, especially when in bow like I was this evening, because people are doing things fairly differently from how I thought we were going to collect as a group when Hughes was around... hopefully things will come together. This evening was not an easy row either, but a bit shorter. Some technique stuff, then leap frog (they still do that after high school rowing?), with the trailing boat going at a higher rate (23, then 27) and the lead boat trying to hold them off at a lower rate (19, then 21). My boat was a bit faster this time and we could hold the others off much longer and go through them much quicker, which was a lot of fun and kind of a relief to know that whatever boat I'm in doesn't automatically lose.

This afternoon I met Ottavio's friend from Dartmouth named Trey. We grabbed lunch at Lou's diner, which was fun. He's a really nice guy who DJs around campus and plays ultimate, overall a pretty mellow guy who reminds me a bit of Byron (he's a stocky Mechanical Engineering major from Virginia... who woulda thought. Oh yeah, he's also in the same frat as Byron... creeeeeeepy). Anyways, had a good lunch and he said I could hang out at his frat house if I get bored. He's friends with Ottavio, so he must be a good guy.

After that I came home, puttered around on the internet for a while, and took a short nap before practice. As I woke up, I wondered why our room was less well-lit by the small windows than it usually is, and when I went to the big windows elsewhere, I saw the reason: dumping rain. Perfect for practice outside... not. We got to the boathouse and there were flickering moments of hope of sun but then it would start pouring again. Luckily, by the time we got down to the boats, it passed and actually got pretty hot. Some rain came during the leapfrog, but when you're doing pieces, you don't really notice. Came home, had what dinner was left over from Debbie and Dan, watched some college baseball and have again just been puttering around in my room until now. And now it's bedtime.

Caroline made plans to come out, which is very exciting. She's flying in on the 29th I think, which will be great. It will be fun to have someone to really hang out with and do fun things with as opposed to just doing nothing at the house. She's an ok person to hang out with... I guess.

Soundtrack for the night? Well, for the afternoon it was Rihanna's "Umbrella" again, which was quoted profusely by all the crew boys due to the downpour. The soundtrack for the evening, however, has been Amy Winehouse, an album I got from Coop that is really excellent. Good, mellow listening that has small elements of hip-hop but most of her songs could very easily be mistaken for 70s Motown or even something prior to that, like the Marvelettes or the Chantelles. Super croony, great voice, with catchy lyrics and good beats. Works for me. She came up with Coop's new favorite word, "Fuckery." As in "what kind of fuckery is this." Pretty good, and I should probably adopt it into my daily vocabulary.

Off to sleep, only to arise and do it all over again. Could be pieces, could be seat races, could suck, could be good. What kind of fuckery is this? The repetitive life of rowing, my friends.

2ks Make Your Body Hurt Bad

Current soundtrack: Atom Heart Mother, Pink Floyd

Currently, I'm sitting on my bed, attempting to decompress, relax, recover, mellow out post-2k test. I went down this afternoon for my scheduled test at 4. Josh Richardson went just before me, and 30 seconds after he finished, the power went out. For 2 1/2 hours. While the erg is battery powered, the testing equipment is not. So, while I was warmed up, GU'd up, ready to go as he finished, I had to wait for 2 hours. It wasn't all bad, Fritz told some great stories/facts about the body and people testing it. If the power didn't come on 6, Callahan told Silas, Brad and me that we were going to do a 3-way test, just for time, no numbers. Thank god that didn't happen. At about 5:50, the power came on and I was up. I warmed up a little and took my last Gu Hardrock and went for it. I started out pretty ok, settled into a rhythm around 1:33/4 and went for it. The first thousand was decent and I didn't feel too dead. I went after the third 500 and started negative splitting, but not by much. Had a decent last 500 but really couldn't sprint it below 1:30 with a couple strokes at 1:29, and ended up with a 6:12. Slightly better than last year, but not great. There are reasons I'm not at my optimum to do a 2k right now, but I'd say the most pertinent one is that I need to train more. If things go decently this summer and I decide to continue training, I think that a good long year of solid basework and getting to train on my own terms with lots of volume could really benefit me and I could do much better than I am right now. My V02 was good, Fritz was very encouraging about that and not disparaging about the erg score just said to keep working hard. At least it's over with.
The 10 minutes after it may be the most uncomfortable I've ever experienced. Maybe not, there may be some memory I'm luckily not thinking of right now, but they sucked. For 5 minutes I couldn't get up or cool down, then at 5 minutes they took some blood for lactate and something else. Even once I got up and was slightly more conscious, the consciousness only served to let me know how shitty I felt. I sat for a bit, then lay down, then sat some more, then tried to drink some water, then watched Silas go. He had a good piece and had even crazier numbers, so that was good for him. I was still struggling, but it was getting better. Slowly I felt kind of normal, although even now I feel pretty wobbly and sucky. Forgot what 2ks do to a body. Anyways, it's over and I don't think I shamed myself TOO horribly. I beat a few starboards on the erg, but obviously I want to do much better and think it's possible. Whatever. Came home, watched an Olympic Biathlon DVD with Dave, and now I'm sitting in bed, drinking SPR-3 recovery drink. 7:30 practice tomorrow should be joyous. At least it's in boats.

In other, non-rowing related news (there isn't much of that here), Dad got me Atom Heart Mother for graduation and I never knew how epic of a Pink Floyd album it truly is. Combining their greatest orchestration with some great mellow, Meddle-esque ballads, I'm really enjoying listening to it. Even better, it makes me want to revisit all those Pink Floyd albums I listened to death in high school. So, good choice, Dad. I'm looking forward to the giant cow print. My pre-erg music was Rihanna's "Umbrella," which is kind of on the other end of the spectrum of music, from avant-garde psychadelic rock to shitty (read: GREAT) mass-produced hip-hop/pop. Perhaps I'll add a music review section to this thing.
Anyways, D-Day is done, now it's on to things I can better handle, and I'm feelin ok. Just need sleep and drinks to make my head feel less woozy. Annnd ending note... I like my old-school Stanford baseball hat and can't stop wearing it. Makes me nostalgic. Sleeptime.