Among the Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans ruled during the golden age, after which the world was dominated by the Olympians. Such is life in the rowing world, although our Olympians - unlike greek mythology - are always Titans. Every four years, the rowing Olympians dominate the world with the golden bling they carry home. When it is not an Olympic year, the Titans sweep the world stage.Being here among the Titans is the embodiment of my dream. These ladies carry more hardwear then the homeboys from my hood and are a bazillion times more amazing. It is incredible to be sitting next to your heroines on the erg or sculling beside the best in the world. Though one of the greatest things about these girls is how genuinely welcoming and nice they are. They call out to you when you are about to hit a buoy, which I have done ummm...too many times. One of the World Champions from the eight, Laura Larson-Strecker, is hosting my visit this week. She gave up her living room to the explosion that is my suitcase and her couch to my bed. Laura is so hilarious and generous, I really appreciate her hospitality.
I came down to Princeton, NJ last Friday for some erg and on-water testing for the National team on Saturday. Since then, I have had the amazing opportunity to live and train with the National Team until the conclusive speed orders this Saturday and Sunday. This week's training has been mainly steady state on the water and erg with some speed pieces thrown in today and Wednesday. Today (the 13th) I am tapering down a bit for this weekend so I only rowed once this morning.During my down time I have made a list of all of my favorite things about Princeton:
1. Wegmans!!! I should really get paid for this post...if anyone from Wegmans reads this and would like to help a poor rower in need of sustenance you can feel free to contact me =). Anyway, Wegmens is possibly the best grocery store in the world - primarily for their organic super yogurt and pretzel rolls. OMG these are the epitome of heaven - the pretzels are like soft pretzels in a roll of deliciousness. AND you can only get them here. I think I have bought them out every-time I go.The yogurt is like custard with thousands of good stomach bacteria (Pre- AND Pro- biotics...What? I know Pro, but Pre? I had never heard of them either but they are delicious) AND it has vanilla BEANS in it - like the black spots that good vanilla ice cream has but in yogurt....ahhhh amazing. Laura and I were talking about how normally you buy the store brand because it is cheaper but here you buy it because it is actually better. I don't know how you do it Wegmans but I give you props for the awesomeness.
2. Pizza and Calzones. I don't care what anyone else says: Jersey pizza is my fav out of anywhere else I have been. Whether is it thick, deep dish, thin, or calzone it is just plain superb. AND last night we went to the Aquinus (aka AQ) and they fed us free jersey pizza! It was like the best of everything - free and pizza! The AQ is where most of the male national team rowers live so it was super fun as well. Side-Note, Smitty, who used to row for Cal and now rows for Tom Terhaar (National Team coach - keep up or I will never get though this whole post) made the most amazing apple pie. She said it was because she iced the butter but I think she is just magic. I hate apple pie and this was probably the best thing I have ever eaten.
3. The Library. This was a major surprise as it is easily the best public library I have ever been to. There are several floors and they have tons of music, movies, magazines, and well, yea, books too. It is like an adventure playground of entertainment fun! Laura was kind enough to check out a book for me so I have been reading Swimming, a story about a fictional Olympic swimmer - maybe a C book. OKAY, probably not the best part of the library (the immense music and magazine section is - but they should really get Rowing News in there).
4. Lululemon. They have one here and this is my favorite store - but I need Wegman's to throw down some sponsorship before I can afford to actually purchase anything from them.
5. Easy Walk-ability. Basically everything is walking distance away. However, grocery stores are NOT! (This is why walk-ability is the lowest on my totem pole). Why? I don't know, but you definitely need a car or a good pair of wings to get your groceries unless you plan on living off of Panera and Starbucks.
Here is what else I have done with my time besides spend thousands of calories on the water
1. Nap - probably most important part of the non-rowing day. Dave O'Neill (Cal Women's Crew Coach) once told the team it was equivocal to steroids, but not illegal, thankfully - and I believe it, since I feel basically supercharged after napping.
2. Stretch
3. Eat - almost every two hours. Yum yum. Also why Wegmans is rated number 1 on my fav list.
4. Read a bit, listen to music, hang out with the team.So hopefully all of the above leads to success tomorrow and Sunday as we embark on Speed Orders!!! Speed Orders are two days. Saturday is a 6k erg test. The results from the erg test determine your starting time and position for Sunday’s head race. The head race will be 4500 meters and consists of 2 turns, 2 bridges, and a 2K straight course. So stay tuned for results etc.
-Shay