Need some work...and an amazingly generous gift

Worked on dead lifting today (you would be amazed at the number of different images there are of people dead lifting...) - Maxed out at 310 which isn't too bad considering what type of training I've been able to do. Felt good to go after some heavier weights though. Short term goal would be to do at least twice my body weight (definitely within striking distance given the previous day's workouts) and then to hit 400 lbs by the end of the season. I think it's simply going to take regular practice. Go figure.

On another fantastic note - a phenomenal gift has been pledged towards the naming of an eight in our fleet. It's really fantastic to know that our alumnae are supporting the program and the College

Great workouts

Have done a couple of solid workouts in the past couple of days - yesterday I played around with side press and some dumbbell snatches as well as some kettlebell work with some new moves introduced by Coach MacDermott - today we did three rounds of 2' of box jumps, wall ball, and ring push ups with 2' of ergometer work. I found it pretty interesting to catalog the different ways I tried to improve over each round and how I would change my approach if I was to do the workout again.

Taking the approach of "figuring out" the workout may not be the most competitive or intense but it definitely made the time go quicker and made the work manageable. For early fitness preparation I think that focusing on the 'how' rather than the 'how many' made it easier...but I can see how it will be fun to compete VERY soon.

Here are a couple of videos I found online of ridiculous athleticism and hand eye coordination... and then an athlete who gets simply worn down by his opponent. Fitness anyone?

Today - Final Post of 2009

Best wishes, straight courses, fast boats, and smart training to all in 2010 from the Trinity Women's Rowing family to you and yours.

A look in the past...

An awesome banquet video presentation put together by Ed Slater -

Hartford Weather and Connecticut River Level Links added

I've added links to the Connecticut River levels measured at Hartford and to our weather system from Weather.com - they're also located in our links session down below on the right hand side. Hopefully this will make it easier to see what conditions we're anticipating every day.

I also want to recap the Joy of Sculling Conference as well as my coaching conference in Pennsylvania - lots to be learned. Can't wait to hear back from our accepted recruits! Best of luck to everyone who is in the midst of exams and feeling the crunch.

Coaching Conference

Just made it to a university in Pennsylvania for a very small coaching conference and had an easy drive through some very foggy weather. I'm looking forward to sharing some ideas and experiencing a little bit of a different university life.

I'll be heading to the Joy of Sculling Conference on Friday afternoon and that will run to Sunday - so I fully expect to be digesting a ton of new ideas and carefully evaluating if any of them can actually help our program.

Recruit Update & Sincere thanks...

I'm REALLY excited about our recruiting class for next year. We were lucky that the applicants we had in the ED1 round were accomplished academically and I think it bodes really well for next year. I especially want to thank our current team members who have been so giving of their time with hosting recruits. Now that our attention turns to ED2 and regular decision we're hoping to knock the ball out of the park and create a really phenomenal class for next year. I think it also reflects well on our development coach and recruiting coordinator Melissa Schomers who is doing an excellent job of staying in contact with our prospects and getting to know them well.

On another really heart-warming note, the team sent my family a really beautiful fruit basket from Edible Arrangements...My parents, rest of the family, and I were blown away by the thoughtfulness and generosity. I'll thank you when I get back to campus but it won't be really enough to match how much I appreciate what you did. The visitation was this evening and there must have been close to 175 people who came to lend their support and pay their respects. Tomorrow we'll have the funeral and I feel honored to be one of the pall bearers for Uncle Chris. Have a great night everyone...