Florida Training Camp

Deland, Florida is where I have been training for past two weeks! It was cool and rainy the first week but the sun has come out along with some wind. We've had a few practices with white capped waves but we persevered and went rowing anyway. The frozen tundra in Ontario has inspired us to row as much as possible. 



We have been rowing in pairs and the 8+ avoiding boats and launch swells but have put in some great kilometers! A number of my teammates have suffered from blisters and small infections but I kept all my callouses and my hands did not blister! Bonus! I have seen a manatee on the river but no alligators...thankfully. I would prefer to stay away from them.
 

One of our afternoons off, we went to a cute drive through bakery! The baked good were delicious and the decor added to the flavour as well! I highly recommend a trip to Buttercup Bakery if you are in Deland, Florida.

Long overdue update

My last post was back in August, prior to World Championships in Korea, and a lot has happened since then. Positive personal and mental building has and still is occurring, which stemmed from a challenging experience I had while on the team last summer.

As you know, I was named a member of the 8+ prior to leaving Canada. We arrived in Korea and began acclimatizing and training. The heat and humidity were unbelievable but somehow we all managed! A few days into training our coach decided to make a switch of athletes which left me out of the boat. It wasn't an easy decision for him but ultimately we needed the 8+ to be fastest and the other athlete was better suited for that position.

It was a hard pill for me to swallow and I struggled emotionally as any athlete would when their dreams get changed unexpectedly. I made sure I was strong for the other girls on the team to ensure that they performed their best and didn't have to worry about me. Not being a member of the 8+ left me in the role of being the spare. I trained with the girls and did the same workouts just in case there was a possible injury and I needed to fill a seat.

Our team performed very well at the World Championships! Our country left with a silver medal in the women's quad and four as well as a bronze in the eight! I also left with some new sculling skills learned from watching other countries, experience being at the world stage, and a knowledge of needing to work on my mental and technical skills as an athlete.

Life lessons are learned from experiences and this past summer and season made me realize how important mental strength is for rowing and any sport or pressures you come across. I thought my mental toughness was pretty good and so I didn't put much effort into improving it. I learned from my 2013 season that mental toughness is more important than physical strength. You can be the strongest person, but if you aren't mentally tough that physical strength is useless.

 2014 brings a new season for rowing as well as my improved outlook on rowing and new personal goals! As I mentioned earlier, last summer was a tough one, but I walked away learning more about myself and that I can continue to push myself to new limits!