tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84562446079337546982024-03-12T22:12:44.029-07:00Join the JourneyAs past world champion and silver medalist in the lightweight women's double in rowing, I wish to share with you thoughts on training, competition and being an elite athlete. Please join me in support of my Olympic dream. Go Canada!lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-75967494954236908842012-10-02T19:53:00.001-07:002012-10-02T19:53:36.606-07:00There's Some Songs that Mean so MuchI also had to include this. I am currently training for the Goodlife Half Marathon in Victoria next week. I have had some runs that make me ok with not rowing again, and I have had some that make me realize rowing might be the only thing I will ever be good at. Anyway, I was having a particularly bad run one day and this song came on my ishuffle. I had no idea I even had it on there, and after many hours of running, it had never come up before. I stopped during the run and started crying when I realized how I never found a song that better described any part of my life as well as this one defined me in rowing and trying to row for the man I believe in. I then replayed it and blasted repeatedly until I ran 8km in record time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/keIvA2wSPZc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-51930661901332193372012-10-02T19:03:00.000-07:002012-10-02T19:18:27.229-07:00Seven minutes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FL6WQpKspm3hQg4Mbi8GHWnokhBh8dZDjSATTkod1R_2xTzuKHcUJRmwZ1CqzwZ53G01SheoxYVmQTvw3KitGPEs-P7jR8IXkO8dQBFoKnBHj2oZ7e4y9BMF6sgPFDnMRinVld-RBlFo/s1600/worlds2010+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FL6WQpKspm3hQg4Mbi8GHWnokhBh8dZDjSATTkod1R_2xTzuKHcUJRmwZ1CqzwZ53G01SheoxYVmQTvw3KitGPEs-P7jR8IXkO8dQBFoKnBHj2oZ7e4y9BMF6sgPFDnMRinVld-RBlFo/s320/worlds2010+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I have been asked numerous times since August 4th, 2012 to write a blog post about the Olympics, seeing as this whole blog thing was about the Olympics, but quite frankly, I found it too painful. Clearly the result we went to achieve was not what we achieved and that always leaves an athlete feeling depressed, upset, confused, ashamed, the list goes on. When you then come home to read things in the media from your federation describing the Canadian Rowing team's performance as a failure, you tend to feel even better. Sarcasm. Let's keep in mind those using the words like "failure" and "disappointing performances" to describe the lack of medals at this year's Olympic games in rowing are those that never managed to compete at an Olympic games themselves, so I'm not sure what word there is to describe that.<br />
<br />
I now find the courage to write about the Olympics and their aftermath on the day after Rowing Canada coach Mike Spracklen has been let go from the organisation. The reason being is that Mike Spracklen has played a huge role in my rowing career. Although I never managed to go to the line with his name listed as my official coach, Mike has been very much part of every medal I ever earned for Canada. Three under-23 medals, two of which gold, three world university championships, two canadian championship golds, seven world cup medals and two world championship medals. The one that eludes...Olympic. It has yet to happen that someone with decision making power in RCA has come to me and asked why we were such a "failure" at the Olympics this year. No one has yet asked the real questions and I can swear on my life that the reasons we placed an apparent disappointing seventh have little to do with Mike Spracklen, nor Kenny Wu. If it weren't for Mike Spracklen, we risked placing worse than that.<br />
<br />
It's hard to describe how at the Olympics you have this seven minute window in the semi final to perform in a way that keeps you in contention for a gold medal in the A-final. Patricia and I placed fourth where we needed to be third and were suddenly at the regatta no longer racing for a medal. Just like that, dreams dashed, happiness squashed and shame setting in. What most don't realize is that seven minutes doesn't define how much you have trained, how fast you were the week before, how fast you could be the next day. All it defines is that you were an athlete that didn't get it right when you needed to. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about getting it right when it counts and hear me when I say we didn't do that and that's our fault and it's why we didn't belong in that A-final on that day. And that my friends is exactly why Olympic champions are so rare because I guarantee that many that go to the Olympics, on another day, could have won, but that is why it's every four years and that is why it's the pinnacle of sport. However, it also means that if anyone took the time to understand what we had to overcome to make it to that point or how the speed that we showed on that given day didn't reflect the training and coaching we received, they would know how little of a failure that seventh place performance was. We had a former team mate slander us in the media only three weeks prior, we had a treatment session go terribly wrong that caused Obee to need a cortisone shot and miss numerous rows during the training camp, we had a coach who's hands were tied by the administration and we had a message sent to us all year by the management that we were a second rate group of athletes that didn't deserve the best of anything. Quite frankly, all things considered, I'm pretty damned proud of that seventh place. I have won the world championships and numerous other world staged races and the hardest race I have ever raced was that B-final. It would be so easy to sit back and say it's all over, to be absolutely devastated and see four years of training go down a seven minute tube, but we didn't. To then get yourself up to have the race of your life in a B-final is indescribably hard. I'm not saying it's better than medaling. The performance of our men's and women's eights are notable and to be recognized and cherished as the amazing accomplishments that they are. What I am saying is that there are athletes out there that are just as good, who must rise to the most challenging of situations and find a way to still do their best. We did that because we had the support of Mike and Kenny. <br />
<br />
I really don't want to come across as a martyr of B-finals here because that is not my goal. What I am trying to say that is that there are athletes out there who have learned great lessons from disappointment and that will have amazing things to offer the team within the next four years, but the fact that these athletes and Mike are not being heard, are not being acknowledged as assets to the organisation is a real shame. Olympic medalists are people that have worked harder than most people will ever dare try to work, they are people who have shown a dedication to one thing in their life like most will never show to anything; they are people that know what is required to win and be the best in the world. Sometimes the ones that didn't quite get there the first time around are still those people. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoOBa0ws4gGdk1zv2_2i8co2sNeefIxD9lEKw0LqrTDa7CL4uhw6Uw1u_x13YxQGi4bcb7-f9Ul_uBXy8Btrp7BieHrCME5__XsVGj6KQsZqzOHALwIdsksF4gpocqZIxsh60mxW7JY3S/s1600/oct2+360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoOBa0ws4gGdk1zv2_2i8co2sNeefIxD9lEKw0LqrTDa7CL4uhw6Uw1u_x13YxQGi4bcb7-f9Ul_uBXy8Btrp7BieHrCME5__XsVGj6KQsZqzOHALwIdsksF4gpocqZIxsh60mxW7JY3S/s320/oct2+360.JPG" width="240" /></a>My hope for the future rowers of Canada is that one day they find themselves in the presence of greatness as I was lucky enough to experience. Greatness, not only in a coach that leads them, but the greatness of team mates that surround them. What I have learned from this journey and from Mike Spracklen is that winning is important. Winning is important because without the intention of winning, you will never push yourself, you will never believe, you will never fight for the best and most importantly, without the intention winning, you will never expect the best from those around you. It takes not only a team to win medals, it takes a team of people who are willing to put themselves out there at their absolute best to win medals. There is nothing wrong with expecting the best of everyone: Mike Spracklen got fired for expecting that, but he has also guided Canadian men to three separate Olympic medals, two of which are gold and taught us all life lessons that will help us be champions in other parts of our lives.<br />
<br />
So this is the challenge I leave you all with. For seven minutes of your day, every day, be the best you can be at something. It doesn't matter what, just strive for seven minutes of perfection in something. Honor those that tried and didn't get to have a medal around their neck to prove that they did all they could. <br />
<br />
<br />lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-70431710465784272102012-07-07T20:39:00.001-07:002012-07-07T20:50:12.426-07:00O' bee, O' Canada<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ExBsfCWP5NYPmp3ow2T9HvopjVFOdf6JuIlY9hOD956dv7G48H2z8rUJ8N9dKr7DcG8Azn89S621jbdubakeHI2oNTJut0-vbb04ZoGkf86FUGceRz_R5MVKlXE9zejpFE05csaMdg9q/s1600/313622_10150284601233040_765859_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ExBsfCWP5NYPmp3ow2T9HvopjVFOdf6JuIlY9hOD956dv7G48H2z8rUJ8N9dKr7DcG8Azn89S621jbdubakeHI2oNTJut0-vbb04ZoGkf86FUGceRz_R5MVKlXE9zejpFE05csaMdg9q/s320/313622_10150284601233040_765859_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Tonight is the eve of my departure to the Olympics. First we have a training camp in Erba, Italy for two weeks, but following that camp, the team will arrive in London ready and primed to hopefully have the best races of our lives.<br />
<br />
I sit here tonight feeling nostalgic, excited and even scared. It is sad to know that the life I have been living for over six years will change drastically after this trip and it is also exciting to think of what lays before us. There is an amazing opportunity awaiting us and it is mine and Patricia's job to seize that opportunity. Now this brings me to what I truly wanted to write about. I feel extremely confident in what Patricia and I can do in London and that is based on pure hard work over the last 18 months. We both have been working hard for longer than that, but 18 months is how long we have been working together towards this goal (with some off time). That being said I sense some major skepticism in what Obee and I can do as a double. First, it's our first Olympics (not just together but period). Of course, I was a spare in Beijing and didn't race and at that time, Patricia probably didn't even know what rowing was and hadn't even entered her last year of highschool. I know so many believe that experience is the final answer to succeeding at this level and I have to say it hurts me and I struggle with hearing that the chances of Obee and I doing well are small due to our lack of combined experience. Second, the way we got in the boat together this year was under unique circumstances and I feel that so many believe that we are just some second choice double that is heading to the Olympics to participate. Well frankly, I'm sick of it and I'm done listening to those opinions.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcj2za6YqeD5BYIFESj23bNmt0UITE5Tz0AcZQ1zjdE6xiaI8agnZLpDXk-9CPXroIOuVxk4yLInicjMkmKYzxBzQHAyNkq94g2ESUkQCkB9i8jXzy29NcVeYWzFyZlanikF2qqyqqqdHo/s1600/310099_10150284600998040_81982893039_7899329_7809522_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcj2za6YqeD5BYIFESj23bNmt0UITE5Tz0AcZQ1zjdE6xiaI8agnZLpDXk-9CPXroIOuVxk4yLInicjMkmKYzxBzQHAyNkq94g2ESUkQCkB9i8jXzy29NcVeYWzFyZlanikF2qqyqqqdHo/s200/310099_10150284600998040_81982893039_7899329_7809522_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
More importantly what I really wanted to write about today was Patricia. I feel that Patricia has been given no credit whatsoever over the last year for what her and I accomplished in 2011. It took two people to earn that silver medal and I have no idea why everyone seems to get so caught up in her age and "lack of experience"! Where did this strange mentality come from that we are only capable of greatness once we have achieved greatness repeatedly? You're capable of greatness before you achieve greatness...that's what capable means! People think that because she is 20 years old she's not capable of focus, of going hard enough, of knowing how to race, of handling pressure, of keeping her head screwed on. Well, they're wrong. I think the person who has rowed thousands, yes thousands of kilometers in wind, rain, slow, ice, cold, fatigue, sickness, heartache and tension with her should be the judge as to whether this girl can handle racing on the greatest world's stage. Me! Patricia Obee is the strongest, fastest sprinting, most powerful lightweight woman in Canada, and I'm racing with her to hopefully prove that she's all that in the world too. <br />
<br />
I commend those crews out there with loads of experience because perhaps they are the ones that will come out on top at the end of all this. All I want to say is that MY EXPERIENCE teaches me that you can't let others tell you what you're capable of, only you can decide that.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-11271571518223526952012-06-07T19:03:00.000-07:002012-06-07T19:03:05.592-07:00Let Me Be Water<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
At first thought, one might think that it is the rock that
is the strongest and most prevailing of all elements. Then you must think of water, for it is the
water that morphs and changes and bends and washes over the spaces and the
forms that it needs to become to prevail.
Water will wear down the rock, water will put out the fire and water
will never break apart and weaken itself by acting alone. Water will always win because it cannot be
broken; water is relentless.</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-78478148973899035142012-05-24T04:54:00.000-07:002012-05-24T04:54:17.936-07:00A Seal and a Dragonfly on the Rotsee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCE2zrQMpaivQ77Ic9Y-jTMM1b9VMWMt3tbPmO95KgYYaPStj0cZQJ7k_yI9EFZpnz6WK-PG14rYxbUPZYH3zN7C_YBwsk9YvmihHGMGlMPGtibJQArW2Wk1V2RJ1AamPbWYqTz9m52iZ/s1600/seal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCE2zrQMpaivQ77Ic9Y-jTMM1b9VMWMt3tbPmO95KgYYaPStj0cZQJ7k_yI9EFZpnz6WK-PG14rYxbUPZYH3zN7C_YBwsk9YvmihHGMGlMPGtibJQArW2Wk1V2RJ1AamPbWYqTz9m52iZ/s200/seal.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Every year in rowing there is a world cup held in one of the most magical cities in the world: Lucerne, Switzerland. Most nations in rowing attend this wonderful regatta because it is usually the last world cup prior to the world champsionships. In the Olympic year; however, the Lucerne world cup is held second of three and Tracy and I have returned here to race for our third time together at the Rotsee as a lightweight double. On this course, Tracy has won in the double with Mara Jones, Tracy and I have placed second, we have placed first and I have won the single here the year that she placed second with Mel Kok in the double. So one might say that the Rotsee has been a favorable course for us. There is something about the calm conditions, the tucked-away placement and the weight of the water that makes rowing on the Rotsee one of the most exhilarating and pleasant things a rower can do: or at least for Tracy and I. <br />
<br />
When Tracy and I were out this morning, I started thinking of our record here and how perhaps there was something about this water that complimented the way we row. Then this led me to think of our spirit animals. Background on the spirit animal: national team member and my boyfriend, Gabe Bergen is well known on the Canadian team for distributing spirit animals to people. However, you don't just ask for a spirit animal from Gabe, one must earn it. There are moments or acts or things one says that will trigger Gabe to determine what animal in the world best represents you. Years ago, when Gabe and I started dating, I earned myself the spirit animal of a seal. I have large brown eyes, I can be<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomrz2qXQFuG9K-FGJGTCKIGRdUw_oSKhq8ok81txJf73djf2J7XXG65eHzBZ3tiEVui-8cUNRPOJlI_h5tyeals3kIwOigRh71od-njh-HAzOSIud5e6jqHU9cFOeLslU2rEOnHc0TVNh/s1600/dragonfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomrz2qXQFuG9K-FGJGTCKIGRdUw_oSKhq8ok81txJf73djf2J7XXG65eHzBZ3tiEVui-8cUNRPOJlI_h5tyeals3kIwOigRh71od-njh-HAzOSIud5e6jqHU9cFOeLslU2rEOnHc0TVNh/s200/dragonfly.jpg" width="157" /></a>playful, yet scarily aggressive and I am notorious for not being very sure of foot<br />
on land. Tracy, on the otherhand, flits around chatting and socializing with everyone she comes across and therefore, has earned herself the dragonfly. Dragonflies are quick, poised and in every flower's business.<br />
<br />
Now, being from the west coast, I know animals, especially sea animals, to be a very symbolic and precious part of the West Coast Native culture, so I did a little research for this post and found some interesting things as I assumed there had to be more to the seal and dragonfly than being chubby and flitty respectively. What I found is that seals are the power animal symbol of the inner voice. Native culture believes that because seals exist both on land and in the sea that they show us there are two necessary things to fulfill our dreams and aspirations. In other words, we must not only use our abilities to achieve but we must use our inner belief to envision our dreams coming true. Are not the most successful athletes in the world imagining themselves as champions before they are able to achieve?<br />
<br />
A dragonfly's ability to scurry across water represents an act of going beyond what's on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life. Do you see the connection to water in both animals? Also, Tracy has always had a beautiful poise to her rowing and sees herself as powerful enough to get in front and then relax into a melodic rhythm of speed which is reflected in the dragonfly's ability to move in all six directions all while flapping it's wings a mere 30 times per minute as compared to a housefly at 1000 beats per minute. <br />
<br />
So you see? Perhaps there is something about the water on the Rotsee that appeals greatly to a seal and a dragonfly. We know not what is to come of the racing this weekend as there are some exceptionally strong crews here in this exciting Olympic year, but it can be said that a seal and a dragonfly have the flow and power of the water supporting them. Although an unlikely pair, I would believe the seal and the dragonfly represent something of an even more powerful and inspiring duo.<br />
<br />
<br />lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-36387268994907930422012-04-23T10:41:00.000-07:002012-04-23T10:41:14.700-07:00The Final Countdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIOg0pgy16s_SnRLJPc8wJeBQqSTraETh8OTGSpqmnUMM-pxmFfN_OV9SJlbYADt6Rr76cNXPOBa9WZKXyPblS0NXHwWoYiJykSKCuknYD4uAnSd-IZWQGUXOibpp7ldfBVvdhWg2AF3B/s1600/images+(7).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIOg0pgy16s_SnRLJPc8wJeBQqSTraETh8OTGSpqmnUMM-pxmFfN_OV9SJlbYADt6Rr76cNXPOBa9WZKXyPblS0NXHwWoYiJykSKCuknYD4uAnSd-IZWQGUXOibpp7ldfBVvdhWg2AF3B/s1600/images+(7).jpg" /></a></div>
I have been thinking a lot lately about what it means to go to the Olympics. For me, one of the things it means is that it will likely be my last international rowing race. That scares me. For some reason I have always been excited to attend the world championships. The world championships have been an opportunity to show the world what my training has done, how well Canada works as a team and to have the best race possible to feel good about myself. The Olympics seem so much bigger. Part of that feeling is all the media attention the Olympics spurs and also the expectations of fellow Canadians who tune in to watch. I think when I imagine the Olympics being something so much bigger than the world championships, I get seriously overwhelmed. What if that last race is not the race I want to have? What if that last race doesn't bring gold? What if the Greeks and the Brits and the Americans and the Aussies and the Kiwis and the....and the...and the...the list goes on. But then I think this, I haven't been training for this regatta for one year, I've been training my whole life.<br />
<br />
Some of you might be a facebook friend and for this entire training season, I have listed each training day of the year and paired it with an inspirational quote. Today, for example is day 151, however I realize that it is actually thousands of days into the training cycle. Every bump in the road, every failure, every bad coach, every good coach, every team mate, every family member, every practice I ever had (including those of volleyball, track and softball etc), were pieces of the Olympic training puzzle. I have always been competitive, I have always wanted to win, I have always been dedicated to practice and I have never missed training for unimportant reasons. I have been training for this one and final race my whole life and that makes me ready.<br />
<br />
I think at the end of all of this winning isn't the measure of what I have accomplished. We might win, we might not. We might not even get on the podium, but I do know that the preparation that has gone into giving myself the best possible chance of winning has been done. This event isn't something different when it comes to racing to show the work we have done as a team. It's different in that there will be TV's, there will be numerous interviews, there will be other sports and there will be every athlete in the world at the absolute peak of the their game, but it's still a race that presents the best of the thousands of days and millions of hours of hard work that went into having the best race possible. I can not control what other countries have done, and I most certainly can not control what other countries will do on race day, but this race will show what I have accomplished as an athlete and that is what I have control over. All I want is to walk away from the course at Eton and say "Damn, that was a great trip. I did everything I could and I am the happiest I have ever been. I am the best I will ever be."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-55076316851165468222012-02-23T18:41:00.006-08:002012-02-23T19:22:10.240-08:00Four Months in a NutshellOk, so I really fell off the pace of writing blog posts. I'm not exactly sure what happened. I guess partly I felt that people just didn't care to read and also there were just so many political things going on that to write a blog post and not talk about those things would be faking a post and to write a post and talk about it would probably have got me in trouble and it's not really a free-speaking world in the world of elite sport so I'll leave it at that I guess.<div><br /></div><div>Basically the things that have happened since I last wrote:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. The national championships in Welland, ON placed Patricia first, myself second and Tracy third so we are now the targeted women for the Olympic lightweight double.</div><div><span style="font-size: 100%; ">2. Santa came to town</span>.</div><div>3. The new year was rung in with excitement of finally gettin<span style="font-size: 100%; ">g to say that it's 2012!! The year of the Olympic Games!</span></div><div>4. I finally call Mike Spracklen my coach along with Kenny Wu who makes training always so interesting with his calls and ESL ways of explaining the stroke</div><div>5. I achieved a personal best on a 6k erg test by 14seconds!</div><div>6. Currently in Sacramento on training camp</div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rc1WlEn1g0mxsPi4fISksKrcFQndOqSdu4wVhXC8MZFdGYLhvjEV1qc9P99bwNOO0k7UQCbIjmfabTXAw8rdUTgYGZI2Wake0vLsbfkEfW4032372VBFekT7VeYNKSV1Wo7qqnWPEaIo/s320/iphone+072.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712529951516839394" /></div><div><br /></div><div>The lightweight women were left behind on the last training camp and here are some documented events of our winter training camp in Victoria.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-daPHo5Zgyf_J9PWYsB_elCL-9T0vStdpFJRDCA5ojN0AuYOzAAT-lVsRgE0HmSPdMav1geyeGIaP3jYHJGbUNwGGiARQUmBAiSAwOA0eY7PAL18p-VOzZfYciiBXFRVNszys2ub4C6s/s320/iphone+071.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712529946448860578" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></div><div>Generally speaking, in Canada, our winter training camps are referred to as "warm weather" training camps, so as you</div><div> can see it was a little disappointing when our first camp of the year had the first snow fall of Victoria's winter in store for us. Patricia set up camp at my house and we hosted our own "winter training camp" . </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Our cooking and meals were far superior to whatever one could find at a hotel however, so that was a major plus! Here you can see the epic nachos we came up with one Saturday afternoon after a particularly hard 3x4km workout. I have to say that the food right now in California</span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2l8aVho52uhyFzDgBC0UwujHkDnHOMQo-exZwtBKmzWd09on6WZ-vRy7TSt2QGEqR5jgtTOTKhyphenhyphenIWFUAmaEi5xc_HMmMVctcTA6zBxMGkRVxqx7pBomOgMvsKZlVLeznGGm9b0seQnpz/s320/iphone+068.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712531049026934306" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /><div>just can't match what we had going on at our winter camp, but the training (which is really the more important thing) is going really well. We have a reached a point in the camp where we are trying to decide if we'd rather eat a hot pepper or do the 16x90sec at race pace that is prescribed. We have yet to have a day off and I have to say that I'm getting close to wanting to run the streets of Sacramento naked than do another 7km piece. Thankfully, we have to just get through tomorrow and then we can enjoy a full 36 hours of just eating and resting and no rowing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sarcasm aside, the camp is great. We are finding speed every practice and the environment in which we go to work every day is positive, inspiring and most importantly, it's an environment that we believe can help us to succeed in every sense of the word. May 2012 bring the best we have ever experienced!</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-11266056039792933262011-10-27T15:18:00.001-07:002011-10-27T16:03:07.341-07:00A Title Lost, Confidence Gained<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0Y8KHi6d0tTuWp6Sh9OTzBjjTqW1LZGa-t9UOS1Ne08qsNhhuQTb6Mm0_dOu_sf05PkkxzXUnDveKjBDRR04ZuV5uoG0A4Ay8kpMx5FDmal_lojwCF8_wKa4xhHsakXSeTWYWNTQeI9d/s1600/summer2011+107.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0Y8KHi6d0tTuWp6Sh9OTzBjjTqW1LZGa-t9UOS1Ne08qsNhhuQTb6Mm0_dOu_sf05PkkxzXUnDveKjBDRR04ZuV5uoG0A4Ay8kpMx5FDmal_lojwCF8_wKa4xhHsakXSeTWYWNTQeI9d/s320/summer2011+107.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668300442300154322" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0Y8KHi6d0tTuWp6Sh9OTzBjjTqW1LZGa-t9UOS1Ne08qsNhhuQTb6Mm0_dOu_sf05PkkxzXUnDveKjBDRR04ZuV5uoG0A4Ay8kpMx5FDmal_lojwCF8_wKa4xhHsakXSeTWYWNTQeI9d/s1600/summer2011+107.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; ">My last post was some time ago and I can say that mostly the reason why was that I just wasn't inspired to write. I promised myself that this blog wouldn't just be about racing and it wouldn't act as some sort of public diary of my day, but rather would be written when I felt I had experienced something that held some valuable lesson within rowing.</span></a><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This past world championships found Canada's lightweight double in a position that I do not believe it has ever found itself before. Four weeks before the world's final, Tracy was diagnosed with a rib stress fracture. There was a very small chance that the fracture would heal well enough to have her safely race in the Olympic qualifying regatta. As Randy Starkman put it, "...in steps super spare Patricia Obee." With few days to get our double to the standard of qualifying Patricia and I embarked on one of the toughest, mentally challenging experiences I have had in rowing. I was coming off a year as a world champion, Patricia is in her third year of rowing and we had the job of making sure that Canada's lightweights could say that they were training this year for the Olympics. We had a huge job. However, that all being said, we had complete trust in one another. We put more focus and attention into detail than I have ever mustered in anything I have ever done. The risk in that though (especially in rowing) is over analysis. One can be paralyzed by thinking too much, trying too hard and being too picky. We had to ride the fine line between picking apart every small little imperfection to the point of destruction but also leave no stone unturned in the effort of getting as fast as possible. I think the toughest part for me was that everyone around us seemed to be in denial that Tracy would not get back in the double. The decision to have Tracy in or out dragged on and on and on to the point that I didn't know which way to tune my mind. I didn't know whether to think of Patricia as a girl who was sitting in the double to help me get in workouts, or if she was to be the girl critical in the process of qualifying our double for the Olympics. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The one thing I did know by the time our heat came was that we were fast. We were a double that if we did everything we knew how to do could go down the course believing that if we were not in a qualifying position, that we needed to work harder because we should be. When you have trained with someone all year and you see what they are capable of and you know what you yourself are capable of, when you get in the middle of a race and things are not panning out as you believe they should based on the knowledge you have of yourself and your partner, you go harder. You make the right call, you push your legs harder and believe with everything that you know, that your bow ball should get where it needs to be or you aren't doing everything you can. I knew going into that regatta that the double that Patricia and I worked to be was a medal contending double and that we just had to lay it all on the line and we would be proud of our performance; win or lose, we could be proud. Why did I have such confidence in us? Because we stuck to our guts all year. We trained where we were told that we would lose financial support if we stayed, but we stayed because it's where we knew that we would give ourselves the best chance of being our best. Ironic no? That the two people who were told that Victoria was not where they were allowed to train were the two people who managed to qualify the double for the Olympics and only because we had stayed where we were told not to stay. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Greeks are now the reigning world champions in the lightweight women's double. They are the champions because they must have done absolutely everything right. They are strong, powerful and they row very well as a unit; they deserved what they earned. I might no longer be the world champion but after this summer, I now have no uncertain faith in the ability of Canada's lightweight women to be Olympic champions given the best preparation. I by no means am saying that we are going to win, I'm saying that we have every reason to train this year believing that we have the capacity to do so. We can be confident that if we work extremely hard, we are not going to the Olympics to participate, we are going there to win and if we don't win, we will have helped push someone else so hard that they reached their highest capacity ever. That is the beauty of sport. That even when we don't win, if we have given everything to be the fastest we can possibly be, we have helped to create a champion that was faster than she has ever been. How special is that?</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rwuKATvlLD0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>You can check out Patricia's and my races at www.worldrowing.com</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div></div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-2076080831275465732011-07-15T13:26:00.000-07:002011-07-15T13:58:21.010-07:00Game, Set, Match<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiHkZ1Z9_i3E5ZsK5n-C5BY5HIwg3gScRAsRjTfFqWuz51-K0jtxkjMM0l0qIbi9FQsTo7DlrTcJHtDn_wPhOQGVCpY7ed4BiMtTabV3E3GkeD4ecMnl4nJXnfW60-ULSka524AxqHfOg/s1600/luzern+023.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiHkZ1Z9_i3E5ZsK5n-C5BY5HIwg3gScRAsRjTfFqWuz51-K0jtxkjMM0l0qIbi9FQsTo7DlrTcJHtDn_wPhOQGVCpY7ed4BiMtTabV3E3GkeD4ecMnl4nJXnfW60-ULSka524AxqHfOg/s320/luzern+023.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629684803606566530" /></a><br />I left London, Ontario for Holland on June 21st with the women's team and did a terrible job (as some followers probably noticed) on keeping up to date information on racing. My blog was never intended for the mundane details of racing and race plans and what I do on international trips, but I feel that because Tracy and I learned some very important things about ourselves in our last races we can get a bit philosophical here. <div><br /></div><div>Amsterdam was not our best. Period. Why was it not our best? Well, that was what was scary at first. I think it was hard to place exactly what went wrong and what led to an eight second loss to the British on the second day of racing. One might like to point out that there was a jet lag factor as we flew in to Europe and raced three days later. I preferred to ignore the fact that my body thought it was asleep when it was awake and vice versa. However, maybe I should have understood that that might have been a factor more than I did. Secondly, rhythm. Without getting too much into the boring details, there's a thing known as rhythm in racing and we didn't have it. We were like skinny white girls at a hip hop concert. We had guts, we had eagerness to race, we had some fun, but ain't had no rhythm. </div><div><br /></div><div>See, here's the thing I love about Tracy and I. We love to win. We don't just love to race or medal, we love to win and we knew that our training camp in Italy following the racing in Amsterdam was our chance to refocus, grab the bull by the horns and figure out how the heck to be the double we know we can be. I'm extremely proud of us because there's no question in my mind that we found that double again. We found that double and then some because a true test of character is not what you do when things are hunky dory (I don't even know how to spell that stupid phrase). Character is what comes out when you struggle and must overcome. We were cranky for a few days, I'm not going to lie. However, that was a good thing because it showed each other that we care, that we both want to be better and after our small temper tantrums, we got to work and we got faster. Tracy and I have now gone through a series of very high highs and lows and we have come out with a gold medal at the third world cup in Luzern. This regatta is notoriously the most prestigious of all the world cups and it gave us a chance to prove that we were not a one hit wonder last year and that we are here to put up a serious fight to defend our title as world champions. The racing in Luzern reminded me once again of what it feels like to race with someone who is so focused and intent on being the best stroke seat on the race course. We won our heat, our semi, and the final and every race built on the last. Confidence breeds confidence and in this case (as in tennis) to win the match, you must win the set and to win the set, you must win the games. It would have been easy to go out in Luzern in our first race and only think of having been beat pretty severely only two weeks earlier, but we didn't. We were fearless and most of all, we trusted each other to do the job we needed to do. I am so glad to have gone through this testing period because now I know we can overcome, we can fight and we can win.</div><div><br /></div><div>Following is a song that I have listened to before racing and I think for this post, it's most appropriate. I want more!!!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qQYpF2pCkLI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-35094843018186141332011-06-13T11:31:00.000-07:002011-06-13T12:03:48.158-07:00Shades of GrayTwo and a half weeks ago, selection was completed and Tracy and myself are back in the double training for the World Cup III regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland. I then settled comfortably into my new apartment (with the generous help of Patry Inc.) with team mate Patricia Obee (lwt. 1x). It was a pretty great week to have made the double and find a new and more permanent home to reside in while in London.<div><br /></div><div>The first week of training in the double was fun but definitely a bit shaky. It was clear when we started to take strokes together again that we were not exactly where we left off last year, but the base speed and technique were still there and we knew it was just a matter of time before we started to feel like our "old selves". Two full weeks have past now and the double is really starting to get back to where we left it but I guess it's frustrating to think that we had to leave it in the first place. Every time we have a less exhilarating piece, I think "what if?". Every time I see some bad habit that has crept into the stroke, I think "what if?". What if we had been rowing every day for the last six months? (Sundays off of course). I do not like "what ifs" and I especially do not like them when they have been forced upon me; when they are there because of no choice of my own. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was thinking today how simple things could be if there were no shades of gray. Does A make you faster? Does B make you better? Then do A and B. There should be no clauses, no compromises, no acceptance of less. If A and B are the best and the things that make you believe you can win, then that's exactly what should be done. I'm not being silly here. If you think a McDonald's big mac every day makes you better then you probably need to see a psychologist, but if you think doing your sport every day as much as possible and with intent and focus is the way to be the best, then that's what you should not only do, but be allowed to do. </div><div><br /></div><div>All athletes have a goal. Some or many of those goals vary and are quite different from athlete to athlete, but we are always taught that you can not get anywhere without a goal, and that the goal must hold you steadfast. What if one of the main components to reaching that goal were sacrificed by some force uncontrollable to you? How then do you reach the goal? When you see something as paramount to success and that thing is taken, what do you do? If there were no shades of gray, you go find it. You do whatever it takes to have the answer be black and white so the end result can be gold. How do I know what makes people win? I don't. There are no sure answers, but I do know that whatever someone BELIEVES makes them win is the most driving, most powerful force behind coming first.</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-25884499289287596182011-05-22T06:59:00.000-07:002011-05-22T18:00:07.620-07:00Settling InFinally I have sat down to write my first post while residing in London, Ontario. Most people who know me know that it's a hard transition for me to go from training and life in my home town of Victoria to training in London where there's not much life at all and just rowing. The reasons for not wanting to go obviously exceed well past the reasons of just liking the city and friends and family however. Let it be known that ultimately it's about training and the training environment in which I exist at my best that holds me to one place or another.<div><div><br /></div><div>I have been here for three weeks and nearly all the time has been spent in a preparation for racing/selection and/or watching fellow team mates (heavy or light) be raced off time and time again. It leaves one craving a hard 22km row of side-by-side battling. Being in a holding pattern in sports is probably the hardest thing an athlete can do. We are mostly driven to move forward, to make ourselves hurt and to push to a point of physical fatigue that many people have never experienced...selection is the opposite. You must sit and wait and keep healthy and constantly be monitoring how your legs feel when walking up a flight of stairs. It's easy to worry if you feel a little more burn than you'd like when carrying groceries a block or two. The worst part: the mind. The mind goes from a state of comatose inactivity to spinning and reeling up possibilities and scenarios and I don't even know what else. My mind is an opponent right now, not something I feel I can control. However, I must. The strong will survive and I think when it comes to selection and "data collection" (as it's so fondly referred to at the LTC), those that keep their minds an ally and not an opponent are the ones that escape cracking and splintering and are the ones that end up rising to the top. We are in the process of choosing the strongest mental team in the world.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwOmbWSxDtDlnlJbpUv_8_zUORZJGOG_REaptA2Csnl00oDVg8CDetjVMacTrCgb3fGRFcnSL-j2mbOwCGPqBTN1B53PwsjJxOct7HznVT1OfeBH3GZXLP520GwBhZsGRdSxsLAo92AM5/s1600/Team+Photo+Pise+April+26+2011-1420+%25282%2529.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:middle; margin:15 5 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwOmbWSxDtDlnlJbpUv_8_zUORZJGOG_REaptA2Csnl00oDVg8CDetjVMacTrCgb3fGRFcnSL-j2mbOwCGPqBTN1B53PwsjJxOct7HznVT1OfeBH3GZXLP520GwBhZsGRdSxsLAo92AM5/s320/Team+Photo+Pise+April+26+2011-1420+%25282%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609543128528844082" /><!-- </div--></a></div><div><i>photo by: Kevin Light</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>So although I am here working through the hardest part of the year (selection), I have left supportive and motivating team mates at home. I remember what we did together and I use the lessons I have learned throughout the year to get me by. The above photo was taken as a thank you for John at Shawnigan Lake School because he not only lent, but re-rigged a pair into a double every day Patricia and I showed up there to row. His generosity is what allowed us to clock nearly 150km some weeks up at Shawnigan alone. If he had not been so willing to help, the selection that I speak of right now would be even harder. Because of him and the people in that photo I feel prepared, I feel strong and I feel ready for the rest of the summer. I have to admit somehow that I'm missing Will Crothers accuse Patricia and I of cutting km's. Don't worry Will, we're clocking all the k's here!!</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwOmbWSxDtDlnlJbpUv_8_zUORZJGOG_REaptA2Csnl00oDVg8CDetjVMacTrCgb3fGRFcnSL-j2mbOwCGPqBTN1B53PwsjJxOct7HznVT1OfeBH3GZXLP520GwBhZsGRdSxsLAo92AM5/s1600/Team+Photo+Pise+April+26+2011-1420+%25282%2529.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a></div></div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-47137367919920386602011-04-17T21:29:00.001-07:002011-04-17T21:50:59.081-07:00The Theory of Relativity<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmh3CICoTCshBGC6qnjIAo7o7B5-431DqbjDV5GWMZ0BdJMzqNwgOHsC-HgNOv_IJsIPaBHbKfAjxG13_gs-sqYq2_ozDglR-NvufdsdYgiXpuF-YlBEmEa-YwdvcRXeazLNlmaCxTV2if/s1600/einfun.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmh3CICoTCshBGC6qnjIAo7o7B5-431DqbjDV5GWMZ0BdJMzqNwgOHsC-HgNOv_IJsIPaBHbKfAjxG13_gs-sqYq2_ozDglR-NvufdsdYgiXpuF-YlBEmEa-YwdvcRXeazLNlmaCxTV2if/s400/einfun.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596781502990103442" /></a><br />It's 930pm on a Sunday night and I am definitely not in any shape to be describing to you how objects might bend as we travel through space at the speed of light, so I'll cut to the chase and announce that I am about to describe a different kind of relativity.<div><br /></div><div>This thought occurred to me between what I thought was going to be two 28km rows at Shawnigan Lake this past week. We had already finished one 28km row and I thought the next was going to be the same but found out during breakfast that it was only going to be 24km instead and I felt so completely relieved. Then I gave my head a shake! Twenty-four kilometers in a double for the second time of the day is still a TON of work! And it's not just 24km of steady state work, it's 24km getting chased down my either men's fours or a men's eight working at full capacity. However, I had convinced myself because it could have been 28km, that we were all getting off easy. A typical "hard row" on Elk Lake would be 18-22km. Then this got me really thinking. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is fascinating what the mind and body can accomplish when working together. Somehow, while doing an endless number of 7km "runs" at Shawnigan, I started to convince myself that that was the norm and that my body better be prepared for that amount of work. I started unconsciously to stretch both physically and mentally what was the boundary of what I was willing both physically and mentally to do. These changes in mind and body occur at such a subconscious level that you suddenly find yourself thinking that an 18km row is a break. Perhaps some of you are reading this right now thinking that I'm still crazy but it's what has happened to me and I'm very glad for it. This is the epitome of training; hard is relative. Something that we perceive to be "hard" is only something that is more than we are already doing. If we do more, then hard is no longer what we were doing but rather something even more. Why would we constantly work within the boundaries of mind and body? Why would we only do as much as we did last time? Einstein's theory states that the outer limits of the universe are travelling farther away from us and at a rate faster than the speed of light. If we don't push those boundaries of ourselves we'll be left in the dark. I would like to imagine that an Olympic gold medal brings a lot of light. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-33030954685868587812011-03-29T17:40:00.000-07:002011-03-29T17:46:03.217-07:00From Bow to Another BowThis isn't an overly insightful blog post, but I had to say that today was my first ever time rowing starboard. All through junior rowing and university I was a port, permanently occupying either stroke or two seat. Now for the exciting part. Not only did a row bow seat of an eight today, it was the VTC heavy men's eight! We were just doing a tech row and they needed an eighth body, so I came to the rescue. I am absolutely sure that even on the "paddle" we were moving faster than I have ever gone in a boat before. Well I have coxed a men's eight, but this was faster because I was in bow. Ha. I really wish I had some pictures to share with you all but this will have to be only a memory in my mind. I told two seat, Kevin Light, that I can now cross another dream off my dream come true list...next dream...Olympic gold!<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-42881345649047263212011-03-23T18:47:00.000-07:002011-03-23T19:31:21.406-07:00Un"bent" Memories<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7JjnsllPx08QArXNm5tfzktgvpQOX4TiojSryLcn2Y5-_ZZfQMmRqIXojHH_xLtyviQ0kMtUEtOgOaoYCssOVIs63ZvdVAEzzUzGxfueyo-3AQg86mgpmrXEMPWBui26VTsd5hF7abaE/s1600/bent_jensen06.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7JjnsllPx08QArXNm5tfzktgvpQOX4TiojSryLcn2Y5-_ZZfQMmRqIXojHH_xLtyviQ0kMtUEtOgOaoYCssOVIs63ZvdVAEzzUzGxfueyo-3AQg86mgpmrXEMPWBui26VTsd5hF7abaE/s320/bent_jensen06.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587457365869354034" /></a>I'm so excited to write this entry that I can barely decide where to start. I have said it before, but the world works in mysterious ways. So here it is.<div><br /></div><div>It has been a while since my last post, but it has been because I was waiting for something worth writing about. I have wanted to write for a while about the various coaches I have had in my rowing career and how they have shaped me but I haven't been quite motivated enough to tackle that challenge. I have written about Mike and have felt somewhat guilty for having not included another great man that I was extremely privileged to have worked with. I guess you can say I have been coached by arguably the best heavyweight men's and also arguably the best lightweight coach in the world. I was unsure if I could do Bent justice through my amateur writing and therefore held off writing about him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's what's interesting: I decided months ago that when I had tallied a running count of 50 bald eagles spotted during rowing at Elk Lake, I would write about Bent. For those that don't know, Bent was from Denmark and was absolutely mesmerized by the graceful bald eagles that swoop and soar over Elk Lake. So much so that you would often note him bobbing around aimlessly in his coach boat staring into the sky while you were out working your ass off. It was easy to laugh the image off and know that the man just couldn't resist a good eagle ogle. Next, during an interview this evening with a sports writer, I was encouraged to continue my blog and made to answer some questions that caught me reminiscing about Bent and my training under him. I thought it no coincidence but rather fate saying it was time to pay some tribute.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I know to be most notable about Bent was that he was the first coach I had that I could really talk to. I mean really talk to. Strange when you consider the man spoke barely one word of English when he arrived in Canada and understanding him most days was harder than the training session. I could tell him my fears, my arguments, my apprehensions, my positive beliefs...anything! He made you feel part of your own journey. I know that sounds strange and that it should be a given that an athlete is aways in control of her own journey, but that is unfortunately all too often not true. Bent was a leader that let you lead with him. He had all the knowledge and the wisdom it took to help you be a champion and then you joined him and did it together. </div><div><br /></div><div>My absolute fondest memory of Bent was in Lucerne 2008 when I was racing the lightweight single. He was deep into his chemotherapy treatment and was administering it on the road so that he could be there coaching his Olympic lightweight men's four and double. He told me "Leensey (that's how his accent said my name), you must race with rhythm. All the crews here that will win, will have rhythm". I won Lucerne that year with rhythm. When I got to the dock, I found Bent beaming with pride and happiness in my accomplishment; I learned then what a coach looks like who wants nothing but the best for his athlete. There were two Lindsays on the team that year and I was the smaller. He looked at me and said one thing, "Little Leensey, big heart". Later at that regatta, he strongly encouraged me to pursue the single that year at the non-Olympic world championships. He told me that many people go through their careers winning many gold medals, but it's so rare to win a world championship. He said "Being a world champion will never leave you". I did race the single that year and came far from winning. It was sad, and I felt like I had let Bent down. Cancer took Bent from us in December of 2008 and I have kept a picture of him on my fridge riding a bicycle, beaming from ear to ear (he had polio as a child and could not walk easily, but could ride a bike like Lance Armstrong...almost). When Tracy and I won the world championships I was praying for the first time in my life that people who have left this world can see what we accomplish when they are gone. I hope Bent had the best seat in the house for that final because he's part of the reason why we achieved that standard. Both being a world champion and Bent will "never leave me."</div><div><br /></div><div>Following are some of my fondest Bent quotes (remember the broken English and impossibly difficult Danish accent when reading these, and the fact they're being yelled from a coach boat-in brackets is the translation)</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Leensey, more legs, you must use more legs (push harder)</div><div>2. Leensey, you must use your back (push harder)</div><div>3. Leensey, just go quicker (push harder)</div><div><br /></div><div>and my absolute favorite in regard to competitors while racing</div><div>4. Leensey, f@#k them all away (push hard)</div><div><br /></div><div>Bent was an inspiration to us all in the Olympic year. He fought his battle with cancer hard enough to be able to guide the Canadian men's four to a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. I have never been so happy to see someone so happy. Thank you, Bent. I quietly say hello to every bald eagle I see. I swear those eagles show up when I need to push harder!</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-42264555113335677752011-02-25T13:46:00.000-08:002011-02-25T14:13:30.715-08:00Perfect...I was doing a tech row the other day and I was practicing strokes by watching my blade enter the water and was trying to work a good release and catch. Then I started to get bored and jokingly thought to myself "Now that's a perfect catch!". Oddly, my little amusing joke to myself sparked a train of thought that was worthy of the blog. What the heck is a perfect stroke? I started thinking how I have now been rowing for fifteen years and I can't tell you what exactly a "perfect" stroke is. Then I thought, if I can't pinpoint the perfect stroke, then perhaps there is no such thing. Then, what the heck does perfect mean anyway? I looked up the definition. Perfect is "being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish". What??!!! I think that might be the most abstract and useless definition I have ever read. Like my competitors post, perfect to me seems to be something of relativity. We all know that different styles of rowing, different strokes and different training programs win gold medals, so why are we always seeking perfection? What I mean is, if perfect doesn't actually exist in a tangible, non-relative form, then why do we pursue it? <div><br /></div><div>Now in that question, I have found the answer. Perfect is perfect because it does not actually exist within the rowing stroke and so it is the pursuit of something unreachable that keeps us trying over and over and over to achieve it. Winning a rowing race doesn't mean you raced the perfect race, it doesn't mean you took 250 perfect strokes, it means that something added up and came out in your favor but I guarantee it wasn't the execution of perfection. I have taken almost all my strokes not perfectly, but every one has been with intent. I think the following Nike ad sums this up "perfectly".</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px" width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ijTwZNUBhcI?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ijTwZNUBhcI?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object></div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-43095389470524209072011-02-17T18:27:00.000-08:002011-02-17T18:37:30.412-08:00Finally Have a Case of HMS (heavyweight man syndrome)I posted yesterday but I had to share this momentous occasion. For years I have been around heavyweight men during extremely hard weeks of training and there has always been one complaint that has not only been constant but really stands out as bizarre (or so I thought until today). You see, the calorie output for the "training programme" can be upwards of 3000 for me, so you can imagine that for a heavyweight male weighing in around 195lbs-240lbs, it's going to be somewhere in the ballpark of 5000 and that doesn't include daily activity. So, to get to the point, the one complaint that I have heard coming from the men for years is "I find eating a chore and I just don't want to eat anymore; I can't eat enough in one sitting." Boo hoo, right? I always thought, "Man, life is sure rough if you just can't eat enough." I absolutely, 100%, definitely did not sympathize or understand how one could possibly feel that way. As a lightweight women, I have been trained to watch my intake. I tend to eat whatever the heck I want during the winter months, but it doesn't always come without a tiny bit of guilt. Now here's where the tables turn. I was driving to rowing today for the third and final workout of the day. It was a hard day and I spent my time between the second and third row worrying about whether I had eaten properly and would not face "a bonk" during the last practice. As I was heading there I found myself thinking "I can't wait 'till this practice is over so I don't have to eat anything." Then I almost crashed the car because I was thrilled that I had done it! I finally found myself understanding what the heck it meant to just be plain old tired of eating. It was a great day :) I feel fully part of the club.lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-18867206609786632332011-02-16T17:00:00.000-08:002011-02-16T17:31:59.295-08:00When Someone has Helped You, You Have to Have Their BackThe world works in mysterious ways. There's been some goings on at the Victoria Training Center that I don't fully understand and I don't really feel like getting involved in, but I do know that Mike has missed two days of practice as head coach which is more than I have ever known him to miss in two and half years of rowing with him. His absence has been due to meetings with the head honcho of RCA and it's just not the same around the boathouse without him. Then yesterday I came home and was cleaning up around the computer area and found a scrap of paper with a poem on it that I wrote back in 2009 when I was training with the men in Italy before the world cup in Spain. If you know Spracklen, you know that he is quite an impressive author of poems, so I wrote it in a gesture of appreciation for having supported the lightweight women during their transition period of getting a new coach. It was what I thought to be my last training camp with the men before I moved to Ontario for the summer to complete the unknown. Anyway, the point of this blog is that I have not had much of a chance to discuss my training with Mike Spracklen and what it means to me. I want to share this poem not as some political statement but more just as something fun to express what Mike has done for me and how I have always wanted to train on his program. I hope to give back some support to him that he has so generously showed me over the years.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our Time with Mike</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our time off was over,</div><div style="text-align: center;">our season was anew,</div><div style="text-align: center;">my chance to row for Spracklen</div><div style="text-align: center;">was finally coming true.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We started off light,</div><div style="text-align: center;">we weren't pushing yet.</div><div style="text-align: center;">I thought it was already brutal,</div><div style="text-align: center;">would more leave me dead?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pyramid after pyramid,</div><div style="text-align: center;">we slowly added more,</div><div style="text-align: center;">"Your bodies can handle more," he said</div><div style="text-align: center;">but five runs was quite a chore.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Then we went to Cali</div><div style="text-align: center;">for our training camp.</div><div style="text-align: center;">The lighties almost didn't go</div><div style="text-align: center;">but Mike had left his stamp.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Some didn't make it,</div><div style="text-align: center;">some dropped like flies.</div><div style="text-align: center;">I heard him say "You're wanking it!"</div><div style="text-align: center;">but the lighties never died.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kilometer after kilometer</div><div style="text-align: center;">we pushed within the pack.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Men's singles vs. lightweight doubles</div><div style="text-align: center;">to the bridge and back.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Then came trips to Shawnigan</div><div style="text-align: center;">rowing our lightweight quad.</div><div style="text-align: center;">We always had a man to help,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Fraser completed our squad.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We learned to row with power,</div><div style="text-align: center;">we learned to row with time,</div><div style="text-align: center;">we learned to row with left hand infront,</div><div style="text-align: center;">then the rates would climb.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ladder after ladder</div><div style="text-align: center;">on Friday after weights. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Six hundred hard stokes was a challenge</div><div style="text-align: center;">made bearable by team mates,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Who rowed along beside us</div><div style="text-align: center;">through the rain and the pain,</div><div style="text-align: center;">building trust in each other</div><div style="text-align: center;">was the name of the game.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">He said to trust your fitness,</div><div style="text-align: center;">he said to trust the plan</div><div style="text-align: center;">"You can know you're working harder</div><div style="text-align: center;">than any other man."</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Now here we are in Erba</div><div style="text-align: center;">getting ready to race.</div><div style="text-align: center;">I believe in what we have done thus far</div><div style="text-align: center;">and know we can hold the pace.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We are a team that's strong</div><div style="text-align: center;">and it's because of you,</div><div style="text-align: center;">a man who knows how to lead us</div><div style="text-align: center;">towards a dream that's true.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Your words will be with us</div><div style="text-align: center;">through first, middle and last,</div><div style="text-align: center;">we'll drive it home to the line</div><div style="text-align: center;">and not forget the past.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I will not say good-bye</div><div style="text-align: center;">but more like a so long.</div><div style="text-align: center;">I know I will be back some day</div><div style="text-align: center;">because in this environment</div><div style="text-align: center;">I belong.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thank you, Mike.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, if someone needs a poem written for their girlfriend or something, just let me know. Hahaha</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-60297336718950416512011-02-10T20:35:00.000-08:002011-02-10T21:13:07.459-08:00What Does it Mean Without Competitors?I was thinking today about winning (as I do often because in sport winning can often consume you) and then that got me thinking about our past win at worlds specifically. I have, until now, defined that win as being sweet because of the hurdles overcome to get there. There's quotes all over the place of how things mean more when one has struggled to accomplish them, or how nothing is worth pursuing if it's easy and all that sort of stuff. However, for some reason today it struck me that that win was also sweet because of who we raced. If we had rowed down that course in a time of eight minutes plus (which is a terrible time for a lightweight double) on our own, what would that have meant? But we rowed down that course over eight minutes and beat five other doubles that went eight minutes plus more and it was exhilarating. What I'm trying to express here is that accomplishment is often measured off of what others do. We need to give more credit to the performance of our competitors because without them there we can not have the amazing moments that we experience in sport. The Greek double was last year's world champions, the Germans had an Olympic silver medalist in the boat. I'm not reflecting on these facts to brag, I'm trying to say that their amazing accomplishments of time's past are what allow me to feel proud and excited about what we have done and in that there is a cyclical passing on of success and achievement. The delivery of our absolute best (regardless of winning or losing) is what allows others to shine and feel accomplished. Our competitors' presence is not only necessary to have an event take place, but it is required in order to measure our own achievement. So know that no matter what your own outcome or placement, if you have pushed to the point of what you're capable of, you are as much a part of the earning of the gold medal as those that actually won it. Good thing we can all always train harder!lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-2833021068836417992011-02-07T18:49:00.001-08:002011-02-08T11:30:33.217-08:00"Conversations with Myself"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbN1bs6b94JC0FJao5HMOz-pWKIVEfO3ZjEwrxQjmIuC16xCn6dilOjxWY5vDH3lTqleFOWu7cnTa2Pf-HsebDPqtznm9WM4SZ6tY-24b-z5ngQk275gQYgwOTYYHgJ1QBbSFxyTVZqxS/s1600/nelson-mandela.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbN1bs6b94JC0FJao5HMOz-pWKIVEfO3ZjEwrxQjmIuC16xCn6dilOjxWY5vDH3lTqleFOWu7cnTa2Pf-HsebDPqtznm9WM4SZ6tY-24b-z5ngQk275gQYgwOTYYHgJ1QBbSFxyTVZqxS/s320/nelson-mandela.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571150322125210898" /></a><br /><div>I started this blog to be real, and I want to talk about real things. So far, I have mentioned nothing that is actually affecting me mentally and emotionally in rowing. I'm going to change that right now. For many who know my rowing career, they know that there have been many ups and downs I have dealt with politically within the sport. Disclaimer! I know this to be a struggle and hurdle for all athletes in all sport and I am not trying to make myself out to be someone who has to deal with more. However, here's the deal.</div><div><br /></div><div>I came home from the world championships knowing that I would be training in Victoria instead of London because I believe in doing at least 200km per week (to try to sum up how I feel). I was in the airport and decided to purchase "Conversations with Myself" by Nelson Mandela. I figured who better to learn about conflict resolution from than this amazing man? I am by no means comparing my situation to the struggle to end apartheid or racial discrimination but why not try to better my way of thinking and dealing with struggle than reading what Mandela has to say about it? There was one quote that I really related to that I felt was worded in a way that I could never express but is exactly how I would define my feelings toward conflict:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">"But even when the clash between you and me has taken the most extreme form, I should like us to fight over our principles and ideas and without personal hatred, so that at the end of the battle, whatever the result might be, I can proudly shake hands with you, because I feel I have fought an upright and worthy opponent who has observed the whole code of honour and decency. But when your subordinates continue to use foul methods then a sense of real bitterness and contempt becomes irresistible."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div>Following is RCA's athlete assistance criteria (the criteria that must be met in order to receive $1500 per month from the government to help in living and training expenses). I have tried to point out to them that based on the document they have compiled, they are legally bound by the wording to card me, they refuse. I train six hours a day, six days a week at an RCA center in the effort to win an Olympic gold medal and they will not grant me the finances to do it. Please note what I have highlighted in bold. I think it's no mystery that my international performance likely fits the other criteria. Tongue in cheek. There is no amount of conversation one might be able to have when the opposing side is not willing to listen.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. CRITERIA FOR ALL AAP APPLICANTS</div><div>The decision to nominate an athlete or coxswain to Sport Canada for AAP consideration shall be </div><div>made by the National Team Program Coaches in conjunction with the VP High Performance and </div><div>High Performance Director, and shall be based on the following criteria: </div><div>a) RCA requires that athletes in the AAP shall be registered with the association during the </div><div>application period and throughout the period of carding support.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>b) Athletes shall have commenced full training by the first week of October at an RCA </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>National Training Centre or a training venue approved by the appropriate National Team </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Program Coach for carding support to become effective on January 1</b></span>.</span></div><div>c) Athletes who qualify for Under 23 or Junior programs for the identified carding year and </div><div>wish to train at a venue other than an RCA National Training Centre shall submit a written </div><div>request to the National Team Co-ordinator and the appropriate program coach by </div><div>the first week of September that outlines all relevant considerations. The request shall </div><div>also state the date by which the athlete will be back in full training at an RCA National </div><div>Training Centre following the period away. The approval for the athlete to train at an </div><div>alternate venue must be received in writing from the RCA High Performance Director or VP </div><div>High Performance. Senior National Team athletes are expected to be training at an RCA </div><div>National Training Centre.</div><div>d) Athletes not having commenced training at an RCA National Training Centre or an approved </div><div>venue by the first week of October shall be considered for carding at the discretion of the </div><div>RCA National Team Program Coach and the High Performance Director or VP High </div><div>Performance. Consideration will be given to those athletes who have exceptional </div><div>circumstances (exceptional circumstances must be submitted in writing to the National </div><div>Team Co-ordinator and the appropriate program coach for approval).</div><div>e) Athletes training outside Canada:</div><div> Athletes will not normally be eligible for carding support during the period they are </div><div>outside the country, at an NCAA school, or receiving an athletic scholarship of any kind. </div><div> Funding will be accessible upon return to the RCA High Performance program at an RCA </div><div>National Training Centre in Canada. </div><div>f) Athletes in training at a venue approved by his or her National Team Program Coach shall </div><div>be responsible for regularly communicating the details of their training programs to their </div><div>respective Program Coach.</div><div>g) Athletes shall have competed in the most recent National Championships (or its </div><div>designated equivalent) unless an exemption is approved by the RCA High Performance </div><div>Director or VP High Performance.</div><div>h) Following the National Championships (or its designated equivalent), athletes shall complete </div><div>a 6km national team ergometer test under approved supervision and submit the result with </div><div>other required information to the RCA National Team Coordinator.</div><div>i) Athletes must provide a signed Athlete Agreement and a written declaration of intent to </div><div>compete for a position on the Canadian National Rowing Team to the RCA National Team </div><div>Coordinator. Please see section 14 – Important Dates.</div><div>Any exceptions to these criteria shall be at the discretion of the RCA High Performance Director </div><div>or VP High Performance</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-27634525530091483402011-02-03T08:37:00.000-08:002011-02-03T08:54:47.379-08:00...the follow upOk, ok, so it's been a while. I have to admit that it has been partly because there have been no inspiring, interesting thoughts that have popped into my head and it's probably because I'm back on the spracko (you know what that means if you know rowing) and I'm not only physically exhausted, I'm pretty much brain dead too. I fall asleep twice every night: once on the couch at 7pm and again in bed at 930pm when Gabe encourages me to go to an actual bed.<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I want to explain the reason for the English lesson a few weeks back. Most athletes have dealt with and most of the general public have referred to the "angel and the devil on my shoulder". In many challenging situations in life we have that voice that we hear that either tells us to do something that we know to be wrong, or we hear something encouraging, or we hear a voice that tells us to quit when it gets too hard. I have gone through my athletic career trying to fully understand the meaning of these two little spirits on my shoulder and I think I have decided they are words. For me, one whisper is relentlessness and the other (negative and detrimental) is complacency. I believe one to be what champions are made of, and the other to have never and will never produce an Olympic gold medalist. I think it is an athlete's responsibility to themselves to nurture and promote what is relentless inside of them and to diminish the whispers of complacency. I have learned and know that environment plays a huge role in which word-voice decides to appear in those moments when we are truly tested. Sometimes complacency doesn't even allow the athlete to get to the max point of will and strength. That's the problem! Our team mates' attitudes, or focus on what is important to winning and our goal making is how we stay relentless. Complacency is when we think what we are doing is "good enough", not being worried about missing a few details here and a few details there, and it is definitely contagious. The good news though, so too is relentlessness....it's just harder to catch, but that's why champions are rare.</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-59812205807924665352011-01-17T17:05:00.000-08:002011-01-17T17:06:32.656-08:00Relentless (adjective)showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength or pacelindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-29514063747636844782011-01-16T15:30:00.000-08:002011-01-16T15:34:51.377-08:00Complacency (noun)1. self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies<div><br /></div><div>2. an instance of usually unaware or uninformed self-satisfaction</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-41193149555041130412011-01-13T07:23:00.000-08:002011-01-13T07:38:08.543-08:00Back in the Saddle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xNcLAqvclMMHCyTayJIBUOb08mY4w7hcYJ32Wdizr0dJIOJP0O_67tsWCf3pbQ4HluibixLY38pCWduCDaCupZzgbayZGFIPWlDr7QveHhz2C-Cx0BO_2WSOE6nz8zvdebNT8wSfx4I4/s1600/win_lwt2010.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xNcLAqvclMMHCyTayJIBUOb08mY4w7hcYJ32Wdizr0dJIOJP0O_67tsWCf3pbQ4HluibixLY38pCWduCDaCupZzgbayZGFIPWlDr7QveHhz2C-Cx0BO_2WSOE6nz8zvdebNT8wSfx4I4/s320/win_lwt2010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561691602540815282" /></a>November 5, 2010 marked the day that Tracy and I went down the 2km rowing course as the fastest lightweight double in the world. Yesterday marked the first day that we were in the double together since that great day. It's a weird thought that two people can accomplish something so amazing together and literally walk away from the moment and not step foot in a boat together again until two months later. Two months may seem long, but I asked her when the last time her and Mel rowed together (Tracy's bronze medal winning partner from the 2008 Olympics) and they haven't been in a boat since the day of the Olympic final. Rowing is interesting that way. We exist in a moment of time that is intense and focused and often brings us some of the best memories in our lives, but when it's over, it's over. However, we hope to make that not true.<div>We put our blades in, sat down in the boat and before we even took a stroke were giddy with excitement. One stroke, two strokes, three...it was like getting into an old worn saddle that at first seems unfamiliar but starts to fit very quickly. I'm sure we've lost a lot of speed since that memorable day, but it felt like home. It felt like how I imagine an old grey couple to feel when they sit on their porch, sipping tea in silence; no need for words, no need to try too hard, just being yourself. Rowing is wonderfully unique that way because if you have a partner that is willing and able to listen, you can speak to them with your blade. Now to save myself from getting uber cheesy, there was really no point to writing this blog, but I felt it was worth mentioning that WE'RE BACK! There's work to do, but we ain't going no where. The Brits, the Greeks, the Germans aren't getting it easy cause the Canadians know how to ride!</div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-12721262507261217102011-01-09T11:33:00.000-08:002011-01-09T11:55:59.338-08:00Hugging Palm TreesNo photos of alligators or manatees yet but soon! In the darkness of the early morning, my plane touched down in Orlando, Florida where the Canadian women's rowing team is having their first training camp of the new year. For most, it's pretty exciting to get back on the water after almost a month off. I have been lucky to be rowing, but the sweetness for me comes in a sunny, 15C package instead of rain, rain and more rain. Rain. It's cold in the rain. Did you know it rains in Victoria? Anyway, you get my point.<br />So here I am looking forward to being with the team, having some great training sessions, working really hard, all that stuff. I'm almost to the point of being nervous with excitement because usually I'm out there alone with no gauge and no way to tell for sure just what speed I have, however I see this camp as pressure to perform. Then, as the plane is taxiing towards the gate I hear from the seat behind, a comment. It comes from one of three little girls (probably heading to Disney World). She speaks with amazement and awe and with the adoration that only an eight year old could muster, "Awww, palm trees. I've never seen palm trees before", then a slight pause, "I think I'm going to hug a palm tree". I think it might have been on the top ten list of cutest things I have ever heard. That little comment changed my whole perspective on this whole camp. Even after 12am after more than 12hrs of travel, she made me smile to myself in my seat. Relax, have fun, do what you do. Life is pretty damn good as an athlete and no practice at this camp is the Olympic final, so chill. I'm just gonna hug palm trees and enjoy every moment on the water :)lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456244607933754698.post-49895927481594662662011-01-08T13:34:00.000-08:002011-01-08T13:36:07.746-08:00Winning is Easy: A tribute to the heroes of the rear<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C-u1j6S4ceIFvDtCV1VX3VYvc1QIUuyxucLwtIT2_pxypk5BAXgzvuc1-vN5dYQy9zZgG3AKzSHKXJQuULJokdLJ0T_BrE0Y7TgbFTRyYNTSCbcQEC6egCqgIJhkgO8c5JRnRWT7Z5Ng/s1600/hero.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 224px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559931954646719538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C-u1j6S4ceIFvDtCV1VX3VYvc1QIUuyxucLwtIT2_pxypk5BAXgzvuc1-vN5dYQy9zZgG3AKzSHKXJQuULJokdLJ0T_BrE0Y7TgbFTRyYNTSCbcQEC6egCqgIJhkgO8c5JRnRWT7Z5Ng/s320/hero.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">So again, I wasn't planning on posting anything today but the thoughts are just flowing. I was mid-piece today and watching some pairs behind me that were struggling away and getting beat like you'd think no one would get beat if they were on the national team and I started thinking: winning is easy. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about winning the world championships because there's much preparation and hard work that goes into beating very capable opponents. Or winning the Olympics (something I know nothing about). I'm talking about winning pieces in practice. When you're in the lead and kicking ass, it's pretty damn easy to just keep going, but it's not so easy to be losing by the curvature of the earth and keep going. So that leads to a question: who are practices' true heroes? I'll say this, I can't tell you who won a single run today but I can tell you who lost repeatedly (and therefore must have been hurting physically and emotionally) and didn't go in. Now I'm not saying to sculpt a memorial for all the people who lose because they don't try their hardest, but there is something that should be recognized in those that show up not in the best shape they can be in and keep sticking it out even when it can't be that much fun. Because eventually, with that perseverance, they won't be at the back of the pack anymore and there will be some other hero to take their place. Haha, no just kidding but it's interesting to think that sometimes we award kudos to the people who are just having fun. I realize those people are in the lead for a reason: dedication, technique, fitness, genetics, attention to detail bla bla bla, but can we all agree that the true test of character is not what we accomplish when it's easy, but how we choose to behave when it's hard?</span></div>lindsay jennerichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15320609066684709543noreply@blogger.com0