Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Rowing Journal - Team Entry
1/22/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Jan. 22, 2009
Most training trips you will hear about the craziest water practices, millions of pieces and never-ending steady states. This trip however has surprised us most of all on land. We have had pretty good weather, but we have added AT workouts and lifting.
To get a good picture of our workouts, combine the football training camp from Remember the Titans, with American Gladiators and the ESPN Strongman Competitions. This morning we were introduced to the Ladders of Death and the Circle of Doom. Cassie put it best when she said "I had no idea there were so many exercises that were specifically designed to make me hate my legs." But it was this afternoon that was definitely the best...
After an AM2 practice that felt like rowing through a hurricane and spending our break watching the wind speed increase on the weather channel to over 30mph, we had received no word from Coach to indicate that practice would be cancelled, so we ran to Lake Russell just as we would any other day. After warming up and stretching we circled around Coach Kish and he informed us that we would not be rowing. He said that instead, we would be pushing his monstrous, F350, diesel-fueled truck back to our cabins, a distance close to three miles. I thought he was joking, but only for a split second.
Rowing really is a peculiar sport; you stare into the back of one girl's head and another stares into the back of yours and you must have faith that everyone is pressing together, with everything they've got. That's why when we were all working side by side and shoulder to shoulder, it felt that much more united. That's also why pushing a truck for almost three miles was so freakin' cool: the cheering and encouragement and energy from all our teammates made pushing that truck up inclines and chasing it downhill worthwhile. And finally, when our quads began to fail us and falling behind or falling on our faces seemed imminent, we didn't. None of us did - because right there beside us were 50 other women pushing us forward. Pressing together, pushing each other.
- The 2008-09 Bucknell Women's Rowing Team
