Wisconsin Rowing Winter Training: Day 2
January 11, 2007 | Women's Rowing
Wisconsin's women's rowing programs are in Cocoa Beach, Fla., getting some much needed water time during the semester break. Various members of the team will be sending daily updates for fans to follow along with the progress of the squad. With the spring season just around the corner, the openweights and lightweights are putting in their time now so they will be at their best when racing season begins in March.
Today's second entry, on Jan. 10, was submitted by senior openweight rower Kirsten Kuhn.
Cocoa Beach--Day 2
The first practice of winter training began early this morning, and we were all eager to take our first few strokes and get reacquainted with the water. We've been on land since mid-November, so even the warm-up was completely exhilarating. Shaking off the rusty feelings from our limbs was a bit of a challenge, but we got back into the swing of things quite quickly. The water wasn't perfect, but it was definitely more pleasant than the frigid waters of Lake Mendota.
The only unfortunate incident of the day occurred when our boat hit a manatee--but no worries, luckily it was completely unharmed. Other than that it was a pretty amazing morning--the sun was shining and huge birds flew all around us. A few people, myself included, earned a few new "decorations" on their hands (namely blisters), but it's a small price to pay for the privilege of training in such a beautiful environment. Not surprisingly, our first little outing turned out to be quite tiring, so after consuming copious amounts of food, many of us retired to our rooms for a siesta.
The afternoon practice will likely bring more strokes, sun, and sand--and maybe if we're lucky a dolphin or two.
