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| Myriah Matthews's Blog
A blog by Myriah Matthews | | | My comments on regattas, especially notable practices and rowing in general. | |
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| Posted By: Myriah Matthews on 2009-11-07 01:26:25 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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| At last, we've only two weeks left of our school rowing season here in beautiful Victoria, though the current down-pouring rain is hardly gorgeous. I find myself at once excited to race these last few times and yet upset that this is my last chance to ever race as a SABRE. Five years have gone by too fast. I'm going to miss our crazy orange toques. Our training is going very well, especially of late. We all seem to sense the urgency, the need to get the most out of every stroke we take as the promise of fog and ice looms ever-closer. On Monday we found ourselves in a mixed four: Connor and Nick stroke pair, Breanna and myself in bow. In September this might have been a great boat to just fool around in, but we worked for every stroke; timing, balance, swing and drive, as close to perfect as could be managed stroke to stroke, even as we 'played' leap frog with another boat. Erging is also getting ever better. Last week I pulled 3 by 1500m holding around 2:04.00 for each as my 500m split. As usual, my middle piece was my best. This past Tuesday (Nov 3) my workout consisted of a 2km piece followed by a 1.5km piece and finished off with an "all-out" 1km piece. There were two focuses for the workout: stroke rate and split time. Split time was to descend or remain constant as stroke rate increased two beats each go. My 2km split was 2:06.0 @ 27 s/min my 1.5km split at 2:05.0 with 28 to 29 s/min and my 1km average split was 2:04.0 at between 30-33 strokes per minute. The walk up the hill to my car afterwards just about undid me, but it was a very good practice. I'm almost excited for the 2km erg test coming up soon! The regatta this past weekend had both ups and downs for the four of us that make up the Sr Girls' team with a 2nd place finish for Bre and I in our double, a 3rd for Bre in her single and a 5th for our little quad. So now we all look to the final regatta (Nov 12/15) as we decide if we'll go to Ontario for CSSRAs (in May) again this year. The time between now and then seems so long, and yet we'll all be training together again soon... and then university, a slightly scary prospect but exciting too. Here's to rowing fast. |
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| Posted in rowing, high school sports, women's athletics |
| | Back! |
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| Posted By: Myriah Matthews on 2009-10-01 22:40:05 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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School season is finally here!
This is the third full week of practice and life is amazing! Weeeelllll... fine, the portion of life that exists on the water is amazing. :P Aalbert (our coach) has begun to semi-re-invent my stroke and it is absolutely amazing to watch the changes I've been able to make already! Such concepts as bouy-to-bouy, banus, and the platform have greatly improved my technique and power application stroke to stroke. We've also begun weight circuts and erg workouts which are slightly brutal but I swear that I can feel the improvment. We have our first regatta this weekend in which our Sr Girls' 4x have entered a quad - our season doesn't race pairs or fours and we don't have enough girls for an eight. Still, I'm totally hyped for the race!
C'est tout pour aujourd'hui!
~M |
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| Posted in rowing, high school sports, women's athletics |
| | End of Season |
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| Posted By: Myriah Matthews on 2009-08-08 01:52:36 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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Well, the season is over. It feels strange, seeing as I've been out on the water since the first of February this year. Now, I can't wait for school season to start back up again in September: putting together new boats, attempting to make the new grade eights learn the meaning of "chill"(not to mention 'let it run', 'hold', 'square', 'feather' or even remembering which is Port and which is Star!), running through the school in spandex (especially stuff from Val's Crazy Shorts), laughing on the bus to the lake as the guys try to ignore our chatter about everything under the sun. I'm very excited for the new program we're installing along with our new weight/erg room. Also, I can't wait to see who'll be coaching us! Will Ian return to our taunting, or will another brave soul take us on and push us to excellence as always? Too, one wonders if the weather will hold as it did last year, or if it will be as horrid as the year before - it makes such a difference as to how many of the Grade Eights stay on for the following year. For myself, I'm more than willing to practice and race in wind, rain and hail - anything but true storms or fog. I'm nearly bursting, and it's still a month away! Keeping in shape will be the main thing - riding, running, swimming, lifting hay bales, walking dogs and riding my bike will have to do it. Is there even a gym in Salmon Arm?! |
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| Tags: New School Season, Val's Crazy Shorts, New Coach?, New Boats!, Grade Eights |
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| Posted in rowing, high school sports, women's athletics |
| | This is What Happens |
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| Posted By: Myriah Matthews on 2009-07-27 17:49:42 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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So, I haven't rowed for a week now because on last Monday's practice I hurt myself during the first pass down the course. Usually, if I can just do nothing for a day or two I'm perfectly fine. However, with everything that's happening that, quite frankly, isn't possible. The dogs all have to be walked, my middle brother has to be taken to this thing or that, groceries need to be bought and so on.
Still, that's not the point. The point is that not being out on the water is getting to me. I feel sluggish and tired and just not motivated to do anything unless I really have to. Yet those things I have to do feel like a lot which is only serving to grate on my nerves. No matter what I have to go to next practice or I don't know what'sgoing to happen next. Seriously now! Endorphin withdrawal much... |
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| Posted in rowing, high school sports, women's athletics |
| | Erg... |
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| Posted By: Myriah Matthews on 2009-07-18 17:37:02 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (2) |
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Today I pulled a couple of short ergs. The first I did three times: ten strokes for optimal wattage. I only got 305W... kind of disappointing, but better than nothing. I then pulled a four minute for distance (the first time ever) and found 1030m was as far as I could push it. I took a short 'break' sliding back and forth as I cheered for a team mate who was pulling a 6km. I then got back to the pain and pulled a 500m with another team member. 1:53.0is alright, but it's not what I was aiming at. Next time I want to get under 1:50.0, maybe 1:47.0 if I can jump to it. I've realized though, that while I'm erging, I need a cox to keep me on track. I'll have to ask somebody to act as cox next time I sit down to erg.
It's funny how rowing is a sport you sit down to do but then somedays after a practice it's all you can do to crawlout of your boat and sprawl on the dock as the rest of your team does the same. After a good race, all you want to do is stretch and sit right back down again and it's even better if you can stretch while sitting down: a two for one type of deal. Except that once your legs stop feeling like rubber, you know you should go for a light jog or strong walk or you'll feel even worse the next day. Sometimes, common sense is just as painful as a 6km race in a too strong head wind: half the boat wants to give up while the other half wants to push it hard, yet it really doesn't matter because even your cox agrees; you're not going anywhere. |
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| Posted in rowing, high school sports, women's athletics |
| | A Beginning |
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| Posted By: Myriah Matthews on 2009-07-17 22:50:02 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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Seeing as this is my first post, it seems that I should do a quick recap of myself and my goals.
My name is, of course, Myriah Matthews. I am a student at St. Andrew's Regional High School here in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and will be starting my grade twelve year come September, as well as my fifth year on the water as a rower. I began my rowing career in grade eight when I joined my high school team, looking for a new sport to take over where competitive swimming had left off. The first year was fun but difficult, and I wasn't so sure if I wanted to continue. However, I signed up again at the next year's registration. That was the year I fell in love with the sport: the racing in pouring rain and hail (or both at the same time!), the practicing so long as it wasn't white-capping, the double practices when you're already dead on your feet, and the ability to push yourself, on a regular basis, further than you think your body can take you.
I began to get out on the water as often as I could at whichever club I could: Gorge Rowing, Vic City Rowing, or West Shore. With my school or my club, every practice became about doing the best I could with what I had, and then some. It was during my grade ten year, my third year rowing, that I began to set my sights on CSSRA's, which are sort of like the nationals of the Canadian high school league. I improved my strokes and erg times and learned how to sweep on port as well as star in order to be part of bow pair in our eight.
Currently, out at West Shore Rowing and Paddling, our coach, Brett, is trying out a more 'intense' program for a small group of us. So far, it is turning out amazingly well as four of us prepare for the spring season in a quad, two doubles and our respective singles. I can't wait for school season and (hopefully) a return trip to CSSRA's following what is shaping up to be a very competitive and successful club spring season.
At the same time however, I almost can't wait to move on. Rowing in unviersity has become a bit of a dream I have, and one I know I should be able to achieve. Watching the UVic crews out on Elk Lake has only increased my desire, and compounded my dedication to make this dream come true. |
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| Posted in rowing, high school sports, women's athletics |
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