I would say I have pretty much have always been a competetive athlete since age 6 when I began figure skating. When I got into high school I ran all 3 seasons of Track. Although, my passion for a particular sport did not develop unitl I started rowing.I was introduced to the sport of rowing or 'Crew', in college, at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. I immediately fell in love with the sport when I began...despite the grueling hours (on the water by 5:15am). I rowed as a lightweight in the Varsity Eight and Varsity Four from 1993-1997. Once my collegiate eligibility was up, I learned to row a single and joined the Merrimack River Rowing Association (MRRA) in Lowell, MA.....the MRRA and UML share the same boathouse. For a few years I rowed recreationally in a single and double, and casually raced at local regattas. Although I loved the sport, in 2002 I needed a change of pace, and trained and competed for figure/bodybuilding.....again, another extremely disciplined sport, which I respect, but did not care for the subjectiveness of the sport. I decided in 2004 to focus on my career and start my family, so I took 5 years off from any competetive training. When my youngest son turned 1 in 2008 (I have 2 children...Jack is now 4 and Adam is now 2), I decided to get back into rowing.....I truly missed the sport. Although I had no intentions of racing at a competetive level my first year back in the sport, that is exactly what happened. I trained in a double and raced in local regattas, including the Women's Championship Double in the Head of the Charles. My doubles partner was suffering from a serious injury, so once the season was over, she told me she would not be rowing in 2009. Winter of 2008 I knew I wanted to train in a single and train hard, and that is what I did. This past year I rowed 6 days a week....rain or shine, and strength trained in the evenings. My grand finale of this past fall season was racing in the Women's Master's single in the Head of the Charles in Cambridge, MA. I finished in the top 10% which I was extremely happy with, having been my first year training for competition in a single scull.
I do feel lucky to be able to train and compete in a sport I am truly passionate about. I have found a way to balance it between working full time as a Life Science Sales Specialist, and being a mother and wife. My husband is extremely supportive through my training season and without that support behind me, I wouldn't be able to incorporate rowing in my life on this level. My club, the MRRA, is also very supportive and has great resources in terms of other athletes who are very knowledgable of the sport. The boathouse is now owned by UML, and because of this, I have also had the luxury of getting feedback from the coaches who run the UML rowing program. Being surrounded by other great athletes and coaches has drastically helped my training and performance this past year alone. The MRRA is a rowing club that is a community rowing program....people can learn to row via our summer rowing program and can join the club if they wish to continue the sport. It's located in Lowell, MA on the Merrimack River. www.merrimackrowing.org
