duchessofthebow-blog

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[duchessofthebow-blog]

morning practice

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the other side

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Thought these were Purdue boats for half a sec and remembered we aren't fortunate to have so many resolutes LOL

hitting it high and hard

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During the workout:

"I TOTALLY don't have to be doing this. There's literally NOTHING stopping me from falling over and quitting right now"

But you get your shit done and do it.

My favorite workouts are the ones where you wake up early and drag yourself out of bed thinking, “I don’t want to do this”

And you drink your coffee and eat your banana and lace up your shoes , all the while saying, “I don’t want to do this”

During the warm up, your only thought is “I don’t want to do this”

But then, foot poised in front of the starting line, you take a deep breath and take the first step and immediately everything clicks into place and you feel like you’re flying, and when the last repeat is over you say to yourself

“I’m so glad I did that”

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So glad I got to show you around the big city

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I wanna row, I wanna hear the water whistling whilst we let it run, I wanna see how the perfect glassed water ripples while I push off, I want to feel the click of my oar at the finish, I want to smell the clean air in the breeze. I want to be working in the precision where the count of two is the regular term. I want the feeling of coming down from a power 10 high. I want to feel peace in the stability that crew was.

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An open letter to the NBC Network

So. The Olympics are coming to a close- coming to a close after an incredible, ground breaking (and record breaking) display of talent and skill from athletes across nations. From Simone Biles to Usain Bolt, from Michael Phelps to the O’Donnonvan brothers, records have been shattered at an astonishing level this year. But, with these Olympics, another issue has been brought to light, one bigger than this competition, and bigger than any one of those athletes. It’s the same issue that caused Fox news reporters to criticize our new American gold medalist gymnast for her hair, and commenting that he would not like to watch women compete if they finished their race, routine, or game looking like “a washed out rag” or that “her zits are showing.” It’s the same issue that caused countless news stations to credit a woman’s gold medal to her husband’s work rather than her own. It’s the same issue that made an Olympic swimmer mentioning the challenges posed by her menstrual cycle, be considered “groundbreaking” and “shocking.” And it’s the same issue that I cannot ignore when I am unable to watch the sports I love and the athletes I admire because my broadcasting service decides that I, as a woman, don’t really care about the competition or sport, but really only actually care about the Olympics as a “reality show” designed as simple, mindless entertainment.

When I hit the water in a rowing shell, when I move in unison with my teammates, I do not do it for the fun of it. Often, it’s not fun at all. It hurts. It hurts like hell and back, hurts like fire and electricity rippling through my muscles. But I do it because it makes me feel powerful. I do it because when I am hurting like words I cannot voice, like I cannot explain, I know that every woman in front of and behind me is feeling the same, in time and in harmony with me. It is an orchestra of pain and determination and strength and passion. It is beautiful. That is the essence of the Olympic games, the beauty and passion and flow of sport, the pain turned to pride, the failures building to victory. This is what I know in my heart as a rower- this is what all of the women who stand by me as my teammates and my friends know as rowers, as runners and gymnasts, as swimmers and divers and hurdlers and weight lifters. This is what we, as women, know. It is what we have earned as athletes. So no, I do not want to watch a washed out reality show when I turn on the Olympics. I don’t care about the gymnasts’ diets, or exactly who so-and-so was seen flirting with in the Olympic village. What I care about is turning on the TV and seeing women who aspire like me, who push like me and fight like me and refuse to give up. I want to see women I can look up to and admire for their persistence and strength. I want to see women valued for the very same things their men counterparts are valued for: their form, technique, strength and talent.

Perhaps, just now, we are too entranced with the glitter and flash of media’s vanity to reach that point just now. Possibly, then, we women just have to “be patient” until the time comes when we can be judged by our ability over our skin or hair or makeup. Maybe we just have to wait a few more years until we can openly talk about our bodies, the functions they perform and how they affect our athletic performances and abilities, without being considered radicals.

It might be a personal flaw, but I’m not terribly patient. I understand, as a network, the goal is the same: to attract views. But perhaps then the ideal way to do that is to consider real women and the athletes that they are, to consider that women fight and sweat and achieve in the same way and with the same passion as men, and that maybe, just maybe, if you can show five hours of unadulterated football, that they can honor the conglomeration of culture, passion, talent and spirit that is the Olympics enough to show all athletes of any gender, equal respect. And the same respect, in fact, to both of their viewers.

Sincerely,

@falltoash

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So glad I got to show you around the big city

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Sweaty subway kisses with babe

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This is how I celebrate Marriage Equality

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you have been visited by the seven magic dragon balls your biggest wish will be granted but only if you reblog

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Me every day

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Missin' kissin' da babe

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Happy, happy, happy livin in NYC Still missin my babe like crazy though

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Living in New York City is pretty neat so far