Umm.... Which Way Are We Going Again?

Yes, We Have Practice

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! The Millvale boat house isn't broadly open this week, but will be open for us to have practice there tomorrow evening (Wednesday at 6:30 PM).

An Insider's Look at the Central Catholic Biathlon

Check out Jonathan's summary of his Central Biathlon experience (complete with photos and technical jargon like 'nutters') at http://pittbritt.typepad.com/beanz_meanz_heinz/2005/12/this_time_last_.html#more .

Calendar Alert: Team Meeting on January 16th

We will hold a team meeting on Monday, January 16th (MLK Day), at 6:30 PM, at the boat house. No practice that night -- just the meeting! The agenda will include goals for the year and race/travel schedule.

Unrelated reminder: if you'd like to go to the annual team retreat at Moraine State Park, please give Carolyn a check for $30. The retreat will be held the last weekend in April (4/28-4/30).

Getting Ready for New York Indoor Sprints!

ERDBA's 6th annual Indoor Paddling Regatta will be held March 25, 2006, in New York City. Paddlefish are traditionally strong contenders at this event and look forward to continuing that tradition this year!

Alert for Wednesday's Practice

You'll see more bustle than usual at the boathouse tomorrow night -- the SRO (Scholastic Rowing Organization) is meeting at Millvale at 6:00. Their meeting will be held in the meeting room; refreshments will be available in the lounge.

Kristi, TRRA's events manager and organizer of the meeting, appreciates our cheerful sharing of the space and has invited Pfish to share in the refreshments!

Circuit weights on Wednesday (medium intensity).... Mina's running practice. Sweat good!

Rrrealllly Fresh Pfish

Doug holds young Harrison Spencer Cauthen-Penhallegon earlier this fall. Harrison is now two months old and thriving!

updates

Erg Sale: TRRA is selling ergs now. They say they make great holiday gifts, although Im not sure who would want to receive one as a gift, but if your interested, here's the information:
http://www.threeriversrowing.org/r-ergsale.html

Indoor Erg Sprints for February 4th!Those interested may sign up now through Regatta Central. There is a small fee of $15.00 to participate.
http://www.regattacentral.com/calendar.html

Confimed Paddlefish Erg & Weight Times:
Millvale -
Monday: 6:30-8:00 PM Weight Room and Ergs
Tuesday: 6:30-7:30 AM Weight Room and Ergs
Wednesday: 6:30-8:00 PM Weight Room and Ergs
Saturday: 8:00-10:00 AM Weight Room and Ergs

Washington's Landing -
Thursday: 7:00-8:30 PM Weight Room and Ergs

Holiday Concert Cheer

The Bach Choir, featuring Paddlefish's very own Stefani Danes, is singing Christmas concerts with the River City Brass Band. This is a wonderful holiday event with a variety of music, from a calypso carol to the Halleluia chorus. The choir is also singing Stefani's most favorite piece of music, which was written for the choir a few years ago.

There are three concerts, and they're all this week (Stefani is singing Tuesday and Sunday).

You can get tickets at the door or ahead on the ProArts website.

Tuesday, December 6th, 2005
8:00 PM, at Upper St. Clair High School
1825 McLaughlin Road
Upper St. Clair, PA 15241

Thursday, December 8th, 2005
7:30 PM, at Heinz Hall
600 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Sunday, December 11th, 2005
3:00 PM, at Baldwin High School
4653 Clairton Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15236

Calendar Alert: April Team Retreat

Spring seems oh-so-far away, but please save the weekend of April 28th and 29th for the annual team retreat at Moraine State Park. We've reserved 4 cabins.

You'll be hearing more about the retreat in this week's update and in conversations at practice in the weeks ahead, but if you'd like a sense of what last year's retreat was like, please see the April 25th and April 10th entries on the blog's April2004 archive!

Like any good Pfish activity, the retreat involves fun, food, and water!

Winter "Fun"

Even though our racing season ended with our festival in September, there are still plenty of opportunities to compete this winter.

Central Catholic Biathlon: December 10th Each year the Central Catholic Crew coach Jay Hammond puts on this event at the Washingtons Landing Boathouse. Its an erg piece and then a run/walk down to the stadiums and back. Its a small event and something you can choose to do for fun or to win. Veterans of the race include Ada, Jen, Stefani, Mina, and Rachel. If you want to know details contact Ben or ask one of these ladies.

Concept II Holiday Challenge: Thanksgiving - Christmas Heres your chance to spend lots of time on the erg and getting in shape. My dad does this challenge every year. Last year it really helped him get into erging and eventually do well in the Indoor Rowing Championships. You can choose to either row 100,000 M or 200,000 M between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you complete the challege there are prizes, although, your have to buy them. Theres a pin, a t shirt, and sweatshirt you can buy that advertise your success in the challenge. Sign up today!
http://www.concept2.com/05/training/motivation/holchal2005.asp

Indoor Paddling Regatta: Late March If you love the paddling ergs, this a is a great one to try. Its held in New York City every year. Some choose to take time off of work to drive up or fly. Every year the Paddlefish send up a group of people who always do amazingly well.

Pittsburgh Indoor Rowing Championships (Erg Sprints): February 4th This is a TRRA sponsored event held at North Catholic High School. This event is probably the most popular with the Paddlefish. Those who do well here can qualify to go to the CRASH-B World Sprints in Boston.


*If your interested in seeing how much you erg over the season and how your times have improved go to http://www.concept2.com/sranking03/log_start.asp to set up your own log of your times and distances on the ergs. You can also see other rowers logs to compare times. Robert Spenger in California is 81 years old and can complete a 2000 M race in 08:06.9. Half the High School Crew Teams arent even that good!

A Look at the Travel Season

Here are links to some of the races Pfish (both Pfresh and Pfunk) have expressed interest in traveling to in 2006. Note that while dates for some festivals are confirmed, most festivals are still up in the air a bit. The links will take you to their websites, where you can see when they held their festivals last year and whether a 2006 date has yet been established. This is not an exhaustive list -- please add links to any other races of interest!

Washington, DC (2006 Dates TBD)

Toronto (June 24 & 25, 2006)

New York: Liberty (2006 Dates TBD)

New York: Hong Kong (2006 Dates TBD)

Nationals at Tampa Bay (August 25 & 26, 2006)

Philadelphia (October 7, 2006)

Pull!

Just in case you need some convincing --- the Post-Gazette ran a Washington Post story on the overall fitness benefits of rowing machines (AKA ergs). See http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05334/614376.stm.

If you'd like to kick it up a notch this month, Concept2 runs an annual holiday erg challenge. Both Marie and Dick (and others?) completed the challenge last year! See http://www.concept2.com/05/training/motivation/holchal2005.asp for more info on the challenge and a link to personal training logs.