March 7, 2007

Throughout the season, members of the UNC rowing team will provide TarHeelBlue.com readers with an inside look at the Carolina program and the experience of being a varsity athlete at UNC. This installment, the 14th of the 2006-07 school year, is by Shannon Wilson, a sophomore from Greensboro, N.C.

It's time to pack our bags, load up the cars, and head off to that exotic locale known as University Lake to begin our spring break. For us it's a chance to escape the dark early mornings in the frigid February cold, and the hot humid climates of the cramped erg room. It's finally a chance to get away from school work and midterms and all that other stuff and concentrate on what's really important ... rowing.

Friday marks the opening evening of spring break and we will move out of our dorms and into the hotel to begin some serious training. We'll kick it off with a scrimmage race against those dreaded Dookies on Saturday before settling into a daily routine of two-a-day practices on the water and some land conditioning thrown in just for good measure. We'll also get to have some team bonding time and the heavily anticipated skit night.

Now I often get asked "Don't you hate that you don't get to go on a real spring break?" What you mean like all the other college students who head of to the beautiful white sand beaches of the Caribbean or the sun-drenched coasts of the U.S? Well the honest answer is no because despite the grueling physical aspects of spring break and the general exhaustion that comes from hard training, its what I love to do and I'm getting to spend time with some of the people I care most about, my teammates. Besides last weekend was our weekend off, and most of the team celebrated by heading off to Topsail Island to relax and enjoy each other's company and that's enough of a so called "real spring break" for me. Plus when the sun shines just right, and the air is just warm enough and the trees are finally starting to bloom, University Lake can give any beach a run for its money.