This time I'm writing about where I've been living and training for the past 2 and a half years while with the National team.

When I first arrived in Princeton, NJ, I was very lucky to be introduced to Fr. Tom at the Aquinas Institute.  The Aquinas (The AQ as we all call it) is a huge house in the middle of Princeton.  Inside there is a very nice chapel where mass is held at least once during the week and on Sunday mornings.  The AQ hosts about 15 rowers at any point during the year.  Father Tom (FT) is the person in charge of the AQ and has been a great person to talk to and learn from during my time in Princeton.  We regularly go out for coffee or dinner to talk about a wide range of topics and FT seems to be well versed in all of them. 

I remember when I first arrived in Princeton in March of 2006 because it was cold and I was just coming back from the middle of the summer in Peru.  It took me about two weeks to get acclimated to the weather and about one month to get used to the volume and intensity of the training.

The 2007 season was full of up and downs for me.  The fall was very rocky because my rowing wasn't the best and I was nursing some injuries.  After the fall season, some of us were able to go to the San Diego training center in Chula Vista, CA.  I had been there a few times with The University of Washington for winter training but only for 6 or 7 days at a time.  This time I was going there for a month.  I was looking forward to being on the water and rowing rather than erging and being in the tanks.  The training center was great and the food was very healthy.  We were able to get enough good food to sustain us during our training (usually three sessions per day).  After training in Chula Vista for a month my friend Kyle and I left to row at the California Training Center in Oakland.  I have rowed with Kyle since our freshman year in college and he is one of my closest friends. We were both training to be part of the national team.  We stayed in Oakland for about 2 weeks while we worked on our technique and fitness.  During this month and a half of training in California my rowing technique improved.  I realized that everyone was as strong as or stronger than me and that I had to row better.  It wasn't all about who could pull the hardest but about how efficiently you could apply your power.

Giuseppe Lanzone is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org. This blog was not subject to the approval of the United States Olympic Committee or any National Governing Bodies.