Rowing Beyond Limits with Michelle Sechser

*This Transcript is Autogenerated*

Michelle Sechser  0:01  
I'm just trying to be previous versions of myself. Like if I can beat her, I'm improving. And that's the most like momentum building exciting thing I can experience. So if I think of past versions of Michelle, of like the Rio Olympics cycle version of Michelle and the Tokyo version of Michelle, like I want to be better than her

Kristi Wagner  0:21  
Welcome to the other three years, a show for anyone who has an Olympic sized dream, they want to turn into a reality. Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of the other three years podcast. This is a super fun episode, I have my national team teammate, Michelle sexer. On the show. So Michelle has been over 10 time national team member, she was the 2022 US national team Athlete of the Year, she's 2021 Tokyo Olympian, the past two years, she has come in second in the lightweight double at the World Championships. And she's had just like a ridiculous fall racing, she won the head of the Charles, she has won the fall speed order, like she is a superstar. And I've been really fortunate, especially over the past year to get to train with her a lot. And I feel like we have some similar like, ways to look at training. And she's just a great like she grinds it out. And she's always showing up and always gives her best effort. And I just really appreciate those things about her. She's a great person to kind of train alongside for a number of reasons. But like, she really pushes me to be my best, which I really appreciate. So our conversation was super fun. Like, we don't really talk that much nitty gritty, rowing more sort of how her outlook has changed kind of through each Olympic cycle and what's made this cycle different, and how she has just sort of found an appreciation for the sport and forgetting to chase these crazy dreams and what it's like to be trying to be the best in the world and trying to go faster than anyone's ever gone. You know, in her respective classes. I'm really happy for her that she can can train and can race and everything with this, just wanting to be the best and doing it from a place of joy and not a place of stress. And because I think that everyone really deserves that. And I'm really happy to get to like be alongside the ride and sort of play a role in each other's stories. I think it's been really fun. So I hope that everyone really enjoys it. But before we get into that just wanted to share a little bit of an update on what's going on right now with my training. So last week was Thanksgiving. And right after the holiday, I started the drive to Georgia to Gainesville, where I'm going to be spending a couple of weeks training with my Orion team, some of my Orion teammates, took sort of the scenic route to get here went through Hilton Head and Savannah, which was not really on the way but it was a really fun way to spend like a couple of days before a pretty intense training block. So that was really fun. It was really beautiful in Hilton Head and really fun in Savannah super, like cute, awesome city. So really fun, and definitely feeling like I'm ready to attack the training. Like I had some good family time, some good fun time, and really just like ready to go into the training we've had a few days here in Gainesville, so far. And every time we go on a training trip, it takes a little bit of time to fall into a new rhythm and figure everything out. But we started with a bang. And it's definitely been actually a little chilly, like pretty cold, 20s and 30s. But it's supposed to heat up later this week and stay a little bit warmer. So super excited to be here. They're actually building a new boat house. It's where they hosted the 1996 Olympics when they were in Atlanta. So they're building a new boathouse, which is supposed to be done in the next couple of months. And it's beautiful, like, well, the outside is beautiful. And it's huge. So that's really exciting. Right now they're kind of operating out of little temporary buildings outside which is also totally fine and really grateful that they've welcomed us into their community here and we're staying at an Airbnb like a mile down the road. So it couldn't be more convenient. There's plenty of space. It's it's all been really good so far. Yeah, just happy to be here. Happy to be here with some of my teammates missing my other teammates that are back home, but excited to really like hit these few weeks of training. And it's really fun to you know, have family time and have holiday time and all that stuff. And I'm actually really excited to just be like a head down training right now and get to just focus on training. These are the moments that are pretty important in getting to the end goals. So now it is time for my conversation with Michelle and I just hope that you all really like it and learn something and just Get to soak in some of her greatness like I am just constantly trying to do. I'm so excited to have you on the podcast.

Michelle Sechser  5:10  
I'm so excited Christy, that we get to sit down and talk about all things rowing today that has happened in the other three years of this wild journey.

Kristi Wagner  5:21  
I know. So, for background for listeners, Michelle and I have spent a lot of time together, but not actually rowing in the same boats, because she's lightweight, and I'm not a lightweight. But I feel like that's really cool. Because we're not like directly competing. And I feel like it's been a way for us to like, build each other up and like push against each other. I don't know, at least it's the way I see it, I

Michelle Sechser  5:50  
think it's probably my favorite part about sometimes being a lightweight in a in an open weight training center open weight training group is that there's all these people that I get to train with, and they push me to try and go faster and keep up with them. But there's not quite the same. I have to be used so that I can like take the seat in the boat. And it just makes for a pretty fun dynamic to have so many fast people that I'm just like, trying as hard as I can to keep up with and it like removes kind of that deeper level of like, vote them off the island.

Kristi Wagner  6:23  
And I feel like that's been the fun thing about Yossi is plan to get everyone together and we all compete on like GMs isn't stuff. So it's, yeah, I want to have the highest GMs. But I also can root for other boats. Because it's not like they're taking my seat or whatever.

Michelle Sechser  6:41  
Yeah, it is. I love those moments, like you said when he brings everyone together. So when all the different boat classes like your women's double our lightweight double, when we were doing pieces with the men's single, it's just like, everyone together is just trying to go as fast as they can. And it removes that piece of I have to beat them so that I can be the chosen one. It's like, we can all go fast together. And it's fun.

Kristi Wagner  7:07  
Like I want to go fast, when you're also going fast.

Michelle Sechser  7:12  
Yeah, we had some good times trying to do that.

Kristi Wagner  7:16  
We did have some good times. We can which we can talk about but I kind of wanted to start because you've been through a few cycles. And I feel like at least I've been very impressed with you in this cycle. i From afar, like going after what you're going to go after, and knowing what you want to do to improve and what your goals are, and then sort of taking action steps to make those things happen. I don't know if that's like an accurate portrayal.

Michelle Sechser  7:51  
Absolutely. And I think especially for me that just that change came more after Tokyo, were going into Tokyo, I was a little bit on the fence of do I retire or keep going in the fall. And I told myself, you know, I'm not making that decision until we are done racing the final the Tokyo Olympics. And I knew the second we crossed the finish line at the final I was not done because it was just like it was an incredible race. I loved the whole experience in the lead up. And obviously that you've seen the race and it was so close, we were one second off with a gold medal. It was such a tight margin, that I really just had this unfinished business that I wanted to try again for. But the bigger piece, I think was knowing that if I came back for another for the other three years, normally the four years, but the other three years, it was going to be with purpose, with really great purpose and intention that, you know, there are other things in life that I am excited to move towards after I'm done rowing. And if I'm going to keep those on the backburner a bit longer, it's because I have like some pretty cool things I want to experience and try and achieve and that I'm not just kind of floating through this phase because I don't know what to do next, or I'm not sure how to leave lead a life without rowing. And so I think maybe that's contributed to some of the success so far this cycle is that it's it's done with intent and purpose and that I'm I'm I know what I really, really want to get out of the next three years of this Olympic cycle.

Kristi Wagner  9:24  
Do you feel like that was a change from the previous? Like training years you'd had? In some

Michelle Sechser  9:31  
ways? Yes. I mean, each like going into the Rio Olympics cycle. You know, the goal was to make the Olympic team and that was it was a challenging cycle I had, let's see. So this you know, so it started in 2013. I had previously made the non Olympic lightweight women's quad in 2012 and then gearing up to start my first full Olympic cycle targeting the Rio Olympics. And the first year of the cycle. I made the lightweight women's single, which was really exciting. It's a fun boat. I think just learning kind of that response. civility and accountability. The second year of the cycle, I made the lightweight women's double, which is the only Olympic bowl class for the first time. So that was another good step. I loved being in that boat class for the first time left, the double 2015 made the double again. And we improved on our placement at World Championships that year. So it felt like this really nice step trajectory of, you know, things were going well, I was seeing progress each year. And then going into the Rio Olympic year, things were going well, I had the same partner the past two years, but struggled a little bit with injury and overtraining through the selection kind of training block and ended up very overtrained and with a broken rib as we approached the Olympic trials, and that was really hard to have that. Yeah, what felt like a great Olympic cycle. And you know, you do so much right in the three years that aren't the Olympic year, and you see the progress and it felt like I was on the right track. And I was new, obviously, I've never really done it before. And it felt like a lot of failure to kind of cope with in that real year. So deciding then even to try again for the Tokyo Olympics was took some time, like do I want to try this again. And so to get back to your question, I think there, there was little less intent, a little less purpose of like, I'm going out this to get on the podium at the Olympics and a little bit more of just, I want to be the best in the country. And I want to let it win Olympic trials and see if I can represent the country, you know, the Olympic Games. And so when I didn't make the team for the Rio Olympics that fall, I went to the Canadian Henley, the coveted Canadian heavily, and went there to race just going to kind of get back in touch for me with the joy of racing. And not so much of the selection and the seat racing and things that I'd really experienced that summer. And I had so much fun, I did the champ single I was excited to come away with a win and it does sort of Ignite that intent in that fire to strive to be the best again that fall I went to the false beat order in Princeton back when it was the good version, where you got to do an erg test on Saturday and a 5k time trial on Sunday, I had a great ERG test, I broke the world record for the lightweight women's 6k At the time, and had a good grip in the single so it was a good it was a good time. And for me that was a good stepping stone of yes, this is what I want to do. I want to try again for another Olympic cycle. I want to try and make the team for Tokyo. But it was it was still a bit different. It was pretty uncharted territory. There wasn't the structure we have now in this Olympic cycle with Jozy at the helm and being a camp boat. And it certainly presented some challenges. And I felt a little more like I was seeking revenge after failing to make the Rio Olympic team and some of the motivation the drive was just as strong the motivation was so fierce. But maybe it stemmed from a little bit more of a negative well, then what I'd say feels like this in this Olympic cycle post Tokyo very much feels like it's springing from a well of joy. It sounds silly, but loving the sport loving the people loving just seeing myself improve loving lining up for new challenges and new races and having a good performance. So that was kind of the lead up to Tokyo felt more like I was trying to I was I was mad at myself for failing maybe and just wanting to like prove something. And it. It was it was tough. Yeah, so each cycle certainly has been a little bit a little bit different.

Kristi Wagner  13:20  
Well, I feel like to, it's easier to come from that place of joy and whatever with a bit of perspective. And I don't think perspective can be faked. Like you have to go through the hardships and the failures and all of that stuff to be able to see it in that way. Right. Yeah,

Michelle Sechser  13:43  
you're totally right, because no one comes out at trying to make their first Olympic team thinking like I'm training from a place of joy, right? Like we're out for blood, you're out for blood you're trying to do the hardest thing there is in our sport at the highest level possible against the best in the world on a very public stage. Like it doesn't it can't naturally be just like flowery and rainbows and I don't know that you and I are either you nor I have ever trained from a place of flowers and rainbows. But

Kristi Wagner  14:10  
I think that it can come from now. Like an appreciation for it maybe is a better word. Like how cool is it that I am trying to win an Olympic gold medal? Yeah,

Michelle Sechser  14:23  
and you're totally right because I in Tokyo we had the chance after the final to have a little after party with all the athletes that have raced for lightweight double at the Olympics. And for those who don't know the world record was broken multiple times throughout the last Olympic cycle in my book class, the lightweight double, it was broken. The World Cup that year was broken again at the Olympic Games in the semi final. And it was fun to party with the girls afterwards to finally like lay down our armor like sit down our swords and just hang out and talk to each other as just you Humans as you know, girls just having a good time talking about their sport and we all kind of made this joking packed about like, we're not going sub 640. So the world record the time was 641 and a half anything, guys, we have to stop this is getting insane, like No More, please. But it definitely gave me this perspective of like, what this goal really is, is just trying to reach this, the peak, like the pinnacle speed of what our boat class can go, and it's so much more of like a beautiful thing to try and do of literally how fast can we make these boats go? And how well can we raise our strategy? And how do the top athletes in our sport get to where they are like what do you have to do to be able to go 640 And a lightweight double and it doesn't do anything like it gives perspective then to now coming back to like our winter training months or long distance and our technique and our drills that now like Do you feel the same like you have this perspective of like it's less about maybe trying to prove something or this and that and really understanding like how the best in our sports get there. And that's why we do all these things. And that's why we need to win these races and just perform when we can.

Kristi Wagner  16:10  
I think that obviously I have my moments of being pissed or whatever. But like it's so funny. The literally the other day like the day before Thanksgiving, I was packing up to leave and sort of complaining about something. And Cockos I think it's important to remember everyone wants you to win a gold medal at the Olympics. I was like

Michelle Sechser  16:41  
Chrissy I can't think of a better moment right now that would send chills down my spine then picturing you on that top step at the podium. All

Kristi Wagner  16:50  
like I like

Michelle Sechser  16:53  
literally in maybe this is just how much I care about his teammate. It would feel just as good. Even watching you and Sophia in Belgrade. I like my heart exploded and I was like, teared up just like seeing you guys. It's the same thing like you fought off, like the fourth place, but like you guys fought tooth and nail in that sprint, and it was like, Oh my gosh, and I Yeah. Yeah, everyone does why that is. But

Kristi Wagner  17:20  
I just think that that's a good. Like, how lucky are we that we get to be doing this? And I think that comes from the perspective of like, yeah, coming from gratitude instead of being pissed off. And yeah, sometimes I get pissed off. And I think, Oh, why didn't they think I could do this? Or, you know, I don't know, of course, we all have those things, but so much more. It's like, how cool is it that we're trying to go faster than anyone has ever gone? Like, that's weird for

Michelle Sechser  17:55  
me to hear you say that? Because I'm like, Yeah,

Kristi Wagner  17:59  
of course we are. What else would we be trying to do? What else you're using right now. But I think that like, I would be remiss to say, or not to say that that comes from like, racing at the Olympics, or, you know, I think it's way easy for us to say that I accomplished this goal I had no I have a new goal. Like it's it has

Michelle Sechser  18:22  
been era is so different this cycle because I even feel I have, okay, I'm a very competitive person. And there are a lot of people I want to beat. And I love being the best and winning. I will say that, you know, this guy, I can be a little intense. But also like this fall when I'm out there training. It's not because I'm trying to beat teammate a or teammate B. It's because this is the split on a speed chart that the world record holder would have gotten, like if we're taking image in Grant's world record at 723. And lightweight single, for me training in the zone, I need to be going this split and I am like, I'm competing against that split, because I want to break her world record. Not necessarily as personal as I need to like prove, you know, I need to like, obviously, I'm competitive and I want to win the pieces. But there's like a deeper level of where I'm trying to go. And for me shifting that focus towards the absolute peak of the mountain, and not the small kind of petty moments that you can get, like stumble along on the hike to the top. Like, that's been a big shift for me that like I'm not trying to beat you. I'm I've been racing you like I'm racing, the standard that's been set by any human in our bow class in the history of the world.

Kristi Wagner  19:36  
But you are also like a racer. And I feel like that's the other thing of I'm racing because I'm practicing racing. So I'm not going to get like overjoyed if I beat somebody in a Saturday morning workout. Even though Yeah, I will is trying to beat you. Right? Like,

Michelle Sechser  20:04  
but but you're staring at the top of the mountain.

Kristi Wagner  20:08  
But I'm trying to be you. Because I'm trying to do XY and Z, like what you're saying, I'm trying to set this world record, I'm trying to, you know, go this fast so that I can make this boat and do this and blah, blah, blah. But it's so much less like, yeah.

Michelle Sechser  20:24  
Do you ever look back and are like people taught like, I'm just trying to be previous versions of myself. Like if I can beat her, I'm improving. And that's the most like momentum building exciting thing I can experience. So if I think of past versions of Michelle, of like, the Rio Olympics cycle version of Michelle and the Tokyo version of Michelle, like, I want to be better than her. I think about that girl, I think about what she was good at, I think about what she wasn't good at, I think about mistakes, she made that scrub speed that prevented, you know, that was why she was on the top of the Olympic podium, and I want to be better than that girl more than anyone else in the world, I want to be better than and that I think is what I hope that with that perspective is like when it's time to hang up the oars, I can walk away from the sport with a little bit more peace, knowing that I kept meeting that person and not whoever's next to me at whatever Bo club that's trying to take me down in some race that's not relevant.

Kristi Wagner  21:21  
Well, and I say you're getting the most out of yourself. Yeah. And that's something I feel like, I've tried to like, emulate that you're doing because like, you're like, This is gonna be the best situation for me. Like, these are the factors that I need. And so I'm gonna make this happen. Yeah. Yeah.

Michelle Sechser  21:43  
And it does, like, do you. I mean, you've been, as we Christie, like you and I were trials, boat athletes, where we had a little bit more accountability, and also control of our fates and how we prepared to go race World Championship trials or Olympic trials. And now we're camp boats. So we're ultimately working within the system. Like, does it feel different to you in terms of achieving this goal and like grabbing it by the horns and like forging your path? Knowing that we need to function like within a camper Have you liked? Does your goal feel different to you, I guess, as a Camp Bow and a trials boat just in terms of kind of what you can like.

Kristi Wagner  22:22  
I think that as an athlete, I am very like, what can I do today, that's going to set me up for the small goal that's going to set me up for the medium goal that's going to set me up for the large goal. And I think that if I stop being sort of process minded like that, I want to get a little bit existential, which is not good. But I also think that sometimes people can get a little too wrapped up in like the big goal, and forgotten all the small things that got them there. And I'm just like, Yeah, I have talent. I guess I hate that you're

Michelle Sechser  23:06  
putting out like, quotes. Christy, you are amazing. But okay, go on.

Kristi Wagner  23:10  
But I guess I'm saying like, in the sport, like rowing, it takes way more work. Like we have to put in the work. So for me the difference between like trials and camp, you still have to make the boat go fast, you still have to be a person that other people can be around. You still have to be a coachable athlete. You know, I don't think we exist in a vacuum. But I feel like also, it's probably been a bigger change for you because now you train at like a training center. And I still don't really do that, right. So

Michelle Sechser  23:48  
it feels maybe more normal to you until the month of July. Or yeah, the timing of last year,

Kristi Wagner  23:55  
or like two weeks. But how has that been different for you?

Michelle Sechser  24:02  
It's been a big change this cycle. I'd say the overarching theme is I love it a lot more than I expected. So after the first year of the cycle, where we raced world championships or cheat day, Molly and I were in the lightweight double we run for Kc we did our thing like we always do, kind of bootstrapping our goal and figuring out which methods are best for us to get ready moving towards the camp system. After that. I was very nervous. And looking back I think that nervousness came from a place of insecurity. Because it's yeah, it's scary. You're just you're evaluated in a completely different level. And in my other nine years on the national team, I was a trials boat athlete and it was it was a little heart you know, Molly and I were are incredible doubles partner, like partners together and so suddenly you're breaking that kind of bond. You're you're sort of divorcing from that marriage and just putting yourself back out This this blank slate of evaluation, what helped me in that situation was just to go really inward? And it's like, okay, it's not okay, how do Molly and I build this? What's our plan? What are we going to do, and just be like, okay, here are things I need to do, I need to PR on my 6k, I want to PR on my 2k. Any, I want to win the single speed order. Like all you talk about these little goals, like all the checkpoints between now and the final series for World Championships, I need to perform at my absolute best. And to me, that means winning them and having the best result of any language in the country. So when I shifted my focus to that it got a lot less scary. And the fear of the camp vote is that it's out of your control a little bit. And those are things I can control. So that kind of like re grounded me a little bit. And then there's the positive part, which is there's a lot of decisions, whether I fully agree with them or not. They're made for me. And for me, that was like a good like weight off my shoulders of the dates where I'm doing this training block in this style of base preparation, you know, is decided and when when you start to transition towards threshold work is deciding you know, all these things when I go south to train. When we spend time on the herbs which World Cups, we're going to just giving that over to our high performance director for me after like years of like I said, bootstrapping this and trying to plan my own logistics and like, Oh, should we go south? Should I stay? Should I go to Boston? Like, I am so happy to not be in like the decision paralysis place. And like I said, it's not because everything in the camp system is flawless. And it's perfectly customized for my needs. But for me, offloading those decision points is just like, Okay, I didn't write the rules, but these are the rules of the game. So I just need to go show up and win it. And I kind of like that approach. So yeah,

Kristi Wagner  26:45  
I totally agree. And I also feel like, personally, when Yossi was hired, and I guess I was pretty much maybe the only one in this circumstance. Well, you guys were too. But like he literally coached a boat that beat me at the Olympics. Yeah, yeah. So it seemed like a no brainer to me that I listened to him. Absolutely.

Michelle Sechser  27:07  
Get on. Yeah, he's won a gold medal in the lightweight double, like three times the Olympics like no other coach has done that. For the lightweight though. Absolutely. I want this man to coach me like, Jesus take the wheel. Yeah.

Kristi Wagner  27:17  
So I was just sort of like, Yeah, I'll listen to you. And maybe I'll ask questions. Because things are different, or whatever. But seems like a person I should be listening to

Michelle Sechser  27:29  
make it pretty easy. And he also asked us for feedback, like you feel that way. It's kind of like, how are you responding to this? How are you feeling? Like, I appreciate that check in. So it's not like we're, like imprisoned to this structure? There's definitely a good dialogue, at least between that yeah, like you, our boats. Your double my double of him. So that definitely helps. But it's been it's been a really fun and different cycle, which I didn't fully expect, especially at my age to come back for, like a third tried the Olympics.

Kristi Wagner  28:02  
Yeah, I mean, I know we've talked a lot about like being quote unquote, older, which is so silly, because women literally prime in their 30s for an endurance sports.

Michelle Sechser  28:18  
It's crazy. I have to bring up this moment. So I and I agree with you, because there were especially coming back that kind of mid Tokyo and post Tokyo Olympics there. My knee jerk reaction was almost this like, insecurity of like, Have I been at this too long? To try again. And you know, people that aren't rowers, always ask questions were like, What about family, you know, like, just things that not rowers do with their lives. And you know, I'd like you and I both like we do work, we have a lot of outside non rowing friends, that's great. But I, as I aged throughout my growing career was, yes, starting to feel a little insecure sometimes. And as we get younger girls, like this year at Princeton is the first year that there's a girl in the group who is young, who was the same age as my rowing career. And that is, you know, there are parts of me that even I'd say, years ago, younger versions of me that was really insecure about being one of the older athletes in the group and post Tokyo. I don't feel that way anymore, and so much. I'll have to tell people the story. So Christy and I were at this race after World Championships, the 1886 tuxedo Regatta, and it was the first time in a while for me that I had done a race that was just fun. Right? Like it was like you had a fun time, right? We just it was the first time that I'd raced like a quote unquote, fun race in a really long time. That wasn't for selection. It wasn't for the Olympics. It wasn't my seat race. And I had a great time there. I think he had a great time. Like it was obviously we all wanted to win because there was like 60 a lot of money on the line for winning. And we didn't win it so much fun, but I really I truly He felt this moment. So you and I were sitting at the dinner table at this very fancy black tie, banquet dinner. And I was just, I remember just bursting out, I was just like, Christie, do you first just feel like we're really just in our prime right now. And you agreed and I was dead serious, I was almost just overcome with this excitement of, I haven't always felt that way. In my rowing career. Like I said, I've been kind of insecure about being one of the older athletes. And finally really feeling like I, I feel like I've actually finally come into my own. And I finally come into my prime and in a lot, a lot of different ways. So not just physiologically, which has been incredible this cycle to kind of get back to the top end speed I've seen on my 2k on my six year I had a PR, but even there's this moment where even like psychologically or mentally, emotionally, the wisdom people talk about having as you age has finally, this finally taken hold. But like you and I talked about perspective, and there are moments that only three years of having done this, can I just have a better outlook and understand like, this is not the hill to die on, or I lost that piece against someone I probably absolutely should have been. And that's, that's okay. Like, it's not the big picture is not the end goal. And I need to just let go of this moment and move forward and being able to train and chase this big dream with that wisdom and perspective feels good. It feels empowering. And I did do a lot of racing this fall. And I was excited to hit some pretty exciting milestones. And it really does. i It made me it sounds like egotistical to say, but I feel myself coming into my prime. And I didn't expect that after all these years, I would feel that way in the final year of a very, very long rowing career. But that's like amazing, like some of the girls are trying to make like old jokes or whatever. And just like no way I'm in my prime like, try me and your girls here the center's like Bragman, like real, like we have girls that are in their 30s. And similarly, you know, recommend just one speed or so you do see like you said women peeking really hitting that peak fitness sometimes in their 30s is a completely normal thing. And in our sport, like you and I wrote doubles how technical and hard it is to be really skillful in these small boats, it takes so many years to develop

Kristi Wagner  32:24  
that. And I will also say like a fun, fun little story. Well, that I really just admired about you. Obviously, at the pre Olympic year World Championships. The semi final is a really big deal. Because if you make the final, and everybody except the eighth, you qualify. And you guys had a crazy race in the semi, which was stressful, but like obviously did qualify. And then you were like, I feel like you were telling me like I feel like the stress is gone. And I can just race and enjoy what this is. And then somebody else was talking to me they were like the lightweights are gonna have like a tough race tomorrow or whatever. And I was like the light weights are gonna crush it. Which, honestly, like, I feel like if you had been like, oh my god, we had this really tough race in the semi, I don't really know, like, blah, blah, blah, maybe wouldn't have had as great a race in the final. But instead you had that perspective, and the years of other racing experience and being in your prime and all this stuff to be like what a cool experience that I get to go race in the world championship final? Yeah.

Michelle Sechser  33:44  
It is. It's such a, I think the more an athlete can raise from a place of feeling free to go out and really like the competitors are, they're like pushing you towards this higher level. And you you know, maybe you see that in some younger athletes that don't have the pressure of, oh, you have all these results. And we expect you to do really well. And you see sometimes newcomers come in, and they'll race like almost recklessly but in a beautiful way, because they're sort of untethered and free to just really just open the throttle and see what they're capable of with no regard for maybe maybe it goes, well, maybe it doesn't, maybe they fly and die, it doesn't matter that I really wanted to try and kind of get back to that. So even after all these years, and I'm sure there might be a lot of people in the rowing world that if I show up to race, they expect me to do a certain way, right, they expect a certain result. And that can feel like a lot of pressure because I have done well in the past few years. But I've also had a lot of years where I didn't do well. And it takes a ton of work to perform well on race day. And so it is always hard living up to the expectation and the more you perform well the heavier the pressure gets to keep performing that way. So I really wanted to try and get back to what does it feel like to race free to raise Feeling very freely of pressures of external things. And to come back almost as a newcomer with no results, who's going to just swing for the stars and see, like how many old dog champions they can take down and almost just like, somehow keeping an underdog mentality, even though we've been at this for like many years with many great results.

Kristi Wagner  35:18  
That's amazing. Well, I feel like I've taken up a lot of your time. But I just have to say, I feel very lucky that I get to be your teammate and get to train with you because you're inspirational. And it's awesome to like, be a tiny part of all of your success. But honestly, just the like, day to day, you have helped me a lot. And I know, sometimes it seems like I'm just always ready to get on the ERG and ready to do the pieces. But I'm not

done, actually, ideally, we're gonna be there.

Michelle Sechser  36:00  
But I do want to talk about that, because that there has been a lot that's been different for me this Olympic cycle than the previous ones. And it really did start, Christy, I think our Colorado, our Colorado Springs experience, like let's talk about that journey we went on. So it was a journey. I lived many lives in Colorado. So we got there, right? It was 21 days with no rest days and no afternoons off. And it was a lot of earning a lot of love or even I've done in years, I think. And I do and have in the past I do get really I can take things a little too seriously sometimes, or get really bogged down with needing to like, really hit my splits and really make sure every workout is super dialed in. But what was huge for me we didn't really know each other that well before Colorado obviously we went to the Olympics together, we pieced each other you and obviously Jamie were in the double and I was in the double with Molly But I don't think I really knew you that well before Colorado and then you were super cool. And I my saving grace in Colorado was really just like latching myself on to you and Savannah free ha like you guys were just having a good time. Like bringing just like great vibes everyday to the herbs. And it was really eye opening for me to be around that. As opposed to years I've trained like in previous iterations of the Princeton Training Center where things were pretty aggressive, and borderline toxic, or boat clubs where there was always some kind of like malicious hierarchy or something and you and Savannah were just stoked to be there. You guys never complained about the hard work or anything. You just strapped in, you started your warmup and you you just always got it done. And then you would like run and go get ice cream. And I hadn't been exposed to someone that was like, as accomplished as you and as fast as you and as good as you that could still bring so much just like levity and fun. And it never felt like tensor like negative and I was just like really grateful to train with you guys and like be around that and I think that's actually what set me up really well for a good like kind of getting the season rolling once we left Colorado also, I would not have survived that camp without you guys. Like, right? We had some hard moments there in terms of just the mundanity of strapping into an area twice a day for three hours, four hours or something. Yeah,

Kristi Wagner  38:35  
it was definitely a hard camp. But sometimes I like love the really hard stuff. Cuz I'm like, no one else is doing this.

Michelle Sechser  38:49  
Well, I mean, what was your favorite? Okay, what's like the hardest thing we trained a lot together this summer. So we did the Colorado Springs camp. We went to Sarasota we did some singles Work. And then you and I trained together throughout the summer you were in the open double last night double. What do you think was the hardest or like top three things come to mind hardest things you've done that you're like I love doing the hard stuff. There's a lot

Kristi Wagner  39:16  
I'd say well one really funny day. I don't know if this is really that funny. But the first time we did the like what was supposed to be a bungee row. But instead we just did one at a time rowing. And it took for ever. Yeah, that was bad. That day I just feel like tested every partnership every like us versus you guys. We were just all like over it. I

Michelle Sechser  39:49  
think there was a double to double yelling.

Kristi Wagner  39:55  
I was just say that like something I really appreciate about you. Is like I can be intense on the water and you can be intense on the water. But I've never thought that you like, took something personally, or that you meant something personally. Like, it's just like, No, she's taking this seriously. And I probably did something to piss her off. She sometimes does things up has me off like, and we could just be adults, and kind of have it out or whatever. But it's not personal. No, it never is. Yeah, I

Michelle Sechser  40:32  
love that. Because that's rare, right? Especially at this level, everyone's hyper competitive. Everyone wants the last seat in the boat. It's hard. That's a pretty rare thing to cultivate. And I don't think younger versions of myself, maybe would have done that so well, where we can. Yeah, remember, there was one day where we were staying at the top of Mercer, I didn't go over the far lane, you called me out on it. It was I was in the wrong, but then it's like we were totally fine. Like our friendship was fine. We had a great practice the next time. And that's, I'm really grateful for you. Because that's not that way with a lot of teammates. Or it's easy for to not be that way when everyone's stressed and trying to win World Championships and do all these hard things.

Kristi Wagner  41:12  
Yeah. But I also think that we all like as collective to doubles. We're like, we can all make each other better. So we want this to be a productive environment. And like, be called out on when we're pissing other people off.

Michelle Sechser  41:33  
Yeah. And it was because I wanted to train against you guys so badly. Like, it's pretty rare to have both doubles on the camp system, same training program, same location, really just using each other to get faster. And I really did want to like protect the vibe, make sure everyone was good, you know, but everyone's also getting what they needed. And you guys pushed us so much like, if we got to start up a little bit, or we could jump out on you in the middle of a piece, but I knew that you and Sophia had so much power for the sprint, so we had to be like pretty clever about like, how we would pace if we were going to try and have a good piece against you and it we wouldn't have won that battle without you guys like it. It was really helpful to have you there and I think it was Jozy was really keen on there were days where we needed each other to do side by side work. And then there were days without saying much he would just tell us that he was going to take one of our boats one at a time. Okay, I'll go with that heavyweight double and lightweight to start towards the top and it was like we all kind of knew why he was doing it. People might be tired or sassy or whatever is going on. But I'm really grateful to have a director that can kind of like read the room. And because there is too much side by side there's definitely too much like lightweights trying to take down open weights cuz that's fun and exciting and open weights getting pissed off because no one wants to get beat by a lightweight like there's definitely too much of a too much of a good thing. And it's it's a hard thing to manage, I think

Kristi Wagner  43:02  
Oh, I totally agree. But to go back to your original point, we had some very hard days. Like just workout wise, I'm trying to think of something else but that one day I definitely it really sticks out in my brain.

Michelle Sechser  43:17  
I just remember the yelling. And I the two hard ones that come to mind for me are we did you guys were testing out shells flippy sizes, and the workout was? Yeah, four by 1500 We're in the middle of the heatwave, it was somewhere like 105 degree heat index. Because

Kristi Wagner  43:39  
the triathlon we had to row at like 1030

Michelle Sechser  43:43  
And I remember Mary saying that she might not be able to finish the workout. I remember like blacking out at one point just from the heat. And I remember like seen Sofia when we finally did survive all the pieces and like docked in that she was just pale as a ghost and like, not okay, that was a fun one though. That's like thank God we hate each other. Another hard one that comes to mind is we're in Aruba. We're in Italy right before the World Championships. And we did I think Yossi calls them lactate clearance workouts, where the goal so it's pretty much a 2k a broken 2k with the short 100 meter. So the goal is to just produce as much lactate as you can and just learn to clear it and so firstly, that was a hard one because I said I made it manageable by just telling myself that like the highest score wins and like the more lactate I can produce on this 2k the better I'll clear it and the more ready I'll be so I just absolutely buried myself. But yeah, we had some hard stuff together.

Kristi Wagner  44:43  
I also think those both those days, Sophia was like, I'm not gonna make it. Well, I'm so grateful for you for coming on and taking so much time. So nice to train with you again.

Michelle Sechser  44:59  
It's come aim soon and I hope the world is ready for us.

Kristi Wagner  45:04  
I don't think they are. Thanks so much for listening. I hope that everyone really enjoyed my conversation with Michelle. I'm really grateful that she came on and I'm just yeah, I'm really grateful that she is my teammate. So before I'm to end the show this week, I'm just gonna share a quote that one of our coaches at Orion Stacy shared this morning in our group chat. So she said a dream does not become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination and hard work. And that's from Colin Powell. So thanks, JC. And thanks, Colin. And I hope that you all have a great week. See you next time. I'd love to hear from you. So send us a topic suggestion or if you'd like to submit a question for our Ask Christy anything segment, head to our website, the other three years.com

Transcribed by https://otter.ai