Jenny Casson Update: Back to Rowing

After seven months of surgeries, rehabilitation, and relocation, I can say that I am finally getting back to rowing! Having to depend on crutches for the first while of 2022 was difficult to say the least. Being able to take my firststeps with just two legs to hold my full body weight was truly awesome. The first two weeks of walking were full of lightheaded breaks and patterning corrections, but sureenough, I was able to find my stride. While I knew the road ahead was going to be long, I had told myself that I was going to embrace this recovery journey. I was going to be patient with every advance, listen to my doctors and physio and be grateful for every obstacle I overcame. I really thought something so easy to say and write down would be just as easy to do. When I began to pass benchmarks (from walking 5 minutes to 10 minutes, to 15 etc.) a day at a time, I was immediately ready for more. I had also convinced myself that by doing my exercises every day, I would be magically transformed and rewarded with immediate fitness and an ability to be flawlessly rowing with my teammates. I thought it quite rude of my body to just forget how to do basic movement and lose all its fitness and muscle structure over the past seven months. It wasn’t too long before I realized everything, had in fact, changed.

When I couldn’t bike for more than 10 minutes at a time, my reality really sunk in. When you are used to being able to hold your heart rate at around 130 beats per minutes for 3 hours and you look down at your watch to see it at 160 beats per minute after 10 minutes, you cannot deny the numbers. Following a giant gulp of humility, sure enough, you begin to laugh. What I thought was going to be a relative sprint became a marathon really quickly. The only way I was going to get through it mentally was with patience, patience, patience and kindness to myself. The physical exertion that was once so easy, now required maximum effort. I needed to take pride in breakthrough days, and I remained determined through setback days. With that attitude, I knew I would succeed, recover and be ready for the water. And just like that, I was ready to launch...into my boat and onto the lake!

I am so happy to say that I am now back up to rowing five times a week! I am not fast, and my rowing is not always pretty, but I feel absolutely wonderful. It is painless. However, one thing I can say is I am HUNGRY all the time! When you go from doing nothing for 6 months to increased high-performance training, your energy demands soar through the roof! I can say with certainty that I have never been more grateful to have Burnbrae on my team. The pure protein that eggs offer me can be the make or break for my recovery and ability to get up and train the next day! Truly, thank goodness for eggs! Right now, my go-to post-practice second breakfast is an omelette packed with veggies and cheese, and of course, Burnbrae Farms eggs.

I’m taking every day one step at a time and I’m looking forward to the painless future. Being back on the water has been the happiest and most rewarding experience I have had. Turns out, I really love rowing, which is terrific news, considering I’ll be trying to perfect it, and my body, for the foreseeable future!

Jenny