On the Blueline: Hockey or World's Strongest Woman?

The following article, written by former Harvard standout Caitlin Cahow, appeared January 27 on the USA Today Web site.

By Caitlin Cahow
Special for USA TODAY

USA women's hockey national team member Caitlin Cahow, a 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, will document her experience for USA TODAY as she prepares to compete at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Entry No. 9 - Jan. 27, 2010

Ooftah! I am not sure if this is the correct spelling, but as my second-grade teacher used to encourage me to do, I just sounded it out. Ooftah is loosely translated as "phew, that was tough!" by old-school Minnesotans everywhere. So I repeat one last time, OOFTAH! Last week was one of the toughest in my hockey memory. As I mentioned before, we had Team off-ice Olympics with our fave strength and conditioning guru Teena Murray. She ran us through the ringer. I thought you might like to know a bit about days 2 and 3...

Day two was a quick relay race challenge outside on the field at the National Sports Center. It is important to remember that fields in Minnesota are currently covered in about 10 inches of snow. With that in mind, let me paint you a picture of this relay race, which more closely resembled the Iditarod than any track even I have ever witnessed. First, there was the 25-yard course complete with hurdles for going over and under and cones for weaving in and out of. Innocuous though this romp in the snow may seem at first glance, the kicker was that we had to go through it three times in a row, there and back carrying three different weights: a kettle bell, a sandbag and a 45 lb plate... Oh yeah, and we had to repeat those shenanigans twice through each for a total of six runs! Luckily, we were in our red, white and blue teams, so there was plenty of cheering and support, especially when some misjudged the height of the hurdles and ended up with a face-full of fresh powder. I would like it known that despite the best efforts of teams white and red, the blue team (my team obvi), reigned victorious in the zaniest outdoor competition this side of Wipe Out. Actually, I think our team would be pretty awesome at that Cadillac of TV sporting competitions. So, if any affiliated with the program are following this blog, sign us up!

Complete article can be accessed via the USA Today Web site by clicking here.