From Rocks to Rowing: An Athlete's Transformation with Hydro Insights | Episode 37

*This Transcript is Autogenerated*

Sera Moon Busse  0:01  
Having all of my time be dedicated to training was surprisingly, in the beginning stressful. I was suddenly like, Oh, this is it like this is everything. And if I don't succeed here, I'm not then it's nothing. And I've succeeded with nothing because I've put all my eggs into this basket.

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. This week is really fun episode, I am sharing an interview that I did with a Aspiring National Team athlete, who is also a hydro athlete. So she works for the company hydro, which if you don't know, you should look it up. It's a pretty cool company. They sell rowing machines, and they have screens on them that have athletes doing on water rowing classes, basically. So you follow along from your home on your machine, with the athletes that are doing the workout on the water on the screen. It's really cool. I think it's brought rowing into so many new places where it hasn't been before and made it more accessible because you can do it from the comfort of your own home. So my friend Sarah Moon Boosie came on the podcast this week. And it was really fun to talk to her. I've known her for a little while. But I learned a lot about her kind of story and how she got into the sport. She started rowing in college at Tufts, and then kept that going after college, both working for hydro and training at a few different highperformance clubs, which she talks about in the episode was really fun to talk to her. And she's got a little bit of a different other three years story because she does work for hydro, which is a different kind of, you know, part time job than a lot of other aspiring national team athletes have. And I think that also she started rowing in college and was a division three athlete, she actually grew up rock climbing, which is funny, because last week's episode had USA rock climber Emma hunt. So kind of a fun tie in there. But it was it was really fun to catch up with Sarah and just hear her story. And, you know, she shares some things about how she's gotten to each next level along the way, and what keeps her inspired and what keeps her going. So I think it'll be really fun for everyone to listen to you as our last episode of 2023. Before we jump into the Olympic year of 2020, for next year. But before we get into that, I wanted to share a little bit about what's going on in my training. I'm actually in Boston right now, celebrating the holidays with my family, I grew up in Western Massachusetts. So I've been in Boston since the 23rd. And I'm leaving January 2 to fly back to Sarasota. But I'm home the whole week because my little brother is getting married on New Year's Eve. So we had a great Christmas, it was really nice to see so many of my family and some friend, family, friends and just celebrate with my whole family. And I think everyone seems really good and really excited because we've got this wedding at the end of the week. So now we are in full blown wedding mode. And that's also really exciting. I think it's going to be a great time and just trying to help out and do what I can to help my mom and my brother and his fiance, and everyone get ready for the wedding. And before we know it, everyone's going to start arriving and it's going to be wedding day. It's really fun. And I think it's so great to do it. You know, New Year's Eve Fun fact, my parents actually also got married New Year's Eve. So we have a lot to celebrate. But I think it's really nice, because this whole week is kind of a, you know, natural, little downtime vacation week. But it's made it more exciting and more fun. So yeah, I've just been trying to get in workouts when I can and do things, you know, sleep a little more and just enjoy the sort of restorative periods when you have them because we don't get them very often. And this week is a little bit less on the schedule. So just trying to take the breaks when I can get them but still, you know, keep my foot on the gas and be doing the things that I need to be doing. Following the plan and getting some good workouts in while I'm home. It's definitely gotten a lot easier over the years to do workouts over holiday weeks. I think when I was younger, it was hard and it was not really fun at all. Now it's just like a part of my day and I honestly kind of look forward to it. I love working out. I think that if I have advice for people that need help working out over the holidays, it's always to do it in the morning because it's just so much easier to be motivated then and you just get up and do it and then you can do whatever you have to do for the rest of the day. And it's not like looming ahead of you. Besides that I went to the dentist so Close clean biller dental health. So that's pretty good. Other than that, just excited to see my family come into town and friends and then have a great time at the wedding. So now it is time for my conversation with Sarah. And I hope that everyone feels inspired to do a hydro workout with her. Sara, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. I'm super excited.

Sera Moon Busse  5:26  
Yeah. Thanks for having me, Christy.

Kristi Wagner  5:28  
I just thought it'd be cool if you just introduce yourself a little bit and kind of share with the audience how you kind of got into rowing?

Sera Moon Busse  5:37  
Yeah, so started by saying I was a competitive rock climber for most of my life before I started rowing, I started that when I was like five years old. And then basically, I had a best friend in high school who was a rower, and she was always telling me, I should try. And I was like, No, it's not for me, I climb. That's my thing. And I got to school, I went to Tufts, I got there and was like, I'm a student now. And I get to do fitness and stuff. But I don't really need to be climbing all the time, I'll just do it for fun. And I quickly realized that that was not work for me, you know, I just like was very jarring to not have a team or kind of a direction training wise anymore. So I had my friend's voice in the back of my head, kind of at the end of my freshman year saying you should try rowing, you should try running. And so when I came back my sophomore fall, I walked onto the team and then started my rowing trajectory from there.

Kristi Wagner  6:40  
At what point did you feel like you were transitioning from Okay, now I'm just trying a new sport. And this was really fun. And to like, I want to be really good at this other sport.

Sera Moon Busse  6:52  
I would say, my senior year, I really loved what I was doing. I loved the progress I had made over at that point, you know, two years of rowing. And so I started talking to my coaches a little bit about like, what the options were for pursuing, more seeing how far I could go, you know, it was pretty nebulous at that point. What more was, but I think I first started focusing on, like, trying to get my herbs down to somewhere I thought it was, you know, it was always like a competition with myself. And so I just, you know, is focusing on chipping away at those and, and then my senior year, I really thought, you know, Hey, maybe I should try to do the under 23. Team. Maybe I could do it. I don't know, you know, I'll throw some applications out there. So I would say it hadn't really entered my mind until that final year in school, which is really why I have had the itch after graduating this. Because I you know, it felt unfinished to me.

Kristi Wagner  7:54  
Yeah. But it's still like crazy impressive that you were at under 23. Camp, you know, like, yeah, within three years of starting a new sport.

Sera Moon Busse  8:02  
Yeah, I was beyond the prize, but I had been accepted to the under 23 games.

Kristi Wagner  8:08  
So do you want to entertain the camp after your senior year?

Sera Moon Busse  8:11  
Yeah. So I would say, this is the moment that lives in my, in my mind right for you. When when I like think about like, when did I really decide I wanted to like train train is we had a 30 minute rate 22 test at I don't know, I think it was maybe a weekend. And I walked into the room, they did it in waves. And the scores were all in the second wave. And I walked into the room in Wall Street. And it was like, the music was bumping, and there was just like, all these powerful women are getting together in slits that I like, I was like, what? On the screen, and it was so cool. I was like, this isn't environment I wanted to experience. I didn't even know really what it would feel like or that it existed but that I was looking for in college, you know, in those first few years and didn't really find and I was like, Oh my gosh, it's here. This is it. So I can't stop now. I gotta meet these people. And I gotta roll with them.

Kristi Wagner  9:14  
That's so cool. But I totally know what you mean. Like, just being so inspired by how amazing people are like I feel that way all the time.

Sera Moon Busse  9:25  
Yeah, and I still feel that way. You know, like when all the women were are together No, last year before speed orders in Sarasota. I think like having that environment where I just like get to see everybody in one place. It's always like really inspiring to me. So so it's gonna do for I

Kristi Wagner  9:43  
totally get that. So how did hydro come into the mix? The sequence

Sera Moon Busse  9:49  
of events was at the 2018 selection camp. I had graduated college and I was planning on training at Riverside and working you know at about tech company in Boston. And when I officially did not make the quad that I was there for at selection camp, the coaches pulled me aside and they were like, Do you have a job? And I was like, What do you mean? They're like, like, what's your plan? Are you gonna go work somewhere? I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm going to move to Boston. And I'm going to stay there and train at Riverside. And they were like, Okay, well, there's this opportunity that's come up. They're looking for rowers for this company called at the time was called crew by true rowing. And I was like, weird name. But they're like, do you want to like maybe think about it, talk to somebody that they're they're looking for people, you know, here. And we think you could be like, maybe a good fit. And so I talked to Justin more on the phone, like a couple days later, who was I think his title was like, Director of high performance at at Kirkpatrick rowing. He Yeah, he basically kind of talked me into applying for the position that at the time was also called rowing superstar. It's quickly changed. And, yeah, so I, like took a hard left turn and was like, this could be a cool place for me to pursue rowing. And then also, you know, like, bring it to other people, which is something that you know, I still love about it. Yeah. So I applied vagues. So to me, I was me, Danny Hansen, and Nick Kawasaki at that point. And then many others seem to follow. But yeah, so it was pretty small team at the beginning there. And it was a cool way at that point for my development, like I just needed to get meters in. And that was a great way for me to do it, you know, work on this, kind of like on screen, workout, you know, fun stuff. And then also, in my much free time, aside from that, I was training a lot. So

Kristi Wagner  12:04  
I have like, so many questions. I'm sorry. What it's, I think it's really cool. That I don't think people understand you are actually an elite athlete. And then you're also you know, the hydro athlete. Yeah, yeah. And like, your hydro workouts are just like a tiny portion of what you are doing in a day. And if you just feel like people that, you know, tune in, I don't know what you call it tuning in. Yeah. Yeah. Like, don't get that. Right.

Sera Moon Busse  12:36  
For sure. It's funny to like, I feel like sometimes I try to downplay it almost like if I have what is because I'm trying to talk to people in a way that I think is manageable and accessible. You know, for somebody who has a hydro, you know, they've carved out, let's say, 20 minutes of their day, and they want to feel like really good about that. And I want them to feel really good about that. So I want to say, Hey, I just came from doing 100 minutes on the water, like, let's get this bread. So I do I try to downplay it, but it's true. You know, I'll do a very long session, come into the boathouse, maybe rinse, put my makeup on, and then go back out and do the 20 minutes sweat that we're about to do so. Yeah.

Kristi Wagner  13:22  
And what's it like, like, getting all made up and having, you know, to be wearing like, your outfits and stuff? Yeah, that's not really like rowing practice the way that we traditionally do

Sera Moon Busse  13:33  
it? No, it's not. It's fun. I think it's a cool way to express myself finding what my like style is, in this exact context has been really fun. You know, I love finding like, colorful outfits and like putting my hair I don't I still don't know how to do my hair and like anything but a bun or a braid, but my app and some fun eyeliner on like, I think it's, um, it's a cool way to like, express myself on screen. It is funny to do, because I've done my makeup in some weird places. And I like do not care what people think at this point. But I was certainly very self conscious about it. In the beginning, I'd be like, you know, also at a certain point, like I, I wasn't training like fully with hydro. I was training at the Riverside hBg and then doing hydro and so I would kind of run between both houses on the Charles and so you know, sometimes I'd come in and like some of the Masters rowers would be like, you don't need makeup to row it's okay. And I'd be like, No, it's not. It's different. It's, it's okay. But thank you.

Kristi Wagner  14:42  
So yeah, but I think it's really cool. Like, melding the two worlds of the kind of the rowing community and then like this awesome community that hydro is building to, like, bring rowing to so many more people.

Sera Moon Busse  14:54  
Yeah, it definitely is. I love I would say my number one thing I love what I Meet members and they say anything to me if they have, they got a hydro. They liked rowing so much and they went to like a boathouse somewhere. Some of them drive forever to like go find a boathouse to learn how to row and they do a learn to row class. That makes me so happy. I feel like that is a wind. Right to get people on the water. Yeah.

Kristi Wagner  15:19  
And what's it like being kind of famous?

Sera Moon Busse  15:23  
I, I don't think that famous is the right word.

Kristi Wagner  15:28  
I feel like it is well known.

Sera Moon Busse  15:30  
Yeah, maybe in like a nice little sphere. Yeah, it's cool. Like I, I think when, when I get recognized, I always have in the back of my mind, like, never meet your heroes. Oh, my gosh. And I'm like, wow, like, because a lot of times when I meet people, I'll be like, in the garage, like sweaty, like jump, nothing like what I look like on screen, right. And so I always have this fear of like, disappointing somebody in the back of my mind of when they meet real me. But that is real me. So you know, can't apologize for that. Also, like, if it is like a more like sanctioned event where I'm prepared to meet people. It is really fun, I think to like, hear their stories. And people come to hydro from all different ways and hear about it in different ways. And it's impacted them in different ways. And so I just, I do really love hearing people's stories. It's, it's special. That's,

Kristi Wagner  16:25  
that's awesome. So then you did move to craftsbury. But you're still like a hydro athlete. Correct? Yes. So that's really awesome that they're, like supporting you through that.

Sera Moon Busse  16:37  
Yeah, I mean, from from both sides, right. Like, from the moment I joined hydro, I told them, I was very clear about what my goals and ambitions were. Because at that point, I didn't know that I wanted to see, you know exactly how far I could get with rowing and that I wanted to prioritize it, you know, above pretty much everything. And so it was never a secret that I would put it first if it came if it came to that. And when I joined it, it was a very small startup, I was the ninth employee. And we didn't know where things were gonna go. And so initially, in the beginning, you know, we had like a nice little training group, I knew once the company really was getting big, and we were like going to Alaska and Japan. And like, all these really awesome places. I was like, I love this, I think it's so fun. I wish I could go, but I can't like and I was clear with them about that I would go like domestic travel, you know, locations, but not the big international trips, because that just doesn't fit as you know, like in, in the plan. So I think when we started doing those big travel trips, and when things got really big because of the pandemic, and I knew that there would be a time when I would have to kind of like veer off a little bit more than than I had. So the past year, I said, I want to take a step back even even further. And I went part time with them and moved up to Vermont, and yeah, now live in Crosby and have been up there for a little over a year training with the team and love it. So yeah, it's been a story of growth and balance the whole way.

Kristi Wagner  18:17  
Like, have you noticed differences with having just like more time to focus on training and like a more focused training group?

Sera Moon Busse  18:28  
Yeah, I mean, I think a big part of training, at least from my eyes is like having the environment be the right environment for you and being happy and feeling supported. And I definitely found that when I moved to craftsbury because, you know, I feel like there's something really cool about when you live with rowers who are like everyone's at a very high level, because you're all really on the same page about many, many things, including like social life, like you're we're all gonna go to bed at eight o'clock. So you know, I think being in the woods and and having each other for company and being on the same page about those things was really great and took out some stress out of my life that I didn't even like know was there having all of my time be dedicated to training was surprisingly, in the beginning stressful, I was suddenly like, Oh, this is it like this is everything and if I don't succeed here, I'm not then it's nothing and I've succeeded with nothing because I put all my eggs into this basket. So I did for a few months last year like harbor some stress regarding that very pervasive bots. And have been like since I've been there learning to grow and let go of that and say, you know, just because you're here and you have everything in this basket, like it doesn't mean you are failing or succeeding or like at your entire life. I think that has been like a struggle I did not expect that also comes with the territory of a full pursuing something.

Kristi Wagner  20:01  
I mean, that's a really good point. I definitely struggle with it myself. Yeah. As the focus narrows, it's like, I don't know, like call for this. Yeah. Personally, I like like having other things, because then I can give myself the brain space away from rowing in a more natural way. That's not just like watching Netflix, which isn't a bad choice. But

Sera Moon Busse  20:27  
yeah,

Kristi Wagner  20:28  
it's just No, I

Sera Moon Busse  20:29  
fully agree with that. I think that was another thing I realized when, when I was like, have like having a lot of stress about that is that I can lean more into that, because I have other things in my life. Still, it's not all this even though I moved to the woods to do it. Yeah. So I can like lean into what the work I'm doing with hydro more I can lean into like reading more books.

Kristi Wagner  20:49  
I think that's I think that's like good life advice, too, for people beyond just rowing. Yes, absolutely. So do you ever go rock climbing anymore?

Sera Moon Busse  20:58  
That's a good question. So my mom actually, she loves rock climb. She started when I started. Like, as a five year old, she used to go climbing with her friends when I was at practice and stuff. Now when I go home, sometimes she'll pressure me into to go in with which it's fun to do. And then I'll also go sometimes with my friends from my, you know, my childhood team, mostly as like a social catch up and do a couple of climbs every once in a while, but not a lot. Would

Kristi Wagner  21:29  
you like ever do some of these crazy out outdoor climbs?

Sera Moon Busse  21:35  
I would not free solo if that's what you're asking.

Kristi Wagner  21:40  
Well, some of them were ropes. Yes.

Sera Moon Busse  21:42  
So we would primarily obviously with with competing, you're indoors. But as a team, we would go after like big competition and seasons were over, we'd go on on outdoor trips, sometimes I climb outside, I would go outside again. You know, it's it's, it's really fun to do.

Kristi Wagner  21:57  
That's so cool. I don't have the upper body strength.

Sera Moon Busse  22:01  
But, you know, I still can like rip out like a good number of pull ups. But I do have a hard time the stuff I could I used to be able to do. I'm like, Yeah, I can't do it anymore.

Kristi Wagner  22:17  
Yeah, I can see that. So just like looking forward. Do you think that you'll and I don't know if this is a controversial question. But like continue working for hydro for a while?

Sera Moon Busse  22:29  
Yeah, I think I want it to continue to fit in my life and in a good way. Like, I think the balance I have found right now works very well. And I hope to continue to find a balance with it in the future. Because like I said, like it is something I really enjoy doing. I love making workouts for people. I like felt like the actual filming of workouts. I think it's so fun. It's super creative. And when you do something well, like when when I plan it, and execute it the way that I planned it. I feel so good about it. It's like having like a good piece like it's it's really, it's a really good feeling to be there. And in some capacity. I'm not exactly sure. Like what the next, you know, five years figuring that out. But yeah, I hope to hope to stay connected with it.

Kristi Wagner  23:26  
And how's like training and everything going, you guys are still kicking it. In Vermont, right?

Sera Moon Busse  23:33  
We actually just say we just all dispersed. So we're doing our respective things for the holidays. And then we are starting in Florida in Inverness on the first so we'll be we'll be down there soon. And then who knows? What happens after that. But yeah, we'll be at Inverness for a while. And then in Sarasota before speed order. I feel good. I just had a six KPR that was like pretty unexpected, because I was sick for most of the ball. So yeah, I feel I feel pretty good. I'm excited to just take my own steps this season. Like, you know, I think I put a lot of pressure on myself last year because of the things that I mentioned before like, and so I think this year, I want to you know, take pressure off of myself for making like that decision and just take the strides that I personally can.

Kristi Wagner  24:29  
Congrats on your PR. Thanks. I'll channel that because I have my 6k Tomorrow. Nice

Sera Moon Busse  24:38  
nice. Do you guys have? Are you doing the multi multi test situation? Yeah.

Kristi Wagner  24:43  
So we did the 2k today, and then we have the 6k tomorrow. Do you have any questions for me? First,

Sera Moon Busse  24:52  
I'll say I think about your like trajectory and progress a lot actually. Because I feel like Have you had this? Like, I mean, you went to Yale, and you were, from what I've heard, you can correct me if I'm wrong, kind of like, you're given the short end of the stick, like a lot of time. And, and then I feel like, took like a couple years and then really found your stride, you know, around 2020, maybe the pandemic was great. But I mean, I would love to hear about if anything changed in those couple of years for you.

Kristi Wagner  25:28  
I mean, you're not you're not wrong, you're right. I, I just kind of came to this realization through like, people telling me and then also me understanding that I had kind of been like cherry picking from the bottom, like, oh, I came 11th In this NSR, I want to come ninth next year. And then I want to, you know, whatever. And I think I was trying to be like, the last person to make the boat like, not consciously, but sort of subconsciously, like, I just want to get invited to camp, I just want to make it through the first round, I just want to whatever. And then in 2020, like post, the first summer, the pandemic, they have this little camp in Princeton, and I went and I didn't do badly, but I did not do that. Well. And they were literally like, if you want to be considered for a boat, you have to be winning races, like you have to be in the top finisher. Well, actually, first, I was like, I'm over this. I feel bad for myself, blah, blah, blah. And then I was kind of like, okay, well, I've got this big chunk of time, I'm just going to try to make the final wishes was for people at singles, Olympic trials, and just kind of put like everything into that and just started training as like, that's going to be my result. And I don't know, it just kind of changed. But I did cheat. I did train a lot during the pandemic. Yeah, I think my stress reaction was just like, I can control working out. And keeping that kind of consistency in my life. And I don't really know, I think it just a lot of things clicked at the right time for me, like, I would never wish a global pandemic to happen, obviously. But the extra year really helped me and honestly, if the Olympics had happened in 2020, I probably wouldn't have made it and I probably would have retired. Well, even if in 2021, I still would have taken that same step, you know. So I think it's been a good reminder, for like me personally, in just trusting the process. And just keep showing up there some famous female athlete quote, of just keep showing up, and eventually you'll get there. And I feel like for me, that really did happen. So many people with so much more talent, just retired or quit or whatever. And I just was like, I'm still here.

Sera Moon Busse  28:02  
So would you say it was like more of a mental shift? Like, was it that you manifested this change in your thinking? And then it, it did end up in results? Or was it like a little bit of a change, and then you got a result, and it was positive feedback. after that.

Kristi Wagner  28:22  
I feel like it was a combination of the two, I really was training in a different sphere. I was not surprised with my result. And I don't think Kat was surprised with my result, like I had been going that fast and training. And during the pandemic, they held like a COVID cup in Boston. And they invited all these people, they invited people from craftsbury They didn't invite us. And I was like, pissed. I'm like, I'm going to show them you know, so I just feel like you create these little things in your head. Like, honestly, maybe they did invite us and catch us never told us I have no idea you know?

Sera Moon Busse  29:01  
Well manifest it to you. Thank you.

Kristi Wagner  29:05  
No, I mean, I really think that like no one should be counted out. Well, thank you so much.

Sera Moon Busse  29:13  
Thank you. This was super fun.

Kristi Wagner  29:17  
Thanks, Sarah, for coming on. I hope everyone really enjoyed that episode. I know I did. And before I leave you this week, I just want to leave a quote of the week so this is from Judy Garland, and she says always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of somebody else. So have a great week and have a really happy new year and see in 2024 by

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 You

Transcribed by https://otter.ai