Collegiate Times--Transfer

[MHvyComingBack]

Hello everyone!

My question, while fairly standard, has some odd circumstances surrounding it that I'd like to explain before I get to it. I rowed for my high school for three years and left it to go to an in-state university. This was a huge mistake. I had offers on the table from a few Ivies (helping me through admissions) and rejected them for a slew of reasons not related to rowing. I have instead joined my local triathlon team and have gotten a few medals from that experience. I am now a sophomore at university, planning to transfer out for the coming spring semester. I am still in excellent physical condition (though I fear not close to my rowing peak back in HS). I can still pull for 40-60 minutes fairly well (40 minutes at a 1:52.4 and 60 minutes at a 1:56.5 in the last three days, both at a 22 stroke rate), so my aerobic base is clearly still there.

I am six feet tall, and my weight usually lies between 185 lbs and 190 lbs. My PR 6k is a 21:48.0, and my PR 2k is a 6:36.8. I did not test 5k's in high school (though I should be doing a 5k test in the next week or so at the request of my HS coach, who has been fantastic in helping me out so far).

So here are my questions: First, what might be some good foods to eat after training to make sure that my training goes to waste? That is to say, what would be best for me to eat so that I can maintain a good weight while trimming off some of the excess fat (that I've always had)? I'm living outside of my parents' home now, so I get to eat what I want (which isn't quite the fatty "home cooking" anymore, sorry Mom).

Second, even as a transfer student, with my current level of physical fitness, I would be inclined to think that after a few months of training, I would be able to add speed to a good boat. What type of times (10k, 6k, 5k, 2k, 1k, 500m) should I aim for to be on a varsity squad (I do NOT expect their 1V or even 2V, for the year I'd be perfectly alright with 3V, so long as I make the team and have the ability to improve) on a crew such as Penn, Holy Cross, Cornell, Dartmouth, or Columbia?

I realize that the pipe dreams here are a little far fetched, but I've got 17 weeks until I'm due on the campus of any of these schools. I'm positive that I can improve and get competitive. Thanks for the answers in advance!

Best,

Tom