Nationals Recap

While I did not come home with any national titles, my teammate Lindsey Meyer qualified for the U23 National Team in the 1x in a commanding fashion. LUC teammate Michael Wales also had a strong performance, though did not qualify for a post on the U23 team.

This regatta is being chalked up as another learning experience, though I wish I had learned to win. My performance was much stronger and more consistent than at NSR I, but I am still reaching for the grand final finish. I have also significantly exacerbated the tendinitis in my left arm and will begin a physical therapy process to address it.

The new strategy is to work me with more power-based training. We have increased the load on my boat in the hope of getting more run per stroke. While I have been told that I am rowing technically well at this point in the season, I just don't seem to be getting the same amount of run per stroke as my competitors. I wonder how much of this is a lack of horsepower. I am aware that I have lower erg scores than many others in my racing category, but I would not think the difference to be so large as to explain the deficit I had this last week.

Anyway, onward and upward. Next on my racing agenda is British Columbia Championships in a week and a half, then a month later out to St. Catharines, Ontario for Canadian Henley. Canadian Henley will be my next major regatta to check in on my training and how it affects my performance.

Pre-race

Nationals around the corner and new PRs

I have all of my logistics taken care of for the next trip out to Princeton - I will be flying out on the 22nd and returning on the 27th. I am staying with the Baran-Wagner family once again and will be using Michael Wales's new boat and oars for my racing. I think this will end up being cheaper than the NSR I trip thanks to better planning on my part (not taking more own oars, tools, or renting a boat).

Last weekend I set a new personal best on the 2K course through the Cut, clocking 7:23. I think that if conditions are fast in Princeton, I can expect to go under 7:15, maybe even 7:10. That puts me near the top of the lightweights. However, I will be competing as both a lightweight and heavyweight at Nationals. The entries for the lightweight event are so few that I would not be able to get very much good racing in. However, by racing as a heavyweight as well, I can potentially add three more races and compete for a more prestigious title.

This week is filled with solid, high-intensity work. I am being very careful with my body and minding all of my stretching, physical therapy, icing, and nutritional plans. I am feeling 10 times stronger than I did leading up to NSR I and look to show it on the water.

Off Cycle and 2Ks

This last 3 weeks have been a bit rough for me on the water. I have been feeling like I am relearning how to row, like I can't get more than 10 or 20 strokes in a row with consistent and effective application of power. The last three days, however, saw an abrupt about-face. On Friday, I threw down new 1-rep maxes in the weight room with 190 on the bench press and 265 on squats. I was pretty pumped about this, especially given my floundering workout earlier that morning. Then on Saturday, doing 250s with Lindsey, I started to see a return of some of that explosive power that I had in February that seemed to disappear for the last couple of months.

Today, we did a 2K and I lined up with another lightweight 1x and a lightweight Jr. 2x. On the warmup, as I took some power 10s and 20s, I stopped to double check my speed coach because I thought that someone may have tampered with it. Speed was just coming much more easily at lower stroke rates and I was caught off guard. I rolled with it and along with a renewed focus that I had been building up over the previous 24 hours, I made it down the course in 7:31. Not where I want to be, but leaps ahead of where I have been. It also marked my first 2k victory over my training partner, which will pay off in confidence at later races and training sessions.

I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks as we ramp up leading into the National Championship Regatta in Princeton at the end of the month. I will be rowing solo once again, focusing my energy on the 1x.

As the training group grows for the Summer, it is easier to stay pumped up as the workouts become more challenging.