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I have a lot to share, a lot going on. I am going to break it up into chunks to make it easier to read and easier to write.
This winter has been the hardest winter of my training. Let's start with the persistent injuries.
As I was headed into late fall, I was continuing to crush my training, ramping it up bit by bit. I had a solid Head of the Lake, finishing 5th overall as the fastest non-UW athlete. Not bad for a 155 lbs. Being able to race with these guys is a blast - having Ben Davidson there ensures that the level of competition is on par with any of the Fall Speed Order hosted by USRowing. With that result, I switched to more erging, hitting a 20:17 6K during a solo training session. But I wasn't giving myself rest. With work and bike commuting, my fatigue was adding up and I wasn't paying attention to it. I did a late season race in Long Beach, had some battle-paddles with Sam O'Brien of UW, and next thing I know my hip was trashed by the end of the first week of December. I had damaged my psoas to the point where I could not raise my foot more than an inch or two off the ground.
What followed is familiar to many high performance athletes. I would rest, cross train, come back too hard too soon, then have to start all over. This continue for months. I missed Ergomania, Elk Lake Spring Regatta, NSR I. Finally, I committed myself to Karen Calara's program (Next Step Physical Therapy, Aligned and Balanced Rowing). She put me on a rehabilitation regimen that would target getting me back into into racing shape by mid-summer. With that in mind, I abandoned my larger competitive goals for the season. I had wanted to go to NSR, do well, recruit some training partners to Seattle, and perhaps race a World Cup. I wrote all of that off, focused on my studies and work (I passed two more actuarial exams!), and started thinking about what would be possible in the 2018 season.
On top of this, Seattle had one of its coldest, wettest winters on record. For a bike commuter, that was pretty frustrating. I would have weeks of just being perpetually wet and cold. This made it extra hard to roll out of bed in the morning just to cross train and do PT.
One very bright spot - I was awarded an in-kind sponsorship by JL Racing! They made me a part of their Global Elite Program. I was very pumped when my box of goodies arrived, even if I wouldn't be wearing them on the water right away.
In June, I was able to start doing hard work again and did my first and only 2K erg test of the season. It was very controlled and conservative, and I was pumped to be close to my PR with minimal preparation on the machine or water. And while I have been feeling much better thanks to vigilance and PT, I am still having episodes of discomfort which prevent me from performing at my best. I am definitely improving more and more, but it is unlikely I will be at 100% until I am able to take a more sustained break from training.
