Updates: The hardest winter ever

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.

First Head of the Charles Medal!

I had a fantastic weekend at Head of the Charles 2016.  I finished in my target range (top 2), earned my first HoCR medal, and can look forward to a guaranteed entry for next fall and a more competitive starting position with my buddies towards the front of the lightweight pack.

My prep for the event was right on.  I came out on the Wednesday before on a day flight and stayed at an AirBnB near the course.  I arranged to work from our company's Boston office (shout out to my employer and US National Team Sponsor Liberty Mutual Insurance) so that I could have time to acclimate without eating up vacation days.  Fluidesign had my new boat waiting from me Thursday evening after work, rigged almost perfectly.  Thursday, I did a loop of the course at recovery intensity, Friday morning I did another look with some moderate steady and a few 20s at pace, and Friday afternoon I did a partial loop at hard steady, playing with some junior boys fours.

When Saturday came, I was feeling very rested and ready to go.  I knew how I wanted to steer the course, thanks to some private tutoring from now two-time HoCR champion Andrew Hashway.  Stayed pretty calm for he day, going to the course only to weigh in and pick up my regatta packet (came in 5 lbs under max after breakfast on the day of the race).



Racing by Riverside.  Thank, Igor, for the shot!

I left for the course with some time to warm up on the erg and stretch out.  Got hand on, feeling ready to give my all in the rising winds.  Launching from FALS, I got about half a mile down river when I realized I didn't have my bow card!  I landed at a nearby dock, explained my situation to an official, and sprinted barefoot along the Charles River path back to my trailer to grab my bow card.  End result: I got to the starting chute literally as they were starting bow 1 for my race. Great way to get that adrenaline!

The race itself went well.  It was hard to tell if I was going fast enough.  I was very conservative in my pacing, rating in the low 30s/high 20s and trying to go off of feel and flow.  I swapped some oar paint passing the rower right in front of me before Riverside.  I took the Cambridge arches in Powerhouse to avoid the strong current from the recent rainfall.  When the wind worked to my advantage, I would surge the rate up to try and tap it along a little more.  I was very happy with my course aside from going a little wide around the Big Turn.  However, I was worried that I was not catching Josh Getz quickly enough and that I could see Peter Schmidt off my stern constantly on the attack.  Coming across the line I passed Josh and a pack of heavyweights who had started ahead of us.  I was spent, but very unsure of my performance.  It was some time before I knew my result and it was only when a friend sent me a screenshot that I knew what had happened.

Hugh McAdam rowed a great race, capturing another HoCR title.  I am hoping I can give him a better push next year!

Olympic Trials Push

I want to distinguish a push of Olympic Trials from a push for the Olympics.  I try to stay grounded in my training and goal setting.  There are many talented lightweight scullers in the United States, all vying for an Olympic berth.  I think at any given moment, I am just trying to crack into the top 10.  Since only the top 2 will earn places on team USA, I focus on having good races and good results for me alone.

I am gunning for an A-final finish in Sarasota at Trials this year with my doubles partner, Tobin McGee.  Tobin will be living in Seattle as we try to find some solid boat speed over the several weeks preceding the regatta.

A few weeks ago, we hosted a 2-week training camp in Seattle, bringing in some of my peers from California and Boston to try out different double combinations and get a measure of our speed.  Peter Schmidt came out at the top of the competitive water results, with the rest of us fighting for scraps.  He has been on fire the last season and has clearly been on top of his training since Aiguebelette.    We capped off the camp with an indoor rowing competition (Northwest Ergomania), at which Tobin and Peter snagged new PRs and I was within less than two seconds of my all time best (not bad for a 30-year old!).  It was a great experience and has left me searching for a little more fitness for this Olympic year.

Outside of my own training: I am preparing for my next actuarial exam and will be taking an online class during the spring quarter on corporate finance as I await the start of my summer internship.  I am also continuing my coaching at Holy Name Academy, focusing on bringing the athletes up to speed with the sculling skills.  Life with Keara is going well - she too is staying very busy with her studies, work, and training.

Au revoir.

Post 2K

Back in the single and back to real life

It has been a great transition these last few months since Aiguebelette.  A quick recap.

Keara and I spent several days after the regatta traveling France and doing the tourist thing.  I missed out on the post-race party scene, much to my chagrin.  After so many months away from home and immersed in rowing, I was immediately ready to kick my feet up and relax with Keara.

I got back into the 1x as soon as I got home and started putting in the miles.  I committed myself to training only once per day until the fall academic quarter was over.  I needed time to address all of the life chores that had piled up while I had been gone.

At the top of the list, over the summer I decided to suspend indefinitely my pursuit of my doctoral degree at the University of Washington.  I had reached the stage in my work where all of my focus would now be on my dissertation, and the prospect of spending three more years of late nights with little or no money coming in, stressing out over presentations, did no excite me.  I gave notice to the powers that be at the University and confirmed that this would be my last quarter.  I am spending my time teaching and taking a class just to round things out for me.

So what now?!  I have that master's degree, and a pretty solid quantitative background.  So I decided to go the actuarial route.  Before I get flack for selling out, I have to explain the mast plan here.  I have applied for and been offered an internship at Liberty Mutual.  They're a large firm with offices in (wait for it) Boston and Seattle.  The hope is to convert the internship to a full-time position and start a career with a company with will allow my some flexibility between these two cities so I can continue to race and train.  Actuaries have pretty solid work schedules, and the first few exams shouldn't require too much prep on my part thanks to my background.  So hopefully in a year, I'll be bringing in some real money, city hopping, and training like a boss, as always.

My plan is to hold out for 2017 at this point.  I'm not an Olympian.  I wish I was, but I'm not.  I know I'm an OK rower, but I'm not a Campbell, or Konieczny, or Daly.  I might fall somewhere in the top 20 lightweight rowers, but to be an Olympian, you have to solidly be in the top 6 (or go big like Graves).  So this year I am going to be focused on fitness and development so that I can lay the groundwork for an opportunity to race in front of a home crowd in Sarasota.  To me, that sounds incredible.  Whatever boat I can make, as fast as I can make it.

With this long term plan, the fall has been chill.  Head of the Charles was fun, and while we finished further back than we'd like, it was really the most likely outcome given our lack of training since France.  Head of the Lake was a good race this year, with representatives from Italian, Canadian, and American National Teams.  And now I am chugging away biking and running and lifting until school dies off and I can get back to some major mileage.  I am planning to race at Trials this year, and while I am not making plans to travel this summer, if I can get some feisty bros in Seattle, I would love to make some magic.

World Championship Regatta

What an amazing experience this has all been.  I have been trying to keep things on the down-low in the last few weeks of preparation.  I've had so much focus on training, fundraising, and plans for after the season that there just has not been time to add an update.  So here we go.

We did it.  We fucking did it.  The first time we haven't been last in this event since 2009.  Not only that, but we beat out last year's silver and bronze medalists to earn ourselves a bronze medal.  Only 1.49 seconds off of the winner, Germany.  Only .27 seconds off of the silver medalists and host nation, France.  Beating out 3-time Olympian Elia Luini, of Italy, who raced my coach at the Athens Games and who has won more medals at the World Championships than anyone in the event.

The race itself was surreal.  We were focused on coming off the line with more grace than we had in the heat.  We had been sloppy then and knew that we could pick up 2 seconds just by relaxing and letting the easy speed come.  That was the big call for me from Jack - "easy speed".  It was about be as non-disruptive as possible and trusting in the adrenaline and experience that the power would be there.  And it was there!  We were still the slowest off of the line, but this time we stayed in contact with the lead crews.  And more importantly, as soon as we shifted into our base rhythm, we took off!  We were understroking the field by 2-3 strokes per minute, minimum, and just pushing away.  Italy took off the line hard, rowing into the mid-40s.  All other crews were rowing at 39-41 strokes per minute.  But we just stuck it at a 37-38.  Our power was huge, and our length carried us through the field.  We had the fastest middle thousand, allowing us to stay with France and gain on Italy (Turkey was left behind).  Germany grabbed several seats and held onto them.  France surged about 4 seats in the last 500 meters, while Italy began to fade from their early attack.  All of my focus was on Matt and Dave ahead of me; on Jack's voice.  I knew nothing of what was going on outside the boat.  As Jack made his final calls for the sprint, he called for something extra and special in the last 150 meters as France crawled away and we sat bowball-to-bowball with Italy.  We crossed through the finish line, too close to see the result right away.  We stared up at the results board, waiting as they announced first place: Germany.  Second place: France.  We waited.  Third place: USA.  Our boat exploded in joy.  Dave stood up and promptly collapsed into my arms.  Everyone was flailing in the water with their arms and legs, hugging and grabbing each other with affection and celebration.

The award ceremony was a blast, and the moments following the race were like a dream.  I almost still cannot believe we did it.  But our coaches believed in us, we believed in us.  We rowed within 10 seconds of the world record on flat water.

Now I am off to travel France and celebrate with my girlfriend.  I will start to think about what lies ahead in my rowing career.  But my primary focus for the next week will be rest and recovery.  #bubblelife.

Oh yes, and we will be at Head of the Charles in the lightweight men's 8+...

Celebration on the medal stand.

Home stretch

We are in the last few weeks of preparation before we head of to France.  In thirteens days, I'll be on my way to my first regatta as a representative of Team USA and my first time in Europe.

Training has been going well.  Progress has been cyclical about an upward trend; a familiar pattern in high performance athletics.  Fatigue masks progress, but the occasional opportunity for rest and recovery yields exciting moments on the water.

On an individual level, I am observing greater and greater power output during my mid-day ergometer sessions for a given level of perceived exertion.  Video analysis reveals some pretty significant technical gains on my part as well.  I am currently in six-seat, in a bucket with Dave Smith.  A bucket is where two rowers of the same side are positioned next to each other, rather than the more common alternating patter.  This can be done to improve matching and facilitate technical development.  The right combination and ordering of multiple buckets (such as what we are employing with a 6,7 and 2,3 buckets) can eliminate mid-drive wiggle that is present in shells.  So basically, we have a pretty fast rig.

This weekend we are having our fundraising party at CRI.  It should be a blast.  We have had many local businesses provide food, beer, and auction items.  We're hoping to clear a big chunk of our fundraising goals out of it.

Cruising around the Charles in mid-July.  Pre-buckets.

We're getting closer and closer to our fundraising goal.  If you are able to help us out, you can go here.  Any and all amounts will help us get to France!

Back in Boston!

After a all-too-brief break, we are back in Boston and hitting it hard.  So many little aches and pains arise in my body form these first few days of getting back into the grind of three sessions per day - looking forward to the future when they will be gone and I will feel back up to speed.

I spent my break in Seattle, mostly with Keara, but also catching up with friends at the various boathouses (because I don't have many non-rowing friends left in Seattle).  I left some gear behind so I could travel a bit lighter for the rest of this adventure.  I am digging the new bags we scored.

The eight is just such an amazing challenge for me.  I thought I was finally getting OK at the single and then BOOM! New boat that is way different to handle.  I am reflecting on those simple winter days this year of just grinding it out at SRC.