Training Shift

We've been having a rough time getting our sleep at the bachelor lair. It has been in the high 90s, and humid enough to make it feel over 100. Solution? 6000 BTU window AC. Absolute game changer. This should help me get enough rack time to actually start recovering between my workouts, rather than going on 3-4 hours of sweaty sleep a day.

Additionally, we recently acquired a coffee grinder and French press. These two items allow me to easily triple my coffee intake in a cost-effective manner, which should further aid in my recovery.

I have been waking up at 4:45 AM to run pieces with the Riverside gang. It has been nice to have company that can push the speed. I am still having some difficulty getting back up to speed in the 1x, but I am feeling better all the time. Still trying to get control of a solid, power-based rhythm.

This afternoon will be my first workout away from the water for the week, as I spend some time on the stationary bike and doing body circuits. With a heat index of nearly 110 and an air quality warning, I figure it would be a good time to head indoors.

Boston Routine

Made it to Boston in one piece. I am pretty pumped up to be back in the 1x and in control of my own rowing again. I am rowing out of Newell, with the gracious permission of Charley Butt, and using the Michael Wale's awesome Fluidesign and Dreher sculls. I am crashing with the awesome David Smith, who will be joining us this Fall in Seattle to hit the grind. It is a pretty good set up - I stroll a mile in the morning to the boathouse, grab a coffee on my way, hit the water for a couple hours, and stroll on back where I sleep, shop for apartments in Seattle, and replenish my much needed glycogen reserves. I spent the last couple days doing some long steady state to get my feel for the boat back and tomorrow I am starting an aggressive sequence of interval training to get myself back up to speed and ready for Trials. I am hoping to do some work along side Andrew Campbell, a very accomplish Harvard Lightweight, once he returns from U23s, as well as joing up with the Riverside crowd when the opportunity presents itself.

I am definitely missing my Seattle gang and comforts and I look forward to returning soon.

Out of Dartmouth, Back to the Single

Today was the first round of cuts from the 8+ camp and I did not make it. I had early success in my seat races in the coxed 4+s, but once we got into the 2-s, my partner and I could not string together any victories. I guess I had not spent enough time preparing to sweep as I should have.

So farewell to Hanover. I am headed to Boston, where I will train in Michael Wales's single and then head to Princeton to trial for the lightweight single. Then back to Seattle where I will resume my training and working. For the immediate future, I will stick to sculling - I believe that is where my advantage lies.

Pictures from Camp

First Pieces

Today we did our first set of race-rate pieces. I was bow in a coxed four, and we had another coxed four, two straight fours, and three pairs today. We did 1 minute on, 1 minute off at 32 stroke per minute in preparation for the seat races that start tomorrow. I have been in 8+s, 2-s, 4-s, and 4+s since I got here. My favorite rowing has been stroking the 2-. I think that is because it is most like the single in that my individual contributions have the greatest weighted impact, and I don't have to follow anybody; I get to cruise at the 15 to 16 spm that I am used to for technical, steady rowing. Plus the slowness of the boat through the water is easier for me to get used to relative to the 8+s we were rowing in the first few days.

I am pretty pumped up for the selection process. There are so many outstanding athletes here and I am curious as to where I sit relative to them.

Into Hanover

So long, Oklahoma. It has been fun while it lasted.

I arrived into Boston on Tuesday, with only a short delay at the Oklahoma City airport due to a technical problem with the aircraft. David Smith put me up for the night and helped me get to my bus station the next day, as well as provided an erg for me to work out on. He is a solid guy and I look forward to his presence in the SRC boathouse this coming season.

I was a bit nervous at first, but now that I am a little more settled I am very excited to be here at Dartmouth. This is my first time in a camp environment, and with so many high-caliber athletes around, it is a bit intimidating. But now I am largely over the intimidation and am pumped up to have the opportunity to row with so many talented young men. I have never had the pleasure of rowing boats like this before and it is quite the treat. The coach, Dan Roock, is a very personable and intelligent man and I can tell he is going to have a positive impact on the whole group. He has suggested that while the light 8+ is the priority boat at this camp, he will take time to develop all the athletes and is interested in also fielding a light 2- from the selection group.

My home that I am staying in is amazing. Jane Bedford is my host and she is very kind. She has offered to feed us during our stay here and we each get our own room. I feel very fortunate to have ended up with her as my host. I am also staying with Jack Carlson (Oxford and Georgetown coxswain), Karretti Pisapatti (U Pitt and Senior 4+ coxswain) and John Redos (Cornell Junior and U23 4x). They are a nice bunch of guys.

We are currently running two 8+s and a 2- at practice and will likely end up with two 8+s and a 4-. I am switching between port and starboard to see which feels best after three years of not sweeping, as well as trying to determine where I can contribute the most. The guys here are all so strong - I might have the slowest erg of the group!

I think win, lose, or draw, I am going to learn a lot in the next few weeks. At the very least, this will turn out to be a pleasant vacation to wind down my Summer.

3x2K

We did 3x2K, all out today. I practice keeping the rate higher, racing my base at 32-34 and sprinting at 35. It was a much more sustainable rhythm than normal - my strokes were more compact, smooth, and efficient. I went 7:31, 7:36, and 7:34, with conditions similar and about 15 minutes of rest between each. That consistency suggests to me that I probably have more in the tank that I did not tap into - I was probably too conservative in the middle 1000. Not bad for time trialing with a men's 4x and women's 2- and 1x. My stroke has really transformed since I got here. We row more, and generally at a slower pace than in Seattle and that has given me more time to really hone my boat feel and blade work in just 3 weeks. This will be a lesson I will have to carry with me back to Seattle.

Here is some video of my last piece:

http://www.youtube.com/user/rowcoach24#p/u/0/ZSustlktqas