Back in wintry VT. It was 15 below this morning, but despite all of my complaining and searching for acknowledgement of the extreme conditions here, it was absolutely gorgeous outside. There is a lot of snow and the skiing conditions are excellent. Lucas, friend and trail groomer, extended the groomed trail to our front door this morning. We used to have to "endure" the 50 ft trek across the road with skis in hand to get on the groomed trails.
Right now training consists of lifting three times a week, erging two or three times, but mostly skiing. Coach Roock gives us a weekly time duration goal and we try and hit it amidst the structure he lays out. For instance, we will do a one day of pieces on the erg and one day of steady state erging as a team. The rest is pretty much on your own. Dan calls this time YOYO. You're On Your Own. Funny guy, Dan is. He intrigues me and scares me because of how simple he makes everything seem. On one hand, I want everything explained and I want to be assured that I am doing absolutely the right thing all the time to give myself the best chance of reaching my potential as a rower. So it scares me how he doesn't give the most scientific explanations of things, etc. However, on the other hand, I know that this is a simple sport. It is very easy to forget, but rowing is a very simple sport. I really like how he rarely loses sight of that. He keeps me in check in that way because if left to my own devices I will over think things. So he reminds me to keep it simple, keep the motion simple, and just go really really hard. If I can show up this spring with my motion simple, repeatable, and unrelenting I will have prepared well.
This morning I decided to do some erging because of the sub zero temps. I cruised 3 x 40 min at 18 spm. This maintenance row was brought to you by Dave Gleeson! It was good to know I can still do it! I rowed about 10 beats under normal steady state HR to make sure that I maintained the integrity of my stroke throughout the pieces. When you are erging without rowing, it is vital to put a premium on technique over fitness. Getting fit on the erg is never a problem. Pushing too hard and compromising the motion you would use in the boat is a huge problem. Very important to have a mirror and pay attention to the power curve on the monitor. For me, rowing on an erg with a mirror helps a lot. I am a very visual learner. I can tell if something looks off right away and can almost always make the change quickly to how I think it should look. That is very difficult to do in the boat when you cannot see yourself. This afternoon I did a recovery ride on the stationary bike to loosen up and get some blood flowing.
I was reading Drew Ginn's blog this evening and came across this passage. He is talking about his views on performance as it pertains to his new position as the AUS national team coach:
"So simply work to make it easier. Focus to help it flow and push to let it happen. Under do it and you feel guilty, over do it and frustration appears and so to get it just right is the key. The flexion point between effort and ease, tension and relaxation, concentration and letting go, its all a fine line and to learn & master is where art form meets science. " - Drew Ginn. 3x Olympic Gold Medalist.
Right now training consists of lifting three times a week, erging two or three times, but mostly skiing. Coach Roock gives us a weekly time duration goal and we try and hit it amidst the structure he lays out. For instance, we will do a one day of pieces on the erg and one day of steady state erging as a team. The rest is pretty much on your own. Dan calls this time YOYO. You're On Your Own. Funny guy, Dan is. He intrigues me and scares me because of how simple he makes everything seem. On one hand, I want everything explained and I want to be assured that I am doing absolutely the right thing all the time to give myself the best chance of reaching my potential as a rower. So it scares me how he doesn't give the most scientific explanations of things, etc. However, on the other hand, I know that this is a simple sport. It is very easy to forget, but rowing is a very simple sport. I really like how he rarely loses sight of that. He keeps me in check in that way because if left to my own devices I will over think things. So he reminds me to keep it simple, keep the motion simple, and just go really really hard. If I can show up this spring with my motion simple, repeatable, and unrelenting I will have prepared well.
This morning I decided to do some erging because of the sub zero temps. I cruised 3 x 40 min at 18 spm. This maintenance row was brought to you by Dave Gleeson! It was good to know I can still do it! I rowed about 10 beats under normal steady state HR to make sure that I maintained the integrity of my stroke throughout the pieces. When you are erging without rowing, it is vital to put a premium on technique over fitness. Getting fit on the erg is never a problem. Pushing too hard and compromising the motion you would use in the boat is a huge problem. Very important to have a mirror and pay attention to the power curve on the monitor. For me, rowing on an erg with a mirror helps a lot. I am a very visual learner. I can tell if something looks off right away and can almost always make the change quickly to how I think it should look. That is very difficult to do in the boat when you cannot see yourself. This afternoon I did a recovery ride on the stationary bike to loosen up and get some blood flowing.
I was reading Drew Ginn's blog this evening and came across this passage. He is talking about his views on performance as it pertains to his new position as the AUS national team coach:
"So simply work to make it easier. Focus to help it flow and push to let it happen. Under do it and you feel guilty, over do it and frustration appears and so to get it just right is the key. The flexion point between effort and ease, tension and relaxation, concentration and letting go, its all a fine line and to learn & master is where art form meets science. " - Drew Ginn. 3x Olympic Gold Medalist.
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