Jan 6 - 10

Monday AM-
First team workout after break: 8 x 1 min MAX.

This workout was a necessary wake-up call and reminder to me just how much it hurts to go fast. Talking about something hurting is far removed from feeling it. I've posted about this before, but it interests me who you become when things get very uncomfortable. Do you goals stay the same? Do you start to compromise? Very interesting stuff.   Some guys in the 2008 Olympic Champion Canadian 8 famously called rowing a "Pain Contest". I don't really like thinking of it that way, but there's no doubt about it that at the end of the day, the fastest rowers in the world are the ones who pull really freaking hard and make no compromise no matter what it feels like. This workout tests that ability well and suffice to say tingled a little bit.  My average for the pieces was around 1.26.5. This morning( Friday)  marks the end of this period of our training; we celebrates with 4 x 1k on the erg. More to come on the later.

On Tuesday, we had the fourth installment of the weekly community Ski races. Extremely icy conditions which made it fast and dangerous. Before the race, I was not feeling uber confident about my skate technique since I had not really been on nordic skis over the last two weeks. That being said, I was excited to try some different race tactics than the last few races we have had. Instead of going out as the rabbit per usual and being hunted for the entirety of the course, I wanted to change things up and try being the hunter. I knew that the top two guys would probably still be out there pretty far, but I felt like if I reallocated my fitness a little bit better I may be able to have a more complete race, especially over the 5k distance. I was mostly just sick of feeling vulnerable at the end of these races. What happened as a result is something that I know is a very real racing/psychological dynamic, but I may have spent the last year neglecting it. Last year, I put an emphasis on starting, no matter what, at an international standard. I was intent on going out with the best and just seeing how long I could race at the gold medal pace. In time, I thought, my body would adapt. So all year, I went out like a banshee and held on for dear life. Domestically, I could get out to a pretty good lead and apart from racing Steve( who has great base speed), my egregious pacing imbalance would not be exposed. However, I always knew that this was not the most efficient way for me to cover the distance. But it was the way that would keep me with Ondrej Synek and others for about 800 meters, but thats about it. Well, somewhere along the line, I think I did forget the truth that I once knew: leading from behind is the most powerful position in racing.

So on Tuesday night, I started quickly but did not waste any energy, I got right into a sustainable rhythm and did not panic if I was getting dropped off the back of the pack. Surprisingly, I was not much different than I normally am off the start, but had used much less energy. I focused on speed through technique and reminded myself that there was a lot of time to work. I think this allowed me to relax, get more glide, and without knowing it, open up a big gap between the leading three skiers( myself included) and the rest of the pack. As the race went on and I continued to stay on the heels of the leader, my confidence in my skiing and fitness grew. About 3k in, I passed the second place skier, and the leader and I began to open up a gap on him, as well. I would not have wanted to see a video of my technique, because I was just throwing everything I had at these hills, doing everything I could to stick with him. Every second that I stayed with him the more confident I became because I knew that I had no business skiing with him. As we crossed the finish line, it became clear that we had opened up a big gap on third place and the rest of the field. It was a great reminder of the power of attacking in the vulnerable parts of a race course, being the hunter, and leading from behind. Despite it being the fastest I've gone so far on skis, I still lost!  Nice to see some improvement though.

Wednesday morning staple workout:  3 x 40 min erg. 

Piece 1: < 140 HR, Piece 2: <150 HR Piece 3: <160 HR.

Thursday Evening-

Peter and I went over to Coach Gluckman's house and listened to his daughter's Delta State( Louisiana) women's basketball team play against the Lee University squad. Peter and I felt like we were listening to a boxing match in the 1920's--everyone huddled around the radio( in this case Larry's computer). Larry had a few chilled Old Milwaukee beers waiting for us upon our arrival. In fact, they were frozen. Larry brings himself to hysterics when he mentions the fact that 144 oz. of OM( or a 12 pack) is actually cheaper than 144 oz. of bottled water. You have to hand it to him, he's got it all figured out. We listened, laughed, and talked rowing. He reiterated some of his core beliefs:

1. Do more than is expected.

2. Leave a place better than you found it.

3. Practice makes permanent. 

There ya go. 

He also mentioned that going "wood to wood" for 1300 m and then owning the last 700 meters of a race is the way to go. Thought about that a lot this morning. 

                                                                                           

Friday AM- 

4 x 1000m/ 12 min centers

There's no getting around it, this is an incredibly difficult workout. I have been humbled by it countless times. It rewards a systematic approach and exposes the unprepared. It is also a deceivingly long workout that requires a blend single minded focus on each piece and smart planning for the remaining pieces. I came into the workout this morning feeling decent about my fitness but uncertain of what type of pace would be realistic for me. My plan was to start out conservative, go through all of my gears, and leave the workout more informed than when I arrived. 

Piece 1- 3.01.3( 1.30.6 avg)

Piece 2- 3.01.6( 1.30.8 avg)

Piece 3- 3.00.7( 1.30.4 avg)

Piece 4- 2.59.4( 1.29.7 avg) 

Avg- 3.00.6(2k pace- 6.01.2)

While I was pleased with the way I executed, I obviously can't be content with anything because I am nowhere close to the standard of the people I am trying to beat. These are junior boys numbers compared to them. Can't have a hint of accomplishment from any of our training pieces; accomplishment is the enemy of improvement. 

In other news, just made a dentist appointment for monday at 3.30 pm. I am terrified of the dentist.