A week since getting sick and am just now beginning to feel like I'm back at full strength. As I have slowly started to feel better I have also continued to feel the sting of not racing on Saturday at NSR 1. It has made me very hungry to show what we can do in the double but it also highlights how much I love racing the single. Sure, it would have been nice to be sitting here right now with the option to row the single if the double didn't work out, but tough shit, I have been saying I want to make a 2x capable of finishing in the A final at Worlds, and now is the time to prove it. I know that the only way to fully commit to something is to have no other option. In the last minute of a race, there can't be a plan B, there can't be an easier way out, if there is, its human nature to take it every time. Last year was a prime example of that for me. I won the single, but still wanted to row the double. So Ben and I went to NSR 2 and we knew that we were pretty fast. But as much as I denied it, I always had a backup plan. If it didn't work out, I could row the single. We were level in the last 250 m of the final vs. Matt/Willy. Sure, Ben and I were rowing poorly and Ben's back was hurt, but we were more than capable of winning that piece. Instead, we went slower, crumbled for 30 strokes, and Matt/Willy cruised in to win NSR 2. They thought they had a great sprint, but I knew in my heart that we had just sacrificed the opportunity, sacrificed the gift of being young and fast together. Fast forward two months, we are in the same position at Trials. 500 m to go, down a length. I had no safety valve. If we lost, no world championships. This time I was stroking and right when we hit the red bouys, Ben said, " Shark Week". On the next stroke, splits dropped from 1.39 to 1.34. We lifted off and in 10 strokes were even with them. 10 more we had open water. Those were probably the most fun strokes of the year and just happened to be the most defining. I guess what I am trying to say here is that while I am very disappointed about NSR 1, I am excited to be rowing on edge, embracing fear and uncertainty, to make this double fly. I am climbing a rock face without a rope.
Since coming back to Craftsbury, coach Roock has had Steve Whelpley and I rowing together. I was a little surprised but I see that there are merits in trying to make this combination work. There is an argument to be made for each combination between the four of us. All are valid and all of us row pretty well together. Steve and I have rowed together every day this week and things are definitely improving, but its obvious that Peter and Ben are rowing with a sense of purpose to show that they are worthy of being in the boat. I don't disagree with them, I believe in both of them in their own right, but for now this is what we have. Right now we are working on getting our length and swing back after racing, building up for Monday and Tuesday's race rehearsal pieces that will likely be the deciding workout for the doubles for NSR 2. I am not too happy that we are two weeks away from the race and still changing things around, but when I take a step back I realize that it's not a big deal. I need to only be thinking about rowing as well as I can and being a wild animal in the stroke seat when racing comes along. In the big picture, there is a lot of time between now and Trials in August, but one big goal of mine this year was to make a boat that was capable of making top 6 at a World Cup, therefore not having to go to Trials in August. This would give us a chance to show up to World Championships ready to go and not worn down from racing Trials. So there is some urgency to make the double move well early in the season.
This morning we did 4 x 3 min/3 min rest at 24/26/28. Low cadences means incredibly high power. These pieces were actually extremely difficult just because of the intensity that we brought to them. The competition between the two doubles is definitely fierce and both seem to be moving well. Steve and I were able to win by about a length each piece, with a little more on the last piece, but still very tough racing against Peter and Ben. Our speed was about 1.42 at 24, 1.40 at 26, and 1.38 at 28 spm. Steve and I paddled around for 12k afterwards having a very open conversation about technique and changes we can make. Having an ongoing open dialogue about how we are trying to row is very important.
Tomorrow morning we will be doing 3 x 10 min at 24-28 spm.
Since coming back to Craftsbury, coach Roock has had Steve Whelpley and I rowing together. I was a little surprised but I see that there are merits in trying to make this combination work. There is an argument to be made for each combination between the four of us. All are valid and all of us row pretty well together. Steve and I have rowed together every day this week and things are definitely improving, but its obvious that Peter and Ben are rowing with a sense of purpose to show that they are worthy of being in the boat. I don't disagree with them, I believe in both of them in their own right, but for now this is what we have. Right now we are working on getting our length and swing back after racing, building up for Monday and Tuesday's race rehearsal pieces that will likely be the deciding workout for the doubles for NSR 2. I am not too happy that we are two weeks away from the race and still changing things around, but when I take a step back I realize that it's not a big deal. I need to only be thinking about rowing as well as I can and being a wild animal in the stroke seat when racing comes along. In the big picture, there is a lot of time between now and Trials in August, but one big goal of mine this year was to make a boat that was capable of making top 6 at a World Cup, therefore not having to go to Trials in August. This would give us a chance to show up to World Championships ready to go and not worn down from racing Trials. So there is some urgency to make the double move well early in the season.
This morning we did 4 x 3 min/3 min rest at 24/26/28. Low cadences means incredibly high power. These pieces were actually extremely difficult just because of the intensity that we brought to them. The competition between the two doubles is definitely fierce and both seem to be moving well. Steve and I were able to win by about a length each piece, with a little more on the last piece, but still very tough racing against Peter and Ben. Our speed was about 1.42 at 24, 1.40 at 26, and 1.38 at 28 spm. Steve and I paddled around for 12k afterwards having a very open conversation about technique and changes we can make. Having an ongoing open dialogue about how we are trying to row is very important.
Tomorrow morning we will be doing 3 x 10 min at 24-28 spm.
Comments
Post a Comment