The last few weeks
We have been back as a team in Craftsbury for almost a week now after the holidays. Being away for three of the last four weeks has made me crave the structure and schedule of the winter months in Craftsbury. Our new facilities are attracting Nordic skiers from all over the northeast and making it a memorable and energetic winter for everyone in Craftsbury. Rowers who are familiar with Craftsbury have trouble believing me when I tell them that Craftsbury is actually buzzing considerably more in the winter than the summer. Since the completion of the new buildings, that is even more so. The weekends are very busy on the trails and in the dining hall, but most of the time, we are incredibly fortunate to have these amazing facilities to ourselves. Before I write about how things are going this week let me rewind to a few weeks ago.
Before Christmas break, Ben, Steve, Peter, and I drove south a couple hours with our sculls on top of the car and rowed out of Cambridge Boat Club for a few days. Through the generosity of the Cambridge members, we were able to take out one of their club 4x's for three days before we all headed off our separate ways for Christmas and New Years. Boston had been uncharacteristically warm for this time of the year so we thought it wouldn't hurt to go take a few strokes together to finish out 2014. We went out in a 90kg Empacher hull that was eerily similar to the borrowed boat that we rowed at Henley this summer. As we were lowering the boat to the water, it occurred to me how simple of a process it had been to get this organized. We are very fortunate to have a good relationship with places like Cambridge that want to help us succeed and are willing to go out of their way to make our training simple and hassle-free. We pushed off the dock, and after remarkably short time spent waiting for Steve to adjust his feet, we were rowing together again. The week prior I had been rowing in California, but the rest of the guys had not touched the handles for about a month. No problem. I wasn't surprised when the boat felt light and the rhythm felt relaxed and easy. It was reassuring to me personally to feel this liveliness in the rowing stroke again. There were plenty of cosmetic things for us to work on over the next few days, but as was the case with this boat when we rowed it for the first time last spring, there was a lot of speed right away. It felt great to be putting in K's with the guys in a low pressure environment and almost no one else on the Charles except for the guys in the lightweight 2x's. It felt surreal to have the Charles mostly to ourselves. After a few rows in our lineup from this summer, we completely flipped the lineup, putting Peter in stroke, Steve in three, Me in two, and Ben in bow. I think our biggest hesitation in doing this was putting Ben in bow. It's not that we don't think Ben is capable of being a great bow man, he is arguably the most naturally technical sculler in our boat, but every now and then he can get a tad spacey. The implications of losing concentration while steering on the Charles could be costly, especially with a borrowed boat. Alas, Ben made us eat our words. When we came under Weeks bridge and he nailed the turn, Steve, Peter, and I were all in hysterics, laughing at how well he had just executed the turn. With that pressure off, I think everyone relaxed, and fell into Peter's silky rhythm. One of the positive consequences of Peter stroking is what happens to Steve's rowing. He is very intent on matching Peter and I think as a result rows a little smoother, a little cleaner, and little more dynamic. Giving him the responsibility to translate the rhythm to the bow makes him a better sculler, in my opinion. I enjoyed watching that happen and following it from two seat. I wouldn't normally think of myself as a two seat, but I liked the different perspective and taking on the responsibility of making calls for the boat. With Peter stroking, we took a few twenty stroke builders to see how the rhythm translated to race pace. The way we built was intuitive, slow motion, but fast. Peter is better than anyone I've ever rowed with at getting his center of mass through the pin, connected to the water without moving, then in one motion, unraveling sequentially. He gives the boat time to respond and gives everyone behind him a simple framework to work within. After a week of struggling to hit splits in Chula Vista, it felt fantastic to row sub 1.20 splits again. In Amsterdam, I felt like we were 30 great strokes away from being in the A final and possibly medaling. For whatever reason we were fighting each other technically during our sprint and we stalled. The rhthym that Peter was laying out for Steve, Ben, and I to follow, was unmistakable and built to endure. I look forward to exploring this lineup. I think the way we assembled our boat last year was organic and made a lot of sense; however, reshuffling things in Boston showed that there some dynamics that should not go unnoticed. I am not sure when Peter became OK with not stroking, but the guy was born to stroke boats. It is this sense of purpose that gives him his greatest strength. With a boat full of determined guys behind him, he is capable of really special things. Over Christmas break, I was talking to my cousin Brian DeRegt and he mentioned that he was having a similar conversation with Larry Gluckman about quad and possibly having Peter stroking it. He told Brian that when he was in Germany for the E.ON Hanse Cup in 2013, coaching the US 8+ , he told the coxswain, " I don't care what the lineup is or really who is in the boat, but Peter Graves is stroking, we'll be fine." In no way, is this a knock against Ben's stroking prowess. Ben was in that Hanse Cup boat and often refers to "Hanse Cup rhythm" when he is describing what a boat should feel like. That's Peters rhythm and it's certainly worth exploring some more. We only rowed for three days in Boston, but after a modest amount of easy mileage, I think we all felt like we were moving in the right direction together.
From Boston, Peter and I flew out to Colorado to spend Christmas with our family. Despite the 40 inches of new snow during Christmas week, I only downhill skied two full days while I was out there. I had a few close calls on the slopes last year and thought that my time might be better spent this year getting good training on cross country skis at altitude. Vail has a pretty nice network of trails in and around East Vail that I spent my days cruising around, gasping for air. At 9,000 ft, even the easiest intensity feels labored. My morning workouts alternated between skiing easy for 120 min and running for 75 min. In the afternoons, I would do a strength workout or short intervals to keep some semblance of speed. When all of us were back at the hotel in the afternoon, the three brothers, Tom, Peter, and I, would work out at the same time in the hotel gym. It made for a pretty hilarious scene. Rarely are we all three in the same place training together, but when we are, it makes me realize what an intriguing moment in time we are in right now. Tom is 32, Peter is 30, and I am 26. If there was ever a time that we were all close to our prime's athletically, it is right now. I am uncertain of what Tom's exact plans are for his own rowing, but I do know that he is looking more motivated and fit than I have seen him in a long time.
After a week in the mountains, it was back to Craftsbury where I spent the next week hanging out with my girlfriend Felice(!!!) and getting back into the swing of things at the Center. We began team practice again the following monday with some easy rowing on the ergs and a lift. On Tuesday night, the 5k ski series started up again after a two week hiatus for the holidays. However, sub zero temperatures made for some tricky clothing choices for the race. I opted for aerodynamics and reasoned that I would warm as the race went on. This was probably one of the most highly attended Tues night 5k's I can recall given the attendance of the entire Harvard ski team. I knew a few of the top Harvard guys were very fast and typically do well at NCAA's, so per usual, I would be focusing on staying with Zach. For those who don't remember, Zach has beaten me probably 10 + times at this point. Last year I started to get closer to him and lost to him a few times by one second. Off the start, the top Harvard guys and Zach blasted out to an early lead, separating themselves from the pack, and I was somewhere in between. I dug in to try and close the gap and was able to latch on to the lead pack after about 1k. Going up hills I was able to stick right with them and at times even felt like I was being held back by them. As we crested the first hill and began torching down a long downhill section, the Harvard guys opened up a gap. The only times I could close the gap on them were the uphills. Either my skis were much slower than theirs or they know something I don't about how to cover ground downhills. Crossing half way, the top two Harvard guys had broken slightly away and Zach and I were skiing with the third Harvard skier. On the biggest hill of the course with a about a kilometer to go, the Harvard skier made a move around Zach and I decided to follow him. I felt like Zach was biding his time and understood that there was still a good amount of course left to race, but this was my opening, so I took it and put everything I had into it. I didn't look back at all, I just kept pouring it on. As we came to the final gradual uphill that signals roughly 250 meters to go, I could feel Zach pushing closer, but still behind me. At that point, I felt suprisingly present minded and aware of the situation. Perhaps its that Zach has beaten me so many times and I was eager to change that, but I also felt the confidence of having more horsepower than Zach. He definitely skis better than me, but I had a moment when I felt in control just because I trusted that I could produce more power than him in the last minute. Maybe that was true, maybe it was just a random thought, but it popped into my mind nonetheless. That thought might stem from the fact that I am seen by skiers as big, powerful, and imposing, whereas in rowing, I am seen as undersized, underpowered, and unimposing. It is incredibly empowering to me to feel that way in skiing. As I pushed to the line, holding Zach off, it occurred to me that yes, Zach thinks of me as strong, but I am also perceiving myself to be stronger than I normally do when I am rowing or erging. As I double poled vigorously through the line ahead of Zach for the first time, it became clear that the only difference between me winning by a second and losing by a second was my own confidence and belief to access everything in my arsenal. So, I beat Zach for the first time and maybe it will be the only time, but fortunately, along the way I re-learned an important lesson: I am as strong as I believe I am.
On Thursday morning, we did a step test on the erg without the mask on. We did a 14 minute piece that finished with sequential bouts around and below 2k pace. This was the first time any of us had touched 2k race pace in a long long time. I knew conceptually that it would not feel good. Regardless of any progress I have made aerobically, the first dashes of race pace work are always humbling. I was happy with how long I stayed aerobic but it was discouraging how uncomfortable rowing at race pace felt. At the 1.31 step, things began to tingle and I struggle a little bit to find an effective rhythm, but once I shifted to 1.29 for the final minute, I felt like I found a simpler stride that made the pace a little more manageable. It will be very interesting to see how we all develop over the next couple of months as more speed is introduced into the training program.
After a week in the mountains, it was back to Craftsbury where I spent the next week hanging out with my girlfriend Felice(!!!) and getting back into the swing of things at the Center. We began team practice again the following monday with some easy rowing on the ergs and a lift. On Tuesday night, the 5k ski series started up again after a two week hiatus for the holidays. However, sub zero temperatures made for some tricky clothing choices for the race. I opted for aerodynamics and reasoned that I would warm as the race went on. This was probably one of the most highly attended Tues night 5k's I can recall given the attendance of the entire Harvard ski team. I knew a few of the top Harvard guys were very fast and typically do well at NCAA's, so per usual, I would be focusing on staying with Zach. For those who don't remember, Zach has beaten me probably 10 + times at this point. Last year I started to get closer to him and lost to him a few times by one second. Off the start, the top Harvard guys and Zach blasted out to an early lead, separating themselves from the pack, and I was somewhere in between. I dug in to try and close the gap and was able to latch on to the lead pack after about 1k. Going up hills I was able to stick right with them and at times even felt like I was being held back by them. As we crested the first hill and began torching down a long downhill section, the Harvard guys opened up a gap. The only times I could close the gap on them were the uphills. Either my skis were much slower than theirs or they know something I don't about how to cover ground downhills. Crossing half way, the top two Harvard guys had broken slightly away and Zach and I were skiing with the third Harvard skier. On the biggest hill of the course with a about a kilometer to go, the Harvard skier made a move around Zach and I decided to follow him. I felt like Zach was biding his time and understood that there was still a good amount of course left to race, but this was my opening, so I took it and put everything I had into it. I didn't look back at all, I just kept pouring it on. As we came to the final gradual uphill that signals roughly 250 meters to go, I could feel Zach pushing closer, but still behind me. At that point, I felt suprisingly present minded and aware of the situation. Perhaps its that Zach has beaten me so many times and I was eager to change that, but I also felt the confidence of having more horsepower than Zach. He definitely skis better than me, but I had a moment when I felt in control just because I trusted that I could produce more power than him in the last minute. Maybe that was true, maybe it was just a random thought, but it popped into my mind nonetheless. That thought might stem from the fact that I am seen by skiers as big, powerful, and imposing, whereas in rowing, I am seen as undersized, underpowered, and unimposing. It is incredibly empowering to me to feel that way in skiing. As I pushed to the line, holding Zach off, it occurred to me that yes, Zach thinks of me as strong, but I am also perceiving myself to be stronger than I normally do when I am rowing or erging. As I double poled vigorously through the line ahead of Zach for the first time, it became clear that the only difference between me winning by a second and losing by a second was my own confidence and belief to access everything in my arsenal. So, I beat Zach for the first time and maybe it will be the only time, but fortunately, along the way I re-learned an important lesson: I am as strong as I believe I am.
On Thursday morning, we did a step test on the erg without the mask on. We did a 14 minute piece that finished with sequential bouts around and below 2k pace. This was the first time any of us had touched 2k race pace in a long long time. I knew conceptually that it would not feel good. Regardless of any progress I have made aerobically, the first dashes of race pace work are always humbling. I was happy with how long I stayed aerobic but it was discouraging how uncomfortable rowing at race pace felt. At the 1.31 step, things began to tingle and I struggle a little bit to find an effective rhythm, but once I shifted to 1.29 for the final minute, I felt like I found a simpler stride that made the pace a little more manageable. It will be very interesting to see how we all develop over the next couple of months as more speed is introduced into the training program.
On Saturday, I competed again in the 15 k Baxter Brewing Company Winter Triathalon here in Crafstbury. It began with a 5k run, continued with a 5k snowshoe, and finished with a 5k ski. I was a little cautious about doing this race because we have V02 testing this coming week, but it sounded too fun to pass up. I had never snowshoed before but it ended being the highlight and most fun part of the race for me. I finished the 5k run tied in the lead with the speedy Phil Grisdela. We both switched to our snowshoes and trotted to the entrance to the backcountry snowshoe trails. These trails can get pretty dicey if you are not nimble on your feet. To my surprise, I found that I am pretty well cut out for snowshoe racing. I had a total blast on this leg of the race and came to the second transition with a few minute margin going into the ski portion. I finished first in 71 min, 5 min ahead of Phil, who was a few minutes ahead of third place. I won a can of beer and unfortunately for Phil, we later found out that his prize was a Diet Coke. Poor guy!
That's it for now, plenty more to come later this week after some more ski racing and vo2 testing.
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