After not making it through my Quarterfinal at World Cup 1 and being relegated to the D Final, I had a great opportunity all day Sunday to write a lengthy post recounting racing, but I guess I can chalk that up to one of many missed opportunities during my stay in Belgrade.
Maybe it's best that post remains unwritten. At this point, readers of this blog are probably tired of my sob stories about why I didn't make it through. Just imagine how sick I am of writing about it! Upon my return to the states, Tom T encouraged me to have a short term memory and remember that for all the European countries World Cups are like Club Nationals. If they have a bad race, they just brush it off and move on to the next one. As a Americans, we spend so much time and money going over there to compete that it feels much more tragic when/if we don't perform well. But as Tom reminded me, the result doesn't change my goals and it's important to just get back to full training. I am sure I will revisit some of my thoughts on WC1 racing at some point, but for now its in my rear view and I've moved on to getting the double up to speed for Trials.
Ben and I just finished our first full week of training back together in Craftsbury and so far so good. With Ben going for the U23 1x in addition to the M2x at Trials, we have charted a challenging course for ourselves, but so far its been exciting and invigorating. In the context of the quadrennial, I feel like this summer is most important for getting a lot of training in together, having fun racing, and setting ourselves up really well for next year. Some might feel like the U23 1x is a distraction from the 2x, but as long as we are in the same place training together I feel like it can be a productive distraction. It has created a very competitive training atmosphere between our two singles and is keeping the double fresh. It's so rare that a boat from the US stays in tact year to year, and I am proud that we have found a way to keep this project alive. An unfortunate truth is that I have never rowed in the same boat at Worlds in consecutive years and there were times this year when I wasn't optimistic that Ben and I would be back together again. For all of my talk about continuity and building from year to year, I have never successfully kept a boat together. After Worlds last year, we had no choice but to put an ellipses on our story as Ben went back to school, but after a year of weathering storms and fending off distractions that threatened our partnership, I'm thrilled to say that we are adding new content to the story. Steve Whelpley and Craftsbury deserve a ton of credit for believing in us and clearing a path for us to continue on. We are so lucky to be in a place that appreciates us and sees the value in what we are trying to do.
There is a tangible humility in Ben and I. It feels like it is a clear grasp of the reality that we face in the double and in the world of rowing, in general. It's fast out there. Every event is scary deep and faster than its ever been and you're kidding yourself if you think anything you do is good enough. Last year, we were convinced we were medal contenders because we broke all sorts of records in training and yet, we were 9th. By every measure I am the fastest I've ever been in the single and on the erg and yet, I got 19th at World Cup. Ben PR'd on everything he did this year at UW and yet, he was in the 2V. Neither of us have an ego right now and that is our biggest strength. That humility informs our dialogue in the boat-- not just what we say but how we say it. We are rowing like underdogs because that exactly what we are.
Ben knows that he is a very promising young rower, but out there on the world circuit, talents like his are dime a dozen. If he is going to be great, he needs to be doing the little things better than he's ever done it. For the first time, I see that maturity in him and it is very encouraging to me. When I say Ben is not special, I am being hyperbolic. I believe Ben has incredible abilities and he is capable of things that I will never be able to do. I'm just saying that his awareness of how he needs to change and be better is what he had yet to show and now that he is demonstrating it, there is nothing he can't do. Experience gives you foresight and it's incredible for him to have that type of experience at age 21.
Rigging up our new double that we had only rowed last year at Worlds and introducing it to the Hosmer was a great moment. It was awesome being able to slap the riggers on and sit in the exact seats we raced at Worlds and get back to work without any time wondering whether the rig was right. Just the equipment alone has made the transition back to the boat much easier than last year. Before Trials last year, Ben was coming off U23's in the 4+ and while we had trained in the quad together in 2016, we really did not quite know what to expect in the double. Fortunately, Peter and Larry did an excellent job bringing us together over a very short time line. Because we are confident in the equipment and Peter's rigging job at Worlds last year, we are able to isolate the variables and just run down our checklist of things we know bring us together.
At the moment, our big focus is flexibility from the hips, getting length from the dead slide, and simplifying the front end. Steve has done a great job of bringing our awareness to these things and making sure we are addressing them every practice. The boat is already noticeably more balanced and more free compared to last year and I hope we just continue to build from it. We have both been held back by our flexibility and imbalances and while we still have a long ways to go, we are moving in the right direction.
We will put in another solid week of training this week and then head down to Princeton. We are not sure who will show up at Trials, but the competition won't change our approach. We are not only preparing ourselves to face the fastest doubles in the World but preparing to be one of them. We will need to be very precise about our recovery as we Ben tries to manage doubling up, but I am confident that if we stay focused can navigate the week successfully.
Here is a little clip of Ben and I doing some work at 24 spm this morning. Thanks for all the support and believing in the underdog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBNAxEqysVA
There is a tangible humility in Ben and I. It feels like it is a clear grasp of the reality that we face in the double and in the world of rowing, in general. It's fast out there. Every event is scary deep and faster than its ever been and you're kidding yourself if you think anything you do is good enough. Last year, we were convinced we were medal contenders because we broke all sorts of records in training and yet, we were 9th. By every measure I am the fastest I've ever been in the single and on the erg and yet, I got 19th at World Cup. Ben PR'd on everything he did this year at UW and yet, he was in the 2V. Neither of us have an ego right now and that is our biggest strength. That humility informs our dialogue in the boat-- not just what we say but how we say it. We are rowing like underdogs because that exactly what we are.
Ben knows that he is a very promising young rower, but out there on the world circuit, talents like his are dime a dozen. If he is going to be great, he needs to be doing the little things better than he's ever done it. For the first time, I see that maturity in him and it is very encouraging to me. When I say Ben is not special, I am being hyperbolic. I believe Ben has incredible abilities and he is capable of things that I will never be able to do. I'm just saying that his awareness of how he needs to change and be better is what he had yet to show and now that he is demonstrating it, there is nothing he can't do. Experience gives you foresight and it's incredible for him to have that type of experience at age 21.
Rigging up our new double that we had only rowed last year at Worlds and introducing it to the Hosmer was a great moment. It was awesome being able to slap the riggers on and sit in the exact seats we raced at Worlds and get back to work without any time wondering whether the rig was right. Just the equipment alone has made the transition back to the boat much easier than last year. Before Trials last year, Ben was coming off U23's in the 4+ and while we had trained in the quad together in 2016, we really did not quite know what to expect in the double. Fortunately, Peter and Larry did an excellent job bringing us together over a very short time line. Because we are confident in the equipment and Peter's rigging job at Worlds last year, we are able to isolate the variables and just run down our checklist of things we know bring us together.
At the moment, our big focus is flexibility from the hips, getting length from the dead slide, and simplifying the front end. Steve has done a great job of bringing our awareness to these things and making sure we are addressing them every practice. The boat is already noticeably more balanced and more free compared to last year and I hope we just continue to build from it. We have both been held back by our flexibility and imbalances and while we still have a long ways to go, we are moving in the right direction.
We will put in another solid week of training this week and then head down to Princeton. We are not sure who will show up at Trials, but the competition won't change our approach. We are not only preparing ourselves to face the fastest doubles in the World but preparing to be one of them. We will need to be very precise about our recovery as we Ben tries to manage doubling up, but I am confident that if we stay focused can navigate the week successfully.
Here is a little clip of Ben and I doing some work at 24 spm this morning. Thanks for all the support and believing in the underdog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBNAxEqysVA
I always appreciate the insight and you taking the time to blog. Kick some ass and GO USA!
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