Vierten Woche

This week was an interesting week. This week also ends with my first weekend of racing.

Monday morning I was in the single and did a lot of steady state rowing along with balance drills. Coach came from behind and said I was looking good. Thank goodness for the small compliments. In the afternoon I sat 4 seat in the eight. We did a lot of speed work. We did a great job against the lightweights and we beat the A/B Boats off the start. I was told that I looked better and more confident on Port side. I have been trying to convey this to them since the start. Evidently, Seeing is believing. Tuesday was 3 min pieces at 4 seat in the eight, while they seat-raced in the fours for top eight. Nothing really noteworthy happened. Wednesday I sat 3 seat in the morning for a nice swing row. IN the evening, we concentrated mostly on Technique of the catch. I met a very cool coach by the name of Vince. He spattered his rowing analogies that would make a sailor blush. But, when I talked to him after practice we spoke of the importance of laughing and having fun in rowing. You really just have to enjoy rowing.

Thursday was my chance for seat racing. We split up into 3 4+ boats and did mainly 3 min pieces. I won my seat race. But the whole time I sat 3 seat which is starboard. I didn't do spectacularly (no surprise) and was sequestered to the third eight. Toward the end he switched the line-up a lot and wanted us to race a 2K. The were very stacked line-ups. It is hard to feel like there was a point to the seat racing when it appears the coach comes with a line-up in mind and sets it up for that line-up to win.

Friday morning I sat 2 seat in the 4+ and it was less than spectacular row. It is annoying when you are working your butt off and others aren't even breaking a sweat. Lazy people are annoying. Get your head in the game or get out of the boat. In the afternoon, I took the scull out for a row and did a practice 2K. It was alright but I had some trouble getting up to steam. On

Saturday we practiced our eight line up for racing and it was off-set, and the feeling in the boat seemed to be general discontent.

Sunday we raced and were in the fastest heat so it was no surprise to anyone that we didn't advance to finals. The set was better, but the rush was a little hard. It also seemed as if our Cox was signing her name on the course rather than a straight line.

Sadly there is no tech talk for the week. I would just like to say pause at the catch to find length was a good drill just for my own personal coaching notebook.

I feel as though I am getting stronger and more capable in the boats. However I felt a little drained this week. It could be the shear amount of working I did, lots of moving peoples crap up numerous flights of stairs. So I am crossing professional mover of my list of careers.

Week 3

This week was a pretty standard week of Rowing. Though an Olympian that I got to meet made the comment that it is better to live in the middle ground. He meant that we all have great days and bad days but you have far more average ones. Don't let the bad ones affect you and don't let the great one lull you into false security.

Monday I went for a swing row in the scull in the morning and sat port side 2 seat in the 4+ in the afternoon. A good day but again average. Tuesday found me again sitting 2 seat in the 4+ but with a different bow seat. This however was an awful set (balance) day. It improved by the end but was definitely below par. Wednesday I sat 3 Seat in the eight and we went for an hour steady state and were filmed. From the filming I found my flaws that I have when it comes to sweep rowing, which basically comes down to dipping at the catch, or front of the stroke. In the afternoon practice I sat bow seat in the 4+ and we practiced starts. The one thing that is completely different from Penn AC and OU rowing is the pace. At Penn AC the pace is so much faster. In the 4+ we started out at 40+ spm (strokes per minute) and we settled out at a 34-36spm. It is faster but still does not feel rushed which is a great feeling and phenomenon.

On Thursday we split up into 2 eights and a 4+ and raced against the juniors in 6x500m pieces; 2 representing each of the start, body and finish of the race. I sat 3 seat in the eight that we were told was considered the "B" boat. We won all six pieces by at least half a boat length! The starting pieces we raced out of the start at a 42-44spm and settled to 37, with times of 1:23 and 1:19! The body pieces were done with a substitution to the boat at four seat. It is interesting to see the switch happen between two boats side by side. It saves time and the Girls at OU are going to have to learn this in the fall. The body pieces were done at a base pace of 36ish spm and put up a time of about 1:36 for each. The finish piece resemble the start in reverse though. We put up a time of 1:33 and 1:30 in those. It was a good day of racing.

Friday was 4 seat in the eight in the AM and this is the practice that the tech tips come from for this week. In the evening I was again in the single.

On Saturday we did 2 by approx. 2K race pieces because the coarse was closed for the Philadelphia Triathlon. I was in the scull. my first time was 7:24, nothing great but I had to wind a coarse through stopped master's rowers and had a bit of trouble with my point. The second was much better, clear and straight coarse, with a time of 6:45. That is the good news. The bad news is that I am unsure where I will sit for the upcoming Independence day regatta. I was told my eight rowing is very "raw". Of course this should be no surprise since I spend so much time in a scull and prior to this summer had not touched a sweep oar in basically over a year. But, I feel I hold my own in an eight while I think on the race pieces earlier in the week. But, I was told that I look good in the scull, so take that for what it is.

Tech Tips: (sweep)It is very important to keep even oar handle pressure from your point of weight to unweight. This would be the handle path from about half "hands away" to right be for the lift to the catch. The best way to practice this it to do pause at varying points in the sequence on the recovery. It is also very important to get to the "body prep" position TOGETHER and to remain sitting tall and bending through the hips. Another way to help keep this tall position row with your head/chin up. Try to see the person in front of you on your same side over the shoulder of the person directly in front of you.

(scull): It is best when developing your sculling technique to build your stroke from the finish because it sets the balance for the entire recovery. It needs to be quick and clean from the finish and fluid all the way to the catch. Balance is easy to get in a scull at hands away, and body prep. The goal is to keep that balance as you approach the catch. To work on this rowing on the square (or as close to square as possible) and pauses in the recovery.

Week Two and a Rowing Metaphor

This week started out pretty rough. I was still on the Starboard side and it just wasn't clicking. For those unsure of the difference Starboard means that oar is out of the left side (rowers' perspective) of the boat as opposed to Port. I have rowed Starboard numerous times in college but never raced on the side. I just felt that I was unable to perform while concentrating on the new side changes. I felt like a novice rower again and not like a rower with four plus years of experience. I decided to talk to the coach about whether or not I would be given the chance to row port again. He said that there was no worries about being denied a position due to being below par as a Starboard. He said that we are focusing on rowing together and that it would probably serve me better to get comfortable on the new side because in a couple weeks when seat racing comes I could row both.

The next day I took out the scull (2 oars/one rower) for some steady rowing. I also went out that practice with a pair (2 oars/2 rowers)and another singe. It was interesting to see that I could keep up fairly well with the pair. Thursdays practice was in the 4+ (four rowers/four oars/one coxswain). It was an excruciatingly slow practice. It was nice to get the one on one attention from the assistant coach but a workout it was not. The main focus on this practice was getting connection at the catch, more to follow. After a day of feeling like the remedial boat I was back in the scull, where I feel very comfortable, for a long hour+ of steady rowing.

This brings me to Friday evening practice. I was in the eight (eight oars and rowers, one coxswain) sitting still starboard in three seat. This practice we were followed exclusively be coach Warren. This practice the focus was balance and swinging/rowing together. This was possibly the best practice of the week. I learned more about how to move and stay balanced in the boat than I did while rowing at OU. I will save the technique forum for the end. It was fun and a new feeling to be in a boat that moves at 16 strokes and under(very slow) completely balanced (set) and have the oars of the water. Out of this practice also came the Rowing metaphor of the week.

The Metaphor is "Row like a Predator." To move the boat well one needs to be confident and fluid in their movements. Thinking on the difference between predators and prey, you can see the how a lion moves in comparison to a rabbit. The lion moves in deliberate fluid/agile motions. Its movements also look relaxed, and relaxed rowing is fast rowing. The lion doesn't even look as if it is trying as it stalks its prey, they don't even see it coming. However, the rabbit is timid and unsure. This moves onto how conduct yourself in races. Be a predator, row confident and no one can beat you. When you are sitting at the starting line look at your pray, your competition and pity them. Pity them for being foolish enough to enter a race against you, even if it is a national team. That is a powerful thought to have and that confidence can win races.

The week was capped with a tough practice of 4 x 2K race pieces with the other eights. While our boat line-up did not win the pieces there was improvement piece to piece. I also got to experience what it feels like to do a 2K is 6 Minutes and under. It is an amazing feeling to move that fast and to be that controlled. Very freeing.

Now I am going to make some notes on Technique for my own notes and for any rowers who are interested. The big things are to be relaxed yet deliberate in your movements. Rowing is a very simple movement but rowers are in the pursuit of perfection. To perform the stroke perfectly with as little effort as possible. Contrary to what your body tells you it does not help the balance of the boat to tense up to correct the balance. Be fluid and make minor corrections. Other important fact of the stroke are to feel the transfer of weight in the oar from your hands to the oar lock as you move from the finish to hands away to the catch and through the drive. The last point that was stressed this week was connection at the catch. The feeling of suspending through your latisimus and pull the weight of the blade. There are three points of stability in the boat, feet, seat and oarlock. By keeping those connected we form a strong, stable triangle for power. It is also extremely important to the drive to get to the body prep before the knees break to lighten the load by keeping the boat running. This can make the difference between picking up 300 lbs for 200 strokes or only 80 lbs.

Drills to remember: Pauses, Tap, legs only.

Week one

Alright we hit the ground running. After my baptism I again went out on Friday morning in a double (2guys/four oars). It was an enjoyable first for me. It is much more stable than the single and can be fun to be rowing with someone else instead of being left with your thoughts all the time. Friday afternoon was my first practice in the sweep boats (one oar per person). I went out in a four with coxswain (4+). it was fun to get back into a sweep boat after what was essentially a year long hiatus. It was also a new experience to have a unfamiliar coxswain. The main difference that I found between those that I have had before and my new one is basically they always talk. There seems to be no silence on the coxswain's mic. This is not to say that it was annoying, actually the opposite was true. It was helpful to have someone give direct feedback all the time when the coaches where working elsewhere.

On Saturday I was again in a 4+. The emphasis of this practice was mainly technique. So here is the tech jargon that those not interested can skip and move to the next paragraph. The main thing that coach Warren wants us to focus on for the summer is quick, connected catches. This is to say that there are two parts to the catch, actually placing the blade in the water, and possible more importantly, the connection point where you actually start moving the boat. I talked later to my friend Nick (coach Bivins) about this and he put forth the following metaphor: It is like a drag racer to fast on the power application and you spin your wheels to slow and you are slow. Coach Warren also pointed out that this is where one sees the difference between Novice rowers and elite rowers (the smaller the distance it takes to get the boat moving). This is my new area where the most time is going to have to be made to improve in the sweep boats. After practice I was exhausted and spent the rest of the day relaxing (i.e. napping).

Sunday was our free day. I spent it wondering around the city just finding what there is to find. I found a whole foods grocery and made my way through some of the closer museums to see admittance prices and so forth. I like Whole foods but would also like to find a more general grocery. I don't really care at this point if my eggs come from chickens that have been caged. I am still looking. I am also now tied in with the Philadelphia rent-a-rower. It is a ad hoc business where people hire rowers to do odd jobs so we can make some scratch. I will be tarring a roof on Tuesday. Monday starts a new week and there is no rest for the wicked.

First Day of School

I made it to Philadelphia. That is the best place to start. Moved in on Wednesday. I know live on the 8th floor of a building that overlooks the Art Museum. The apartment is nice and the bed looks like it is going to be very comfy. I moved everything in and got situated. I also moved my boat into its new home at 12 Boathouse Row. It seemed happy there.

First Practice happened on Thursday. I find my self in the land of giants. I am one of probably 3 guys who is 6'2'' and under. I also found myself on Sculling duty. There seems to be right now 21 guys in the program. So there is a guy that rotates out in the practice to the single. It was a interesting practice. I set out on my warm up. Once I get down to the opposite end of the course, I started doing technique drills. I quickly find that while I can row a single, I have not payed enough attention to my technique. Trying placement drills (where you basically move your oar in and out of the water) and concentrate on remaining loose while maintaining balance. About mid way through I move to the catch and pause to balance, and promptly flip the boat. I got baptized. So I am now not only under my boat but also get to swim in the Schuylkill River. I then finish out practice rowing on the square, which is also pretty dificult. I rowed approximately 9miles in all.

I am still the "new guy" it seems. It is still young in the program, and there is not much talking amongst the guys except those that already now each other. I met one guy after practice. His name is Tom and we chatted about rowing the single. I head home and make dinner and grab a shower to wash the river off.

I am going to head to bed early cause I have practice at 6AM. This is going to be an interesting and fast week. Photos are soon to follow.