Monthly Archives: April 2013

Attention…Row!

Leave a comment

The water has finally thawed, the days are getting longer, and you’ve started leaving your pogies at home. You’ve dug out your summer training gear, replacing your long-sleeve fleece for a tank top (maybe we’re not quite there yet, but one can dream for warmer weather). Your pride for the calluses on your hands has been rekindled. At last, spring racing season is upon us.

The USRowing National Selection Regatta I this week marks the beginning of our racing season for the year and the first selection regatta of the 2016 cycle. The Women’s and Men’s 1x will be raced as part of NSR I, while the Men’s 2-, Women’s 2-, Men’s 2x, Women’s 2x, Men’s Ltwt 2-, Women’s Ltwt 1x, and Men’s Ltwt 1x are Speed Order Events. This year’s Women’s 1x event lists 18 athletes from seven different clubs/affiliations.

When racing the single, race prep becomes a personalized process, one you figure out and fine tune with the more experience you gain. Being a member of the United States Rowing Training Center, we have our prescribed workouts and scheduled practices as a team, but everyone approaches race day (or week) in their own unique way.

Looking ahead to this week’s racing, I couldn’t help but think back on the handful of races I have under my belt. My first National Selection Regatta was only two years ago. I had been rowing all of maybe four months total…as in ever before in my life; my time spent in the single alone amounted to three, maybe four weeks. I remember launching for the W1x Time Trial from the dock at Mercer Lake, white knuckles wrapped tightly around my handles, my shoulders probably up near my ears, and thinking to myself “just don’t end up IN the water.” The weather that day was absolutely terrible and worsening by the minute. By the time I lined up to head down the course, white caps were ripping across the lake. I was terrified. I took 31st place out of 33 racers that day. Needless to say I did not get to advance to the heats, but I had completed my first run down a 2,000-meter course in my single and met my personal goals of: 1) not flipping; and 2) not placing last. Everyone starts somewhere, right? Check out the picture below that I found from the 2011 NSR. I think the expression on my face sums it all up rather nicely.
Fast forward two years later and so much has changed. Now that I have a little more racing experience and a higher set of expectations for myself, my approach to this year’s NSR is slightly different from 2011. While I won’t give away any training secrets or divulge too much of my own personal secret sauce, here is a very general approach to racing prep and getting ready to go fast.

Hydrate.
You’ve heard it from your coaches a million times over: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. The tricky part about being hydrated is that you can’t take care of it in a day. It’s a process and something you have to be consistent with. Waking up on racing day and downing a couple of gallons of H20 won’t exactly do the trick. Not to mention you’ll wear yourself out running to the bathroom 10 times before you even get to the racecourse. Hopefully you’ve already developed wonderful hydration habits, but heading into race week be extra diligent about putting those fluids into your body. I try to make sure I always finish the water and/or Gatorade I pack for training sessions. In between practices, be mindful of continuing to hydrate. For some people, water can be boring so try to spice it up a bit with (healthy) things you like to drink. This will make it easier. Personally, I like to stock up on ZICO chocolate flavored coconut water. It’s been a little bit colder the past few days so I’ve been fixing myself lots of tea and decaf coffee. Keep a water bottle by your bed at night. Sip on it as you’re reading or watching TV before you fall asleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night thirsty or to take a trip to the bathroom, you already have some water handy.

chocozico

Rest.
This is hopefully a no-brainer. Rowers love their sleep, and with good reason. Rest and sleep is vital to the body’s recovery process and replenishing energy stores. Plan ahead and try to clear your schedule as much as possible during race week so that you aren’t caught staying up late with work or social engagements. Set a hard bedtime and stick to it. Try to adjust your sleeping schedule in advance so that you don’t throw your body off too much during race week (it’s already dealing with enough having to push through possibly multiple 2,000-meter races). So if you know you have to be up at 5am every morning during race week-and you’re not used to waking up at that time-start waking up a little earlier the week leading up to racing (and theoretically going to bed sooner so that you aren’t losing sleep).

E-A-T.
An obvious one but perhaps one of the most important. Fuel your body with foods you know it runs well on. This can be a bit of a trial and error process for racing but you know your body better than anyone else. Get plenty of protein, carbs and eat your fruits and veggies. If you’re traveling to a race and staying in a hotel, try staying in one that has a kitchen (or microwave and mini fridge). That way you can stock up on plenty of snacks and easily accessible food that you prefer. Relying on eating out at restaurants can be exhausting (not to mention expensive) and sometimes limits you to food choices you wouldn’t normally make.

Be prepared.
You’ve spent all this time training and preparing your body, now make it even easier on yourself by preparing yourself with the easy stuff. Know the regatta rules, course traffic pattern, race times, etc. Take the time to research about the course: what kind of body of water is it? Is there a current or flow? What are the weather conditions supposed to be like during racing? In racing, there are many factors you can’t control, but at least you can control how you prepare for them.

Visualize Success.
Visualization; meditation; imagery; mental rehearsal. Not everyone buys into these tactics, but they have been proven to contribute to many athletes’ success. Whatever term you use for it, the mental practice of seeing yourself in the race can help you to better prepare for when you are actually in the race. Rehearse your race plan, imagine yourself at the start line, visualize your moves and how you’ll react to any unexpected events that could possibly occur during the race. If you catch a crab off the start or find yourself a length down going into the last 500 meters, you’ve already mentally experienced this and know how to handle it. Why not train the mind as we train the body?

foamroller
Body Work.
Keep up with your stretching routine, get a massage, ice those nagging ailments, and spend some time on the foam roller. These are all things that are hopefully already a part of your routine. With endurance sports like running, cycling, or in this case, rowing your body is your most important instrument. Keeping your body fine-tuned requires a lot of work. Taking the time to properly warm up, cool down, and manage any injuries is just as important as eating right, hydrating, and training hard.

Contain the crazy…but not too much.
Everybody handles the “taper” differently. Not everyone tapers for racing, but if you do and if you have in the past, you may have experienced what I call the “crazies” caused by the excess energy you have from a few days of lighter training than you’re used to. Some people feel great, some people feel pretty crappy, and some people don’t feel any different than they do during a normal training week. Be prepared to feel bored, loopy, antsy, and even moody. Find a new show to watch or rent a few movies, buy a new book, pick up a new hobby like knitting or download Words with Friends or Scrabble on your smartphone; I promise you’ll become addicted. Most importantly, positively channel the energy and be able to unleash it all on the water.

Finally, enjoy the experience. It’s racing! As rowers we train, train, train. Relative to the time spent practicing, we have very few opportunities to actually race. Relish the chance to put all that hard work to use. Go fast.

Every Day Counts.

What NOT to Eat: Guilty Pleasures of the National Team

1 Comment

As elite athletes, the women at the Princeton Training Center naturally have a certain level of “healthy” in their diets. The training regime we put ourselves through day in and day out demands that we eat our dark greens, colorful veggies and fruits, plenty of carbs and protein, and the “right” kind of fats. When you’re training for 6-8 hours a day, you burn A LOT of calories. Fueling your body with the right foods and liquids is just as important as your training. It aids in the recovery process, building strength, and maintaining overall health.
USDA Food Pyramid
High endurance athletes often get the “you must be able to eat whatever you want” comment. While there is some truth to that in that we definitely eat more than the average person, the majority of our calories come from the “right” kind of foods. But let’s be honest for a minute: we’re human and have our vices. So after a long cycle of intense training, oftentimes capped by a brutal week of testing or racing, sometimes you just need some comfort food.

As you may have figured out already, this isn’t your typical “healthy eating tips from an elite athlete” post. Official disclaimer: the following is not to be used as a guide for appropriate everyday fueling. Consider yourself warned: after reading this, you may have a craving for something sweet and a little less nutritious than your traditional (and hopefully healthier) pre/post workout meals.

For your enjoyment and consideration but not exactly everyday recommendation, I’ve compiled a short list of some of the favorite guilty pleasures of the Women’s Rowing National Team training group. Names have been omitted to maintain anonymity.

Pizza. Sometimes three or five (who’s counting) slices of pizza is the only thing that sounds good after an exhausting, brutal erg test. Melted cheese, greasy pepperoni, or sweet and savory pineapple and bacon atop a thick garlic crust (okay, go for the whole wheat), isn’t the worst way to recover depleted calorie stores.

Chocolate. Godiva, Ghirardelli, or just good old Hershey’s. We definitely have some chocolate fanatics in the group. Cadbury Mini-Eggs go like hot cakes among team members during the spring. I might have a Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix sitting in my pantry waiting to be baked for a rainy day.

Candy. Pick your poison: Sour Patch Kids, Mike and Ike’s, Skittles, Licorice, Gummy Bears, Reese’s Pieces…
Cake with Oreos

Cake & Cupcakes. There might be one house of rowers who particularly enjoys cake. I mean, who doesn’t like cake? It doesn’t have to be someone’s birthday to enjoy this light, fluffy, frosted dessert. Sometimes, you CAN have your cake and eat it too.
Pop Tarts

Pop Tarts. Let’s just say there are a couple of athletes who could be the spokespeople for this delicious toaster pastry. It was an essential item packed for the long trip to Australia for World Cup I. Cookies ‘n Cream, Hot Fudge Sundae, and Chocolate Fudge are just a few favorite flavors. I grew up as a Toaster Strudel kid myself.

Bacon. Bacon makes everything better. Enough said.

Cookies. Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, OREO’s (but only if they’re double-stuffed); Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Snap Cookies are a personal favorite. I can pound some serious Ginger Snap cookies and Trader Joe’s does it right. If you haven’t tried these little treats, go to the nearest TJ’s. Now. There’s a reason the stores are often “out of stock.”

Donuts. Someone on the team is a bakery extraordinaire. She just knows where the best baked goods are, and cupcakes and donuts are her speciality. She recently introduced the team to Federal Donuts out of Philadelphia. A-maz-ing. Added bonus: they serve fried chicken as well.

Potato Chips. Salty, greasy goodness. I bet you can’t eat just one.

Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt. It’s just too bad that the city of Princeton has a shortage of ice cream and frozen yogurt joints (note: sarcasm). I seriously think the ice cream/frozen yogurt shop to person ratio in Princeton is something like 10:1. For the fro-yo fiend, you are in Heaven. Favorite local places to satisfy that ice cream craving include Halo, Thomas Sweets, and the Bent Spoon. For the keep-at-home stock, Ben & Jerry’s seems to be a team favorite.

I’m famished after all of this writing. Off to down a bag of spinach and a protein shake…and maybe some chips, ice cream or brownies…

2013 Winter Training Camp: Check.

1 Comment
Sun rising over the Otay Reservoir before morning practice.
Sun rising over the Otay Reservoir before morning practice.

The three weeks in San Diego seemed to fly by. Being at training camp sort of feels like you’re in a time warp: the days blend together and everything outside of your life of eat, sleep, row (repeat) seems to stand still. Then you wake up one morning and it’s time to go back home, albeit to MORE training, but Spring has finally arrived and the 2013 Winter Training Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California is over.

12 athletes spent a solid three weeks of training in San Diego, while the London Olympians competed in Australia at the Australian National Championships and Sydney World Cup. We all rendezvoused back in Princeton, New Jersey today for the beginning of full team training. Up next: National Selection Regatta I and II, World Cup II in Eton Dorney, Great Britain, World Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland and finally the World Championships in Chungju, South Korea.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Overall, training camp was a success. The group as a whole really came together. I think we were ready to have some space by the end of the three weeks (find me a group of 12 tired, hungry women spending 14-16 hours a day, every day together who wouldn’t need that), but everyone worked hard and made personal advances. Our last session on the water included an exchange of several 250-meter pieces between the 8+ and the 4x. It was fun to put all of our hard work to use and have the opportunity to compete with each other.

A common training camp ritual: the ice bath.
A common training camp ritual: the ice bath.

As I jogged around the OTC last Saturday afternoon for my recovery run from the brutal workout we had earlier that morning, I took in my last sights and sounds of sunny California and tried my best to soak up the moment. One of the BMX courses is hosting a youth event of some sort. Young boys and girls shoot out of the gates, pedaling up and down the dirt hills as fast as they can fearless and unabated. I continue along the running path, curving to the left and passing by the soccer fields where there is a soccer identification camp being held. Parents anxiously watch as their sons and daughters run drills, showcasing their 12-year old skills. The next generation of Olympians hard at work already.

I peek to my left as I hear the yells from the rugby field. The women’s team is scrimmaging, working day in and day out for their debut as an official Olympic Sport in 2016. How cool is that? The path cuts around the back of the OTC, by the Archery Center and the orange tree grove, on the way to the track. As I ascend the top of a hill, I have a full view of the lower Otay Reservoir where we’ve spent the last 21 days grinding it out on the water. Set against the backdrop of a low mountain range, the landscape is breathtaking. Maybe it’s the endorphin high from the tough pieces that morning or the exhaustion from a long three weeks, but it’s moments like this that remind me of how truly lucky I am.

It is hard to believe it’s already April. The next few months will be filled with intense training, erg tests, selection pieces, and plenty of good days and bad days. We have a great mix of new and veteran athletes this year and will undoubtedly put together an exceptionally talented team. It’s going to be a great start to the cycle. I know I can speak for the rest of my team when I say we can’t wait to make boats go fast and bring home some hardware.

Every Day Counts.