Tag Archives: workouts

erGOALS…

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I have always encouraged others to make sure they take a moment to enjoy the small successes achieved along the way in working toward the larger goal. The road to reaching any accomplishment-whether it’s publishing your thesis or dissertation, finishing a long-range project at work, to training to be an elite rower-is long, difficult and inevitably filled with setbacks. So the importance of taking time to recognize the smaller successes is vital to keeping your confidence up and the momentum going. We all know what it feels like to be “stuck” or in a rut. It comes in the form of writer’s block or maybe you just can’t seem to shave off that extra second on your 2K to set a new PR (personal record) no matter how diligent you are about your training and how hard you work. There are far too many days we are all hard on ourselves and too few that we give our own back a congratulatory pat.

Last week was a big week for my training record book. I pulled a new PR in both the 2K and 6K erg tests. Still on the steep side of the training curve, I am seeing significant results with almost every test so pulling new PRs isn’t anything new. The difference in these PRs was I succeeded in reaching two goals I had set for myself which felt pretty damn good.

A little over two months ago, I set out a list of my goals I knew I needed to reach this year. Buying my own boat = check. I’m madly in love with my Hudson single. Breaking the 7 minute mark in the 2K (pulled a 6:56 for my new PR) and breaking the 22 minute mark in the 6k (pulled a 21:59 for my new PR) = check and check.

You can kind of see the “21:59.9″ in the picture above. In my state of gasping for oxygen and forcing myself to take light strokes to properly cool-down, I managed to snap a picture…like a proud parent when their child does something for the first time, I was a little excited…just barely broke 22 minutes but hell, I still broke it. That was true pain and what a lesson in how important every single stroke can be.

Time to set some new goals.

Ergs Don’t Float…

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For many, that can be a brutal reality. What you do on the erg does matter in terms of volume and building your base. You have to work to develop your fitness; that’s a no-brainer. But as anyone knows, it means close to nothing if you can pull an unbelievable 2K or 6K time with handle and chain, if you can’t move a boat with oar and water. Maybe you’ll win the hammer at CRASH-Bs but I’d much rather win a Gold at Worlds or the Olympics. Just my two cents.

So, I finally bought my own boat last week. Cross that off the list of goals set for the year! It is February 8th and I couldn’t be more excited to take MY single out on the water. Hurry up warm weather. The idea of having my OWN boat is exciting, scary, and a bit of a reality check. I’ve been putting in the time on the erg and in the gym; now I’m putting in the money, personal investment and commitment to truly go after a dream. There is something unbelievably powerful and yet frightening in acknowledging the reality of climbing that high dive ladder and jumping straight into the deep end. It looks real nice to talk about it with your feet dry and on the ground, but taking the plunge is an entirely different experience.

Hudson 1x

Hence, why I have probably experienced a little bit of the “holy shit” feeling of a little fear but mostly positive anxiety over the past week. There is nothing easy about putting in the hours of hard training-waking up at 5:30am (or earlier), then putting in a full 8-10 hour work day…only to finish your day with a second 1-2 hour workout. Truly it is easy to “play National Team” and train in the safety of name-your-boathouse, facility, or gym. Putting in the time can be physically tough and perhaps mentally strenuous if you’re balancing a family, friends, a job, or simply your life; but I keep reminding myself that this is the easy part. The hard part comes when I’m getting destroyed in the first few (or dozen) races come April and May. Taking a physical beating is easy to recover from: you rest. Taking an emotional beating takes guts, perseverance, and the ability to put your pride (because, let’s face it all athletes have egos) on the shelf for a while.

Bring on the high dive. Ready to jump in headfirst and get a little wet.