31/12 The Last Day

WOW! Today is the last day of 2011 and what an exciting year it has been. Before I start talking about this year, let's talk about the training for a second.

We are now entering the last week of break, meaning that we all have to try to catch up on some workouts we never did or just get in shape for some people. Yesterday was fun though because Brian COSMILLO came over and trained with me in my workout den/garage. We had Avicii pumping and he was working on the ergo while I was banging out a body circuit. It felt normal and at home. I feel confident in my endurance, not so much on my power, but I still am proud of the work I've dedicated on this break. We will see what comes out of it.

Back to this last year. Let's do a small recap:
-I accomplished my first year in college, not too shabby.
-Raced in the Varsity 8 every single race.

-Raced San Diego Crew Classic

-Travelled around the country with people I love  ^

-Beat Temple in the semi-final and made it to Grand Finals at Dad Vails.

-Got to go back to France and see my mother and friends.

-Rediscovered the single.

-Attempted to have chickens.

-Learned how to deal with rowing and school at a higher level.

-Learned how to lose, badly.

-Set goals that will probably be the death of me.

-And finally, made it through another year with my lady.

So that's what 2011 had to offer. I definitely had to give it all my might and that didn't seem enough. This year, I have to give a substantial amount of work on top of more school. Didn't I say it would be the "death of me"? 

No matter what happens, keep smiling and enjoy the people around you (friends, family, teammates...) because you are just starting a new year and it might not always go as planned. 

Cheers and Happy New Year 2012 to all! See you next year.

27/12

The garnish and stuffing is over but the festivities aren't. I fell like I'm in a bitter-sweet position at the moment for a few reasons. First, we are half way through the break, meaning that it's almost over; that's good and bad. Second, training still continues to increase in difficulty due to lack of motivation and a well known word in the rowing community: camaraderie. I do believe though, that during breaks like these, the best best strategy is to take it day by day so you can enjoy the people around you and the relaxed ambiance of your home.

Even though training on your own has its downs, it also has its ups. Today, which was a rainy day, made me want to stay home instead of hitting the gym and looking like I have no idea what I'm doing on the ergo. Side statement to this is, WE ARE THE 1%!....that know how to use one. Anyways, back to what I was saying. A few days ago, I stole an ergo from a friend and it has been sitting in the living room, so I brought it out to the open garage and set myself up for a little ergo movie sesh. But I didn't play just any movie, it was Salt. The reason is, I didn't feel like dragging my now-sore-ass around for 20k at a 2:05 average. I wanted some action, and I did for 1 hour and 18 minutes. I am pretty content with today's workout because I wanted to keep my heart rate up for a good amount of time so I shifted from the 145-150 area to the 160-170 area on the last 8 kilometers. Here is what my interior designing looks like:

And here is a little dedication for my favorite supporters and fans Jessica MELLINGER and Abby SE...ahh no one cares how it's spelled. I use these as pure motivation.

23/12

It is now about the half way point of this break. Training is going pretty well especially the last two days which included a solo 9 mile run and a few hours at the gym hitting the ergo and the weights. In the next few days I will be working less on weights and more on core and endurance. That is the secret to coming back for school training. Besides that, there are only 2 days left until Christmas so hopefully that will make us all more fruitful and the moustache is still growing but at a slower rate. I hope it won't be a disappointment!

Enjoy your family and friends when you can and keep smiling because you have it good.

Merry Christmas!!!

19/12

As the days until Christmas decrease in size, the laziness and moustache increase. Every year it's the same scenario, we all get excited to go on break so we can relax and work super duper hard because we want to come back better, but let's be real, does that ever happen? You start out great for the first few days and then you want to go out, eat a bunch of crap, or go on a random adventure that will most likely get in the way of your training. "Dude, you always have tomorrow to train. You're fine!" is the usual response from your friends when you tell them that you should get 1 hour of erging in. This has somewhat hit me since I've been home, but not too badly.

I was speaking with an old friend from the SA team earlier this morning just catching up, and he reminded me that an athlete with as much experience and intensive training should be logging 160km no matter what and that doing what was asked of me would put me in the right spot. I guess you always need certain reminders to keep you on track.

After figuring out and actually getting presents and cards for Christmas, I'll be mounting the bike at the gym for a 60min spin class to get the legs going after a lazy Sunday. To follow, a semi-long jog to get the endurance working a little harder.

This weekend wasn't as lazy as I mentioned it to be. We headed down to the Canal (C54, a small race course) for the 2nd Annual Christmas Regatta to spend the morning with the current members, rowers and parents, of the Melbourne High School Rowing Team. Every year, I recognize less faces, but see ones that I have forgotten. After a few hours or food and discussion, some boats went out and raced 500m. We finalized the event with an alumni race which included many different years of Mel-Hi's rowing history and kick their asses. It was a lot of fun and I'm hoping to see a lot more alumni next year.

To finish off, it has now been 1 week and 2 days of growing. The hair is looking pretty good and I'm hoping to watch it flourish even more.

15/12

Wow, I completely forgot how not being on a strict schedule is hard to do. Yes, I've planned what I need to do everyday but does that mean I will do it or find the right time during the day? And again, it has only been two days since I've been back and I'll find the groove. Plus seeing what my teammates do on a regular basis on our Facebook page keeps me somewhat motivated. I started the day with a 4 mile easy (8min/mile) run, then erging 2x30mins a little later today with a weight workout tonight.

To keep this post interesting here are my new blue lenses for my pink radar oakleys...enjoy!

Also if you are interested in a fun new rowing calendar, we've got a perfect one for Christmas. The name is The Men of the Saint John's, and you will be able to find it here:

http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/men-of-the-saint-johns-2012/18743686

If you use COUNTDOWN you will receive 25% off! Get it now!!!

First Day Back

Some may have started early, others late, or not at all; I am starting today. Being a day late is not a big worry of mine. It was good to take a few days off to dwell on other things than rowing and of course working, which is why I stayed a few days extra in Jacksonville. I am now home in Melbourne and ready to get it on. I will be recording my pulses and times to see where I'm at in my training and seeing my progression throughout this whole month of vacation. Today's program is a little run, then weights, and then later on tonight will probably be a B1(low intensity erg workout).

On the side of this break, I am starting a new journey with my facial hair. I will not touch it one bit until I get back. Since I have to shave for work, this is the only time I am able to accomplish this. Hope it's majestic!  Here is 4 days in.

Winter Training Commences

It is December 3, it's cold, and winter training is here. Fall is behind us, and to me,my only direction is up. I have been feeling desperate lately which is not a bad thing because it keeps me pushing and on my toes. Never in my mind I would have thought that these last few months were not going to be very pleasant. Let me explain. I rowed all summer, competed and stayed above the base line of being "fit", but that still wasn't enough. Coming in to the first week of practice weighing 187 lbs (I don't think I've ever been that heavy) and pulling a 1:49.2 6k ergo test was definitely not going to cut it. The rowing itself on the team is a combined effort so that being said "I had to get my shit together". Now being in the first days of December, our last 6k ergo test was how we transitioned from fall to real winter training. 175 lbs and 1:48.0 were the results of it and there is a big difference. Yes, the erg score is only a second lower, but it was less of a struggle at this point. That piece didn't exactly go as well as I planned, but trust me, I'm coming back with a vengeance. (I'm talking to you Brian COSMILLO!!!)

After a few days of working in Jacksonville, I will be returning to Melbourne with one goal: destroying my PR (1:46.9). I have two different plans I can follow and I think this year I will keep experimenting with methods of training. This next month is definitely not going to be as exciting as it is talking about it. I wish I had the availability to row the single a lot more this fall and during this break but I think it would only be a waste of time since the HS team probably won't really share and the center will be closed.

This break is going to make us or break us, let's see the outcome.

What are you up to?

After a challenging fall season, mentally and physically, it is time to take a small step back and reflect on my positives and negatives that have led me to where I stand on this day in mid-November.

Thinking ahead last spring, I took it upon myself to load up extra classes for this fall so that I didn't have to struggle in the spring due to traveling. Obviously as a freshman, I wasn't very experienced, but I learned well from it and am now implementing that episode into any academic schedule. Even though it was somewhat smart, I reached a new point of exhaustion. Classes were very demanding at the same time, and I also had a spot to secure in the top 8 list. At one point I told myself, I need to pick one or the other each time because there is no possibility to push myself 100% in both areas. I wasn't complaining, but I was scared because I didn't want to ruin my academic goals nor my rowing ones so I asked my coach for some advice, and his response was simple and short, "If the guys at Harvard can do it, you can do it. I always tell myself that if someone else can accomplish it then there is no reason I can't." From then on, I was determined to separate both areas and treat them like they were the only ones that existed, like a wife and a mistress. All these mental challenges got me ready for the upcoming weeks.

With newly found confidence, I went in the final weeks before racing with a smart attitude hoping that the rest of my teammates could feel what I had going. The water was now the place to put on a show and it happened on a good basis. We, as a team, kept looking for more speed and it was apparent. In the last post, I talked about different points that were worked on before racing the Hooch so I won't go over them again. With much pressure, the entire team arrived to Chattanooga with the words "serious" and "scared" written on their foreheads in my opinion; They had flashing lights on mine. But when did stomach aches and nervous pee breaks ever stop anyone from winning? The goal of this race in particular was to get away and stay away from Georgia Tech since they started right behind us. It was more of being chase like a prey feeling than actual racing feeling, which in the end costs us to be ineffective with our rowing and put us in the 5th place. It is a little frustrating because I cannot get upset at a crew that did everything they could and it just wasn't enough, but that is not what kind of crew we were that day. When we apply ourselves well, we win. So in this case, I believe we did not put on a show. There is always next race right?

A week later, we drove down to Melbourne to face off who we thought would only be our main competitor, FIT. On the 2-mile course, we definitely made a small improvement with the control of the stroke, and handled the shell with more maturity. I guess it still wasn't enough though because Rollins (who is never a  huge threat) decided to follow us with a real determination only finishing 2 seconds behind us. I am definitely not very content with how close that team finished from us, but my main concern was to measure up against FIT who was 12 seconds ahead; a smaller margin then last year. That was the final checkpoint to enter winter training.

We, as a team and individuals, have a list of specific areas we need to work on, especially me. I have many goals this year including getting my name on a national team related paper. It might not happen this year but it is definitely a solid motivation factor. For now, I work for my team to be faster for them so that they can respond the same way. I have a lot of promising thoughts about this crew as a whole and expect more and more as the days fall off the calender.

It is now time to scrub the dirty rowing off some of the long shells and get some clean rowing on the short ones. Like a prominent mentor in my life always tell me, "it's all about the mileage in those boats."

On my way out, here is a little shout out to all the freshmen: good job on your first semester a the school and on the team, keep working harder and I promise it will show; Matt THOMAS, get better kid, I expect much from you so get yourself healed up.

Next post is winter break...cheers!

Finalizing for Hooch

We are now 9 days away from the Head of the Hooch regatta in Chattanooga, TN. This is probably the most prestigious race to win after the Head of the Charles. Most teams that don't go to Boston usually end up going so it is no piece of cake. 

In 2009, the "IRA boat" won the Men's Championship 8+ by a decent amount of time on top of riding a ripping current downstream. In 2010 (my freshman year), I got to stroke the boat to a second consecutive victory only this time by no more than 2-3 seconds. The conditions were definitely nowhere near the previous year but it was extremely cold. One of the reasons I believe we did not perform as well as we should have is because of the previous training, let me explain. Almost every piece, 6k, tech row, etc... was capped out at a 24 stroke rate, which was great for power but did not help with a endurance at a higher rate. A week prior to the race, we started to build rates up to a 32 but that was not enough for it to be comfortable during the Hooch, which is why I believe we averaged around a 29SR. 

After that victory, we went down to Melbourne for one specific reason: see where we stood with FIT. FIT had just broken the course record and won the Men's Collegiate 8+ in Boston so we knew that they were a great standard to base ourselves off. On the 2-miler, we finished 22 seconds behind, but that was expected. 

This year, the Hooch is going to be one of the toughest races in the fall for JU. After watching FIT finish 28th in the Championship event, I compared their time with the Collegiate event and noticed they would have only finished 3rd. Whaaaa?! I may say. But this is nothing compared to what's next. The third place finisher in the Collegiate event was Georgia Tech. Not only am I surprised they did so well but they also finished 6 seconds behind FIT. And right behind them, was the upcoming team Notre Dame with only a 2 second gap between them and Georgia Tech. Of course, both teams will be trying to take the Hooch title away from us this year. 

Now at practice, things have been quite different. The line-ups have changed a few times as the coaches have been trying to find the right set of guys for this race. After great new 6k ergo scores from a lot of people including freshmen and sophomores, time trials, and seat races, the practice line-up has (in my opinion) found its current top boat. Today was the last time trial around the island (8km race) before the Hooch, and the top boat consisted of Andrew SOLOWAY, myself, Mick MAYER, Greg VANOEKEL, Bernardas VINGILIS, Parker LAWLER, Brian COSMILLO, Andre KLEIJN, and Matt OUTLAW. Mick and Andre have really proven their strength on the ergo and the water as well as technical focus. Greg is finally back to practice after a small week off for a lower back problem. And matt has demonstrated that he wanted to stay in his seat after last race. The reason I am happy after today is because everything I asked from them before going out on the water was accomplished. Being sick this morning I asked them to back me up 100% and help me beat our weekly goal (27:30). The race went well and was probably the most technically sound boat I've rowed in since we came back to school, the power was there and when it was time to have balls, everyone laid it down. The final time was 26:18, which made me extremely positive about the guys even if I didn't show it. The current was hard hard to go against and screaming fast in the other direction; on average the boat pulled a 1:38 average split. 

I have good expectations for this entire team. The top boat needs to be faster, the second boat needs to be more confident even though they've gotten faster these last two weeks, and the frosh boat needs to simply kick some ass. 

Head of the Charles

After not getting a bid last year in the collegiate men's 8+, JU sent in a new bid for this year's 47th regatta. As we had hoped for, we finally got the bid, but was later told that we were to move up to the championship men's 8+ since we had raced in the Copley Cup in San Diego. With a lot of strong and experienced guys gone, this year's team is a little young. Hard decision for our coach so he decided not to go to save money and time because of the attendance of the top collegiate and international crews. Of course I was pretty deceived when I heard the news because it was going to be a good step forward for us and I was looking forward to be in Boston again.

Even though we aren't going, our neighbors are. FIT is sending two men's 8+'s, last year's V8 in the Championship event, and their new second V8 in the collegiate event. Their new addition, Jessica MELLINGER will be coxing the V8 who will be leaving last I believe in their event.

Good luck to both boats!

And Racing Begins...

Ahhhh, it's finally here, that moment we've been waiting for. It's not as bad as winter training waiting but still, it's a pain! lol
We are preparing the Head of the Hooch by laying down some race pieces this Saturday at the First Coast Head Race here in Jacksonville.
We are racing two men's 1x, two men's 2-, three men's 4+, one men's novice 8+, and three men's 8+. I will be racing in one of the 4+ accompanied of Bernardas VINGILIS, Chase ROWE, Brian COSMILLO, and Andrew SOLOWAY. Now for the men's 8+ I will be racing with Brian COSMILLO, Greg VANOEKEL, Bernard VINGILIS, Chase ROWE, Jared LOW, Parker LAWLER, Matt OUTLAW, and Tom RICHARDS.
These are some of the best line ups and I'm not doubtful that these will be great learning pieces to understand what we need to do for the future races.
These last few days have been iffy as I feel like the bow 5 is very immature about a varsity boat. I have to admit that it is hard to switch from a 2V to a 1V but it's definitely doable. I believe that it will all come together in time, there is no rush, but kinda!
Tomorrow should be a lot of fun because there barely is any competition.
Come out and support us please!!!

It Had To Happen!

Usually when things in life are going well including pulling sweet splits, having nice line ups, etc etc...karma comes running up the alley and kicks you in the shin.
Something had to happen! And this time it happened to poor Andy DAVIS. After a tough workout on Saturda, which started with a 30min test ergo at rate 20, we went on the water to finish up with 3x10min pieces at higher rates; after a bad first piece, our line up (of people who aren't usually in the boat) pulled it together and was able to do better. Of course by the end of the second piece, Andy's leg had fallen asleep and his lower back wasn't doing so great either. So what's next? Hell, let's do the last piece by 6s. For the first few minutes, it wasn't too bad and we actually were holding the other 8s, but when it came time to up the rates, we fell back; I could only bring it up to a 26 and that was for the last 2 minutes. After that, which I classify that piece as one of the toughest I've had to do, we went in. Oh, but we aren't done here... To dock our boats, we have to arrive at an angle and pull in our oars; as I looked back, the first oar came sliding in and then Andy's also started to until his back seized up, and hit the post, which in the end shifted the shell into the dock and broke the bow off. To end this delightful story, we carried him out of the boat since he could not move.
With hours spent back and forth from the hospital to his house, he finally found out that he had two bulged disks and a tear. This is not good news for him nor the team. He will be doing his best to recover, but you never know what will happen with time.

With that, our first race First Coast Head Race is coming up this weekend.

Go Dolphins!

Speed. It's there.

I have a subtle idea of the exact line up of the what would be a current V8, and it's a solid one. The other day as all three 8's were out doing pieces at low rates, and witnessed some real speed. I'd say about 6 out of the 8 planned (in my mind) wee in that boat and it definitely felt just as strong if not stronger than last year around Hooch time. This is making me optimistic towards the rest of our training. 

Today Brian COSMILLOand I raced one of the pairs for the first time in the around the island time trial and did pretty well as we only finished 5th and 3 mins behind the top boat which was the 8. Of course we had to finish practice with a bang so we ended up in the water trying to dock. Very eventful morning! 

Finding speed is augmenting every day and practice so my goal for this season is to be part of the top 15 on the C-MAX rankings.

Different Works...

After these last few weeks of fitness, and team gathering, we have started to really focus on posture. This last week was awful for my lower back but important for my rowing. If you know me, I over-reach at the catch and end up on my knees. Not this year though! I'm working really hard and keeping a solid figure throughout the entire stroke.
Now that this part of the movement has been engraved, we are moving the catch.

Finally a day of clean water, and of course Coach makes us do most of the practice right in front of the boathouse (it was worth it though).  As we worked on reaching the extremities together at a stationary state, the rest of the boat was able to catch my rhythm and flow with me. Towards the end of practice, we started to move the shells by doing the add-a-pair exercise, which consists of starting with one pair and adding a new one every 10 strokes. The tricky part is to accelerate with the rate with the speed of the boat. Being in the Quantum made it even better as we hauled threw meters with deck-passing puddles.
Overall, I'm excited to see how all this work will show by 8s as we approach our first race.

There is an outline of the V8 at the moment but anything can change.

Two and a Half in

Now that I have regained my spot on the front line of the ergo room, I am working hard to creep up to the top three spots. Yes, my work has been somewhat consistent but others have been in and out causing my struggle to do so. This year we are blessed with a strong frosh, Chase ROWE, from Sarasota Crew. Being a grand person, he is able to pull a lot lower splits than this year's top ergos. This would have been a little different if last year's senior Dylan KOSTEN would have been present. I am glad that he can show his strength to the entire team though because you can observe his dedication to making the V8, apparently taking example on last year's frosh. Another frosh who has been showing good scores is Andre KLEIJN from Pittsburgh rowing; a little work is needed though. 

We have been attacking every practice with mountain high energy and strength to show who is the best individually and as a boat, which is making all the top rowers become faster. The water training has been alright as we have been mixing the better people with the not-so-good people so that they can use them as examples. With King Racing 's Quantum being here all week, more of the rowers have been taking advantage of it as a tool to be faster than the crews in the Micasa or the Big Bob. 

This year, every race has its little countdown laying on the fridge waiting to decrease day by day, which reminds us how training isn't that long until racing time. 

All around, I am pretty content with the '11-'12 team and looking forward to connect a lot more, like last year, so that the not-yet-reached goal of winning Dad Vails is accomplished. Feathering starts tomorrow, and we are a month away from the First Coast Head Race.  

End of Testing Week

After a deceiving first ergo test on Wednesday, the week continued with a 5k run, and 2x6k at a steady state. But the most important event of this week was the 6k ergo test this Saturday. Coach set an all around goal to get as many people under 1:50 split and to get as close as your PR as possible. 1:50 was doable but 1:46.9 wasn't as much. My plan was to hold 1:52 or lower for most of the piece until around 2k to go and then drop splits. I did that with ease up until 3k and then struggle a little bit. I tried to kick a few times at 2k, but I wasn't able to hold it as long. So I waited until 1500m-1250m and then started to pull under 1:50. When 500m to go came around, I kicked as hard as possible and held around 1:45 and under and finishing at 1:40. I am happy because I didn't expect to even be under the required goal, but I pulled it off. My final average was 1:49.2 with a rate average of 24. I believe I finished in the top 6. Now it's time to relax and see what happens on the water Monday morning.

Already On The Edge...

We have finally started practice as a team with a 6 a.m. workout on the ergo and another one in the weight room. Pretty rough for the first day back, but manageable. The ergo was 30 mins with a rate cap 20; right from the start I knew I wasn't going to feel good during this, and the result proved it with me erging terribly and pulling awful splits. I ended up 16th, but I will regain my spot in the top group next week after a long weekend of rest. Weights workout was alright, nothing too demanding.

I'm pretty tired and school is very demanding but things will turn around for the best.

Finally Back!

After a long drive by myself, and a few hours of moving back in, I got to see everyone again and set up my new room. This year I will be rooming with Preston WEINARD and will be sweet-mates with Matt OUTLAW. I'm very excited for school and rowing to begin so we will start start the day with a little 10k.

A Few Days Before Starting

Well it's that time of the year again: packing, saying our au revoirs, and getting last minute training in before driving back up to school. Friday will be my departing day, but as you can tell, nothing is packed or even set up. The cross training for these last few days has been running, rock climbing, and weights with a little erging on the side. Nothing too big but just enough to get me ready for the long meters about to be accomplished as soon as I get to Jax. I have big plans this year and I don't plan to disappointing anyone.

Go Dolphins!

Ups and Downs as the season is about to start

First I am super excited to start up my sophomore year because summer was long and eventless. For the ups, the new coach who will be replacing Ed OXLADE is Montia RICE who used to be UF's head coach. He sounds like he knows what he is doing and by the looks of what he did last year with his boat, I trust his knowledge. Now for the downs, it's never easy to say goodbye, but it's something we all have to do once in a while. Obviously, OXLADE is leaving the program for family problems, Jake RUFFOLO is staying home for personal and monetary problems, Brad MILLER is also staying home for monetary problems, and for me my biggest loss, not only my favorite coxswain but one of my best friends, Jessica MELLINGER is transferring to FIT. It's extremely hard to watch things crumble so close to school starting but I know that we all have a plan written for us and JU's has just commenced. Good luck to everyone leaving, I wish you the best. For all the new people including the incoming class, I wish you luck and strength as this is going to be a loooong year.

Let us kick some ass, shall we?

U23 World Championships

This U23 Worlds was amazing with a total of 19 new world records by the end of Sunday. Of course I support France and USA all the way with the occasional cheer for SA boats, who both did very well. Lets go through all podium spots:

-France: Not only did Jérémie AZOU take first place in the lightweight single ahead of Greece and USA, but also now holds the new world record. In the lightweight men's 2x, Alexandre PILAT and Damien PIQUERAS took second place behind the Germans who stole the world record title. The lightweight women's 4x with  Chloé POUMAILLOUX, finished second behind the chinese. Also for silver, the men's  lightweight 4- had a great race. For the bronze, the men's 4+ finished with a great last 500m.
Both AZOU and POUMAILLOUX are re-selected for Bled.

-USA: Mike Teti's men's 8+ finished not only with goal but a new world record title. This boat consisted of rowers from the top successful college programs around the U.S. and it definitely showed. Grace LUCZAK and Felice MUELLER first won gold and a new world record, which MUELLER set last year) and then finished with bronze in the women's 8+. Another bronze (men's lightweight single) was achieved by the remarkable Andrew CAMPBELL who obtained a bronze last year at Junior Worlds and then went on to become part of the Harvard Lights this year.

This was definitely an exciting regatta, and sets the mood for Senior Worlds!

PS: A year to go until London 2012!!!

Final Race of the Summer

Wow that was a hot day! Non-stop the sun was pounding and was making it a lot harder for everyone, especially me with because of having to race 4 times. This is my little race recap of the Halifax Regatta by event:
-Men's Open 1x: first race of the day but I was fresh and ready to go; it was a combined race with the open lightweights; we all went off the start fast as I expected it to be but after 250m we dropped the lights and began fighting, with a small lead of about 2 seats, I tried to relax and save up as much energy as possible instead of repeating myself at regionals, at 500m I went for a strong 10 and picked up more speed but the other two wouldn't let go and made up their lost ground right after, at 300m to go, I gave a quick look to see where I was and decided to make a move, my plan was to be ahead and stay ahead so I I stayed strong until the 250m buoy and then powered up for the last 20 strokes; the competitor from ROCCS to my left was 3rd most of the time until he hit the 250m buoy and ramped it up to try to catch me, which gave me even more motivation to finish strong, and ended up passing the Halifax rower by less than a second. It was a great race all around.
-Men's Open 8+: my friend Marvin called me to replace him in his club's quad so I decided to add that race, only to find out the next day that his coach wanted me in his 8, in the stroke seat; wasn't really ready for that but I accepted it anyways; I hopped in a boat with people that hadn't rowed together and a novice coxswain: not the greatest boat composition; I took it seriously but it was hard to compete in that race with other practiced boats; we finished 2nd.
-Men's Open 4+: this boat was fun because Brian Cosmillo and I decided to compete with Jess Mellinger and a few other MRC kids (Jp Gutierrez and Chris Congora) to win the four even if we were marked as the B boat; we had practiced the day before and Brian has had a sprung wrist for a few days but we did it anyways. We sat in lane 5 with four other boats wanting to including the cocky MRC A boat. From stroke one we had the lead, and every push was opening the gap even more; with a rating no higher than 30 we powered through the race with no problem and finishing first by over 15 seconds. It was a great summer reunion race for the JU team.
-Mixed 2x: as I walked of the dock with the four, I traded the four with the double. I hot seated into this race, but took my time to get there because I was hot, tired, and thirsty. My double partner was Jonnie Smithson and was sitting stroke seat; she hasn't really been rowing this year but still pulled off a great warm-up and race. With a cross win and choppy water, I sat in bow not worrying about a thing but having fun and keeping her relaxed. After a great start, I looked over and we had had already a half boat length lead. With that notion, I coxed her and made her stay relaxed. She didn't want to disappoint me so she rowed clean and pushed enough so we could stay ahead. Great plan if you ask me! At the 500m mark, we took a large 10 stroke burt of power to open the gap because we wanted to beat the next heat's best time. With 250m to go, I let myself push whatever was left and we finished the race with more than 6 seconds to spare. That was a great ending to my day and regatta.

So at the end of the day I ended up with 3 golds and 1 silver (I won all my planned races) and got to race with my teammates.

PS: congratulations to Casey Baker for stepping up and competing in this regatta and finishing second by  less than 0.6 seconds because of handicap, and to Jake Combs and Andrew Stebbins for winning the Jr. double and having good performances in the single.

After A Small Break

After taking a few days off this week, I decided to get back on the water this morning. Those days consisted of spinning class, running, and laying on the couch. For some reason, I couldn't find enjoyment days earlier when we went for early hot rows. But after finding out that Casey was rowing at Halifax too, it was my queue to start back up before I got too fat! After a quick stretch, we did a long steady state row for about 10-12k before deciding we needed to start doing intervals of 30 strokes on, 20 off. Even though it wasn't fun at all after the long kilometers, it definitely made us pick up speed. 6-7 sets of that really made me work hard and make my row a successful one!

This week = bleh!

It has been so hot and unbearable lately, that I haven't had the feeling to get on the water. Instead I've been running, fishing, surfing, and gym. Not that I'm over rowing or anything, but I know that I'm going to be on the water and on the erg everyday when school starts up so why overdo it. We will see what happens towards the end of the week because I am racing three times on the 23rd.

I'm so bored because on top of the heat, there is no surf or fish at the beach. bleh!

JU Team 2011-2012

2011-2012 Signees 

This upcoming season is going to be very interesting since a few good seniors are done and incoming frosh looking pretty solid. Who knows what will happen with line-ups after last year, but hopefully the talent will move up and the frosh won't enter the Varisty 8. I'm not saying it is a bad thing, I did it, but the tension on the team, the dislikes and jealousy are too much to handle on top of work and competition. Another reason I wouldn't want frosh in the boat is because it limits the team to send boats to IRA's and such.

Besides that, I'm looking forward to the following additions to our team:
-Nick Duncan
-Andre Sander Paul Kleijn
-Ryan Rowe
-Jacob Strauss
-Jeremy Sobiech

Halifax Regatta

The Halifax Regatta is the next race on my list. It's fun, small, fast. I enjoyed it last time because there are a lot of the older rowers from around the State and it's only 1000m. 

Of course I will be entering the single, but this time I will also be entering a 4+ with Jessica Mellinger, Brian Cosmillo and others from MRC. It will be fun because I know for a fact we will dominate. 

Back in Melbourne

After a week of calm and relaxation, I'm back on the water with Casey. No matter what time we go out though, it's still so HOT!

Ever since regionals, I've been analyzing my stroke and trying to apply the work I did in France here without a coach, which is a little difficult, but today while doing a B2 workout (2x20' @20-22), I found that ease in the arms and upper body while still applying a good amount of pressure. I haven't had these sensations since I've been back in the U.S. so it is a god feeling. Automatically, this gives me more speed.

Hopefully, I lose some weight with training and this heat because my little vacation cost me a few pounds!

The plan for the next few weeks is to get a lot of kilometers in out in the single with drills and workouts testing speed and endurance, get a little weight training at the gym, and other cross workouts so that I can easily show speed at the Halifax regatta and be ready for fall training at JU.

First race recap.

Well that was an interesting regatta; my heat was at 7:30 so that was a little early, but still doable. My plan did not happen because I started to get a little startled and overwhelmed with my competitors coming back after a solid 500m in the lead. After that, I tried to hang in the race but one after the other they got closer. I took too much with the arms and slowed myself down. The last 500m, I sprinted and made up a little time.
In the end, I had the 7th or 8th best time, but I didn't qualify to the final because only 1 and 2 advanced. The heats were not equal though since the third heat (mine) was much faster than the second. I wouldn't have probably gotten 4th in the final. No big deal though, experience is experience. Now I'm off on vacation until the Halifax regatta and maybe Clubs.

USRowing Southeast Regionals

After 7 hours of driving to the middle of nowhere, I finally found the race site. Definitely not my favorite because it is a strong head wind, the course is extremely slanted, and it's very hot. Good thing Marvin Leninger is here to keep me company! I went out for a small 4k practice with a practice run of the course. It went well, but it feels long with a head wind. My heat tomorrow is at 7:30a.m. and I am in lane 2; the first 2 go to final. I'm not worried but I'm still skeptical on how the race will go because I have no idea who my competitors are.

Last day in Melbourne

Last practice in Melbourne before leaving for the S.C. race. Of course it was blazing hot and I hated it but I got some solid meters in with two old guys. I am not too worried about ratings or endurance for this race, just efficient technical work like keeping the shoulders down, staying relaxed in the upper body, and letting the shell glide after a swell acceleration at the release. I worked a lot on all the areas in France, but the hardest part this week was to apply that in the Hudson and trying to feel the same sensations (= semi-working lol). Leaving in the morning tomorrow for S.C. so that I can get so water time before the race.

Wood vs. Plastic

For the last two weeks, I was in France rowing in my mom's old Stampfli which is wooden of course and really learned to appreciate it's curves, sensitivity, and personality. Now that I'm back in Florida, I'm using my Great White Hudson which is fine, but I've been having a hard time getting back in the groove with it. The shell sort of feels dead and not lively. It will get better with time, but I still haven't had a bad time with wood.

Speed work

I am only 3 days away from the S.C. race and speed work was needed today. Because of the win, we had to row in the 500m creek which never helps. Starts, 10s, 20s, 30s, progressive build-ups in rating, these are all small exercises I do to start preparing my body for the next few days. Hopefully it isn't as hot up there because I'm dying in Melbourne.

First post!

First post for this blog. This is exciting because I will be able to share everything that is happening in my rowing life with detail.
Tomorrow will be the first day back on the water in the U.S. with Casey Baker, 5 more days until US Rowing Southeast Regionals.