"But the bed is more comfortable than pain!"

You are warm in your bed, with your body limp and heart beating at 39 beats per minute.  What could possibly make you get out of bed before sunrise (other than work)? For me, it’s pretty obvious… rowingJ.

However, it was incredibly tempting to get back into bed this morning, especially when my location for training was right next door in my living room!  So while my husband continued to sleep, I got up, ate some food and got started with my warm up.  My workout was going to take 2 hours in the morning, so I had to get up early enough so that I had time to get ready for work and then head out to the office.

I knew this was going to be a tough week.  When I got my workout schedule, I noticed that it was DOUBLE the volume of last week.  All the workouts I did last week that I thought were hard on their own (as just one set), were DOUBLED for this week.  So as an example, instead of just doing 1x30minute pyramid, I had to do 2 x 30minute pyramids.  One alone is incredibly intense with the splits I have to hold and at the low stroke rates, so to do two of them made me a little nervous. 

So this morning, my workout was as I expected: tough as nails!  I was halfway through my first one when my husband got up, and he saw that I was already drenched in my own sweat, grunting for every stroke to get the split I needed to hold.  Soon enough, the first set was done…then shortly after, I was off again to start my second set.  Although I didn’t hit my splits, I worked hard for every stroke and stayed true to what I could do (no letting up).  I was excited to have my cold smoothie when I finished, yumJ.

After work, I headed to the rowing club and did my 80 minutes of strength training and then 45 minutes of erging.  To put it simply – I am now wiped out and ready for bed!  That’s why I will have to be very aware of my food intake and sleep this week (aiming to get 8 hours a night – super excited!).

Since I was solo today in my training, I made sure I had my visualization poster and music handy.  I also focused a lot on motivational cues that would help me get through my workouts successfully.

Cues can come in the form of words, phrases, sounds and acronyms.  If you’re an athlete, you most likely have a number of cue words you use in your sport.

Here are some that I have come across:

-          I am strong (this is positive self talk)

-          I am committed to each stride (running), stroke (rowing), etc

-          Drive (common in rowing)

-          Sit up

-          Relax

You can probably find some songs that have great cue words in them too.  Below is an old dance song from the 90’s, as well as some of the lyrics that I focus in on:  “your body is moving you on” and “you know that you gotta go on”.

Night:)

Technique now, Power later.

Some friendly advice:

If you are a very active athlete (men included, but mostly for females), go get a blood test to make sure your iron levels are good.  I found out that the reason I have been so tired is because I have been anemic for the past couple of weeks (level of 4ng/ml).  A lot of athletic women are prone to this.  So just be aware of your body’s needsJ.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/female-athletes-and-iron-deficiency-anaemia-752

That being said, today is the first day in a while that my energy has been normal and I’ve been able to get through a day without feeling completely exhausted.  It honestly feels like a new life has been given to me – thank you iron pillsJ.  I ended up having so much energy, that I did an hour run, did my erg workout, did a strength training session with my teammate Claire, AND went shopping for 2 hours:S  The last activity was a bit dangerous, but nevertheless…fun!

So today for my erg workout, I did a 3000m distance at stroke rate 20.  My average was 1:59.8/500m and I ended up negative splitting the piece which was nice to see for once.  It’s workouts like these where I see that I’m on the right path to pulling faster scores in the next round of erg testing.  It was a more technical erg, and I focused on keeping my shoulders down (not scrunching them up as I usually do when I get tired).  The technical part needs to be so good that when it comes to testing, one can just focus on pure power applicable and be strong enough to hold good technique for the duration of the test.   So this is why I’m putting such a huge emphasis on strength training and technique, and I know that this is not only for rowing, but can be instrumental for being a successful runner, cyclist, swimmer…and shopperJ.

Sometimes, just being incredibly strong (with terrible technique) can lead to winning races, but as a lightweight sculler, I have the same weight as my competitors, so technique does have more of an affect on how well I can perform.

I want to leave you with these videos that focus in on technique:

The rowing video above shows Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski (last names sounds familiar because she was married to my coach Bernhard) completely take control of the race after the first 500m.  Since her technique is flawless, she looks like she is easily rowing through her competition.

Sit up, relax, and GO!

Ping pong is NOT the same as Baseball!

That is pretty obvious isn’t it?!  Apparently not to me.

Today was a slower day at the office because of American Thanksgiving, so I actually had a few minutes to spare and took a break to play ping pong (we have a table in our cafeteria).  It was FUN!

But I am clearly not a racket player…I started by treating the ball like it was a baseball!  I’m surprised I didn’t take out my colleague’s eye, even though that could have helped me win (he crushed me all four roundsL).  Crush means the score was 21 (him) to 4 (me).  Even that score is probably being generous.

While playing, I got my adrenalin going, and I was moving left…then right…then back..then forward…then...AHH.  Start again!  It was really great, and not as easy as I assumed.  Never assume because it makes an “assume” out of “assume” and “assume”.

It reminded me of the awesome core workouts I was doing this week – balancing on a piece of thin wood while throwing a medicine ball back and forth with a teammate.  It wasn’t nice throwing, but rather it was aggressive throwing.  Every throw we would try to make the other person fall off their piece of wood.  Since this is an area that I have to develop, I pretty much fell off each time (but not for longJ).

Being able to react effectively in a sport is important: whether it’s ping pong, medicine ball throwing, running, or rowing.

Rowing is sport where I go from point A to point B, so why do I need to learn how to “react effectively”?

It’s because there are factors around me that I can’t control, and they may throw me off balance, challenge my technique, and affect my performance if I am not well equipped.  These factors include wind, waves, BUOYS (they need to be on the course, but it would be great if they could stay away from my oars!), and even rain (makes the handles a little slippery).

When rowing down a race course, I can’t control if there is a cross wind and it throws me off balance (forcing my oar to hit the water earlier than planned).  However, if I am able to maintain my strong rowing position, react with calmness and confidence, then I will win the point of that match – not the wind!

Today I didn’t win any matches, but tomorrow is a new dayJ 

Play Ball!

The beat that keeps me going

Toronto hasn’t been hit with snow (yet), but winter has started in other cities around Canada and people are starting to shovel their driveways!

What does this mean for most athletes (runners, cyclists, rowers)?  It means that cross training has begun!  For a rower, cross training is performed on the erg, tank or rowperfect.  But if you’re lucky, you can fly out to British Columbia to train on the water all year longJ. 

When training indoors, I’ve seen that it’s a common practice to listen to music.  Truthfully I don’t know how I would get through some of my long erg workouts (1 to 2 hour sessions at a time) without listening to music.  Everyone has different taste though, so I’m very lucky that my teammates and I can listen to the same type of music and feel energized by it.  In general, anything with a beat will keep my happy, but I do like it when it’s my specific taste in music.

Even when I used to train for triathlons, I would put my music on loud to help get me through my hours of training on the bike (set up indoors on a bike trainer).  Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to train in the winter, especially in the evening because there is no sun shining through the windows and it’s already dark by the time I get home after work - I feel like I should be going to sleep already!

So my question today is…can music help performance?  I’ve never seen athletes use their ipod’s during competition. I can see how it can be distracting with breathing – I have developed cramps before from breathing to the rhythm of my music instead of the rhythm of my stroke:S  But it’s a common practice, - I do it, and I know others do it too.  So what are the effects?

I looked at some articles and found this:

-          According to an article from 2008 in the “The Time of London”, music can:

o   Distract an athlete from fatigue

o   Act as a mood altering catalyst

o   Synchronize an athlete’s rhythm

o   Act as a trigger for learning certain motions and aid with muscle memory

-          BBC News (Health) also covered this topic.  See link below (there’s also the image of a rowerJ):

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10767128

Here are songs that are found on my playlist:

Levels, by Avicci

C'Mon, by Tiesto ft Busta Rhymes

We're All No One, by Nervo ft Afrojack

Raise Your Weapon, by Deadmau5

So Sick, by Neyo (slower, but I like the beat)

I'm Sexy And I Know It, by LMFAO

We Found Love, Rhianna ft Calvin Harris

Calabria, by Enur ft Natasja

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US

Well, today I found out that I will not be invited to the development camp or considered for provincial funding - my erg scores are not fast enough yet, regardless of how I did at Nationals and previous time trial regattas.

It is what it is, and I welcome the challenge to put in more quality work into my training so that I can really bring those erg scores down.  So far this week I have started to address this with some really great workouts: a mix of erg sessions and strength training exercises, plus Zumba as a new addition to my routine.  On the erg I am working on power per stroke, so I think this focus will help bring my erging confidence to the next level.

On another note, at work today I came across a number of colleagues who were taking off for the long week-end, since it's American Thanksgiving.  It made me realize that it's important to be thankful for what I have, not just when it's Thanksgiving, but everyday!  It is easy to get caught up in the craziness of life.  Step back for a second and look at your life.  Do you have anything to be thankful for?  I am thankful for so much, but most importantly I am thankful for having such an amazing family, group of friends and husband.  I am also thankful for the opportunities I have been given at work to build my career, and the time I have to row (my secret therapy, haha).

 

Take some time to think about what you're thankful for:)

Long week comes to an end.

Done!  5 erg tests completed. It was a tough week to get through but it is such a great feeling to be done.  I think I felt the pressure of work and training add up the most in this past week, and this is probably why I became so incredibly tired over the week-end…sleeping a lot more than usual and trying to conserve my energy by staying home and resting (sleeping) once I was back from an AMAZING trip to NiagaraJ.

I was reminded of a couple of really important things this week:

-          Warming up and warming down before/after a workout is very important (for example, a warm up can include some general cycling/erging/running, with some bursts of power movements and dynamic movements like squat jumps, carioca, inch warm and more)

-          Core strength is fundamental to proper technique (for various sports!).  I noticed this about myself and also had teammates tell me how terrible I looked when I erged:S  As I got tired, my body started to collapse and I wasn’t breathing efficiently or using my legs as well as I could.  So that’s why I’m excited to get started with this next phase of training.  No more weak core!

-          It is so incredibly hard to do a test on your own.  The mind is so powerful and if it’s not ready to do well, then it can get in the way of what your body wants to do, or CAN do! Having a teammate there to help keep rhythm with and remind you that yes “you can do this” goes a long way!

Today I did the 60 minute erg test at a stroke rate 22. I added the image of my results here (my results should be better) because it shows how much the mind and body can disagree, ha!

As you can see, I clearly went out to hard.  I started at a 2:00-2:01 split, when in fact this is my goal for the end of this year, not for now.  Because I went out harder than I should have, I started to struggle after only 20 minutes.  About 40 minutes into the test, I was ready to quit, and I did slow down significantly (I think I came to a short stop), but I kept going because my two amazing teammates (Kathleen and Claire) were both there with me pushing through the same pain and trying to get through this test.  I pushed my monitor back at this point so that the increasing numbers I was seeing in front of me were gone, and instead I could focus on feeling each stroke and rhythm with my teammates.  It helped a lot and surprisingly I was able to hold a better split without the monitor (reminded me again of the Death Crawl video). With pain and struggle comes grunting - something I’ve become well known for, haha.  For the entire second half, one of my teammates and I sounded like tennis players…grunting with passion and making funny faces.  I know I tend to scrunch my face so I’m working on relaxing those muscles. It’s not a time you try and look pretty, that’s for sure.

So the next race to prepare for is the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships in February.  This afternoon I met with my coach Stani and strength conditioning coach Rory to prepare.  Training for that shall begin tomorrow (after another long sleep)…welcome back to routineJ

Dealing with stress

This week has flown by. Perhaps because there's been one thing to do after the other!  I wouldn't have it any other way though:)

I had, and continue to have, these erg tests (all to be completed by this Sunday), and at work there's been a lot of prep for a big trade show coming up at the end of this month. It's the biggest Radiology trade show in North America, a really great environment to be in as some of the top and smartest Radiologists/Surgeons are there.

So needless to say, this has been a tough week to really put my energy into these tests.  Yesterday I did the 6000m test and got one score (which was a very slight personal best), and tried it again later in the evening around 6:45pm with my teammate Kathleen to see if I could go faster.  She is such one brave woman!!  She did the 6km test with me after only warming up for 5 minutes.  As much as I am not a fan of warming up, I definitely do not recommend this, but in our case we were limited with time as it was getting later and later in the evening, and I just wanted to get my second attempt over with!  In the end, the difference between both results was only 9 seconds, so that made me feel more positive about my fitness.  It is never easy to do a test, I always find myself closing my eyes and grunting by the second half.  But it's been easier to do tests and hard workout back to back since my recovery time has improved.  It's been great since I started drinking Shaklee Physique right after workouts (insert commercial right here, haha).  However if I want to get faster I'll need to really increase my strength, and no power drink can do that for me!  So on Sunday (once all these tests are done), I will begin with my new phase of weight training and keep you posted on progress.  Watch out, here comes the HulkJ.

But I do wonder, how do people cope with stress?  I know my schedule is quite packed, but there are so many people out there that juggle so much more!  It would be great if there was a magic pill (legal), but there isn’t.  I think it’s just important to be aware of your surroundings and know when you need to back off a bit.  I’m guilty of not always knowing when to back off, but I’m learning.

Here are some tricks I learned to decrease stress:

-          Do physical activity (boxing I’m sure would be great as an outlet for stress, but I chose to row)

-          When you feel anxious, rub your tummy in a circular motion (I see you all trying it…)

-          Listen to music you love, or in my case play the piano

-          Watch a comedy!  Laughter is one of the BEST ways to decrease stress!

So I wonder what I’m going to do to release some stress tonight….I’m going to go to NIAGARA with my mom and sister, and no doubt we will laugh a lot on our tripJ.  Spending time with them and getting out of the city will be a great way to clear the mind and relax before attempting my 2km erg test tomorrow afternoon:S  Wait!  What test do I speak of?  That’s right, I’m not going to think about it yet.  Going to relax and then focus on it (and rub my tummy) when the time comes tomorrow afternoon.

Here are a few facts about laughter and how it affects your health.  Good music too!

Until next time, relax, laugh and enjoy your Friday night…stress-free!

Rolling with the punches!

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful and amazing sisterJ!

Now today’s theme: Rolling with the punches.

How do you respond to obstacles?  I have been working on trying to stay open minded and flexible, but it’s not always easy!  At work today I faced a common challenge of booking a flight for a higher price than it was just a few days back.  With my colleague we looked at our options, and by simply changing one travel time, we were able to find a flight that was the same as the original price (thank goodness!)J.  I know this isn't what we would generally consider an obstacle, but when you are working within a budget..it is!

In terms of rowing…I headed to the rowing club after work as usual, only to find out that the erg room door was locked and there was another team already waiting to use the limited ergs available for training!  Well at least I didn’t have to sit through too much traffic to get there:S

This is definitely a limiting factor!  I could either:

a)      Get frustrated and upset and not do my tests out of spite

b)      Find a local gym with ergs I could train out of (realistic option but I already spent money on membership for the current rowing club I train at)

c)       Return home, get some batteries for my personal erg machine, and start warming up to do my tests

I went with option (c): put on some great erg music and got started! 

However, I knew I could use some extra motivation before attempting these tests from home (in a small apartment with the temptation of a couch and tv right next me).  So before my warm up I searched for something I knew could help…my “Visualization Board".  I made this last year with my team at work – it was a team building activity.  As a team we shared our goals for 2011 and spent time making our own posters with images and words that would help us stay focused on successfully accomplishing these goals.

There's a show I find quite funny called “Happy Endings”, and there's one episode (Season 2, Episode 4, on CityTv) where they bring in the “Visualization Board" idea.  Although there is some (a lot!) influence from one character to try and make another's dreams come true, I still encourage you to make one.

It could include anything from personal goals to work goals, and even have images of what you are working towards in the short term to what you are working on in the long term.

Who knows, they may start coming true;)

(Below is an example from the internet, it's not mine)

Bring on the protein!

My high from Nationals has died down as reality kicks in and I have to complete a number of erg tests this week to be considered for provincial carding: 2000m, 6000m, 60 minute, 1 minute and peak power tests.  A lot of athletes will be working towards this, and so I can’t say “I’m tired!” as an excuse, because everyone probably is.

I am seeing that it is quite challenging for myself and friends of mine, local and abroad (Poland and Switzerland), to get that kick of motivation to perform, or get up in the morning to train when there is no team waiting on you.  I have a suggestion (I have started to do this, so maybe this will work for some of you as well)…you can do a workout and then take a picture of the monitor and send the results to a friend.  That way you are committing to yourself and them that you will do the workout, and you will push through the tough parts when you feel like quitting.  I did this in the fall with Kathleen and it definitely helped me.  I’m not brave enough to post those results on my blog yetJ.

But truthfully, I just want to get past this week.  I want to get back into my routine of training, work and life (I’m sure my husband wouldn’t mind having his wife back and less stressed too).

So I’m going to think forward a bit and get excited about what lies beyond these tests…

From now until May I need to put a serious focus and commitment into getting stronger.  Those top 3 Nationals girls are no doubt strong and fierce!  If I want to be even slightly competitive in April/May, I am going to need to increase my strength.  My first approach is going to be increasing my food intake by a significant amount.  During the fall I was training 2-3 times a day and burning about 2500 calories, and I was definitely not eating that much!  It’s a little hard to eat that much when I am working at a desk for 8 hours in an open-concept office – and trust me, I already embarrass myself with the tubs of food I keep at my desk to keep myself from going hungry as the day flies byJ. 

I was looking online to see how much lean muscle a woman can gain a month, and the answers vary quite a bit.  It may also be genetics.  I have had teammates do the same weight training program as me, yet gain muscle a lot faster.  So I’m going to try and see if eating more, with more protein, can make that difference for me that I am looking for.  Plus, changing up my weight training program will help.  It may take an extra 30 minutes in my day to prepare the food, but it’ll be well worth it in the end.

So I will leave you with this…a few recipes that are high in protein and thought of as great snack foods.  If you aren’t open to eating horse food, then don’t try theseJ:

Homemade Granola over Greek Yogurt

Rolled Oats

Almond Extract mixed with Maple Syrup or Honey

Cinnamon

Dried Cherries or Cranberries

Almond Slices and Sunflower Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds

Anything else you want to add

Bake in the oven at 250 for about 20 minutes, and then once cooled off, put over Greek Yogurt and enjoy!

Protein Shake

Protein powder (such as Shaklee Physique)

Almond or Peanut Butter

Banana

Chocolate Milk (or Soy Chocolate Milk), but it HAS to be Chocolate;)

Turkey Meat Balls

Ground Turkey

Small Apple slices

1 tablesoon Maple Syrup

Sea Salt

Enjoy!

Race Recap

(My brain is a little tired, so please take that into consideration when you read my blog:))

What a week-end, filled with so many emotions and so many “take-aways”!

First off, congratulations to all of the athletes who raced this week-end.  It was really nice to see some familiar faces and meet some new people too.  A special congrats to Lindsay and Kaelen who won silver in the U23 women’s pair, Kieren who won silver in the Junior men's single, and Kerith who won silver in the U23 lightweight women’s single (and came 5^th in the A Final!). 

Secondly, a HUGE thank you to my family and friends who have been so incredibly supportive.  I didn’t win anything this week-end, but having the support that I had just made this experience that much more meaningful, and it has encouraged me to train even harder this upcoming winter season!  My parents and Andrew went above and beyond what I could have ever asked for, and having my sister come with my two nieces, as well as Robyn and Lauren (pulling all-nighters since they each had events the night before) was absolutely AMAZING!   Thank you!  Also thanks to Stani who called me each day before my races to help prepare me physicially and mentally.  And lastly, on behalf of all the DRC rowers, thanks to Ryan, Fred and Ed for coming to help bring boats and coach.

So how did my races go?

(Image of the two boats,and my blades, on top of my car while heading to Welland)

Well, first I had to get to the course, so after working ½ day in the office on Thursday, I drove out to my parent’s farm (which is just 30 minutes from the race course).  I arrived and right away got into race mode, preparing mentally for what was ahead and resting my body.  It was an added bonus to spend time with my parents since I am often “missing in action” because of my hectic work/training schedule.  I’m lucky to have them.

Friday morning came quickly and the rush of races begun!

As a lightweight single sculler, I have to weigh in at no more than 59kg.  Although I had no problems throughout the regatta, I know that I need to make a serious commitment this year to put on more muscle!  The closer I am to 59kg, the better.  And if it’s in strength, then that’s even better.

The first heat went exactly as I had imagined.  I finished in second place and was through to the quarter-finals.  The quarter-finals would determine who would be in the A/B/C/D Finals.  The A Final is the top, that’s where everyone knew the top 3 rowers in Canada would be (Lindsay, Patricia and Tracey who are competing for the top 2 spots to represent Canada in the Lightweight Women’s Double at the 2012 Olympics).  Definitely an honour to race next to them.  Not only are they the top in Canada, but they are the top in the World!

The next day I had the Quarter-Finals, and I felt more pressure from myself.  I had my eyes/mind/body set on that A Final, so I needed to do everything possible to make it.  Again I finished in second place and made it through to the next round which would be the Semi-Finals (results would determine who races in the A or B Finals).  The closer I got, the harder the racing became.  But I knew it would be like this because I had imagined it, and I knew I needed to make that A Final.

The Semi-Finals took place that same afternoon and it was not easy (as it shouldn’t have been)!  I was in solid fourth place from the start through until the last 400m left of the 2000m distance.  I knew that only the top 3 would make it through to the A Final, so I had to find that extra gear.  Where was it and when was it coming?!  As I approached the 350m I knew I was getting closer to the current 3^rd place rower, and so I closed my eyes for a split second and imagined that “Death Crawl” video…I knew I had more in me than I thought, so I pushed my legs down hard and went for the finish (pretending that THIS was my final and I had no race tomorrow).  With 100m left I was even with 3^rd place, and with a final 15 strokes to the finish I gave everything I had.  “Beep”…“Beep”!  A difference by 0.5 seconds…and I was fortunate to be on the receiving end of that “Beep”, although I have to say that the other rower and I are a pretty even match.  It was my best aggressive race ever!

I had now done it and met my goal!  I made it to the A Final as the top 6 in Canada.  A teammate of mine reminded me that just a few years ago I sat next to him at Nationals watching the A Final and asked “how does one get there?”…he responded that it takes hard work, aggressiveness and commitment.  And boy was he right.  The heat, quarter-finals, and semi-final were the hardest races of my whole season, and I absolutely loved each race.  Unfortunately I can’t say the same about my actual final.  As soon as I realized I made the A Final, I had no feeling of that intense “pressure” I had felt just a few minutes before…I later realized that I can actually perform really well under pressure (as long as I believe in myself).  I didn’t know what to do once I had actually made the A Final, so I was a bit lost and didn’t have that same “belief” in me as I had had before.  I knew I would be content with 6^th, and so I never put any other number into my head – don’t ever do that, don’t ever settle!  As you can guess, I came in 6th.

So my lesson today after my final was that I have to be prepared for anything and everything.  I wasn’t prepared to be aggressive in the A Final and I wasn’t prepared for the strong tail wind (definitely working on that this upcoming season trust me!!).  In my final, I went hard for the first 750m, but after that I lost contact with the top 3 girls (who were all next to me in lanes 2, 3 and 4) and then I was all by myself in lane 1…completely separated from lanes 5 and 6 where the rest of my competition was.  That means I also need to work on pushing myself when I have nobody around me, versus working off of others in a race.

All in all, I have a lot of “take-aways”, more than I asked forJ.  BUT, this only means I have much more room to improve so that next year I am not “participating” in the A Final, but rather I am “competing” in the A Final.

Rowing: Now it’s time to rest for a day and then attack the erg this week with some tests that need to be submitted provincially for potential Ontario Funding.  It ain’t over yet!

Work: Back to the office tomorrow to be my “business-woman” selfJ

I will post some pictures later on.  In the meantime though, thanks for joining me on this journey!

Countdown to race time

So as I unwind today I start to reflect back on my training and what I have been doing for the past few weeks and months to prepare for Nationals.  There's nothing more I can do training-wise to be better equipped than I already am for this week-end.  It's mental now.

I have done all the training that my schedule has allowed me to do, and I have no excuses to fall back on.  Whatever the outcome is this week-end, I will be successful if I race my heart out and go as fast as I can go on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (no holding back and no hesitations). I am excited to race next to Olympians and World Champions (I have enormous respect and admiration for these athletes), but I will not be intimidated because my race is not about them.  My race is about me and going out there to see what “I” can do. I know there are people I am competing against who have dedicated 100% of their time to training, and I’m sure they will do well.  I’m going out there to find out how fast I am with my commitment of only 50% (at most since work takes up the majority of my day).  There’s no question I have room to grow…but by how much?  Have I hit a plateau, am I getting slower, etc. So many questions!

I will find out soon and then prepare for a new cycle of training!J

I’m not sure if I will be able to write tomorrow through until Sunday, as I will be staying at my parent’s farm and I don’t know if their internet is up and running.  We’ll see.

If you are in the Welland area, come check out some races (Athletes going to the 2012 Olympics will be there and it will be a great opportunity to see some of the highest quality rowing in Canada).

I’ll leave you with a few motivating videos (perhaps it’ll motivate some of you racing this week-end):

"Inspirational - How Great I Am"

"Inches"

ps.  Thanks Laura Pimm for the amazing massage!  It helps that you are a National Triathlon Champion and know what athletes need:)

How do you see yourself?

So today, my amazing little niece Lola made the Select Hockey Team!  She is in grade 2 and not as big as the other grade 3’s on the team, and she still made the team.  Not because she’s cute (which she is), not because she’s nice (which she is), but because she was skilled enough on the ice.  She spent time in the summer going to the local arena with her dad to practice, getting comfortable on her skates, handling her stick, and more.

Evidently, putting time into practice can pay off;)

How much practice does it take to be a master at something?  As you may have heard, it takes 10,000 hours to take it to the next level and become a master.  But is it just 10,000 hours and then you are a master, or is it 10,000 hours performing the task "perfectly" to become a true master?  If it's the latter (which I assume it is), then I may be in my grave before I master the rowing stroke:S

I also wonder if mixing the physical task with visualization also gets you to that master level?  Since I am tapering this week for Nationals (to be held this week-end) and rowing less volume, I find myself working a lot on visualization/imagery. 

Today I did visualization both on and off the water.  I went through my race in so many ways - from my environment and competitors, to my breathing and blade work.  I wish I could just have the outcome in my head happen in real life, wouldn’t that be niceJ.

You may have seen Olympic athletes do this before their races/events.  It is amazing to see how much visualization can impact performance!  Sports Psychology is just as important as the physical training done each day...unfortunately I have found that it is very expensive, so I find myself trying to incorporate what I learned in University (feels like 10 million years ago) with my daily training.

Below is a video with Olympic/NHL athletes visualizing (you can watch the whole thing or go right to 2:42):

(Yes, this video is from the 80s, can you tell?)

Aside from visualization, I have had extra time to take care of myself.  I went to my amazing chiropractor (Pam Fardy) today and she thankfully helped pop 3 stubborn ribs back into place.  Bound to happen to any rower who does a lot of volume.

Now to do some work and then to bed...sleeping is part of my training this week too:)

Night!

Fear of failure develops into trust

First off, congrats to all those who competed at CUs this past week-end!

Secondly, the reason I didn’t write yesterday is because my body hated me…I thought the nausea and onset of brain malfunction was from the all-u-can-eat sushi I ate, but it was actually from my standard monthly migraine and I was forced into the fetal position for the remainder of the night (lasting until mid morning today).  Below is a picture from the all-u-can-eat meal…well worth it and I would do it again, only because I was with my girlsJ!

Unfortunately the migraine kept me from doing things this morning - like doing my morning row, going into the office on time, and meeting 2 other friends for lunch.  BUT, the body does what it does, and sometimes you can’t fight it.

Once I was feeling better, I went into the office and then after work I was able to fit in my row.  It was a very interesting row to say the least.  Though I am on land, I still feel like I am in a boat going over waves…swaying gently from side to side.  Have you ever had that feeling after sitting in a motor?  You get to land, get out of the boat, and then WHOA you are still feeling the motion from the waves…interesting eh?!

So that got me thinking…

The feeling I felt of being on the water still continued as I was on land, and this holds true for other things too.  For a long time I have held onto a feeling that has not been the most positive.  In 2005 I went to Denmark and raced at the World Long Course Triathlon Championships.  It was devastating because I had trained so hard for years for the 4km swim, 120km bike and 30km run.  I was ready to race and at my peak.  Long story short, several events during the race led me to my “failure” where I was taken off the course after 10km into the run, given an oxygen mask and told that my race was over.  The feeling I developed of fear to race alone and fear of failure continued into the sports I did thereafter, including rowing – but only in the single race category.  I am a BIG crew rower…I love to row in a team and push to my max with and for my teammates.  But when it comes to the single, I psych myself out because of this fear.  Today, for the first time in a while, I felt like I could let it go.  As I went over the waves, I realized that there is no reason I shouldn’t trust myself, and so whether I am in a crew boat or a single, I need to trust in what I am capable of doing and just close my eyes and push until I go blind or get forced to get off the courseJ (hopefully not with an oxygen mask).

Sometimes it’s not as obvious as the “boat” feeling, but for me this simple incident brought huge perspective to me and helped me gain that extra confidence that I need going into this week-end.

Enjoy this video below…

Mind Games!

“Pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever!” That is a saying that I always remember when I am doing tests or hard pieces.

I have never quit from a workout or test, but I have “let up” in power if I feel like I’ve hit a wall or can’t push harder.  This is the biggest mental challenge for me, because I know at times that my body can keep going but my brain says to ease off.  I have never done this on the water, but for some reason (for me and many) the erg is much more challenging.  It may be because you have no excuses (for example: weather conditions), and it is your raw strength and endurance that will determine your end result.

For part of today’s workout, I had to do 2 x 2km.  Since the water wasn’t ideal for doing pieces, I did the 2 x 2km on the erg.  I figured it would be a good opportunity to see how my power was off the water and evaluate my fitness.  Well, it was disappointing!!

I had Stani (new coach) watch me during my first 2km piece, and that in itself was helpful as I thought it would be an individual mission to get through the workout.  She gave me a realistic split to hold, and since nothing was riding on the result, I went for it and tried to see how long I could hold it for. 

I started the piece strong and held on for a good while….usually I start to feel the lactic acid build up in my legs around the 900m mark, but today I didn’t feel it until there was only 400m left.  This part was good because I was able to hold it off and breathe consistently throughout the piece, keeping a good rhythm.  However, since I haven’t done some solid high intensity pieces for a while (being away in Boston and all), my body didn’t like the feeling of lactic acid and without notice to my brain, I just stopped!  What the heck!!!  390m left and I stop?!  That is not like me, and I was on pace to pull a new personal best for my 2km!  Stani said “come on, get back on and finish”…I said “I can’t”…but then after about 10 seconds of back and forth, I got back on and pulled as hard as I could until the finish line.  I knew I couldn’t quit, and so I may as well finish as hard as I could.  Needless to say, I didn’t pull a new personal best, but it was a score I had pulled just last year as a previous personal best. 

I could get down on myself, break my confidence, etc., but instead I am looking at this differently and seeing that I CAN do this, especially with a stop and pulling what I did shows that I have it in me now to TRUST in my fitness and pull sub 7:20 for 2km.

Today was a workout, not a test, but I am approaching every workout with a “test” mentality so that I keep building on strengthening my mental game.

This is a video of a how a 2km erg test should be…NO STROKE IS COMFORTABLE!

Enjoy the music tooJ