This past weekend was the Head of the Charles. We had 1 women's eight and 1 men's eight. Both rowed well, but the women placed better than the men--perhaps 10 out of 24. The men did not place in the top half, disqualifying us for next year.
Mondays after race day means we get to re-rig the boats coming back from the race at 5:30 AM whether we have raced or not--a sore spot for me--but I try to smile, suck it up, and take one for the team, with dreams of dancing pillows still swirling in my head.
Rigging is a natty business, trying to figure out which riggers go where, chasing bolts and washers as they dash to the ground and escape from bondage.
After rigging, we took the Baron out for a short row--about 40 minutes. It was a simple excercise--sixes on the square, up past Three Sisters and then back with the same. The focus was on no hesitation at the catch--keeping oars only 1 inch from the water; rowing the arms after half-slide so as as to back the blade into the water; and making certain that the oar is fully connected with the water before kicking with the legs..
As we rowed upstream, the gentle warmth of an unseasonable fall morning enveloped us, as the full moon rose in the Virginia sky.
Monday, October 25, 2010
October 19, 2010
There's an excitement about launching a boat into the quiet darkness of an early fall morning: you can't see at all and it doesn't matter anyway because sometimes we row with our eyes closed as an exercise to increase our feeling for the momentum and sounds of the boat and oars on the water. But my eyes are open, and the feeling of pushing back against the darkness is singular.
At moments, I am engrossed in my rowing and focused on correct rowing technique--slide control and catch timing. But then I remember to look up at the morning, and for several strokes, I have one of those "where the hell am I" moments.
As we approach about 100 strokes above Key Bride, the water level is still black, but above the Key Bridge, the early redness of a day hangs like a magnificent velvet curtain. There was no talking in the boat, and I savored the quiet rhythm of the moment. Our exersise was to row low and long all the way up to Fletchers Cove with a focus on form and energy at the drive. It was a day when things seemed to come together well, and there was satisfaction that maybe we can row well after all.
At moments, I am engrossed in my rowing and focused on correct rowing technique--slide control and catch timing. But then I remember to look up at the morning, and for several strokes, I have one of those "where the hell am I" moments.
As we approach about 100 strokes above Key Bride, the water level is still black, but above the Key Bridge, the early redness of a day hangs like a magnificent velvet curtain. There was no talking in the boat, and I savored the quiet rhythm of the moment. Our exersise was to row low and long all the way up to Fletchers Cove with a focus on form and energy at the drive. It was a day when things seemed to come together well, and there was satisfaction that maybe we can row well after all.
Monday, October 18, 2010
October 14, 2010
There are days when everyone is in the zone; and then there are days like today. I was bow seat in a 4 with Ira, Mark, and Ted at stroke. Some line ups work, others are OK, and then there are those that just don't work at all. The latter was the case today as we battled each other all the way upstream with every issue under the sun--er--stars.
We started off with a reverse pick drill by pairs. Immediately there were catch timing issues with stern pair--possibly attributable to the fact that Ted is about 6'6" with really long arms, and Mark is about my height or even shorter. When it came to bow pair, Ira and I were better matched, but hardly perfect.
Our warm up went up past Three Sisters whereat we picked up all 4 for what would be our exercise for the rest of the morning: 10 light strokes followed by 20 medium strokes and then 20 full pressure strokes. These sets were a struggle all the way upstream: 3-seat had his oar on the water all the way up and we were down to port the entire way. Port and Starboard timing was off on every single stroke.
For me, a difficulty was that stroke was not squaring up the blade early so every catch seemed to be a surprise. Because stroke seat has long arms and was getting hands away fast (as he should), the other 3 oars were not coming away from the finish at the same rate, hence oar angles were off. 2-seat was pretty measured in his recovery, but coming out of the finish, he was skying his oar on every stroke.
After we turned around at Fletchers, we did more sets of the 10/20/20 all the way back to the barn. Some of these sets felt OK, but we were unable to achieve any consistency and were often down to port. We must have done 5 sets before turning around at the Roosevelt Bridge to come home. I think the moral of today's story is that with a good line-up, many of our individual transgressions can be covered up; and with a bad line up, they are magnified 100 fold.
We started off with a reverse pick drill by pairs. Immediately there were catch timing issues with stern pair--possibly attributable to the fact that Ted is about 6'6" with really long arms, and Mark is about my height or even shorter. When it came to bow pair, Ira and I were better matched, but hardly perfect.
Our warm up went up past Three Sisters whereat we picked up all 4 for what would be our exercise for the rest of the morning: 10 light strokes followed by 20 medium strokes and then 20 full pressure strokes. These sets were a struggle all the way upstream: 3-seat had his oar on the water all the way up and we were down to port the entire way. Port and Starboard timing was off on every single stroke.
For me, a difficulty was that stroke was not squaring up the blade early so every catch seemed to be a surprise. Because stroke seat has long arms and was getting hands away fast (as he should), the other 3 oars were not coming away from the finish at the same rate, hence oar angles were off. 2-seat was pretty measured in his recovery, but coming out of the finish, he was skying his oar on every stroke.
After we turned around at Fletchers, we did more sets of the 10/20/20 all the way back to the barn. Some of these sets felt OK, but we were unable to achieve any consistency and were often down to port. We must have done 5 sets before turning around at the Roosevelt Bridge to come home. I think the moral of today's story is that with a good line-up, many of our individual transgressions can be covered up; and with a bad line up, they are magnified 100 fold.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
October 12, 2010
We are gearing up for the 2010 Occoquan Chase on Sunday October 17, so our daily practices continue to focus on our fundamental technique in several areas:
First, our catch timing which we address at very low ratings as we warmed up on the reverse pick drill. It's quite analogous to playing a piece of Bach or Beethoven on the piano a tempo, and then trying play the same piece at half tempo: it's easy to gloss over technique at a high rate of speed; but to test if you really know that piece, attempt it at half speed and all the shortcomings of technique become very apparent. Aunt Nancy taught me this over 30 year ago when I played a Bach invention for her on the piano. She then said "That is lovely, Lamb, but can you play it for me again at half that tempo?", whereupon my performance fell apart utterly.
The lesson is that control and mastery come at the slower speed, and that what we perceive as brilliance at the higher speed is in fact a cover-up. In the case of rowing, the cover up comes at the higher rates at the expense of ratio, precision in catch timing and release, and slide control.
Today, the morning was lovely, dark and deep. We rowed upstream through the utter blackness 70 or 80 strokes into what feels like a primal stretch of ancient river untouched by man, though we know that just behind the curtain of trees are highways on the VA side, and fancy homes on the DC side.
To begin, we rowed 6s on the square just up past Three Sisters to warm up and work on catch timing. After a brief pause, our exersise was 2 minutes on pressure at a 28-30 rating, followed by 1 minute off. In terms of balance and timing, I think today was a really good day compared to some other recent practices. There is still some crashing into the catch with the shoulders, and yanking back with the arms and shoulders first rather than driving the legs down first--then bodies swing back to finish.
At our first pause close to Fletcher's Cover, it was still dark, but the most subtle suggestion of daybreak began to assert itself against the blackness of night. Yet still, only the ancient silhouette of treetops could we perceive from our position mid-stream.
At this point, Nancy reminded us that we need to maintain pressure with our feet on the stretchers throughout the drive. That sounds so simple, but it takes a lot of concentration and effort.
After turning around to head back downstream, we had more sequences of 2 minutes on, 1 minute off. I think we did well in each of these pieces and really maintained focus and energy. We still need to work on application of power at the drive, but in general, I did feel this week a lot of improvement on slide control and some of the other basic techniques that are easily forgotten without constant focus.
First, our catch timing which we address at very low ratings as we warmed up on the reverse pick drill. It's quite analogous to playing a piece of Bach or Beethoven on the piano a tempo, and then trying play the same piece at half tempo: it's easy to gloss over technique at a high rate of speed; but to test if you really know that piece, attempt it at half speed and all the shortcomings of technique become very apparent. Aunt Nancy taught me this over 30 year ago when I played a Bach invention for her on the piano. She then said "That is lovely, Lamb, but can you play it for me again at half that tempo?", whereupon my performance fell apart utterly.
The lesson is that control and mastery come at the slower speed, and that what we perceive as brilliance at the higher speed is in fact a cover-up. In the case of rowing, the cover up comes at the higher rates at the expense of ratio, precision in catch timing and release, and slide control.
Today, the morning was lovely, dark and deep. We rowed upstream through the utter blackness 70 or 80 strokes into what feels like a primal stretch of ancient river untouched by man, though we know that just behind the curtain of trees are highways on the VA side, and fancy homes on the DC side.
To begin, we rowed 6s on the square just up past Three Sisters to warm up and work on catch timing. After a brief pause, our exersise was 2 minutes on pressure at a 28-30 rating, followed by 1 minute off. In terms of balance and timing, I think today was a really good day compared to some other recent practices. There is still some crashing into the catch with the shoulders, and yanking back with the arms and shoulders first rather than driving the legs down first--then bodies swing back to finish.
At our first pause close to Fletcher's Cover, it was still dark, but the most subtle suggestion of daybreak began to assert itself against the blackness of night. Yet still, only the ancient silhouette of treetops could we perceive from our position mid-stream.
At this point, Nancy reminded us that we need to maintain pressure with our feet on the stretchers throughout the drive. That sounds so simple, but it takes a lot of concentration and effort.
After turning around to head back downstream, we had more sequences of 2 minutes on, 1 minute off. I think we did well in each of these pieces and really maintained focus and energy. We still need to work on application of power at the drive, but in general, I did feel this week a lot of improvement on slide control and some of the other basic techniques that are easily forgotten without constant focus.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
2010 Head of the Potomac - September 26
Sunday was the Head of the Potomac Regatta. It was a drizzly day, but quite a good one for the races: the wind was low and the water calm. We had 2 men's 4s in the morning, 1 men's 8 in the afternoon and several ladies' boats. Our 4, #189. launched around 11 am for an 11:40 start.
We rowed by pairs on the square to warm up through the Key Bridge. Then we switched to all 4 on the feather and rowed steady state all the way up to Fletcher's Cove to warm up. I think the line up worked pretty well. It was Paul G in bow seat; Bob in 2-seat; I was in 3-seat; and Bill F was stroke.
I like the head races because we get a rolling start. That is to say you start rowing for about 20 strokes before the start line, and then as soon as you cross over, you're on pressure. The race plan was fairly simple: 20 hard strokes to get started and then settle. I think we got a good start and I was especially pleased that the rowing seemed focused. These are long races--15 to 20 minutes, So to maintain focus and form throughout is a real challenge.
At about half way through the race, another boat overtook us with apparent ease. It is at such a point that one must maintain focus and "row your own race". If you get distracted by who is around you or passing you, that can cause panic, rushing and all kinds of other ills.
By 3/4 through, I think we were still rowing with good form and balance, but we clearly lacked power which lead to our less than stellar placement at 21:03 minutes. By comparison, the winning boat finished at 15 minutes and some seconds. There are 2 reasons for lack of power. The first is simply not staying on pressure enough on every single stroke--driving the legs down. The second is that we are still struggling to learn how to let the boat run out underneath us and not rush the slide. Our ratio at a 28 rating was probably no more than 2 to 1, but possibly even 1.5 to 1. That's no good.
So, while I think there is a lot to be pleased with, we are still placing last against boats with a higher average age. We rowed well, we maintained the set and our focus, but now we need to add the power.
We had Nancy H as cox. She was very good, very calm and level headed. The only thing I would have liked more from Nancy was that as we came to the last 500 meters of the race, it would have been helpful for her to have called out how many strokes were left, or otherwise found a way to focus us. At one point I thought we had 20 strokes left, and then the race continued for another 100 strokes. The role of the cox is critical for discipline, correction and motivation when you start getting tired.
My next race will be the Occoquan Chase on October 17. Between now and then I have a few specific things I need to work on both in the boat and in the gym--mostly slide control, and power at the drive.
We rowed by pairs on the square to warm up through the Key Bridge. Then we switched to all 4 on the feather and rowed steady state all the way up to Fletcher's Cove to warm up. I think the line up worked pretty well. It was Paul G in bow seat; Bob in 2-seat; I was in 3-seat; and Bill F was stroke.
I like the head races because we get a rolling start. That is to say you start rowing for about 20 strokes before the start line, and then as soon as you cross over, you're on pressure. The race plan was fairly simple: 20 hard strokes to get started and then settle. I think we got a good start and I was especially pleased that the rowing seemed focused. These are long races--15 to 20 minutes, So to maintain focus and form throughout is a real challenge.
At about half way through the race, another boat overtook us with apparent ease. It is at such a point that one must maintain focus and "row your own race". If you get distracted by who is around you or passing you, that can cause panic, rushing and all kinds of other ills.
By 3/4 through, I think we were still rowing with good form and balance, but we clearly lacked power which lead to our less than stellar placement at 21:03 minutes. By comparison, the winning boat finished at 15 minutes and some seconds. There are 2 reasons for lack of power. The first is simply not staying on pressure enough on every single stroke--driving the legs down. The second is that we are still struggling to learn how to let the boat run out underneath us and not rush the slide. Our ratio at a 28 rating was probably no more than 2 to 1, but possibly even 1.5 to 1. That's no good.
So, while I think there is a lot to be pleased with, we are still placing last against boats with a higher average age. We rowed well, we maintained the set and our focus, but now we need to add the power.
We had Nancy H as cox. She was very good, very calm and level headed. The only thing I would have liked more from Nancy was that as we came to the last 500 meters of the race, it would have been helpful for her to have called out how many strokes were left, or otherwise found a way to focus us. At one point I thought we had 20 strokes left, and then the race continued for another 100 strokes. The role of the cox is critical for discipline, correction and motivation when you start getting tired.
My next race will be the Occoquan Chase on October 17. Between now and then I have a few specific things I need to work on both in the boat and in the gym--mostly slide control, and power at the drive.
Monday, September 27, 2010
September 23, 2010
Yesterday saw the Harvest Moon, and today ushered in the first day of fall. At 5:30 am along the river, the full moon cast a bright light on the dark waters and gave us the impression we might be able to see.
We launched 4 boats this morning: 1 eight, 2 fours and 1 double. Our four (I was in 3-seat) started off with a reverse pick drill, legs only. We worked our way upstream by pairs breaching the silvery silence. At the initial low rating of 20-22, we immediately had problems on every stroke, and wobbled from side to side--maddening! In vain attempts to correct it, we tried to apply more pressure at the drive to no avail. That was followed by an effort to get hands away faster and bodies set sooner - it still didn't come together. We may have even tried to slow the slide--but still the wobble.
My speculation is that is that some in the boat are still working on correcting their propensity for leaning with their outside shoulder opposite their rigger instead of following the arc of the oar, dropping their inside shoulder and twisting out over the rigger from the hip.
After Three Sisters, we rowed a 10-minute piece, all 4, up to the middle of Fletcher's Cove. It had its moments, but we are still struggling with some of these fundamentals. The rating on the way up to Fletcher's was about a 24--very heavy, not efficient, not powerful.
When we paused at Fletcher's to rest and get comments from Nancy, the gentle hues of the morning sky to the South spoke softly but with the certainty of a well constructed phrase. The effect of the morning was one of muted drama--the type that goes unnoticed by the unobservant: recall some paintings in the museum that don't immediately draw the attention, but with sustained observation intensify despite their subtlety.
After turning around, we had 2 10-minute pieces at a 28 rating. This is close to race pace, and the object of the exercise was to focus on:
-Overall form
-Pressure at the drive
-Controlling the slide
-Maintaing length in the water
We got it together somewhat, but we lacked power. The first 10-minute piece was a bit like rowing a grand piano--very heavy. Some of us were digging a bit and this slowed us down a great deal. We are still not together on hands down and away and bodies over together. Most of all, we are still tending towards rushing the slide--the last 6 inches--and not letting the boat do its work by letting it run out under us. Our cox this morning was Steve C., an experienced coach who kept saying "let the boat do the work" and "let the boat come up to meet you at the catch."
The second 10-minute piece was much better--more relaxed--but still rushing a bit on the slide. Tomorrow is another day.
We launched 4 boats this morning: 1 eight, 2 fours and 1 double. Our four (I was in 3-seat) started off with a reverse pick drill, legs only. We worked our way upstream by pairs breaching the silvery silence. At the initial low rating of 20-22, we immediately had problems on every stroke, and wobbled from side to side--maddening! In vain attempts to correct it, we tried to apply more pressure at the drive to no avail. That was followed by an effort to get hands away faster and bodies set sooner - it still didn't come together. We may have even tried to slow the slide--but still the wobble.
My speculation is that is that some in the boat are still working on correcting their propensity for leaning with their outside shoulder opposite their rigger instead of following the arc of the oar, dropping their inside shoulder and twisting out over the rigger from the hip.
After Three Sisters, we rowed a 10-minute piece, all 4, up to the middle of Fletcher's Cove. It had its moments, but we are still struggling with some of these fundamentals. The rating on the way up to Fletcher's was about a 24--very heavy, not efficient, not powerful.
When we paused at Fletcher's to rest and get comments from Nancy, the gentle hues of the morning sky to the South spoke softly but with the certainty of a well constructed phrase. The effect of the morning was one of muted drama--the type that goes unnoticed by the unobservant: recall some paintings in the museum that don't immediately draw the attention, but with sustained observation intensify despite their subtlety.
After turning around, we had 2 10-minute pieces at a 28 rating. This is close to race pace, and the object of the exercise was to focus on:
-Overall form
-Pressure at the drive
-Controlling the slide
-Maintaing length in the water
We got it together somewhat, but we lacked power. The first 10-minute piece was a bit like rowing a grand piano--very heavy. Some of us were digging a bit and this slowed us down a great deal. We are still not together on hands down and away and bodies over together. Most of all, we are still tending towards rushing the slide--the last 6 inches--and not letting the boat do its work by letting it run out under us. Our cox this morning was Steve C., an experienced coach who kept saying "let the boat do the work" and "let the boat come up to meet you at the catch."
The second 10-minute piece was much better--more relaxed--but still rushing a bit on the slide. Tomorrow is another day.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
September 21, 2010
Thought the morning was splendid, the same may not be said of our rowing: it was as labored a day of rowing as I've ever had! But first, the splendid: Upon arrival at the boathouse at 5:30 am, it was dark and Orien's Belt could be clearly seen hanging high above Memorial Bridge. As we started rowing upstream, the darkness moved from blackness through infinitesimally small gradations of dark blue from stroke to stroke.
Twenty strokes above the Key Bridge, the only evidence of the bridge were the lights atop it marching in a silent progression from shore to shore casting their white light on the water far below. By sixty strokes above the bridge, still dark, a band of red sky had pushed its way through the darkness and set the first stroke of morning light on the canvas of the day.
Now back to reality: we were attempting to row 6s on the square. Our catch timing was off--we wobbled all the way upstream. It was atrocious. Our first piece was all the way from Three Sisters up to the middle of Fletcher's Cove. The whole affair was sexless: no fire, no rhythm.
After turning around to head back downstream, our piece was 4 minutes at 28 rating; then 90 seconds off. The repeat. We did this sequence 4 times and truly, we never got it together in any of these pieces. We were supposed to focus on slide control and hands quick away etc. But our issues of timing were more fundamental than that. I was apparently coming up short on my stroke--the cox kept saying that it seemed I was rowing at half-slide. I tried to extend and twist out over the rigger more, but still came up short. Several other seats were chastised for digging which slows down the boat considerably. Catch timing was off. 4-seat was crashing into every catch. We were a total mess. Sunday is the Head of the Potomac which means we have Thursday and Friday to work out a lot of issues. For my part, I will work on slide control, extension and posture. Remember: Posture Is Power!
Twenty strokes above the Key Bridge, the only evidence of the bridge were the lights atop it marching in a silent progression from shore to shore casting their white light on the water far below. By sixty strokes above the bridge, still dark, a band of red sky had pushed its way through the darkness and set the first stroke of morning light on the canvas of the day.
Now back to reality: we were attempting to row 6s on the square. Our catch timing was off--we wobbled all the way upstream. It was atrocious. Our first piece was all the way from Three Sisters up to the middle of Fletcher's Cove. The whole affair was sexless: no fire, no rhythm.
After turning around to head back downstream, our piece was 4 minutes at 28 rating; then 90 seconds off. The repeat. We did this sequence 4 times and truly, we never got it together in any of these pieces. We were supposed to focus on slide control and hands quick away etc. But our issues of timing were more fundamental than that. I was apparently coming up short on my stroke--the cox kept saying that it seemed I was rowing at half-slide. I tried to extend and twist out over the rigger more, but still came up short. Several other seats were chastised for digging which slows down the boat considerably. Catch timing was off. 4-seat was crashing into every catch. We were a total mess. Sunday is the Head of the Potomac which means we have Thursday and Friday to work out a lot of issues. For my part, I will work on slide control, extension and posture. Remember: Posture Is Power!
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