Training camp is a time to get some good solid work in; rock your body, push the limits and get some much needed water time in. I think many would agree that a good training camp also builds team moral, comradeship, and makes for great stories which forever link you and your team together.
So after a long car ride the team arrived in Gainesville GA where we are training on the Atlanta Olympic course. We have had great weather for the most part and I can say I am enjoying being on the water again.
We started a long drive last Saturday in a caravan of Rowing Canada vehicles and for those less daring to ride in what one positive athlete calls the "death traps" aka 15 passenger vans, personal vehicles. I am glad I chose the death trap because it has become a great bonding experience.
Our van, which we have deemed the better group, due to our stunning good looks, excellent taste in music and riveting conversation, has created a great atmosphere to ride to and from the course in. There are discussions of the rows but pretty quickly our conversation heads south and we, along with our driver/coach have a good laugh. I will put a disclaimer in , the coach listens more than chats and only adds in a witty comment now and again, balancing his role as a leader and a member of our exclusive death trap club well.
I talk a bit about this car ride some for humour sake but also to note the importance in the balance of intense training and life. Focus is always a name of our game but there are moments to let loose and let things go. It is what can turn a day around.
As for my specific training, it has been good. The coaches have had great foresight and have provided us with good time to ease back into the boat before hitting us with the hard stuff. My hands are a little worse for wear and my legs after 7 days are glad for the day off but I have been given some great feedback and I think I am executing it well, or at least working my way to perfection. Much of my time has been spent in the single but I have had the opportunity to row a couple of days in a double with a strong sculler. We have our moments but overall improvements are made every day which is encouraging. I hope she and I can be each others support and by that I mean push each other in the singles and then rock it in the double. Yesterday was a really great workout where I was back in the single; 3x 2k at what was for me race rate. I can't say it was pretty by any means but I made it work and put myself in a great position each time. I was in a lot of pain from the weeks toll but I knew everyone else was in the same position, so I pressed on and played it out with the mind. As I see it, most of the girls I train with have been at the Olympics, won medals or at least done well on the international scene. If I give them even a fraction of an inch they will undoubtedly take a mile, and then never stop. I have to beat that and also adapt that same philosophy. There are rarely second chances in a race, so you need to execute it right the first time.
On the science side, it has been such a cool thing to have a lot of staff to help us with nutrition, measuring hydration, glucose etc. Every little bit of info helps us know where we are at in the training cycle as well as how to improve our recovery and performance but it also allows the coaches to adapt training programs if necessary. I am realizing more every day that in order to be a high performance athlete, and the best, you have to look at every part of the system and fine tune calories, rest, recovery nutrition, hydration, mental attitude and approach, sleep and so on so that all systems work together seamlessly. I truly believe that my body feels pretty darn good compared to what it might have felt if I had been on this trip fresh out of college. The resources are awesome and I am taking them in stride one day at a time.
We finish out our time here in a few days and then pack up and head to our next training facility in TN. It is a course I know well from highschool training camps and college races, but this time is different. I am sure the water will be the same but my approach and attack will be much changed.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support, I am so blessed and know I am loved. The Lord has a plan for me, and at times I wonder what it is but just as things get a little grey He shows up to give me the little nudge, "this is the plan I have for you."
No comments:
Post a Comment