A work in progress

It is about time I get my act together and update the world on my life!  I don't really think that my life is that important to the world, but I appreciate you who take an interest in what I do.  It makes getting up and to practice that much easier :)

I have no idea where I left off last, but I imagine it was in the beginnings of my return to the water.  I am in fact continuing to progress well on the water and despite the fact that I have a hard time getting to the speeds I was at prior to injury, it is all a journey and 7-8 weeks of no rowing takes time to come back from.
This week has been most notable for me.  The rest of the team headed to World cup 3 left Tues leaving the Under 23 group and the Pan Am group along with myself to entertain the dreams of rowing on the world stage.  Early in the week we had a 2k time trial, which was for initial selection for the Pan Am group, which I will be a part of if my shot at the Sr 2x does not come up.  However, my results were only indicative of my recovery process and I did not have to worry too much about my near future for Pan Ams.
In any case, what I will say is, rowing well and rowing fast are two separate things, and although it is good to do both, if you always remember power you will be more safe than if you think only of rowing well.  I don't mean to say that you should forget technique, it is vital especially on the world stage, however, if you have no power to back it up looking pretty does nothing for you except beg the question "what happened?".  I mention this because my performance in the time trial was more than ugly, if that is possible.  The conditions were fast but gusty and I did not hold it together well.  I managed to get through but by the skin of my teeth.  However, after getting the results I realized the statement above.  Because I just kept pushing the legs (which are still a work in progress) I was able to hold my own in the standings.  I was not on top as I am used to but close and at quite a bit lower stroke rating that the others (not trying to brag but put things in perspective for myself).
 This kicked off the realization for me that I can do this, I can get to normal ratings and find myself back on top in time for the group to return before World Championships.  I have to be patient but it will come if I push a little more every day.

After having this challenge put on myself... by myself, I came into our next workout determined to execute it well with focus and commitment. The rates were more in my range so it meant there were no excuses.  I left that practice feeling good about my success.  I kept the power on and worked on my technical focuses throughout to ensure maximum speed.  It was not perfect or the fastest but I was pleased with the progress.

This upcoming week will bring on more challenges but I know I can overcome them, take them in stride and make myself stronger for the bigger picture.