And Life Goes On

If you have been counting, which there is no reason you would be, it has been 216 days since we moved away from Oakland and since I started a new job, 83 days since my last post, 27 days since my last row on the water, and 7 days since the Princess turned two years old.  

The Princess sits next to me as I type and we both eat grapes;
please note the door behind her and the stickers--lovely

The longer I spend away from the water, the more I worry that I am losing the feel for the water, the smoothness up the recovery, the softness at the catch, the consistency through the drive among other things, such as fitness and strength.  I worry that for every three steps forward in rowing that I had made, I am now taking two steps back.

Instead of worrying if I am training correctly or what is my race plan for the next 2k, I now worry that I am not going to have enough     (time / energy / motivation)      to workout.  Somewhere, rowing has become a struggle in a mix between the new job (i.e. new skills, more hours, travel, different work style, and unpredictability), a less convenient location to the boathouse, an older and more independent-but-really-more-dependent-in-some-ways Princess, and a husband who gets to be single parent when I travel.

The erg at home has proved to be helpful for a short workout or two.  Not so long ago, i.e. 216 days ago, I begrudged doing short interval workouts, such as 6x500m or 4x1000m, because first, I hate intervals and if you did these intervals right, it is a world of pain.  And second, I felt like I did not get the best mileage for the amount of time spent.  I generally preferred 45 or 60 minute steady state pieces.  Now, I am simply grateful if I have the time, energy, and motivation to erg for a simple 20 minutes--usually still steady state.  Erg splits are becoming less and less relevant beyond reminding me of how far I have "fallen."

Here is what my recent ergs look like.  It is 6:30 in the evening and I am just getting home from work.  Sometimes, the Princess and the husband will already be home and sometimes, it is just the Princess and me.  If the husband and the Princess are home, we try to eat dinner together like a normal family except for the food-throwing by the Princess.  Sometime after dinner, I might erg.  While I erg, the husband tries to entertain the Princess and knows to stay far away from "Mama" while she ergs.

If it is just the Princess and me, well, things might not go as smoothly.  I might turn on the TV to occupy the Princess with Elmo or Caillou (thank god for streaming Netflix even if the selection otherwise is not spectacular).  Unfortunately, with the erg and the TV in the same room, you cannot really hear the TV over someone erging.  The Princess usually loses interest fairly quickly.  She did once take the TV remote and turn up the volume until she could hear her show.  I had to stop and turn the volume back down before our neighbors could complain.  And I had thought she only knew how to use the remote to turn on and off the TV.

The erg in the corner of the family / living room;
barely enough room to clear the elbows at the finish

Usually though, the Princess might do puzzles or wander around, looking bored and waiting for me to stop erging. She generally knows not to bother "Mama" while she ergs, although there have been a number of times when the Princess will come up to the erg speaking in some gibberish (not English or Chinese).

In the book Assault on Lake Casitas, Brad Lewis describes some of his mental preparation for the 1984 Olympics.  He and his doubles partner, Paul Enquist, did "shadow rowing" on an erg, practicing their mental focus by executing different scenarios--pretending that they were leading or that they were behind the pack, but making sure they stayed focused.  They even had other people try to distract them in different ways, from shouting obscenities, reading provocative passages to pouring water on them.  No matter the distraction, they stayed focused and it paid off.

Well, my erging at home has been anything but what Lewis and Enquist practiced.  I was really surprised at how distracting the Princess can be just by running around, eating, whining, or making a mess.  Sometimes, it is really hard to just hold a stroke rate or a split, plus or minus two seconds (which is not really consistent or "holding a split"), never mind technique.

One time, I had my eyes closed for a few strokes when the Princess came up and tapped my leg to ask help with her Mr. Potatohead.  I nearly jumped out of my skin.  I managed to not send the handle flying and then, told her to wait until I was done.  She eventually lost interest and found something better to do.

This is probably not an example of good parenting nor is it an example of good erging .  For now though, it will have to do.

I have not yet found steady footing in this new situation and I know that very soon, I am going to have to face the facts and determine what are my goals for right now and what can wait.  I am afraid those 27 days off the water might become 270 days.  In the meanwhile, life goes on...

Rowing Tidbits

Apparently, I am not the only one to notice how non-ideal the Charles River is for rowing.  The official Head of the Charles regatta blog has noted a very calm river this weekend here.  The caption reads, "Please water be like this in 28 days."  Good luck.  If you are going to the HOTC, 26 days now to find more speed!

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Great Britain's men's quad for Worlds 2011

Ever wonder why you row?  Here are some of the reasons why you row.  Ask Steve Rowbotham of the British men's quad and you will get, "I might have quit rowing if it wasn't for my stubborn streak...now all I want to do is win a medal at London."

He also said this about rowing and erging, "Rowing is not very glamorous...I have had some pretty dark days, particularly in the winter when it snows. You spend a lot of time outside in the cold and wet doing a lot of training and the rowing machine is probably one of the worst things that you will ever do. I will never get back on one."  

Thank You, Lake Merritt



Goodbye and good luck card.  Thank you, LMRC!
(There was delicious banana chocolate and walnut cake associated with the card,
but I could not wait and already ate all the cake...)

It has been over a week since my last row at Lake Merritt, and it already feels like a distant past.

In Moonwalking with Einstein, a story of remembering and the US National Memory Championships, the author describes that the more dramatic, memorable events are, the better you remember them, and thus, the slower time passes for you.  This is the opposite of the idea that "Time flies when you are having fun."  A week packed with "fun"--moving, traveling, a new job, new faces-- feels much longer than just seven days.

When you are young, life is good.  You are fresh, always improving, learning new things.  You are invincible, on-top-of-the-world.  You can handle anything and everything that life throws at you.  You are hungry--you want everything right now.  You are the epitomy of "bright-eyed and bushy tailed."  Moving?  New job?  New house?  No problem.

In a span of a day and a half, my husband and I stripped our old place bare and officially "moved in" to our new apartment, filled with boxes, bags brimming with our worldly posessessions (some of which we did not even know we had).  The next four days were spent traveling, meeting new people, learning new things for the job.  Ever felt really stupid and slow?  Ever felt like you are holding on by a nail? 

Maybe my constant memory loss, which sometimes does apply to other things besides rowing, ages me.  Maybe when people say that a new job, a new city, is a big chance, they are not kidding.  Maybe everything is easier when you know what you are doing, when you have your anchors--friends, family, rowing, swimming, goal, purpose, life--in place.  Maybe my amazing ability and huge appetite do have a limit because I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

Just like the things I have learned from swimming with Marcia, here are a few things I have learned from rowing at Lake Merritt:

1. A really good coach is worth his or her weight in gold.  Coaching takes time, energy, patience.  Masters coaching is even more difficult.  Trying to get rowers of different ages, backgrounds, abilities, goals to row together, race, win is hardly an envious responsibility.
2. I am probably not the easiest athlete to coach.  I do not trust coaches easily.  Many people coach, but few actually know what they are doing.  I have my days when I disagree with the workout, line-up, people, life in general, etc. and have a few not-so-nice things lined up in my head.  As a friend pointed out to me, "Yes, you are a HUGE 'I'," I do not like to be pushed by a coach, coxswain, or anyone or anything else.  Who are you to tell me how far I can go and where my limit is?  Luckily, at Lake Merritt, I have met some really good coaches who do know what they are doing and who have helped me go farther than I had imagined.
3. Sometimes, I am just a kid with an attitude problem.  I may appear to be an adult with a real world job, a husband, and a Princess, but some days, I am really just your typical teenager, snappy and pissed off.  Forgive me.
4. I am a small boat person.  Big boats can be fun, but what I love is small boats.  There is not always strength in numbers, which is why small clubs can do BIG things. 




LMRC Women's Team...I have no idea what they are trying to do...


5. On a team, everyone brings something to the team whether it be a fast erg score, a good atttiude, humor, competition, maturity, rhythm, experience, etc. 
6. Rowing a single requires a lot of time, dedication, and patience with yourself.  Ever want to feel stupid and slow?  Remember rowing a single for the first time?
7. Erging can be less tortuous--sometimes.  Haunted by old erg tests, I hate the erg.  If the sport was erging, not rowing (like during the winter in the Midwest), I would just quit.  An former Cal Lwt Crew coach and friend would constantly tell us, "The erg is your friend.  You love the erg.  The erg will make you stronger."  Sometimes, the erg will be your only honest friend.  Think of the erg as a tool.  Work with it, not against it.  (I still hate it though.)
8. Be grateful for what you have and the people you meet along the way.  Thank you, LMRC.




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Lunchtime Ergs

Stanford Women brought ergs to Pac-10s--
one way to intimidate the competition!

If you are not a rower, you do not understand the erg.  The erg is not just another fitness machine like the elliptical or the treadmill.  The erg is a torture machine.  The erg does not lie.

Last week, I met a guy who played tennis for Princeton and who actually knew a lot about rowing because he roomed with several Princeton lightweight men.  The very first thing he said to me after he found out that I row was, "Uhh.  Those erg tests sound horrible."  Exactly my sentiments.

Today though, I am talking about erging in general.  As part of our team's training plan, Chris asks that we erg 20,000 meters every week in addition to our organized practices.  Between work, family, chores, it is hard to squeeze in a 20k.  Sometimes, life does interfere and training takes a back seat.

I personally resort to lunchtime ergs at a local gym.  Not the most ideal or prettiest solution, but it gets the job done.  There are two ergs at my gym.  During lunch as I hog the erg with my long steady state piece, I watch people come and go, sitting down on the erg next to me and rowing for no more than five minutes before giving up.  

Have you ever tried erging at a gym?  Count yourself lucky (or unlucky) that your local gym has an erg.  A decent, functioning erg is bonus.   Have you ever seen other normal people try to erg?  Most people get on the erg with the resistance factor set at a 10 and try to rush up and down the slide as fast as possible.  Sometimes, they even try to do bicep curls with the handle.  I try not to look (or laugh or cry), but I always wonder how they manage to not break their backs.  

It is lonely to erg by yourself and even worse in a packed gym on the second floor since hot air rises.  Boring, monotonous, and uninspiring.  

A few weeks ago, however, I had a rare lunchtime erg.  I climbed up the stairs to the cardio machine area to find a guy, wearing a USRowing shirt, rowing on one of the ergs.  The man was at least six feet tall and definitely a heavyweight.  Our pieces ended up overlapping a bit.  We followed each other for rhythm and rate, but while I was pulling a 2:11/500m (my split is usually a bit lower, but I must have been too excited to have someone to erg with), this guy was easily pulling a 1:52/500m.  WOW.  I know men are stronger, faster than women (especially pisses me off when it is my brother), but when you actually get to see it and sit next to that type of power, it is amazing.

What a Drag

Tuesday morning - What a Drag...

Since we raced this weekend at Gold Rush, Chris gave us Monday morning off.  I took the opportunity to swim on Monday--another rare treat!

Monday's swim set:

1. 200yds IM
2. 4x100yds free
3. 200yds free
4. 4x100yds IM

Many of the MEMO swimmers did a 1 mile open water swim at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa on Saturday.  Maybe Marcia thought the set was suppose to be easier/recovery, but the set was tiring!

This morning, Marcia had an invention for us--SpongeMarcia, a sponge placed in mesh bag.  In preparation for open water swimming and probably upper body strength conditioning, Marcia had us use a strap to tie the sponge in the mesh bag around our waste and drag it back and forth in the pool.  In fact, we covered quite a good amount of distance with the sponge:

1. 300yds free with the sponge
2. 50yds free sprint with the sponge
3. Repeat #1 and #2 two more times
4. 50yds spring with no sponge (surprising how much faster you can go without the sponge!)
5. 100yds free with ALL the sponges in your lane

Swimmer dragging all the sponges in her lane

For all the rowers, have you ever erged with the drag factor set at a 7 or 8?  Or have you ever rowed an eight with a bucket tied to the stern?  Marcia's sponges are a similar concept--increased drag or resistance.  A higher drag factor on the erg and increased drag through the water in a boat helps to build strength and practice non-ideal conditions, such as a strong headwind, a heavy coxswain, and/or just a lot of dead weight in the boat!

Recovery Swim

Wednesday morning:  This morning’s swim was what Marcia called a “recovery” swim.  Recovering for what?!  This makes me suspicious.  I am already scared for Thursday.  I hate surprises, especially ones that come in as swim tests or erg tests.

A view of the Wisconsin boathouse, Porter Boathouse, from the side;
the erg room is on top where the balcony is

Surprise erg tests put a big knot in my stomach.  I remember one morning during the first week of camp in Wisconsin, we went out on the water as normal and then, came back in early.  That only meant one thing—erging.  That morning, I had actually debated with myself whether or not to bring my tennis shoes.  Since it was summer in Wisconsin with about 90% humidity, I always wore my flip-flops.  And that morning, I had decided to leave the tennis shoes at home.  SHIT.

The erg piece was a 5,000 meters at max pressure with controlled rating, starting the piece at 18spm and increasing the rate 2 beats every 1,000 meters.  Basically, it was an erg test with specified rates.  I did the entire erg piece without shoes, which can be challenging because it is much harder to swing at the finish and keep your feet touching the footboards.  Luckily or unluckily, I was not the only person to forget her shoes.  One other girl who was not from Wisconsin also did not bring tennis shoes.  All the Wisco girls knew better and always carried tennis shoes, just in case. 

Unfortunately, for the other girl, she stopped a few times to adjust her feet and foot straps, and the coach came up and said, “What is up with this?  What are you doing?  This is an erg test.  You can’t just stop.”  From one of my novice coaches, I learned that you NEVER ever stop in the middle of an erg test unless you are passing out or throwing up or having an asthma attack (which one of the girls at camp actually had during an erg test and the coach had to force her to stop because she would not give up).

The lesson is erg tests suck, and surprise erg tests suck more.  Bring your tennis shoes if there is even a chance of erging.

As for the recovery swim that we had, it really was not that easy.  The main set had a lot of partnering up with a buddy and since my lane had an odd number of swimmers, we had a threesome. 

1. 3x50yds family kickboard (all two or three people hold on to one kickboard and flutter kick for 50yds) and 50yds pulling partner (one person swims while the partner or partners hang on, acting as dead weight)
2. 3x50yds free, descending
3. 3x100yds free, descending

Maybe Marcia thought it was a recovery swim because all the partner work gave us adequate rest between sets?!

Something for Everyone

When you are in school, you get something special around March and April.  It is called spring break.  Since Marcia's swim sessions are through a community college, we get spring break next week.  A whole week without Marcia and without feeling guilty if we sleep in!

During our usual pulling warm-up with pull buoys, Marcia yelled at me, saying, "Ann, make sure you are pulling in straight back, no side to side motion" as she swung her arms across the front of her body.   In freestyle, my arms have a bad habit of entering the water, slanted towards the middle of my body and crossing the front of my body as I pull through.  This sideways motion is a waste of energy since I do not want to swim sideways, but forward.  If you row, think about what some people call "tea bag" rowing where on the drive, instead of pulling in straight and level, your hands go up and then down.  This causes your blade to dig deep into the water and then come back up to the right level, like dunking a tea bag.  You are wasting energy when your oar has vertical motion, instead of horizontal motion through the water. 

Since today was the last swim before spring break, we all lived in fear the night before that Marcia would make us do the 4x100yd swim test.  Not to disappoint, Marcia had something even better for us; she had something for everyone.  There are three swim tests that Marcia makes us do--15 minute swim, 400yds kick with kick board, and 4x100yds free.  Today's workout had a bit of everything, for everyone.  Everything was FAST:

1.  5 minute freestyle swim - take the number of laps from your 15 minutes swim test, divide by three, and add one; that is the number of laps to swim in 5 minutes
2.  200yds flutter kick, with board - take your time from the 400yd kick test and divide by two; you want to kick faster than that time
3.  2x100yds - just FAST.

The 200yd kick ended up being the most brutal with us kicking until our legs felt numb.  Two women in the lane next door, the two other women in my lane, and I all kicked the entire 200yds at the same speed, shoulder to shoulder, like a row of Roman phalanxes, unable to drop anyone.  The "something for everyone" workout was exhausting, but the different mini-tests offered enough variety so that we were not as stressed out as during the 4x100yds swim test.  Plus, Marcia did not haul out her clipboard to record any times. 

If you row, imagine doing a 4x500m erg test or running two laps around the track, running two sets of stairs, and erging 2x500m.  Which would you prefer?  Which would require more mental toughness?  Both are challenging, but in different ways.  The 4x500m focuses on consistent performance; it does not mean much if you pull an amazing split on the first two pieces only to die in the last two.  The run/stairs/erg workout requires more versatility in your muscles and ability to mentally push through fatigue; it is more of a test to see how much speed you can still have after fatiguing your muscles.

Spring break!

Desperate for an Erg

Let's get the hard stuff over with--erging. I am not a fan of erging to say the least, and if I didn't row on a team, I would probably never erg. Erging or indoor rowing is done on a rowing machine called an erg. Think treadmill for running. Why would you run on a treadmill indoors at a stuffy gym when you can run outside under the sun and sky? Like the treadmill, the erg is great for those rainy, windy days, which can make rowing miserable. Also, like the treadmill, the erg is great for training and measuring your fitness.

There are few fundamental truths in life, and here is one of them--the erg does not lie. It does not lie about your fitness, strength, endurance, or mental toughness at that particular point in time, in that particular piece. Everything on the erg is measurable and recorded. That is one of the reasons the mention of erg brings knots to my stomach. There is no where to hide. It takes a certain amount of courage to face the erg and the truth it displays.

Thus, it was very odd this morning when I was desperate for an erg. Yesterday morning, at the end of practice, our coach, Chris, informed us that each of us were to do a 2k erg test by next Saturday. We all knew this was coming, but a sense of dread still over came me. A 2k erg test is similar to running a timed 1 mile, but worse. The time for a 2k and a 1 mile are pretty comparable in time (about 8 minutes for women, obviously depending on fitness level) and distance (2000m vs. 1600m). Unlike on the 400m track, on the erg, the erg tells you exactly what you are pulling. When you run a timed mile, you might have a coach on the sidelines calling out your 400m split, but you don't have a machine telling you every step what your pace is and whether you are fading.

In order to avoid having the 2k hang over my head all week, I decided that I would do the 2k this morning. I went down to the lake to erg, only to find the gates locked and the ergs inaccessible. This left me at a loss. Lake Merritt Rowing Club moved all the equipment into an area that is shared with the Sailboat House Club because the Sailboat House is under construction. This shared area has a dual lock system that makes the area accessible by LMRC and by Sailboat Club with different keys. Yesterday, someone had locked the whole area with the Sailboat Club lock, thus making the area inaccessible to LMRC. I thought about jumping the fence, but the fence is about 9 feet tall with barbed wire on top, and I was never good at adventurous things, such as climbing fences.

Sometimes in life, things do not go as planned, and I am a person who reacts poorly when life goes askew. In a cross mood, I waited around in vain for 30 minutes, hoping that someone would come unlock the gate. Desperate and hoping it was not too early to call, I called a good friend whom I knew had an erg. She was generous enough to let me barge into her house at 8AM and erg.

I did not set any PRs today nor did I feel particularly strong, but a solid 2k was good enough for me today. Life is looking up now.