Not much to report
We are definitely in the doldrums of the winter. Thankfully it appears that winter has long since ended - cross the fingers - and the weather has been improving daily. Winters in the northwest certainly aren't what you'd encounter further north, nor the midwest or northeast, but I dislike them none-the-less.
Regardless, right now we are pushing through the last few weeks of land training with a few trips out to the lake for on the water training. I've been pleased with the progress shown by the novice women, especially on the water.
Every body of water has it's pros and cons, and while a lake seldom has any current - depending on what's feeding the lake - the chances of being blown off due to wind, and whitecaps increase exponentially compared to being on a river. So while I'm happy to be on the lake, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows - we were unable to row two weekends ago, and last weekend wasn't ideal.
I feel extremely fortunate landing in the setting I have. The varsity coach has put together a strong land training schedule, which has led to some solid fitness, leaving me free to focus on technique without fear of cutting into overall performance. This is starting to show, even with only a couple of water days, and I was pleased to see the progress with the releases on Sunday. This allowed us to transition to introducing the catch, and I am hopeful that if they catch onto - sorry for the pun - the technique as quickly, that we can transition to full stroke rowing very shortly.
Until then, it's fitness and technique on the ergs. I read an article recently that one coach doesn't do a lot of technique on the ergs. Honestly it's not my preferred location to work technique either. I don't like that the ergs are static and stationary, and unable to replicate the feel of the water. I'm not a fan of the shockboxes that supposedly replicate the feel of being on the water - I don't see it - and I'm neither here nor there on sliders, though I do like to hook them up together.
Ideally technique would happen on the water, or in the tank - I did not see the value of a tank until Oregon State - but you have to make do with what you've got.
Regardless, right now we are pushing through the last few weeks of land training with a few trips out to the lake for on the water training. I've been pleased with the progress shown by the novice women, especially on the water.
Every body of water has it's pros and cons, and while a lake seldom has any current - depending on what's feeding the lake - the chances of being blown off due to wind, and whitecaps increase exponentially compared to being on a river. So while I'm happy to be on the lake, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows - we were unable to row two weekends ago, and last weekend wasn't ideal.
I feel extremely fortunate landing in the setting I have. The varsity coach has put together a strong land training schedule, which has led to some solid fitness, leaving me free to focus on technique without fear of cutting into overall performance. This is starting to show, even with only a couple of water days, and I was pleased to see the progress with the releases on Sunday. This allowed us to transition to introducing the catch, and I am hopeful that if they catch onto - sorry for the pun - the technique as quickly, that we can transition to full stroke rowing very shortly.
Until then, it's fitness and technique on the ergs. I read an article recently that one coach doesn't do a lot of technique on the ergs. Honestly it's not my preferred location to work technique either. I don't like that the ergs are static and stationary, and unable to replicate the feel of the water. I'm not a fan of the shockboxes that supposedly replicate the feel of being on the water - I don't see it - and I'm neither here nor there on sliders, though I do like to hook them up together.
Ideally technique would happen on the water, or in the tank - I did not see the value of a tank until Oregon State - but you have to make do with what you've got.
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