A Peek Inside (Part 5)
Welcome readers,
It's time for another peek inside post, and I thought it would be interesting to take another look at a day in the life, only this time, with the Covid-19 pandemic in effect. What might the day look like with the season canceled - a few weeks ago - and with regattas canceled - FISA just canceled everything - but with business still moving forward. Recruits are coming in. Next season still needs to be planned, projects still need to move forward, training plans still need to be sorted. Remotely.
This post will staddle the lines between personal and professional so I'll offer my opinions on a few things - nothing political or social - but mostly we'll stick with the coaching side. So here we go.
Mornings
I try and be up between 700/730 am. Trust me, it's so easy to sleep the day away, and stay up way too late. The effective shut down of the state threw my schedule into chaos and it's made it a little too easy to be lazy or lax. The first few weeks were a lot of late night binging of Netflix and Hulu, and a lot of mornings that began around 1030/11 am.
After waking up, depending on how I feel, I will do a few things. Usually I start with a workout. This isn't a blaster so much as it's to get the blood moving. My workout is 11 stations of 50"/10" without rest with a focus of quality, not quantity. I try and run through this three times, and then go for a long walk (60-90').
Breakfast
I'm notorious for skipping breakfasts, so I've trying to change that by having quick breakfast items available, and fruit and yogurt. My typical breakfast will come from the following items:
- Plain Greek yogurt with dried fruit, granola, and a drizzle of honey and Maldon salt flakes.
- Whole wheat toast (2) with peanut butter, and bananas.
- Cereal with almond milk and bananas.
- Hard boiled eggs (2) with seasonings (salt, pepper, chili flakes).
- Protein shake made with water and a splash of almond milk.
I also down my supplements at this point including fiber, a daily multi, flaxseed/fish oil, and others and chase them with at least three shaker bottles of water, the first three of at least six or seven throughout the day. Stay hydrated my friends. And then the usual: Shower, get dressed.
Work "begins"
It's generous to call it work, but I try and get into my email by 9/930. I have a lot of emails: Two personal, two professional, a secondary coaching email (for contact questions), and an official school email.
Usually this involves a lot of reading. I'm working on a project, but it's stalled out right now as the person who is helping coordinate things is busy - completely understandable.
Webinars
US Rowing has put together some great webinars - I'm getting ready to start one in about 10' as I write - while we're practicing social distancing, as well as uploaded some great content to their YouTube site. I usually will sort through two or three of these and rewatch some. I do this to keep the mind sharp, and to gain some outside perspectives on a topic, or generate some new ideas. It's also a great way to stay motivated, and feel engaged.
Lunch
Lunch is usually followed by a short walk (30-40').
Meetings
Depending on the day, I'll have at least one Zoom meeting. They aren't always with the current program. Sometimes they are catching up with some coaching friends. At least once a week we have a team meeting to catch up with the athletes, and see how everyone is doing.
Mindfulness
By this point, I'm ready to get off my computer. Sometimes I'll listen to music, or sit for 15-20'. Other times I read. One of the keys to reading though is to read something that I've already read. Why? The mindfulness moments, for me at least, are to disengage the brain and let it chill. Reading something I've already read is less reading, and more about letting the brain relax. I'm away from the screen, and reading, but also keeping the brain from over processing. Currently I'm reading "Without Remorse," by Tom Clancy.
Training/Planning
It's an odd thing. I believe some coaches put too much thought into planning, and other coaches put too little thought into planning.
I like the Goldilocks focus: Not too much, not too little, just right. I also call it, "Going down the rabbit hole." Don't go down the rabbit hole no matter how intriguing or fun it might be. You'll see this in younger coaches when it comes to riggings. Numbers, angles, individual athletes, heights, and heads start to spin. I tell the athletes this all the time: If you have a plan, and know where you are, where you want to go, and how you want to get there, then the season is long and you have time. If you don't know any of that, then the season is short. When building a training plan, break it up. What's the focus? Where are you trying to get to? What's the purpose?
This picture, the purpose of the walk-on training isn't to teach someone to row. Three weeks is not nearly enough time to take someone who hasn't heard of rowing before to rowing by all eight, and rowing well. The purpose of the walk-on training here is to weed through the 40-50 individuals trying out and find the handful - 0 to 6 - who have the potential to be a varsity athlete, who can contribute to the program. This particular plan is much different than a season plan at say, a DIII where you're trying to take nonathletes and turn them into rowers over several months. And at the same time, it's not. The goal for this plan is _X_ in three weeks. The same can be applied to any other training plan even if it's a season long plan.
Dinner
Similar to lunch, I follow this with another walk (30-40').
That sums up a typical day for me during this quarantine. Not as exciting as in season - I've been looking at pictures from this point last year and wishing that we were preparing to head to Redwood Shores, or racing in Seattle - but it's certainly enough to stay busy.
Stay safe out there.
It's time for another peek inside post, and I thought it would be interesting to take another look at a day in the life, only this time, with the Covid-19 pandemic in effect. What might the day look like with the season canceled - a few weeks ago - and with regattas canceled - FISA just canceled everything - but with business still moving forward. Recruits are coming in. Next season still needs to be planned, projects still need to move forward, training plans still need to be sorted. Remotely.
This post will staddle the lines between personal and professional so I'll offer my opinions on a few things - nothing political or social - but mostly we'll stick with the coaching side. So here we go.
Mornings
I try and be up between 700/730 am. Trust me, it's so easy to sleep the day away, and stay up way too late. The effective shut down of the state threw my schedule into chaos and it's made it a little too easy to be lazy or lax. The first few weeks were a lot of late night binging of Netflix and Hulu, and a lot of mornings that began around 1030/11 am.
After waking up, depending on how I feel, I will do a few things. Usually I start with a workout. This isn't a blaster so much as it's to get the blood moving. My workout is 11 stations of 50"/10" without rest with a focus of quality, not quantity. I try and run through this three times, and then go for a long walk (60-90').
Breakfast
I'm notorious for skipping breakfasts, so I've trying to change that by having quick breakfast items available, and fruit and yogurt. My typical breakfast will come from the following items:
- Plain Greek yogurt with dried fruit, granola, and a drizzle of honey and Maldon salt flakes.
- Whole wheat toast (2) with peanut butter, and bananas.
- Cereal with almond milk and bananas.
- Hard boiled eggs (2) with seasonings (salt, pepper, chili flakes).
- Protein shake made with water and a splash of almond milk.
I also down my supplements at this point including fiber, a daily multi, flaxseed/fish oil, and others and chase them with at least three shaker bottles of water, the first three of at least six or seven throughout the day. Stay hydrated my friends. And then the usual: Shower, get dressed.
Work "begins"
It's generous to call it work, but I try and get into my email by 9/930. I have a lot of emails: Two personal, two professional, a secondary coaching email (for contact questions), and an official school email.
Usually this involves a lot of reading. I'm working on a project, but it's stalled out right now as the person who is helping coordinate things is busy - completely understandable.
Webinars
US Rowing has put together some great webinars - I'm getting ready to start one in about 10' as I write - while we're practicing social distancing, as well as uploaded some great content to their YouTube site. I usually will sort through two or three of these and rewatch some. I do this to keep the mind sharp, and to gain some outside perspectives on a topic, or generate some new ideas. It's also a great way to stay motivated, and feel engaged.
Lunch
Lunch is usually followed by a short walk (30-40').
Meetings
Depending on the day, I'll have at least one Zoom meeting. They aren't always with the current program. Sometimes they are catching up with some coaching friends. At least once a week we have a team meeting to catch up with the athletes, and see how everyone is doing.
Mindfulness
By this point, I'm ready to get off my computer. Sometimes I'll listen to music, or sit for 15-20'. Other times I read. One of the keys to reading though is to read something that I've already read. Why? The mindfulness moments, for me at least, are to disengage the brain and let it chill. Reading something I've already read is less reading, and more about letting the brain relax. I'm away from the screen, and reading, but also keeping the brain from over processing. Currently I'm reading "Without Remorse," by Tom Clancy.
Training/Planning
It's an odd thing. I believe some coaches put too much thought into planning, and other coaches put too little thought into planning.
 |
| Work in progress: 2020 Walk-on Training Schedule |
This picture, the purpose of the walk-on training isn't to teach someone to row. Three weeks is not nearly enough time to take someone who hasn't heard of rowing before to rowing by all eight, and rowing well. The purpose of the walk-on training here is to weed through the 40-50 individuals trying out and find the handful - 0 to 6 - who have the potential to be a varsity athlete, who can contribute to the program. This particular plan is much different than a season plan at say, a DIII where you're trying to take nonathletes and turn them into rowers over several months. And at the same time, it's not. The goal for this plan is _X_ in three weeks. The same can be applied to any other training plan even if it's a season long plan.
Dinner
Similar to lunch, I follow this with another walk (30-40').
That sums up a typical day for me during this quarantine. Not as exciting as in season - I've been looking at pictures from this point last year and wishing that we were preparing to head to Redwood Shores, or racing in Seattle - but it's certainly enough to stay busy.
Stay safe out there.
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