Goodbye Dunedin - closing post

An incredible 5 weeks have come to an end. While the time flew by, life before the program seems so long ago. To think I was taking final exams the day before I left..

On my last day, I asked Malcolm to give me a lecture on rigging. I learned about setting the spread, pitch, oarlock height, foot height/angle and rowing through the pin. I took many notes and I'm excited to experiment with what I learned when I get back home.

In the afternoon I did one more 2k. I had hoped to break 6:50 but it did not go so well. I held 1:42 for about 1250 meters but then lost control and ended up with a 6:53. The fact that I stuck for my race plan so long makes me confident that I can do better after some more training.

After my 2k I was in a rush to get directly to the airport. I ran out of the boatshed with one shoe and a sock but everything worked out fine in the end.

I just arrived in Los Angeles after flying from Dunedin through Auckland. The long plane ride gave me a lot of time to reflect on the time I spent in New Zealand that I want to write about before my flight to Philadelphia.

Over the course of 5 weeks I worked with one of the best coaches in the world, Malcolm McIntyre. On a technical level, Malcolm helped me drive with the legs first, keep my body angle during the drive, squeeze out my finish and keep the handle moving at the catch. I've noticed a big increase in speed, both on the erg and the water from these technical changes. I also spent a lot of time in the bow of sculling boats, and practiced keeping my course straight.

On a personal level, I became much tougher and more resilient. Wet launching every day in the worst elements, biking to practice in the rain and hail made me feel a lot tougher by the end of the program. I also made many new friends along the way.

While it's a shame I couldn't set a PR on my very last 2k, I did make a 7 second improvement the week before. That was the 2k that the training plan was actually set for (I came late and stayed extra). I think this puts me on track to meeting my goal of 6:45 this summer.

I also learned how to work with a training plan, how to write my own, how to rig and some physics behind rowing. In this way I feel as if I have come closer to the sport.

Many thanks to everyone who helped me along the way here, and many thanks to you for reading my blog. It got well over 800 views so I imagine it was at least mildly interesting at times or that we know each other well enough that you felt compelled to power through it. It's been fun.

To anyone reading this in the future who may be considering applying for the Sparks Rowing New Zealand program I can only recommend it. It is definitely something that will have a lasting effect on you. While it may take you out of your comfort zone for a while, if you're the kind of person that thrives on intensity and pushing yourself to your own limit (likely the case if you're a rower) then it is the place for you. You wont be spoon-fed the sport but will instead learn to take control of it and improve yourself independently.

More photos and videos will come shortly.

It's hard to believe that this is my last night in New Zealand. While I am headed home tomorrow, the work is not yet done! My last 2k test is tomorrow afternoon. Afterwards I'll be flying to Auckland, Los Angeles and eventually back home to Philadelphia.

Last night, I met Dr. Miles Wislang who is staying at the same bed and breakfast as us. He is lecturing at the University of Otago, and he proposed that some of us meet his friend and former teacher Dr. Martin Pollock who is a neuroscience researcher at the University. Dr. Pollock talked to us about his research in Creutzfeld Jacob disease, which is a rare disease that quickly destroys cognitive function.

In the afternoon, I practiced starts and settling into my race pace rhythm. To clear out any accumulated lactic acid, I went outside and stuck my legs underwater for a little bit. Now I feel ready to test tomorrow.

This morning I went out in a quad with three of the term 2 guys. It was moving fairly well, and the weather was the best I've had here yet. The water was like glass. We got a little over 10k in, Malcolm just wanted to ease them into things.

In the afternoon, I did a 15 minute piece at UT2 pace and then practiced my starts/settle. I also discussed my race plan with Malcolm and he gave the all clear. Still looking forward to the test on Friday, I've trained hard for it and now I'm ready to take it.

Tomorrow morning is off, so I've asked Malcolm to give me a lesson on boat rigging. That's one thing I want to learn more about before I leave.

In the past couple days, we've done several 20 minute pieces to prepare for the 2k on Friday. We've also done some regeneration and recovery going walking and having yoga/stretch sessions. Between workouts I've beeing working on my CommonApp essay.

Term 2 has arrived, they seem like a friendly group. It's funny to see how they handle the transition into the program. While it was only four and a half weeks ago that we were just as inexperienced and confused, it feels like it was years ago.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get on the water a bit as the past couple days I've been focusing on the erg.

We did 2 x 20 minutes with rate changes between 20 and 22 every 5 minutes on the erg this morning. The downside of setting a new PR is that 2k + 15 gets a little bit harder to hit..

Otherwise, it was a rain and hail filled day in Dunedin. Most of the guys left to go home this morning, and we had the afternoon off. So after a couple hours of boredom I decided to start the Common Application. While the full application isn't released until August 1st, I got my first draft of the essay done. Didn't hurt too much.

I'm still looking forward to my last 2k test on Friday. I'm ready to just empty the tank and see where I end up.

6:52.2

The 2k went perfectly...After four weeks here in New Zealand, I pulled a 6:52.2 which beats my personal record by 7 seconds. The plan for the 2k was simple, hold 1:43 splits and smash the 3rd 500.

For all non-rowers out there, the third 500m is the most painful part of the 2000m race. In the first 500, you feel good because the lactic acid hasn't settled in yet. In the last 500 you're almost done, but in between you have 1000 meters of pure pain.

The 3rd 500 has been my weakness in the past, but today I turned it into my strength. It was the fastest part of my race barring the starting 500 meters. I felt amazing. With 900 meters left in the race, I roared something at the erg that I will have to censor for younger audiences. My split came down 2 for a couple strokes.

Everything I had been working on in the last month came together. Malcolm had me focus on driving more with my legs and really getting every bit of power out of them. I had been wasting a lot of speed by engaging my upper body too early. 

Something I still need to work on is my sprint. The last 250 meters were a good bit faster, but the 250 meters before I slowed the pace a little bit. That cost me about a second. 

Luckily, I still have one more week here and one more erg test. I feel as if I have more to give, especially with some more training and a full taper. Next week I want to break 6:50 at least. 

As most of the guys are leaving tomorrow morning, we all ate dinner together at the boat shed. All the coaches and some of the Uni guys came along. Between us, we prepared something like 7 kilos of steak. It was a nice reward for a good erg test. 

Just barely enough. (Note: That's a serving tray..)

Turns out a long distance race was rescheduled from last weekend to tomorrow. We're racing a 7k in an eight tomorrow morning! Always a nice surprise. 

No working out today, only resting for tomorrow's 2k.

Instead of working out, we went to a local pre-school. It was pretty funny. Most of the time was spent coloring in and cutting out a picture of a clown. I learned a lot.

Afterwards, we went on a long car ride to check out a few more scenic spots in Dunedin. Most of the guys here are leaving in a few days, so they're just wrapping up. Myself and a few others are staying a week longer because we came in late.

Before dinner, we all went to the School of Physical Education to watch some of the Otago women's rowing team train in a heat chamber to acclimate themselves to a humid climate before they race in China. It did not look fun but it didn't feel that much worse than a summer day in Philly...

Tomorrow morning we'll go to the boat shed for a light paddle on the ergs, and then we'll have our test in the afternoon. Looking forward to it.

Today was a bit more relaxing.

In the morning, we met with Malcolm individually about our upcoming 2k tests. With me, he talked a lot about the importance of mental strength in the 3rd 500m of the 2k. He also mentioned that I am losing power by not driving the legs before engaging the upper body. That is something I will work on for the 2k. A good tip he gave was to visualize everything about the test. I've been practicing that.

Later, we went on a nice tour of the University of Otago. The campus is beautiful and apparently the academics aren't too bad either. The rowing is certainly top-notch. I was also very happy that the tour guide didn't make a stupid joke about "walking backwards", as is the norm in the United States.

A hastily snapped picture of the clock tower

In the afternoon, we did a 15 minute piece at UT2 pace and some practice starts. From now until my 2k test on Saturday everything will be nice and light. Then I'll have another week to prepare for my final 2k. I'm excited for both.

It's been a busy, tiring and exhausting day.

For our morning session, we did a 20 minute piece at 2k + 20, and then 6 x 250m to practice the starting 500, third 500 and final 500 of a 2k race. I felt good, hitting all of my splits.

After a short break, we went to the Edgar Center which is a large indoor sports hall. This was our third time playing with mentally handicapped children. The experience has been one of the best parts of the trip, seeing the joy the kids get out of a simple game of basketball is incredible. My favorite moment was when a mentally handicapped child helped a girl, who was in a wheelchair and even more disabled than her, score a basket. It was quite touching.

We then went to Baldwin Street, the steepest residential street in the world. It's only a couple minutes away from where we are living. We had a bike with us, so I tried biking up it. I couldn't get it even after 4 or 5 attempts. I think I'll come back to try again, it was a fun challenge.

Then it was time for the afternoon practice. We did a full race warmup and then a 1500m, 1000m and 500m   workout at race pace on dynamic ergs. I hit my splits for the 1500 and the 500 but I missed them on the 1000m. I still feel good, if I can hold my splits for 1500m, I should be able to hold them for 2k being well-rested and with a taper.

Now I'm finally in bed and ready to go to bed. Even though I've been getting 9 hours of sleep, I still feel as if I need more.

Things are back into a rhythm here. This morning we went to the high performance center to do strength training. Afterwards, we got about 10k in on the water in a quad. We had hoped to do 14k but a southerly wind got in the way. In the afternoon, I did a 500, 1000, 500, 500 workout.

Yesterday we went to the Speights (a Kiwi beer) Brewery. The tour was pretty interesting, even if the factory was in the middle of being upgraded to make up for the loss of the Christchurch brewery after the earthquake 18 months ago.

Eventually, we want to check out Baldwin street, which is the steepest street in the world. It's not to far from where we live. Otherwise, everyone is pretty focused on training right now.

Made it to Dunedin

It was a long day of travel today.

After practice, we piled into the van and made our trip back to Dunedin. A rockslide knocked out the highway so the journey was a bit longer than anticipated.

A couple guys went bungy jumping, but the ~150 dollar price tag was a bit too steep for me. I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed jumping off a bridge anyways.

Training continues tomorrow morning, back at the University of Otago boat shed. Time to tune up for the 2k test next Saturday.

Last day in Queenstown

Our last day in Queenstown was an adventurous one.

In the morning we went out in prioritized quads and I was in the top boat again. This time, since we only had access to a coxed shell (and for a challenge), Charles, who is injured, became our coxswain. A 93kg coxswain is noticeable. He did an excellent job though! The weather was great in the morning. It was sunny enough that I could row shirtless during the pieces. Here is a photo.

I'm in bow today

After practice, Michael, who has just completed his masters in Sport Physiology, gave us a short lecture on how to properly train. He talked about building an aerobic base, pushing up the lactate threshold and using periodization. I'm excited to use what I learned when I get back to the states.

Later, Michael, Dave, Ryan Sparks and a few of us rowers went on an adventure to Glenorchy. Glenorchy is an old small town by a beautiful lake and mountain. Disappointingly, the weather wasn't great so we couldn't see much. But Michael knew of an area where many Otago students go to camp. It was absolutely stunning. We walked through a forest and came to a clearing right by the base of a snowy mountain. The Uni students had built a European-style sauna with a pool filled with mountain water. We saw herds of horses, sheep and cattle.

The best part of the day was when we were driving through the countryside on a very rocky dirt road. We had to drive through several fords and deal with lots of cows. We were so far away from other people that all the rowers who came along where allowed to drive the van. I learned to drive stick! (even if it is on the "wrong" side of the road)

Dave taught me how to cook yesterday, so I made my dinner by myself tonight. Even the most basic mashed potatoes, broccoli and onions taste great when they're your own work.

Looking forward to one last row in Queenstown tomorrow morning, and then we're off to Dunedin. Hope to upload more photos and videos soon.

Great row

 This morning's row was excellent - although it was a bit rainy, the water was fantastic. We started to stack boats and I was stroking the top quad. We were absolutely flying, I have a great video that I need to get on my computer. I'm already excited for tomorrow's practice.

After practice and a quick nap, I went running for about 45 minutes. I had hoped to run up one of the mountains, but it rained yesterday so I could only make it about half-way before the trail got too muddy and slippery. Instead, I did a couple laps around the lake walkway.

As beautiful as Queenstown is, I'm looking forward to getting back to Dunedin so we can train twice a day again and have some more flexibility in boat usage. I only have 2 more weeks left here, so I hope to make them count.

Hiking

The internet was down yesterday, so here is yesterday's post: 

July 4th, 2013

We had an optional practice this morning, so it was a good opportunity to get more individual coaching on the water. The weather was just a bit chilly, and the water was beautiful. One of the guys has a GoPro camera that we put on our stern. As I was stroking, I now have a huge amount of video of myself rowing. It's mostly too big to post but I might edit some and upload it. 

As stroke, I got to practice my toe steering. We all worked on timing at the catch, getting the blade in before the drive and proper finishes. The boat really started to move fast. 

Afterwards, Dave (program coordinator), Michael (our coach this week) and I went hiking. We trekked for a couple hours on beautiful trails. I've attached some photos. 

Practice again tomorrow morning, looking forward to getting back on the scenic lake. 

Pictures and videos!

We had an adventurous row this morning. The club we are training out of during our time in Queenstown is on a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. However, we only had access to coxed quads. Seeing as we didn't have a coxswain, we tied the rudder, put in extra weight and steered by pressure. It was fun, until the waves got so high that we started swamping - I've never had the water come that high. Water came halfway up our shoes. It's pretty hard to sink a boat though, so no worries.

We had the rest of the day off, so I grabbed my backpack, a big bottle of water and a baguette and went exploring. My favorite place was a park that had a path going around the lake. I snapped some pictures.

I also got access to a bunch of pictures from the last couple weeks that I've attached below. I have a lot of video of me rowing that I'll add later.

First time back in the single for a while

Opening the back too early!

Rugby on the beach

Queenstown

Today was our first day in Queenstown

Queenstown is a ski city similar to Aspen and Vail. It's a bit tourist-y but in a nice area. In some ways it looks a lot like Switzerland - including the prices. (4 dollars for a bread roll?) There are loads of crazy things to do here, like bungee jumping and sky diving, but they're all expensive. I'll be sticking to hiking and exploring. Today we had the afternoon off so I wandered around for a couple hours to explore. I've attached a few pictures below. 

In the morning we're training at a local rowing club. I'm excited to get on the water, its a beautiful lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains. 

Miles make champions...

This morning we did a 20k with some guys from the Waihopai Rowing Club in a quad. It felt good, and I like switching between sculling, port and starboard so often. This way I can improve all aspects of my rowing and be ready to row for my various teams. 

After the row, we went to a place called Bluff, which is the southernmost point of mainland New Zealand. Afterwards, we checked out Bluff Rowing Club, the southernmost rowing club in the world. Pictures are attached below. 

For our afternoon workout, we went out in doubles for some technical work. I looked around the club for a bit beforehand and I found a picture of Storm Uru - bronze medalist at the London Olympics in the lightweight double. He used to row here. 

We've had a hearty dinner of stirfry and rice. Now we're getting ready to keep moving. Tomorrow morning will be our last practice in Invercargill before we head off to Queenstown for more adventures. 

Invercargill

Southernmost point of mainland New Zealand

Bluff Rowing Club - Southernmost rowing club in the world

Another rainbow!

Storm Uru in the center

The past couple days have been extremely busy so I apologize for not posting more.

Yesterday morning we went out for a 14k row in straight (cox-less) fours. As I had the most experience with bowing boats, I was in bow seat. It was my first timing bowing a four and it took some getting used to. As bow seat, I had to keep an eye on the course. However, it is the stroke seat who actually has control of the rudder via his toe. Thus cooperation between stroke seat and bow seat is very important. Additionally, two seat takes control of power calls and race calls. So the job of the coxswain is divided up among the boat. Except for three seat. Three seat just sits there and pulls.

The weather was beautiful again. Apparently my first week here was unusually rainy and somewhat of an anomaly. As I've increase my sample size of days here, I've concluded that New Zealand is not just cold and miserable.

Next, we went back to Sandfly Bay to play some rugby. We wanted to get accustomed to the rules of the game before the evening's rugby match.

The Dunedin Highlanders played the Christchurch Crusaders at the Forsyth Barr stadium right next to our boathouse. Watching the match live was a lot of fun, even if I did it wearing my rowing trou instead of pants. Although it would have been more fun if the Highlanders had won, we all had a good time.

This morning we loaded up the van to start our road trip to Invercargill and Queenstown. The van was entirely full - we are bringing groceries and luggage along the way so no space was wasted. We had bags of potatoes under seats, a box of peanut butter, nutella and jelly as foot rests and granola bars in every bit of free space. This made for quite a cramped ride.

Along the way we stopped at different spots in the Catlands. There was a beautiful light house from which we could see far into the ocean. At another spot, we hiked through a forest with beautiful water falls. I've attached a couple pictures at the end.

The Kiwi landscape is always extreme and variable. One moment, you'll be walking through rolling hills and next, you'll find yourself in a jungle-like forest. Then you keep going and you're in mountains that look over beaches.

While we are here in Invercargill, we are training at Waihopai Rowing Club. Glen's father is a coach there, and today we spent some time on the water with his rowers. We did a 14k in quads. As we were all tired and hungry, the row felt like it went on forever. It was worth it though, because we all got great technical advice.

After a hearty meal of pasta and chicken in the evening, we're ready to train again tomorrow morning.

 I have many videos of me rowing, but I can't upload them until we're back in Dunedin. Here are some photos I took today.

 It's been a tiring day.

This morning, first order of business was a 20 minute erg piece. Afterwards, we had the pleasure of a 20km row. We were on the water for hours - it was brutal but the water was perfect. I have some video of me rowing my single around 12k into the row, I'll upload it as soon as I can.

I had a lot of fun on the long piece, we were supposed to make it hard and battle each other. Both out and back from the 10k point I started in last and had good finishes to make it back to first. It was great. After a long time of being beaten on the ergs, it was fun to prove myself on the water.

Coaching us today was Michael, who just completed his masters at University. He knows everything about physiology and rowing - he's coxed boats with 5 Olympians in them and won countless national titles. The only reason he's not coxing at an elite level? New Zealand doesn't have an eight right now.

Michael gave me a lot of tips. I have to focus on keeping my body forward and arms straight to make the drive more efficient. He taught me to row through my hips and keep the blades in the water all through the drive. I could feel myself improve stroke after stroke.

In the afternoon we had another 20 minute erg session, and then went home to call it a night. Tomorrow we'll go out for a row in the morning and then see the Highlanders play the Crusaders at the Forsyth Barr rugby stadium.

Soon we'll be off to Invercargill and Queenstown.

The day started off with a 10 x 500m erg...absolutely brutal. My mindset was that I knew I could hold a 2k pace for a 6 x 500m, and then I should just see where I ended up for the last 4. My plan worked well, I even managed to get my average for all 10 of them below 2k pace. This makes me more confident that I am ready to set a new personal best. 

After the erg workout, I went out in a double with my roommate Max for about an hour. The weather is starting to stabilize and the row was nice - only a little bit of rain. 

I got a short rest once we got back on land, and then it was time for strength training at the High Performance Center. I love going there because we get to see loads of elite athletes from different sports - today we saw Nonu of the Highlanders / All Blacks. 

In the middle of my first relaxing shower in weeks, I was told that the van was heading out to Sandfly Bay to check out the beach. Although I had been looking forward to the shower all day, I did not regret coming along. The views were absolutely stunning, I've attached a few photos below. We saw a penguin!

This is where we usually row

If the weather gets a bit nicer we'll be able to row out to here

The view onto Dunedin

Sea lion!

I saw a lot of progress today. In the morning, I went back to the laboratory to do the next 2k in the study I am participating in. This one was really interesting, because I did it "blind". The screen was covered so as to not influence me (because I knew my score from last time). What made me quite happy was that I was 4 seconds faster than my last 2k in the lab, but I felt like I did not pull nearly as hard. I had some trouble pacing myself so I was pretty conservative with my energy. Interestingly, last time my lactates were very high (17 mmol) but this time they were very low (10 mmol) with a decrease in time and perceived exertion.

This makes me confident that I can set a personal record when I get to do my 2k in "normal", non-lab conditions with a taper.

I scheduled that 2k for this morning so that I wouldn't miss more hard workouts (I missed a couple from arriving late to the camp), so I got to enjoy a 1500m, 1000m, 500m race pace workout in the afternoon. Hitting my 2k splits made me even more confident and excited for whenever my next "real" 2k is.

Now I'm off to sleep - 10 x 500m workout tomorrow morning, looking forward to it already. Then it's finally an afternoon off of rowing! ...but with strength training instead.

First of all, big congratulations to the Harriton Girls Varsity 4+, for getting 2nd at the Women's Henley in London, being one of two American boats to make it to a final. Impressive ending to an already fantastic season.

I didn't post yesterday so now time for a longer one. As promised, I've attached some pictures of the last week.

Yesterday morning we did a 29 minute piece with rate changes every 5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5 minutes between 18 and 26 spm on a dynamic erg with a damper setting of 0 (a rowing machine that slides back and forth to simulate the feeling of a real boat at the lightest possible resistance)

Rowing 18 strokes per minute on a dynamic erg for 5 minutes with 0 resistance is one of the most frustrating processes known to man. It's quite tricky keeping the rate that low (especially on a dynamic erg) while still meeting the required times with nothing to push against.

The weather was absolutely beautiful, the best weather I've had here. I took the opportunity to bike around Dunedin. I found a couple museums and churches that I might want to look in. When I arrived at the Boat shed, I looked out from the club room to see a full rainbow stretching across the lake. I've attached a photo but it does not capture the magnificence.

In the afternoon I spent half an hour on a RowPerfect (a rowing machine that gives huge amounts of data and displays a force curve) to experiment with my technique. It was good fun and I can imagine the machines would be quite useful for comparing the way several rowers in a boat work together.

This morning we went down to the High Performance Center's weight room and spoke with one of the trainers. Although he was not a rower, he studies the rowing technique so that he can work with national team and university rowers on their strength training. He gave a great talk explaining the purposes and pros/cons of weight lifting.

Later, as he was teaching us different core exercises, the Dunedin Highlanders professional rugby team walked right by us.

Afterwards, Dave brought the van over and we drove along the water to check out the country side. I've attached some photos of we saw (and I kept a rock as a souvenir!)

Next was the afternoon workout. It was called erg resistance training. We put the damper up to 8 and did 5 three minute pieces, changing the rate every minute. After that, we dropped the damper all the way to 0 and did 4 one minute pieces. The leg drive has never felt so fast...

It was such a tough workout that, when we finished, we went outside and put our legs into the water. It was very cold but my legs feel great.

After dinner, one of the university guys (who are headed out to Australia tomorrow to race the best Australian university crews) gave a few of us a tour of his floor and dorm. He lives on the top floor - he had a great view from his window!

And now the pictures:

University of Otago campus

Right behind the boat shed...interesting juxtaposition

I hate the mask..

Champions are built

Porridge and bread - post-practice meal

Some boats are bigger than ours

Right down the road

The University of Otago!

Cross this on the way to practice

A bit outside of Dunedin

The aptly named Neptune Street (right by the wharf, sailing club and rowing club)

Low tide

Home base for the next weeks

Only part of the rainbow