The parent's equipment list for regatta attendance

Chair: There isn’t anywhere to sit at a regatta. Chairs are very important when the only alternative is sitting in a mud puddle.

Book: Races run late. There will be long periods of time with nothing to watch.

Warm clothes: It’s springtime in the Midwest. The weather will change. Dress in layers, warmer than you think you need.

Money for the kids (T shirts, etc): There aren’t ATMs at racecourses, and there are plenty of opportunities to spend money on regatta stuff.

Rain clothes: It’s springtime in the Midwest. It is going to rain. All day. It will be a very cold rain. Rain clothes include something to cover your pants, because you will be out in that rain all day.

Binoculars: Even coaches forget these.

Contact a parent coordinator and transport some food, equipment etc: The parents in charge of food and the traveling circus that a rowing team is need help. Transport some equipment, help set up the tent, help cook some food, because these heroes deserve it

Did I mention rain clothes and warm clothes? I love my survival suit for a reason.

Change of clothes: There is nothing nastier than finally getting in your car for the drive home, but your clothes are muddy and soaked through. Warm dry clothes after a nasty day are almost as good as a hot shower.

Sun screen: Eventually, the sun will come up, and regatta sites usually don’t have a lot of shade. Get some sweat-proof sun block, because your son is guaranteed to forget to bring some for himself.

Sun glasses: Sunlight reflected off a river or lake isn’t fun to squint into. Polarized sunglasses are the best.

All this stuff in a waterproof bag: Assume that the ground you will be on will consist of 4 inches of freezing mud. You have a lot of stuff, and you will need to carry some of it to the tent. Have a bag that can sit in the muck and still keep your cell phone dry.

Rain/mud proof boots: Rain clothes are worthless if your feet are soaked through. Who cares about the weather when you can slop through the mud with no worries?

Comfortable walking shoes: When the weather is decent, you will realize the regatta site has spread out over a large portion of the race course. Then the distance the kids have to race over suddenly doesn’t seem that short. Launch docks are rarely close to the boats, which are rarely close to the tents, which are never close to the parking area. Be prepared to walk about 5 miles on a regatta day.

Hitting the bottom

There's nothing more terrifying or disheartening that pulling an erg piece and finding no energy. Despite the greatest will and drive, there just isn't enough energy to pull the score an athlete knows he/she is capable of. Sometime this happens because of sickness, lack of sleep or the coach.

It is a hard place to be. It's also hard for the coach to know just how far to push. We have to get the athlete to that point of "nothing left" so the body system will recover stronger, with more reserves than before. If the coach over-estimates the athlete's reserves, most of the crew will fail. Nobody goes home feeling good in that situation. If the workout is too easy, the athletes will accomplish the work, but the benefit won't be as great as it could be.

When the crew has a few days off coming, coaches start to up the intensity of the work. The athletes will get a few days to recover energy reserves and rest sore muscles. So, that final day will be the culmination of previous workouts that were very hard to start with. It will hurt, and if the coach has been right, the first few pieces will be on target and the real struggle will come in the second half.

I think that we got it right today. The last of the 5x5min this morning saw a few guys unable to hit their goal splits. Rather than be frustrated, I'm happy with the result. They're at the bottom of the barrel, getting there right when we wanted. Overall result was a success; the vast majority went faster that they ever had. The long-term result, that coaches think about, was also what we wanted. The guys pushed all the way past the last of their reserves, so they will come back stronger next week. A good, hard week. They should feel some accomplishment, having survived the worst the coaches could dish out.

Slip n Slide

You know the weather has gone bad when both crazy Central coaches can't make morning practice. Just about everything in Pittsburgh is closed today, and I think the whole city is staying home. The ice/slush/rain/evil that fell from the sky last night ruined a wonderful snowfall. Now it's just a mess out there.

And now it's starting to snow again. Great. Snow, ice, then more snow. Great mix. My satellite dish is iced over and can't get a signal. It's on top of the house, and I have no idea how long that will take to thaw out. Emily and Will are not happy.

On a rowing note, I tried out a "max power" workout published in Rowing News' most recent issue. The listing described it as a very intense workout. Though the intensity of the strokes was really high, the fact the boys were able to speak afterward disappointed me. Remember, I'm in the pain business. Also, apparently I've got the most powerful novice crew ever assembled, as two boys put results into the "senior college" level. We'll see if I bring this workout back. I think I'm more interested in 8x500m.

Happy Valentine's day to everyone!

Movie Day

Well, they have earned it. I am pleased with the performance of the CC novices on Saturday's TRRA erg sprints. Results are in the link to the right to Three Rivers Rowing. I'm also pleased that the guys made their academic goals. We're starting the real "push" month of winter training, so it is a good time for movie day.

Sometimes I don't announce this event ahead of time. It's nice to have a surprise. But somehow I think the boys will be excited about a practice with no sweat tomorrow. It might be a better lunchtime conversation than "I wonder how many 5oos we're doing today...."

No matter how much they whine, I usually control the selection myself. There is usually a reason for the film offered. Any who have rowed with me before can predict tomorrow's movie.

However, there will be a special screening before the feature presentation. A rare film short, with yours truly having a role. Yes, there is film evidence that I actually did race. I'm easy to find in this film, as I've got bleached blond hair. Ask Emily, it took 3 treatments and 5 hours to get it that color. My eyebrows remained brown.

I've always made questionable decisions with my hair. Here I am with my Henley medal in 1996. I'll let the hair speak for itself.