Schuylkill Navy Regatta

[Edward4492]

Haven't been posting, zero erg work and 100% on the water. Seem to be getting a little better and a little faster. Hard to tell OTW as there are so many variables. But the trend seems to be faster. Still waiting for my new Wintech 1x, sold my Pocock so I'm in between boats. I've been focusing mostly on the 2x, a boat I really enjoy. I did two races at this event.

Me and Marianne were in a four boat heat. The talent level here is very high. Lane 5 was the 2x winner at the World's last year. Lane 3 included a world champion from the mens LWT 4x in 1993. And so it goes. This was a 1000m sprint, fully buoyed lanes, floating start. The floating starts are a little bit of a pain. Looking at the video, lots of boats leaving early. We got off to a very solid start, first split at 2:00.7. Marianne has really raised her game, pretty sure she's rowing better than me at the moment; I'm still a bit stronger. We got to the 500m mark pulling under 2:05. The wheels came off a bit when we got hit with some nasty wakes from an aggressive launch driver. I was missing water for a couple of strokes, 5th split was 2:18.2. We settled down and got back on it; but had a hard time getting back up to speed. End result a 4:18 and another last place (four boats) finish. Last year our best in the double was 4:28; two weeks ago we had a very good race at 4:05. So the trend is going in the right direction.

The mixed 2x was on Saturday, I did the men's 2x on Sunday. This would be the first race for my doubles partner Darrell Booker. Me, Marianne, and Darrell all started rowing and did LTR at the same time in May/June of 2016. Darrell has the perfect build for rowing, 6-3, around 200lbs, no fat. Total stud. He's not as aggressive as me and Marianne, but he has some power. We got in four sessions together prior to the race. One of my favorites is (6) x 300m all from a racing start. I love to analyze the data on my Speed Coach (think PM5 for OTW) to find out what works. In the small boats, and with developing skills, I've settled on shooting for a stable start. First stroke is a nice solid push, no early pulling or grabbing with the arms. Then several strokes to build. We row at low rates because we're not that good, Marianne holds a 31r, Darrell was at a 28r. Looking at my start on video, it looks slow....but we were right with the other boats. First split was 2:00.1. We had a pretty noticeable head wind and a good deal of current to deal with. It was a five boat heat, we were solidly ahead of one boat. We got sloppy in the middle when the water got choppy and we both started missing strokes. Another soft 600m at 2:18, we never got it together and seemed like we were fighting the current, wind, etc the rest of the way. We ended up giving up our advantage and slipping into yet another last place finish with a 4:27. Times across our heat were substantially slower than yesterday's time. It was a good first race for Darrell, he had a nice smooth start sequence, the boat got away clean and he rowed well.

So, the lessons continue to pile up. I need to get back on the river and follow some of the launches and get more comfortable dealing with swells and wakes. I think I've lost a bit of fitness with all of the practice on the starts. This week it's back to (4) x 1000m, (2) x 2000m, etc. In fact I just did a (4) x 1000m at about 10-15s off race pace (2:22 average) in the 1x. I'd be re-miss if I didn't mention the heat. I was there early each day, Sunday at 6:00am setting up the tent, rigging boats, etc. in the 95-100 degree heat and humidity. By the time my races went off (4:00 Sat, 3:00 Sun) I was pretty well drained. Drinking heavily all weekend (PediaLyte and water) I was still down eight pounds on Sunday night. Not an excuse, but it's a factor.

Watched my friend Joe Oliver line up for the 500m dash. Joe's out there against a bunch of 20,30, and 40 year olds, Joe's a 68 yr old LWT. And he smokes 'em off the start. He was good for the first 100m-200m; but then reality reared it's ugly head. He fought to the end, but the result was inevitable. A great effort regardless!

Still loving the boat, next up will be Diamond States. Me and Marianne will give it another shot!

[jackarabit]

Still loving the boat, next up will be Diamond States. Me and Marianne will give it another shot!

See you there, Ed.

[G-dub]

Wonderful post Ed. Your descriptions of your races makes me want to keep a good attitude about how challenging racing small boats is. There are really good people doing it that are amazing to me in terms of how they can rip out of the start so fast and haul ass the whole way down the course.

Racing the double, for me is both very enjoyable because of its simplicity but also very easy to botch. My last race in my mixed was a combination of bad start and bad steering. And just when we got it rolling and we were making back ground toward contention, we’d have to correct our course and lose speed. One habit from the erg I need to shake is sinking into my own world and thinking only about effort. I forget that as now I need to mind our course. I think we’ve made every type of mistake so far and my currently poor technique leaves us with a lot of potential should I ever get it sorted. I look forward to the day, assuming my partner will last that long, when it becomes mostly about fitness and power!

[Edward4492]

Glen, you summarized it nicely. My steering has gotten much better; but I still find myself drifting towards the buoy lines and losing time making corrections. I have the same problem losing focus on my "point" and getting off target. Pulling hard for sure, just need to correct instantly. Our starts have gotten very consistent and smooth, we're at our racing split by the 6th or 7th stroke. It's coming......but it's a slow process. Jack, I'll let you know what heats I'm in. Already registered for the mixed 2x on Saturday; 1:30 start I believe.

[lwtguy]

Ed, the wakes from the official's launches were more than a minor nuisance. They were unbearable, and they officials had no concern for the races. In short, they did a terrible job. In my 4x race, we dealt with about 1300m of wakes, from Strawberry Mansion bridge to the finish line. It was a disgrace, and I hope the Schuylkill Navy will do a better job next time.

Good luck at Diamond States!

[Edward4492]

Hey Bill, thanks for the comments. Didn't know if I was just being whiney, but the waking sure seemed to be a factor in both of my races. By contrast I was driving a launch at the Club Nat's on the Cooper today and the official was all over me to be careful with the throttle and not wake any of the boats. I think that was you next to my old friend Joe Oliver in the 500m dash. The old guy got the drop off the line but reality caught up to him by the end of the first 100m. Hope to see you at Quaker City if you go. At Diamond States next weekend.

[lwtguy]

Yes things were much nicer at Club Nats! I won't be racing the rest of the summer, but I'll see you at the head races in the fall!