Getting Back On Track-need Advice

[[old] Gregg]

This is my first season rowing and so far it has been a lot of fun. My season began with a struggling start, but after training over the winter months I quickly began progressing. After dropping my 2k time from an 8:08 to a 7:52; and dropping my 6k split from a 2:10 to a 2:03, I was quickly catching up with my teammate's times. After about 3 months of training, I caught a nasty cold for about two weeks which severely slowed down my training. After overcoming my cold I have still not returned to normal. Although I recently pulled a 7:47 on a 2k, I can not get any lower than a 2:06 split on my 6k. My strength and flexibility have greatly increased over the past few months, and I'm in the best shape of my life. What I don't understand is, if I'm so much stronger and flexible than before, why can't I pull better times that I was previously capable of. I went from being one of the top 5 guys on my freshman team, to being put on the 3rd boat. I would liek to know if anyone else has experienced something along the lines of my problem, and if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks in advance.