Final Strokes

Our run at the Henley Royal Regatta ended at the hands of Upper Thames Rowing Club. Well rowed to the crew! As spectators, we thoroughly enjoyed the regatta and all of the experiences that it had to offer.

We want to sincerely thank all of our supports who helped us through the training, traveling, and racing.

Finally here

After months of training, millions of meters, cold weather, hot weather, erg workouts, weight workouts, steady state workouts, hard workouts, technique row, we are finally here. A year ago, I recall thinking that I would never have the chance to visit, let alone race at the prestigious regatta, but here we are: The Henley Royal Regatta. When the draw was released this past Saturday, I was extremely pleased to see that the Stewards seeded us as #2 for the event. We are slated to race the Upper Thames Rowing Club at 9:20 EST on the Bucks side of the course (Buckinghamshire, the other side being Berks, or Berkshire). Tomorrow's forecast at racetime on the Thames calls for cold, rain, and quite a bit of breeze. 

A great deal has gone into all of this; it is absolutely staggering to really think about all the man hours that have been committed by the five of us. Even as we got here there was more to do. In short order we started accomplishing tasks just as we always have done for the past several months. We found our boat we rented from Hudson; this boat alone is a marvel to behold. It is a brand new boat fresh off the line. I for one do not believe I have ever rowed a boat this new before. We have dubbed and christened the boat “Natty Goh”, combining a Baltimore classic, Natty Boh, with our fervent hope for the boat - that is that it goes like a bat out of hell. By all eyes and all minds that is precisely what it is doing as well. Not to sound as if hubris has taken control, but we are fast, we are rowing well, and perhaps most importantly we are having fun.

The guys are relaxed, feeling well, and eager to get on the course tomorrow. I kept thinking of a quote as I took another Advil, or put some Epson salts into the bath to try to relieve some of the ache as I slowly get older. “The pain that you hold is yours. There is not a single pain quite like it. Nobody else on God’s green earth can feel this pain, or have the indescribable feeling of pride you will have when you overcome it. This pain is not your curse this pain is your privilege.” One stroke at a time, long, strong, and fast.

Final Tune Ups

Our last full week before our departure was filled with firsts. Our Henley outfits and kits both came in and we had the opportunity to test drive them both, at different events. We held a fundraiser meet at greet at Plug Ugly in Baltimore, where we unveiled the blazers and bow ties. The temperature was ideal, the food was great, and the company was even better. We are grateful for the support of our friends, family, and the club, and it was a great opportunity for a send off. 

Event at Plug Ugly

On Saturday, June 18th, we drove up to Philadelphia for a 2,000 meter race on the Schuylkill in the Open 4+. The conditions were quite similar to what we expect across the pond: hot with a headwind. We donned our uniforms, launched next to the St. Joe's boathouse, and completed our warm up. The two races before us were 1X races, and so we had to carefully maneuver through the armada as we took our strokes. We had a good warm up which led to a decent piece. We managed to execute a clean start in the outside lane, establish a base pace, and push during moves. Without the mild sunburns, it would have been an ideal race. With a full 2,000 meter piece in a sanctioned race under our belt, we have a few final practices and tweaks before we depart.

Post Schuylkill Navy Regatta

And finally, some rowing from practice: 

Glory Shots

On Wednesday, June 8th, Greg McKay, one of Rob's fellow prospective MD/PhD candidates at Johns Hopkins braved the early morning to take photos of one of our practices. After quickly doing some push ups on the dock to stimulate blood in the biceps, we launched and ran a typical practice, with a photographer in tow. Here is a link to his Facebook page for more of his work: https://www.facebook.com/GregoryMcKayPhotography/

Here are some of the amazing photos that he took of us and the Baltimore Harbor:

 

Slop and Chop

On Sunday, June 5th, 2016, we raced at our first official regatta, The Stonewall Regatta at the Anacostia Boathouse in Washington, D.C., hosted by DC Strokes. This regatta is known for a few things, including bottles of wine for the winners, thumping house music during the day, and terrible racing conditions. This regatta did not deviate from the status quo.

The Anacostia Boathouse in Washington, D.C.

We arrived in D.C. early as we had one of the earlier races that day, streaming the IRA finals to our phones as we walked from the parking lot to the boat trailer. The IRA modified their race schedule so that the race day commenced with the finals, as looming thunderstorms threatened to cancel races in the late morning. We rooted for our respective squads and watched as the eventual winners for the heavyweight and lightweight 8+ built healthy margins by the 1,000 meter mark, the distance that we were to race that day.

Our first race of the AM was in the Open 4+, a full race with six boats across. There was a Potomac Boat Club (PBC) boat of guys that Alex knew quite well, who was itching at the opportunity to beat their old teammate. Due to deteriorating conditions, the race officials told us that there would be a countdown start. Once our boat reached the starting line however, we found out that it was actually a quicker start than a traditional one, without the race official lining up or polling the crews, nor even having an actual countdown. This resulted in the crews starting more than a full boatlength apart without straight points, complicating the already windy conditions.

We managed to rip off a clean start, however our coxbox ran out of battery on the warm up, resulting in the bownman (Josh Ruck), calling the race from his seat. It took the crew a bit longer to collect but managed to find a base and sprint, albeit a bit later than we would have liked. The PBC boat did a great job managing the conditions and had built a sizeable margin early in the race so we spent the second half trying to eat into their margin. We managed to reduce it to just over one second at the 1,000 meter mark, when the race ended. 

We quickly hopped off the water and rigged our pairs, which was going to be our second and final race of the day. We broke into heavy and lightweight pairs, for eternal bragging rights as to who truly pulls whom down the course. Conditions were even worse for this race with the same starting conditions. The cross wind pushed the pairs into each other at the start, resulting in quite a few clashes. The lightweight pair clashed with the PBC pair within a few strokes, however the race officials did not call the race for breakage. Both pairs struggled to maintain their point through the race, with the lightweight pair once again clashing with the PBC boat, this time requiring the boat to stop and realign. I believe they disqualified a few boats from the race, which did not truly matter in the end due to the devolving conditions. 

It was definitely a memorable, albeit not hugely successful race. Thanks to PBC for great racing and DC Strokes for throwing a high energy regatta.

An example of the conditions on race day

Familiar Foes

We have been fortunate enough to piece with Loyola for the past two weekends. They are putting together a 4+ to race at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRAs) at Mercer on June 3-5, and so they were more than willing to race us for the past two weekends. 

The distance of the pieces varied but the intensity did not - the competition was always fierce. We raced 2,000 meter pieces all the way down to 500 meter blasters, trying to produce as much speed as possible. We were joined by a Loyola spare pair and a women's double, who started in front of us, adding to the fun. Ian Schmertzler, our coxswain, managed the conditions and the other boats masterfully, dodging them when necessary to minimize the wake that we rowed in. Other distractions were present, as during our first piece we were followed by multiple launches with one even trying to coach us during the piece. There is nothing like focusing on technique to distract you from rowing at race pressure. 

The multiple pieces over the two weekends allowed us to practice starts, sprints, moves, and rowing at base. Conditions were beautiful as a whole, but we managed to even practice in winds and currents thanks to the ever varying Baltimore Harbor. 

We were grateful for the chance to row next to a crew as it will only help us for the dual races. Good luck to Loyola when they compete this upcoming weekend at the IRA! 

Bonus clip: Rowing at base during a 1500 meter piece. We borrowed a boat from Loyola for that practice. Notice the water's movement on the boat's bow - hull design has come a long way.

Final Days - Learning a Lesson

I am the only member of the boat that has competed at Henley. The event - Thames Challenge Cup in 2012 with Potomac Boat Club.

The experience changed my life forever. I sometimes talk about it with the guys in the boat. I remember one particular moment that changed my attitude on rowing and competition  - it goes back to May 8th, 2012.

I had already bought the ticket (flights) for the regatta and worked my butt off to make the boat. My erg scores and rowing ability were good enough for the boat. But on May 8th my coach pulled me aside after practice and said "someone in the Open Four wants your seat and has demanded that he seat races you again for a position in the boat. Given that he has been around the club for years and is a very talented rower, I feel obligated to give him a race. You will seat race him several times tomorrow morning."

Can you believe that? About 45 days from the event I am being seat raced! Well, I had encouragement from everyone in the boat and the team. But at the end of the day....that was just words. I had to race a very skilled oarsman for a seat in a boat that would change my life.

The next morning I came prepared. We were doing a series of 5 minute pieces in fours. I didn't speak to anyone. My first line up had beaten his boat by more than a length. We took an early lead and held. On the switch, the coach didn't say a word...she knew I needed no encouragement. After a minute on the second piece I had a 2 length lead. Following the next 4 minutes I took a seat every 3 strokes. I solidified myself as the best rower. The entire team saw it. The coach made the switch several more times and each time I was victorious.

We were less than 45 days from competing in the hardest regatta of our lives and we were STILL seat racing.

I look at BRC and this boat. We have had ZERO seat races but have had the same line up since October 2015. We don't have distractions like we did in 2012. We don't have a set of rowers demanding they get a seat race because they "deserve it".

This boat is far more prepared than I was in 2012.

Although I felt as if I earned my seat (a feeling many rowers have and a feeling that propels them to victory), the distraction in 2012 shook my nerves and hurt my energy for the race.

I look forward to what we are doing in 2016. It is an honor to row with these boys.

Musings on speed

      I spend a lot of time thinking about this boat and there are several things which absolutely astound me about it, and all of us as a group. As a group we discuss the boat, fundraising, technique, power application, pieces, and other odds and ends to a point that is almost hard to believe. We constantly have a text message group chat, several email chains, and all the time we spend together actually rowing to discuss the aforementioned. Basically, it is massively impressive the degree which we all care about the boat and our mutual success.

    Beyond the five of us, we have a dedicated group of coaches and a coxswain who have gone above and beyond to help us more than we could possibly hope. Our club itself, Baltimore Rowing Club, has done a great deal to be supportive. At the end of the day it is us in the boat though. We will be the ones with the lactic acid building in our legs, pushing ourselves against other crews from around the world in hopes of winning some hardware. I might also add we will be doing so looking incredibly classy in our rowing blazers and uniforms.

    In pushing ourselves as far and as hard as we can while still balancing busy lives we have rowed (by conservative estimates) about 6000000 (that’s 6 million) meters. Over the past couple weeks a couple things have stood out to me which I don’t really think I have ever experienced in a boat before and are truly incredibly.

    During the course of a normal row we will row a lap (about 4 thousand meters) and talk briefly about what we could do better. Almost totally organically Josh will make a call and we will do a drill to work on an issue. For instance lately we have been working on inside and outside arm only. The amazing thing is, the change sticks and we get better. I have seen crews work on something for weeks and no change is had, but we do it in a few minutes. Our coach, Jeff, asked us how we figure out drills and enact them so well together with minimal discussion or planning. I guess we are just good. 

    The other thing that amazes me has to do with our lineup. In many boats I’ve experienced everybody has a seat that they sit and that rarely changes. When I was in college I think I sat 5 seat for about two years straight. Most crews are like a machine where all the parts fit perfectly and the boat goes fast, but if you change a part, or move the parts around everything goes awry. In our case this isn’t exactly our experience. We have been rowing a starboard stroked lineup almost since the beginning and we felt that things had been going very well and we were moving fast. We come in one morning (5 A.M.) and find that through some miscommunication our 4 was rigged as port stroked. We figured we would give it a try and see what happened.
 
    Our coach joked that it looked like we had tossed all the pieces in the air and wherever they landed in the boat we would just row that. The boat was still fast, if not even fast. In fact over the past couple months we have rowed five or 6 different line ups. Nearly everybody has sat in every seat at one time or another; the only exception being yours truly has never stroked because frankly, I have no interest in stroking haha. No matter what we do, we are fast, lacking in any sort of self-serving ego that prevents gaining more speed, and have the passion and personalities which make me believe that there is no stopping us.

Racing and Pacing

On Saturday, April 23rd, we were fortunate enough to piece with Loyola University Maryland's men's team. It was a gray and early morning when we met their two 4+s in the basin to run seven minute pieces towards the Baltimore Harbor. We capped the rates for the first six minutes, three minutes at a 30, three minutes at a 32, and then open rate for the last minute.

We had no idea what to expect and so we tried to push the pace from the start. We managed to create some separation from the crews within the first few minutes and push away from both crews, who appeared evenly matched. We completed the piece by bumping the rate a few beats and tried to stay clean while increasing the pressure, extending the margin.

Thanks to the Loyola men and Al for making the scrimmage happen!

It was a treat to finally race against another crew, as watching a clock quickly becomes monotonous day after day. A few things have helped break up the consistency: we obtained the 4-, we're still tweaking the line up to find the optimal arrangement, and we now have to watch out for other boats on the water now that the BRC competitive program is rowing full time. I have actually woken up with a sore neck from whipping my head around checking for other boats in the dark.

Now for the fun stuff. A clip of us rowing at pressure near the end of a workout. Rob and I have no idea how the heavies could go shirts off in that temperature. It must be the height.

Spring Cleaning

Thanks to Finish Line Boat Repair and CJ for taking this awesome photo!

We have been training on the water for about a month now and have learned quite a bit about the 4+ and the individuals within it. To mix it up, we sometimes row 2Xs or a 4X when other commitments require a member to miss a practice. I personally am most excited about the incoming 4- that Hudson is us to demo, which should arrive at some point this week.

Observations below (no order of importance):
- We thrive in warm weather. One boat member even claims personal peak performance around 100° F. I personally disagree but we will monitor performance as the temperature rises.
- Props to any bowman brave enough to bow in the early mornings in the Baltimore harbor. Lights reflect off the water making it quite difficult to discern if there is an incoming boat.
- We are starting to adjust the lineup and are trying to figure out which coalesces. Nothing is public yet, but the rumors range from port stroking to throwing a bucket in the boat.
- We prefer low rates (under R20) or higher rates (above R30). We are not quite skilled enough to row as well the middle rates efficiently.
- Rob's "prime" study time is between midnight and 3 AM. He has sacrificed many prime studying hours to make morning practice.
- Paige is a champ. She puts up with our requests (demands, more or less) and even treats us to what I have named: "The musing of Paige".
      - Stories of how one of her university coxswains would steer towards the geese swimming in the river, ruining the boat's course.
      - Enlightening us on how long one can stay wet in the current air temperature before showing signs of hypothermia.
      - Telling us that we can say literally anything in the boat as she cannot hear anything because her numerous jackets muffle the noise.
- The two ex-collegiate heavyweights despise when the two ex-collegiate lightweights discuss the lightweight league. It happens at least twice a practice.
- The five individuals exhibit sufficient rowing IQ when rowing issues arise and have been able to quickly identify and adjust technique to compensate for the issues. However, we are still working on ingraining some of habits as that requires time.
- John owns a liquor cabinet that will make any middle aged professor weak in the knees. He also makes a killer Old Fashioned.
- Alex is a man of many talents. Rumor has it that he can change a diaper faster than he can erg 1K, re-rig any boat to reduce a split per 500 meters (guaranteed), and continue to lead his start-up to unprecedented growth. We do not know how he finds the time to hone all these skills.

Now onto the fun stuff. A short clip of us doing midrate work in a headwind (my least favorite combination):

First Scrimmage

On March 19th, the 4+ headed down to UVA to join the Bucknell/Hobart/UVA scrimmage and finally touch race cadences for extended distances. The morning began similar to most Saturdays, with a dark, early wake up, except this time we had a slightly longer commute to the boathouse.

Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly by our hosts, given a space to camp in their erg room, and allowed to toy with the boat's rig in preparation for the pieces. It was my first visit to UVA's boathouse and was impressed by the venue and facilities. Championship posters hung from the boat bays, trophies adorned the walls, and sleek shells glistened in the morning light. It was also the first boathouse I had seen where a varsity and a club team share the facilities and was thus surprised at the divide of certain equipment's use, such as the medical supplies. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my alma mater, Yale University, had sent their women's crew team to race UVA later that afternoon and was able to see some familiar faces and yell "Go Bulldogs!".

The day's pieces were 4*1000 meters, with two pieces as the first 1000 meters of the race and the other two as base 1000s. Our opponents both hailed from UVA, one 4+ being their lightweight 4+ (who placed 4th at the 2015 Head of the Charles in the Lwt 4+) and a novice 4+. We were piecing on on their 2000 meter course and conditions were decent, with moderate chop and a decreasing tailwind through the course.

We traded pieces with the lwt 4+, taking two from them in fast conditions. We attempted to hold a planned base cadence but rowed slightly higher than we had planned, in part thanks to the tailwind. UVA planned a BBQ for all crews that we raided before making our way back to Baltimore. John even managed to catch Josh and Rob taking a nap:



Thanks to UVA for being gracious hosts!

Breaking Ice

The first practice back on the water after winter training tends to have extremely mixed reviews. For some crews the first day back is lackluster and everybody tells himself that “it is fine, we haven’t been on the water in months.” Though that is often true, I think that is where the first hints of doubt creep in where you wonder if it is ever really going to get better.

This was not the case on a cold Sunday morning this past week; but let me set the stage.


The water looked flat, partially because of the excellent conditions, and partially because the thin layer of ice was making it look so. It was the first time I have been forced to wear longs since I was in college (only Alex wasn’t wearing long because he is a monster), and none of us had taken a stroke in an actual boat since early November.

Before anything else, we found ourselves having to crunch through the ice, our oars punching through the thin layer of ice with every stroke. After the initial shock, I realized that even in the first strokes of our warm up we were matching up well. When we went to all 4 the boat was set.

Josh is sitting 4, I’m 3, Alex is 2, and Rob is bow. Alex says behind me how the boat feels more fit and I think, well we’ve put in nearly four million meters between the four of us. After our initial loop our coaches confirm what all of us are feeling; we could probably keep rowing at 20 strokes a minute at that same speed for another 10k without any problems.

For as long as I’ve been rowing I have always enjoyed the, what others might consider, poor conditions. I would laugh and joke about going through white caps, torrential rain, even snow one time in college. I mentioned for some crews the first row of the season can color their entire outlook. As we cut through the ice I felt the elation of rowing in “poor” conditions and firm conviction that this is going to be a fast boat. 

Reaching 850,000m

This has been a great winter. I wouldn't call it my most successful but it has been a great learning experience.

Unlike years past, I did NOT follow a strict training plan. When I was training for Henley with Potomac, I was following a coaches plan. My afternoon workouts were primarily with O'Connell - a team I was coaching. I would either do a short run/warm up with the high school athletes or I would try to erg. My total meters that year were about 750,000.

This year, I am not even at February 15th (water time) and I reached 850,000.

My goal before we reach the water is to break a 1,000,000m. Meters have been added up either on the erg or on a run. For every mile run, I estimate it to be 1500m. My typical run has been 5 miles.

So where am I at right now? I posted a 6:26 2k without any warm up. My latest 6x3 minute workout was an average of 1:38.9. I believe, on a good day, I will be 6:22 for my 2k. My SS work has been in the low 1:53 range and my 20 minute test was sub 1:45. I think if I were to test this weekend, I would post a 1:42 6K.

My fitness level is at an all time high as an adult.

I'm sleeping better and feeling better each day. I've had some "bad" days where I didn't want to touch the erg but I have had GREAT days where I am completing the workout 2 splits faster than I expected.

I plan to complete at least one more 20 minute test and one more 2k before I get on the water.

Something I plan to do is keep the erg training going through March, April, May and June. My expectations are to add at least 150,000m per month in addition to my water training.

We are only a few weeks away from getting on the water and I am incredibly excited about where I am with my fitness. Something I learned from the last time I raced Henley was that I need to be more FIT - less focused on my strength and more focused on my endurance. At Henley, you are racing at 85% pressure throughout the entire event over 5 days. It's a much different race than a typical American regatta.

More to come soon.

MidAtlantic Erg Sprints

The four oarsmen, Alex Del Sordo, Robert Hawthorne, John Kauffman, and Josh Ruck competed at the MidAtlantic Erg Sprints at T.C. Williams, on January 30th, 2016.

Alex was the first to enter the arena, racing in the Master's Men (30-39) 2000m event. Alex earned hardware, finishing in a time of 6:26.7.

Rob, John, and Josh all competed in the same event, the Open Men 2000m. The three were separated by less than a split, with Rob finishing in 6:29, John just behind at 6:29.3, and finally Josh rounding out the crew in 6:32.4

Full results posted here: http://ergsprints.com/2016-results/

First 2K

Yesterday, January 9th, the four completed their first 2K erg test, rate capped at a 26. The boat was overall pleased by the effort and is continuing to train for their first open 2K, at Mid-Atlantic Erg Sprints at the end of the month.