Paralympic Trials Week
Training paying dividends as I enter the final 6 weeks. Racing this week in Sarasota, FL
I am down in Sarasota, FL this week training and competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Trials. I am uncontested so I only race Sunday, but all of the racing will be streamed on Peacock. As of now, I race on Sunday at 8 am EST.
The past four weeks have been the most productive and fruitful weeks of training I have ever had. They have also been some of the hardest as we increased volume and intensity adding in double threshold days (two workouts both at 90+% of max HR). All of this has helped me hammer in some big technical changes that have allowed me to row longer and more connected. More training + better technique = I am going faster than ever. Still a ways to go but I am in a good place and excited to race this weekend.
We flew down to Sarasota last Friday and have been training on the course this week. It is nice to get on a buoyed course, but the wind has picked up the past couple of days and I am missing that calm Texas water! Olympic and paralympic trials kick off tomorrow but I only race on Sunday since I am uncontested. Jasper, Timmy, and Ian, who I have been training with, are racing in the men’s single and lightweight double, which have time trials, semi-finals, and finals. Like me, they need to win their event to progress to the FOQR regatta in May, where they will also vie for a spot in the Olympics.
I have been training even more closely with them over the past month and it has made a lot of difference. Even though we all go very different speeds, doing pieces together, holding one another accountable, and keeping the mood light has helped me (and all of us) get through the training blocks faster. It really has me excited for the next 6 weeks before Lucerne. While it is crazy how fast time is passing, 6 weeks is still a lot of time - 50+ sessions and 100 hours of training that I intend to make the most of. I am finally getting to a place in the boat where I am applying all of my strength and building muscle memory so that that technique is maintained at 35 strokes a minute.
As I enter the last month and a half of what has been the hardest training I have yet to do, my confidence is high, and I am enjoying the process. As always, I wouldn’t be here without the support of my teammates, coaches (Sasha, Mark, Susan), the support of TRC and Westside, and the constant support of my family and friends. So thank you all.
So exciting that you're going faster, Andrew. All that hard work is yielding fruit.
We'll get up and watch you race at 5am PST on Sunday. Imagine hearing some loud cheers from Seattle at the 1500m mark!