This season has been mentally challenging for me. My first real season of training, preparing, and racing at Worlds was last year. During the first part of that season, I faced various setbacks, including back issues and rigging changes. Despite these challenges, I made significant progress in terms of strength and technique, and this improvement showed in my performances at Worlds, where I had four great races and finished in 10th place. My best time then was 10:10.
Reflecting on Worlds and looking ahead to this year, Sasha and I concluded that I would need to achieve a time range of 9:30-9:40 to be competitive and secure a top 7 finish at this year’s Worlds, which is the cut-off for a qualification spot for the Paris Paralympics. While there is another opportunity in May 2024, this is the first chance to qualify.
Competing at Worlds last year ignited a spark in me and fueled my determination to train harder, get faster, and qualify for the Paralympics. This has been my driving force ever since. Throughout last fall, winter, and the past three months, I have dedicated myself to training even more rigorously than before. My efforts were evident on the erg, where I shaved off 40 seconds from my 2k time, approaching the 8-minute mark (the PR1 world record stands at 7:17).
However, when I raced at NSRs in May, I discovered that my performance was slower than at Worlds seven months prior. While it's true that I hadn't focused much on race preparation leading up to NSRs (a conscious training decision), and there was a strong headwind, I still felt that these factors should not have accounted for such a decline in my on-water speed.
Undeterred, I returned to school and intensified my training, particularly focusing on water sessions, increasing from 2-3 days to 4-5 days per week. A little over a month after NSRs, I traveled to Italy for three races over two weeks with training in between. I won't go into detail about those weeks as I have written about them before but, after those races, I felt even more disheartened. My best time in those races was just over 10 minutes, slightly faster than Worlds 2022, but only marginally. It was difficult for me to accept, considering the immense effort, time, and financial sacrifices I had made over the past eight months. It meant that I now needed to close a gap of more than 20 seconds within 2.5 months to reach the goal Sasha and I had set at Worlds.
Upon returning to Buffalo, I pushed myself even harder, increasing my training to 9-10 sessions per week. This was made convenient by the opportunity to train with Sasha on the water and having access to our garage gym. I didn't lose hope, but it was undeniably challenging to stay focused, knowing the significant deficit I had to overcome if I wanted to qualify at Worlds. Fully committing to a goal that may not be attainable is an immense challenge. I had devoted two years to training for Paris, and now I am nearing the first of two opportunities to qualify. The fear of lacking the necessary strength and speed is daunting, given the extensive time and effort I have invested.
When I discussed my concerns with my sister Tricia, she mentioned that I would regret it even more if I believed I could have done more in the month leading up to Worlds. I wholeheartedly agreed with her, and as a result, I have been striving to make my time on the water and erg as efficient as possible.
In the past two weeks, I have finally started to feel that my speed on the water is improving. We have made some rigging adjustments, and I have also found a more powerful stroke technique. It's incredibly exciting because now I feel more similar to how I perform on the erg, where my strength is the limiting factor rather than my technique.
I am unsure if this newfound speed will be enough to make up the time I need to gain, but it demonstrates that progress sometimes takes time to manifest, and I need to have faith in the process. I will be racing this weekend at Canadian Henley, which will provide a benchmark for my speed on the course. Regardless of whether it seems like I am on track to achieve my time goal, I will continue giving my all in practice (and recovery) and trust that even if I fall short at Worlds (though I believe I can make it), the process and racing experience will contribute to my growth and improvement and I will continue to give my all to training and continue to get faster.
A quick update on the fundraising front:
I am immensely grateful for all the support I have received thus far. I am working diligently to cover my expenses. After graduating, I resumed working with my brother Peter, and I am fortunate to be living at home, which eliminates rent expenses and allows me to relish in my mom's fantastic cooking and great company. However, I, unfortunately, missed out on qualifying for funding from US Rowing in Italy. I finished 6th when I needed to be 4th. As a result, I have had to cover the costs of Sasha's and my travel and accommodations for our regattas this season.
To assist with the expenses, my home club, West Side Rowing, has initiated a tax-deductible GoFundMe campaign to help cover my coach's expenses for the World Championships. The amount needed for coaching expenses is $3500, in addition to what I must pay for myself. If you are interested in providing support, you can find more information here:
Your support helps me continue to pursue my dream of representing the US at the Paralympics.
Progress is definitely not always linear :) go andrew !!!!