Improvement & Comparison
Today I have been reflecting on a recent time trial that was held here in Victoria. It was on Saturday just past and the reason why it has been on in my mind is due to the fact that I felt like I made a good improvement on the previous trail, but and here is the sticking point, I slipped down the overall list that ranks everyone’s performance. So I improved and was better than last time, but others improved more than I did. The reason why I have given this consideration is that I know that all I can work on is my personal performance and to feel and see improvement is great. It is just that when there is another measure like and overall comparison you also want to see that improve as well.
As an athlete who like to analysis results and to understand the various was to view the experience I have been involved in, I find it very useful to go back to previous result sheets and compare the changes. Current in our state we have a sculler, David Crawshay who is a wonderful character in our sport and he is well and truly the best performer we have and as such, he is a great yardstick for comparison. Over the last few years he has developed into the best sculler Australia has and can be relied on for consistent performances. The last two years while many of us have been required to train and compete in single sculls, David has been a good couple of steps ahead of what I have been able to produce. What’s a good couple of steps? Well over a 4100m time trail he is faster by about 20sec and this has been a consistent margin pretty much for the last two years during time trials over the same distance.
Based on the improvements that others have made I am probably reminding myself that I need to start to make some significant changes in the single to improve more. The competition down here is very strong and I enjoy the single scull so my thinking is I really should work on it more. The obvious reason for this is to ensure that the base preparation for the main part of our selection needs to be sound. This leads to a higher standard of performance during our Australian selections, but also makes the initial phase of international training easier. The weekend was a reminder that with out doing to much work, I do need to find ways to challenge how I can improve and get closer to the front end of the sculling field in Australia. Over the next two weeks I will share some of the things I try and my thoughts on what is working or not.
As an athlete who like to analysis results and to understand the various was to view the experience I have been involved in, I find it very useful to go back to previous result sheets and compare the changes. Current in our state we have a sculler, David Crawshay who is a wonderful character in our sport and he is well and truly the best performer we have and as such, he is a great yardstick for comparison. Over the last few years he has developed into the best sculler Australia has and can be relied on for consistent performances. The last two years while many of us have been required to train and compete in single sculls, David has been a good couple of steps ahead of what I have been able to produce. What’s a good couple of steps? Well over a 4100m time trail he is faster by about 20sec and this has been a consistent margin pretty much for the last two years during time trials over the same distance.
Based on the improvements that others have made I am probably reminding myself that I need to start to make some significant changes in the single to improve more. The competition down here is very strong and I enjoy the single scull so my thinking is I really should work on it more. The obvious reason for this is to ensure that the base preparation for the main part of our selection needs to be sound. This leads to a higher standard of performance during our Australian selections, but also makes the initial phase of international training easier. The weekend was a reminder that with out doing to much work, I do need to find ways to challenge how I can improve and get closer to the front end of the sculling field in Australia. Over the next two weeks I will share some of the things I try and my thoughts on what is working or not.
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