Different Pathways
The outcomes will hopefully be the same, but the pathways are most certainly different. What I am referring to is the situation we found ourselves in yesterday at the Olympic regatta center in Sydney. While the rest of the team set about showing the wares, Duncan & I did a training session.
We had the chance to do a workload that can be used as a great benchmark session. The session is an old favorite: 2 x 2000m rate steps @ 22-28 & 24-30
Due to the conditions being quiet fast we actually turned out two fast rate steps that put us well on track for where we have to be at this time of the year. Actually puts us slightly ahead, but the conditions were quick.
So back to many of the athletes on the team. We were able after our training session to head over the the grand stand and catch some of the racing. With out knowing times while we watched, it was still clear that the speed of the boats was fast. Strange to be watching athletes doing 2000m racing this time of the year, but surprisingly many crews and athletes look sharp and like the were racing well.
We didn't see all the races, but we caught the end of the men's doubles with David Crawshay and Brendan Long leading to the line. The lightweights, Sam Beltz & Tom Gibson were also in there and it was close between them and the other heavy double, Dan Noonan & Chris Morgan. We saw the fours coming down and it appeared that one crew was out in front. We they came closer it was the four with Sam Conrad, James Tomkins, James Chapman & Sam Loch. The had a good margin over the next crew. We could tell it was pretty fast because the guys almost looked like they could keep up with the handle speed. This time of the year no-one has really done fast work so being able to sustain intense racing is challenging with fatigue on board. The crews in front were doing well though. Next came the lightweight fours race and the crew from this year worlds plus one replacement was clearly out in front.
We are on different pathways and that not just Duncan & I in relation to others but it is even noticeable that certain other crews are on different pathways. We are all aim for similar outcomes. It highlights they great variety and ways to produce outcomes. Whats critical for Duncan & I is that we remain focused on the mind set and motivation that has got us to this point. What is also required is that we re-think our process and ensure that we adapt and adjust anything we need too.
Continual learning has been at the forefront of my mind and by maximising this opportunity we can be sure we will find out some new things about ourselves and each other. What's the point of it if we are not learning anyway. So different pathways for the same desired outcomes and different strokes to achieve what we all hope is best boat speed in our events.
The remainder of the athletes will be racing again today and then they are off to camp in Canberra. Duncan & I will spend this week doing some good based training and then to do our first long camp in January. Between now and then we have a National 2000m ergo test which will require some solid preparation.
We had the chance to do a workload that can be used as a great benchmark session. The session is an old favorite: 2 x 2000m rate steps @ 22-28 & 24-30
Due to the conditions being quiet fast we actually turned out two fast rate steps that put us well on track for where we have to be at this time of the year. Actually puts us slightly ahead, but the conditions were quick.
So back to many of the athletes on the team. We were able after our training session to head over the the grand stand and catch some of the racing. With out knowing times while we watched, it was still clear that the speed of the boats was fast. Strange to be watching athletes doing 2000m racing this time of the year, but surprisingly many crews and athletes look sharp and like the were racing well.
We didn't see all the races, but we caught the end of the men's doubles with David Crawshay and Brendan Long leading to the line. The lightweights, Sam Beltz & Tom Gibson were also in there and it was close between them and the other heavy double, Dan Noonan & Chris Morgan. We saw the fours coming down and it appeared that one crew was out in front. We they came closer it was the four with Sam Conrad, James Tomkins, James Chapman & Sam Loch. The had a good margin over the next crew. We could tell it was pretty fast because the guys almost looked like they could keep up with the handle speed. This time of the year no-one has really done fast work so being able to sustain intense racing is challenging with fatigue on board. The crews in front were doing well though. Next came the lightweight fours race and the crew from this year worlds plus one replacement was clearly out in front.
We are on different pathways and that not just Duncan & I in relation to others but it is even noticeable that certain other crews are on different pathways. We are all aim for similar outcomes. It highlights they great variety and ways to produce outcomes. Whats critical for Duncan & I is that we remain focused on the mind set and motivation that has got us to this point. What is also required is that we re-think our process and ensure that we adapt and adjust anything we need too.
Continual learning has been at the forefront of my mind and by maximising this opportunity we can be sure we will find out some new things about ourselves and each other. What's the point of it if we are not learning anyway. So different pathways for the same desired outcomes and different strokes to achieve what we all hope is best boat speed in our events.
The remainder of the athletes will be racing again today and then they are off to camp in Canberra. Duncan & I will spend this week doing some good based training and then to do our first long camp in January. Between now and then we have a National 2000m ergo test which will require some solid preparation.
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