MARCUSMcELHENNEY's blog

So the long weekend begins. Over the next three days the guys will compete in a 500 meter erg sprint, 3x400 meter water sprint and to stay in the style of short racing, a 12.7 kilometer rowing marathon. Wait, thats not short is it?!

Coxes, I recently received this question in an e-mail: "Do you have any tips on how to bring more intensity to steady state? Or what to say to rowers between pieces, esp. when they are not going well? I could use your help!" -J

This is a tricky topic and a subject with which most coxes struggle. So I was going to take a stab at it and break your question down into two parts.

Today was the day, it was great. I love when you hit that money spot while rowing where everything is just going great. It was perfect, well maybe not the rowing and steering, but it was a perfect practice. We go out there three times a day every day in the hopes of getting better and having a great row. Today that was accomplished.

I knew we reached that point when I was allowed to shut up and the guys were allowed to just row. Sure it was a little windy, set was not perfect, some off strokes, but the boat felt great. Heck it could have been slow as all hell, but if felt like it was cooking. It felt like I was riding a rocket ship. Every stroke the boat continued to surge out. Each stroke there was more and more run. It was great, it felt like a walk in the clouds.

January 6, 2007

San Diego, San Diego San Diego…it sounds good no matter how many times you say it. Today was the first day of our winter training trip. I am exhausted and have not even started to scratch the surface. Today was the first day of a month long, intensive, grueling, selection camp. First day, nice and easy right? Heck no, how about fifty K on the ergs, in pairs, and an eight. Every day I am amazed that these athletes come down the boat house and continue to push for more. Well pushing for more is one thing, but at this level there is not much more one has to give. My favorite part about this whole experience is what I do not hear. I do not hear how tired the guys are. I do not hear how much work they are doing. I do not hear about sun burn and blisters. Right now I am in the dining hall and all I hear is laughter. Who is going to win the mustache contest this year? Schnobrich contends he can not grow one and Daniles has been cheating because he showed up with one!!! Should these guys not be falling over exhausted? I am tired just from watching. Now Brett is tackling Sam for some reason or another. Sam simply states "Thanks for the hug, buddy." "Your welcome, you looked liked you needed it!"

Winter Training is Finally Here, YES!

Yea you heard me, I said YES! Time to bring out the pens and paper and put away the box and wrenches for a while. Why do I love the winter so much, you ask? It is that time of year where I get to work on all the “off” the water stuff that can so often get over looked.

Winter training allows for a lot more one-on-one with all of my athletes. Day in, day out, I put in some great “face” time with Beau Hoopman or Josh Inman, but what about all the other guys in the boat that are NOT sitting stroke?! I love the fact that I can sit and chat or just listen to Walsh and Beery about what is going on with them. This is the time of year when I can poke and prod to see what the men like and what they do not like. It is much easier to find out what they do not like! The great part about the winter training is that you get constant feedback everyday. Often I do not get much feedback, if any during the racing season. All the guys are too worried about getting faster, making changes and winning medals. This is what they are supposed to be doing. The difference is that this time of year they can take a second, relax and bring you up to speed on what the boat wants and needs. The tricky part is staying a step ahead of the game and using all the information that you acquire. You need to improve by checking yourself all the time. I need to take a realistic assessment of what I am doing, whether right or wrong, and fix it. It can be real tough, especially fixing all those things I do wrong, but I rather do it now than make a mistake during a race at Worlds. Taking winter training seriously can set me out of the gates running with a great leg up. I’ll take any thing I can get!