Just a week to go until Henley Women’s Regatta qualifiers!
Tag Archives: Thames
Train Hard : MET Regatta Race Prep
30 MayRace Prep
So last night was the last outing pre-MET regatta.
It’s been a very busy week since Twickenham Regatta, with training on Monday (despite it being a Bank Holiday, and day of rest for everyone non-rower!), and outings both Tuesday night, and last night.
The outing on Tuesday was with the crew for Saturday’s racing, and last night’s was for Sunday’s crew – both 8’s. Both outings were to be used for ‘polishing’. The coaches have told us the crews don’t need much help, but just small adjustments now to correct little issues, to gain an extra inch or so each stroke. Every inch counts!
A pain in the neck!
My neck is still feeling the strain from last week, and all of the race training hasn’t helped it much – it’s gone from a central, nerve-tingling pain, to the right-hand-side – therefore more to do with the long-term issue, most likely exacerbated by rowing on bow-side, and so putting more tension on my right-hand-side. Something to look into in terms of physio help.
The outings were focussed on racing starts, working on getting catches in together, making sure not to rip the water on the first few strokes, and to keep the finishes long. By the end of each outing, the crews felt much more jelled together.
Last night was particularly tiring, as we rowed up to St Paul’s, and then did 3 x 3-minute pieces with racing starts, rating about 34/36.
Once we get into the rhythm of things, the stroke is lengthened out, the rate levelled and breathing becomes less erratic and more natural, the boat seems much easier to push along. It’s all down to getting into rhythm, and keeping the timing – as soon as one blade comes out a little too early, that throws things and the pacing is then off for a few strokes. It’s whether we can keep composure and get the rhythm back that matters.
Derigging
The outing didn’t feel that long – although we did have a long crew discussion before outing in the crew room – but my back was definitely feeling it by the end of the session!
Once we got the boat off the water, it was time to derig ready for loading for the weekend – that should save some time on Friday! 🙂
Taking a breather
I’ll be taking the next two evenings off training – having spent all weekend at the club, it would be good to get some good space from it before the weekend, to recompose and take a breather ready for racing!
Race Hard : Chiswick Regatta 2013 – Heat One
4 MayWe’re through!
We beat Putney Town and Sons Of The Thames, to get in to the final!
Just a three hour wait at Quintin Club for the final!
Race Hard : Hammersmith Regatta 2013
27 AprWell, Thames Novices have now reduced in number, not due to dropouts from the squad, but because our women’s first team won the category for Women’s Eight Novices, and so are now part of the Intermediate 3 level (IM3).
Unfortunately, my crew did not make it through the first heat – however we were a scratch crew, with only one training session together on the Thursday before, and a brief outing the morning of the race.
The weather and conditions were awful – strong winds, sea-like waves and even hail at one point! – however this is no excuse! The team we were up against were the B team from St Paul’s school, and on the start line they looked nothing more than giggly school girls! However we lost the race in the first 5 strokes sadly.
The crews from schools such as St Paul’s are fortunate in that they can train together every day, and do most mornings in the week along with their PE lessons. However, our crew was made up of a mixture of previous crews and so we hadn’t had much practice together, and the balance was not good enough to get a good start in the choppy water.
As we hit the head wind, our cox Claire told us that we started to catch them up – the training over winter helped here greatly, and given that we were generally much bigger than their crew, we should have been able to manage the headwind – however we were not strong enough and they managed to push on ahead of us.
Due to being out on the water for the final heat of three, we were unable to see our first crew win their heat – however we were told that they too were beat on the start line by the two other crews, but it was in the headwind that they fought back to keep the crews off them and push through to the final race. Winds and conditions such as today are where size and weight can be of an advantage over smaller, lighter crews. Our women’s first crew have also trained together for the majority of the season – minus the race here or there where seats have been swapped – ie when I joined for the Women’s Head of the River, and so this too helped them in their victory.
It was a little disheartening to come back to the club having been beaten by a school team, however given the situation I think we did as well as we ever could have. It just goes to show the importance of having a crew that can train together regularly.
Here’s to the next regatta, with tankards waiting for us! Fingers crossed it will be without the hail too!!
train hard, eat well and be happy 