Wait Room

I was going to try to get out on the boat today and tomorrow, but Norfolk will be indundated in the next 24 hours with the wind and rain of tropical storm Hanna. Gusts should be around 50 mph and perhaps 3-4 inches of rain. So, it looks like I need to wait until Sunday to get some more time in. Wait, wait, wait.

At the reception on Sunday Anna Tunnicliff was asked by one of the juniors to describe her typical day. She responded that during the season, her routine consists of 2 hours a day in the weight room, six days a week, and 3-4 hours on the water, at least four days a week. Sailing, of course, but also significant time in the gym. Weight training. Cardio. Strength and endurance. Boy, do I need all of the above. One of my perks as the rowing coach at the school I work is the availability of the Concept 2 erg. They are used by every organized rowing program in the country, from high schools through to the olympic team. Many commercial gyms have ergs as standard pieces of equipment. At Weymouth I saw that the GBR sailing team members were erging before their practice sessions. The erg is a good tool to increase both cardiovascular condition and muscular strength. I like the erg because it avoids the joint pounding that running causes.

So it's to the weight room for me. Set the damper to "3" and pull away. Last weekend when I was drifting around the race course in my wife's classic moth, I ended up sculling about a quarter of a mile back to shore when the race was abandoned. The sawing motion of the hiking stick reminded me of the in and out of the sheet in a breeze. My biceps were sore the next day, indicating a need for serious improvement to this 53 year old body. I wonder what keeps AMAC in shape?