BY LUKE REYNOLDS
PHOTO BY FITSUM ADMASU

Running an ultramarathon is a daunting challenge. Chances are, though, if you’re a rower free of injuries, you can handle it.

In 2015, I participated in the Grant-Pierce indoor 50K ultramarathon. The race was my first foray into ultras, and it was a perfect way to get a taste. Since it was indoors, the conditions were controlled, and since it was on a track, the course was flat. Better yet, throughout the race, we had access to a bathroom with running water!

That being said, the race wasn’t all fluorescent lights and rainbows. After about two hours of running around the track, I realized that running in circles constantly puts excessive pressure on your inside ankle. It wasn’t the worst disaster I’ve experienced in an ultra, but it was unexpected and caused me to start down a path of negative self-talk. 

Such things are what you have to watch out for when preparing for a race that’s nearly impossible to replicate while training. When they compound over multiple hours, they can be race-enders. 

My recommendation: Accept that there will be problems during an ultra and do your best to minimize them. This is something you can practice during training, and it will help in not only prepping for an ultra but also rowing. Who hasn’t had an unexpected cramp during a 6K test? 

The workout:

Hope for the best; plan for the worst.  During a long training run (20 plus miles, if preparing for an ultra), visualize how you’ll respond to an unanticipated problem. If you’re dehydrated, what steps will you take to rehydrate and get back into the fight? If your equipment fails, do you have a crew following with backup gear? What else might go wrong? 

By visualizing potential tough spots, you’ll be not only better prepared but also more likely to regard hiccups not as failures but as inevitable bumps in the road. During a long race, this will benefit your psyche.

STAFF REPORTS
PHOTO BY LUKE REYNOLDS

The 52nd Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta is set to begin Friday.

“The Rollins men’s and women’s crews are coming off a solid performance at the Knecht Cup last weekend and are looking to keep the momentum,” Shawn Mako Pistor, head men’s and women’s rowing coach and vice-president of the board for the regatta, said. “We have our sights set on certain crews and look forward to racing the crews we have not yet seen this season.”

The regatta will feature racing from 22 current SIRA member organizations and several invited crews. The 22 SIRA members include: Alabama (women’s athletics only), Clemson (club only), Duke (club only), Embry-Riddle, Florida Tech, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, Marietta, Murray State, North Carolina (club only), Northwestern State (Louisana), Purdue, Rollins, Tennessee (women’s athletics only), Tennessee-Chattanooga, Texas (club only), Tulane, Vanderbilt, Virginia (club only), and Washington-St. Louis.

One of those invited crews is the University of Central Oklahoma. UCO was recently dethroned as the number one ranked DII NCAA women’s rowing program by Mercyhurst in the latest CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll.

“We’re looking forward to this weekend,” UCO head rowing coach Brian Ebke said. “It’s a big event with great racing. It’ll really test us. But we think it’s going to help us moving forward into the postseason to make sure we are at our best.”

Racing begins at 12:00 p.m. Friday. The full schedule can be viewed here.

PROVIDED BY THE CRCA
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

In the fifth week of rankings for the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association, Stanford made a jump from fourth to second in the DI poll, Mercyhurst overtook the University of Central Oklahoma in the DII poll, and Wellesley remained atop the DIII ladder.

Week 5

Division I

Other Receiving Votes: University of California, Los Angeles (25), University of Alabama (14), U.S. Naval Academy (14), Clemson University (11), University of Central Florida (7), University of Minnesota (5), University of Wisconsin (3), Columbia University (3), Gonzaga University (2), University of Louisville (1), University of Iowa (1), Michigan State University (1), Northeastern University (1), University of Notre Dame (1), Harvard University (1).

Division II

Other Receiving Votes: Florida Institute of Technology (13), Rollins College (5).

Division III

Other Receiving Votes: University of Puget Sound (7), Colby College (7), Skidmore College (5), University of Rochester (3), William Smith College (2).

STAFF REPORTS
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

The second regular season Intercollegiate Rowing Association Coaches Poll is out. Yale, Cal, and Washington top the men’s DI/DII varsity eight poll.

There was quite a bit of movement in the DIII varsity eight poll as Williams moved up from second place to first place, Tufts moved up from third to second, and Bates was dethroned down to third place.

In the men’s lightweight varsity eight poll, Yale remained atop the rankings the Naval Academy and Cornell rounded out the top three.

See the full list of rankings here.

BY BILL MANNING
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

Too often, coaches waste energy wishing things were simpler, better, or just different. There’s a natural tendency to focus on what’s missing rather than what we have. In rowing, we wish for better athletes, more equipment, less wind, more time—all kinds of changes that would make producing fast boats easier.

The best coaches make the most of the current situation by focusing on what they do have rather than dwelling on what’s lacking; they embrace the challenge as their own. Never let what you can’t do prevent you from doing what you can. Perspective is everything; see the opportunity that accompanies every challenge. Can’t win? Then commit to showing how much closer you can get to the winners. Coaching the novices when you believe you should have the varsity? Then commit to winning the novice event.

Limitations come in many shapes and sizes but all can be addressed, and sometimes solved, with a positive attitude. The coach’s attitude is paramount and infectious. The athletes will adopt the same attitude—positive or negative—as their coach. Actions, words, tone of voice, and body language all directly influence the athletes. So do expectations.  Expect a good attitude and athletes will rise up and adopt one. Accept complaining and it becomes infectious, bringing everyone down.

Identify the one big impediment, the limiting factor. This could be anything on or off the water that most dramatically limits success. Focus on this rather than distributing effort over a range of things for lesser gains. By addressing the biggest problem first, the greatest improvement can be achieved. If necessary, start with smaller items to build positive momentum and a sense of accomplishment, but do not let them deter or delay you from tackling the most significant challenge.

If unsure where or how to begin, then ask for advice. Google may be a good place to start, but reaching out to other coaches to take advantage of their experience and perspective will help more. Almost everyone enjoys sharing their knowledge, and rowing coaches have plenty.

Once where to begin is established, be just as willing to ask for help. This includes asking athletes. Most will respond positively when the request is framed as “we” have this problem and together we can address it. Overcoming a challenge together conditions them to do the same on the water.     

There is always something. If we wait for the perfect situation, we’ll only ever be waiting. Act now with the conditions as they exist. We regularly ask our athletes to perform in challenging circumstances. We should challenge ourselves to do likewise.

BY NANCY CLARK
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

Do you know that the bacteria in your gut can enhance athletic performance? Or that the sports you play when you are a kid impact your bone health as an adult?  Or that your ability to row in the heat depends on how well you hydrate? In April, at the sports nutrition conference hosted by the sports-nutrition practice group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the speakers offered updates on these topics of interest: 

Performance-enhancing probiotics: A new frontier?

Elite rowers have endurance, strength, strong minds, and the ability to recover from injuries. Could these positive traits be connected to the kinds of microbes in their guts (their microbiome)? Are the gut-brain and the gut-muscle connections in elite rowers comparable to those of non-rowers? Could specific gut microbes help non-elite rowers perform better?

To discover the impact of the microbiome on exercise performance, FitBiomics, a biotechnology company, is studying the microbiome of top athletes, looking for performance-enhancing microbes. For example, marathon runners (compared to non-runners) have a higher amount of the bacteria Veillonella that efficiently eats lactic acid and reduces inflammation. Mice fed Veillonella improved 13 percent in endurance running. What if marathoners consumed Veillonella supplements? Would that help them run longer? Faster? More research is needed, but the information to date seems promising. Stay tuned.

Parents: Bone up on bone health for your kids

Given that up to 90 percent of peak bone mass is reached by age 18 in females and age 20 in males, parents should encourage their kids to participate in bone-building sports. This means weight-bearing sports–such as soccer–during early puberty. High-impact sports such as gymnastics and volleyball also contribute to bones by increasing bone mass by about 10 percent.

Multi-directional sports (i.e., soccer) are better for bone health than one-directional sports (running). The jumping, cutting, and stopping that happen during soccer and basketball, for example, lead to stronger, more fracture-resistant bones. Track-and-field athletes who had participated in ball sports (such as soccer, volleyball, etc.) when they were younger had 50 percent fewer stress fractures than peers who hadn’t. Same goes for male runners who had played basketball; they had 82 percent fewer stress fractures. Military recruits who had played soccer and basketball when they were kids experienced fewer stress fractures during basic training. The moral: Parents should guide their kids carefully into sports that optimize bone health.

Weight-conscious athletes such as rowers can impair their bone mass when they restrict calories to lose weight. A smart nutrition recommendation for dieting rowers is to consume foods naturally rich in calcium, i.e., drink more dairy milk or yogurt. Each cup of skim milk reduced risk for future stress fractures in by 62 percent when consumed by young female athletes. Athletes at risk of stress fractures should consume at least 1,500 milligrams of calcium per day plus 800 IUs of vitamin D. Female military recruits who took calcium and D supplements for eight weeks had 20 percent fewer stress fractures compared to un-supplemented peers. Adequate sleep also enhances bone health. How many high-school and college athletes do you know who actually get enough sleep?

Exercising safely in hot weather   

With global warming, rowers are more likely to be training and competing in unusually hot weather. To reduce the risk of exertional heat stroke (and death), rowers should allow 10 to 14 days to acclimatize to exercising in hot weather. During acclimatization, your body adapts to dissipate more heat, thereby enabling you to exercise better in hot conditions. Most physiological adaptations occur between days four and eight of heat exposure.

During the first week of being exposed to heat, you should train only once per day; no double workouts. Ideally, you will have access during training to cool fluids, which are more likely to be consumed, and you will take small swigs of fluid frequently throughout a rowing session, as opposed to gulping fluid all at once. (Easier said than done for rowers.)

When exercising in the heat, monitor your urine for color and quantity, and think WUT:

Weight: Is my morning weight lower than the day before?

Urine: Is my urine dark and concentrated? 

Thirst: Am I thirsty upon awakening?

Yes answers signal you are beginning the day under- hydrated.

In terms of health risks, being adequately hydrated is more important than being heat-acclimatized (though being well-hydrated and heat-acclimatized is ideal for maximizing thermo-regulation). An adaptation to heat acclimatization is reduced sodium in sweat. Despite that adaptation, endurance athletes who do extended exercise in the heat often fail to replace adequate sodium. Salty sweaters (who have gritty sodium crystals on their skin) should purposefully consume sodium-rich foods and fluids.

Some rowers salt-load for a day or two before an event, but researchers advise against that. The kidneys do a good job of excreting excess sodium via urine. The additional urine loss can be counterproductive, hurting, not enhancing, performance.

Rowers should try to replace 70 percent to 80 percent of sodium and fluid lost during sweaty exercise. Knowing your sweat rate (by comparing pre- and post-exercise body weight) can reduce your risk of over- or under-hydrating. Drinking too much water is dangerous, because it dilutes the body’s sodium level and can lead to life-threatening hyponatremia (low sodium).

Of all electrolytes, sodium is the biggest concern. Endurance rowers need to figure out how to replace sodium losses. Through trial and error, you can learn which salty foods taste good, settle well, and work for you. Pickle juice, bouillon cubes, mustard on soft pretzels, soy sauce on rice, and beef jerky are popular options that can be consumed both right before and/or after long rows.

The bottom line

Eating fiber-rich fruits, veggies, and whole grains will fuel your muscles, feed your microbiome, and impact your ability to perform at your best. Diary milk and yogurt, rich in natural calcium, will help keep bones strong. A sprinkling of salt can help retain water in your body. Fuel wisely, be responsible and bone up on good nutrition! 

Sports nutritionist Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., counsels both casual and competitive athletes in the Boston area (Newton: 617-795-1875). The sixth edition of her Sports Nutrition Guidebook offers abundant food tips on how to eat to win. For more information, visit NancyClarkRD.com. 

STAFF REPORTS
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

USRowing announced a new partnership with boat manufacturer Filippi today.

“We are excited to open this new chapter with Filippi as our official boat supplier,” USRowing Chief High Performance Officer Josy Verdonkschot said. “Filippi boats have been synonymous with success at the world championships, Olympics, and Paralympics, and this partnership will allow our athletes to train and race in some of the best boats in the world. In addition, Filippi has shown a great commitment to our athletes who compete in their shells. We look forward to rowing and racing in Filippi boats for years to come.”

According to USRowing, the agreement states that Filippi will provide USRowing shells for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, and a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Center.

“It’s a source of great pride for Filippi to have entered into this agreement with USRowing. An important commitment to both of our organization’s futures, it’s almost like a dream come true for us,” said David Filippi. “At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, we only had eight boats competing. These days, you’ll often see more than two out of three crews at international venues in Filippis. We’re honored by the confidence these crews have in our boats and are committed to making sure that this very special collaboration with USRowing brings an even greater appreciation for Filippis to North America.”

Elite Rowing is the exclusive sales and service partner and distributor in the U.S.

“Filippi and Elite Rowing are fully invested in doing everything we can to ensure the success of the U.S. National Team,” said Elite Rowing’s Alex Selvig. “Most of the world’s best athletes choose to race in Filippi boats, and we are excited to show Team USA what we can do.”

PROVIDED BY THE IRA
PHOTO BY ED MORAN