Archive for March, 2010

USSTAG Physical Training Camp and Miami Training

Today we leave Colorado Springs, where Karina, Alice and I have been partaking in an intense US Sailing Team Alphagraphics physical training camp at the US Olympic Training Center.  While Michael Phelps wasn’t here this time (he was a big hit last year at our camp last year), we did have a very intense four days of physical training and testing while also learning about nutrition, periodization, peak performance, visualization and sports psychology.  We had a great group of US Sailing coaches and staff as well as nutritionist Bob Seebohar, psychologist Rick Campbell, Jaguar Trainers Chris, Brandon and Tara, and guest speaker Curt Tomasevicz, who just won the Gold medal in the bobsled in Vancouver and talked to us about athlete mentality.  We learned a lot of valuable information that will greatly assist in our individual programs in the future.
At the core of the training camp, the physical testing allows us to keep track of our levels of fitness–comparing our scores in times/weights to previous scores, giving us the ability to chart our progress over time.  Tests included squats, planks, pushups, pull-ups, rows, rope climb, long jump, running, as well as boat-specific tests like tacking, sheeting, grip strength and neck strength.  Everyone on the team improved dramatically from their times last year, and we’re clearly getting closer to head coach Kenneth’s goal of ‘fittest sailing team on the planet’.

We also did some team exercises.  On the third day, we completed a grueling pool test—a 3-person team relay consisting of each person swimming half a lap, doing 20 pushups, half a lap, 20 situps, half a lap, wall sit till partner returns, half a lap, 20 burpees… then the same all over again for 16…12…8…4…1…1…4…8…12.  Luckily they let us stop there, before anyone actually passed out straight in the pool.  We followed that up with a fun group exercise of developing a minute long synchronized swimming program and carrying it out.  Our group won with 3 perfect tens on the creativity, lifts, and synchronization scores—but not without casualties.  I was elbowed to the face underwater after being lifted into a dive by my underwater partner, and a teammate was cannoballed directly onto underwater, after lifting his teammate straight up for the cannonball to end the program.  It was the third day of the camp, and while our bodies were already well-fatigued from all of the previous training and testing, the pool test added some additional eye and ear and overall soreness that made us all feel that the week was well worth it, and hopefully almost over!  Yesterday finished with the boat specific testing, and this morning after the final team challenge, we were all headed our separate ways.
We flew directly here from 4 days of on the water training in the Elliott 6ms in Miami, and I fly out tonight directly to Long Beach for the Congressional Cup, the only Open Grade 1 Match Race in the US, where I’ll be sailing as the main trimmer with Sally Barkow helming and Dave Dellenbaugh calling tactics.  We’ll be competing against some top America’s Cup match racers, many fresh off the Louis Vuitton trophy in New Zealand.  Should be great racing!  You can check out the results or follow it live here.

1st in Division at Heineken Regatta!

Last week I had the privilege of racing the Heineken Regatta in beautiful St. Maarten, where the biggest concerns where the need to constantly reapply sunscreen and the race to make the bridge times every day.  Unfortunately many of us missed on the sunscreen front, and my forearms are slightly peeling this week to prove it, but luckily our Santa Cruz 52 Sin Duda! edged out the competition to win our Spinnaker 2 division.  Lindsey Duda is the helm and our tactician was Robbie Haines, so it was a great reunion for me with both of them: Robbie who I spent a lot of time with through the Morning Light Program, and Lindsey who I sailed with in 470s and coached/lived with at Chicago YC the summer before my freshman year of college.  A couple of the other instructors who I coached at Chicago with were on board (as well as one kid…now adult whom I coached!), and we had a great time with the buoy racing and round the island races over the 4-day series.  The final day was the only gloomy day, with rain squalls and cloudy skies making most of us wish we had brought full foulie sets, but the only real problem was that with our sights set on the 1st place and our eyes set on our competition–double-masted Sojana, we couldn’t see them through the fog and had to just hope we were doing well enough on corrected time.

With few mistakes throughout the week we finished 5 pts ahead for the overall win!  Next up for this team is the BVI Spring Cup in Tortola in April, where I will be filling big shoes as tactician.

US Sailing Team Alphagraphics Night at Newport Harbor YC

We had a great USSailing Team Alphagraphics evening at Newport Harbor YC on Wednesday. Andrew Campbell (2008 Laser Olympian and now star skipper) and I were the two athletes representing the team, and we got to guest coach the Newport Harbor High School sailing team in their afternoon practice. Very fun afternoon, especially as they were team racing, which I enjoyed so much in college it lead to my match racing olympic campaign. We had a good session, practicing against the Corona Del Mar team until the breeze shut off so we came in for the debrief. From there it was onto the dinner, and then Dan Cooney the USSTAG marketing manager led the night, introducing the USSTAG team and Andrew and I, and leading the questions. It was a great night and hopefully the attendees got to learn a bit more about the USSTAG program and its athletes!