Holy Cow, We Leave Tomorrow!

Holy cow, we leave tomorrow! The excitement is palpable as we finish our last few practices here in OKC. Even the prospect of 30 hours of total travel time, highlighted by a 13-hour flight over the Pacific does little to hinder our attitudes. The last few days have been spent building to a crescendo of effort, speed, and pain. Every practice has been either race prep, race pieces, or power workouts, along with some lifts and runs. We have our final organized row this morning to “empty the tanks.” The goal of the workout is to absolutely drain ourselves and try to produce as much lactic acid as possible, followed by a couple rest and recovery days where we might do some light cross training to stretch the body out. While I’ve never done this specific workout, I know the feeling we’re chasing all to well. It’s a sick pleasure to see how far into the hurt locker I can hurl myself; to again push my physical limits to the absolute breaking point and see where the high water mark is before the energy is gone from my body. Rowing to failure is something that has helped me greatly, and it is a great training tool for any rower that wants to push their limits. Anyone who has watched the French Men’s 2- in 2000 understands the importance of going to the well and having just enough left to finish effectively. But the only way to know where that limit to one’s body is is to test it. 24mmol/L of lactic acid does not feel good, then again, neither does losing.

This year’s race looks to be one of the toughest in recent memory. The final entries have not yet come out, but the Italian, German, and Australian Lightweight 8’s are all stacking their boats with Olympians and World Champions. I would say I’m worried, but I’ve stopped worrying about these things over the past couple of years. Worry requires energy that I don’t have to spare, and I’d rather put that energy into something I can control. For the first time since 2006, I’m going into a race feeling 100%; no arm problems, no nagging rib injuries. I’m excited that I finally have my body feeling good so that I can wreck it… in a good way.

- Matt Muffelman, 2010 USA LM8+

Please consider supporting the USA LM8+ on their journey to the World Championships. Not all boats are funded and many athletes pay the costs to represent our rowing community from their own savings. This year rowers in the LM8+ will have to pay just over $6000 each for their trip. Please consider making a donation at http://www.firstgiving.com/2010lm8. Every little bit helps.- shivs

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Matt Muffelman at muffelman@gmail.com.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 at 8:52 pm. It is filed under Rowers, TEAM USA, World Championships. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.