Review your rowing year
For single scullers a pre-determined plan can help you stay focused during those long preparatory months. Next year’s races aren’t that far away.
The same principles apply to a group or crew – but I always feel single scullers train alone and so their year plan is a good crutch to see you through setbacks and so I place more importance on it.
Stepping back to reflect on your rowing of this year will make clear how to better your performance for next year.
Your inner voice is probably already whispering to you but get it down in writing anyway.
Scrub your log book in an annual review; it will give you the information you need. To start your annual review, set aside a big chunk of time in a place where you like to hang out. Read through your entire journal for the year. Jot down notes about thoughts or events that stand out as you are reading. Make a list of your disappointments or commitments you did not keep. Reflect on what comes to mind reviewing the down points. Then list your accomplishments and apexes of training and racing that went very well. Reflect on what comes to mind reviewing your accomplishments. Finally, summarise your year in one word.
Questions to prompt your ideas are: What went well? What didn’t go so well? Why didn’t I achieve my goals? What big things did I learn?
My favourite questions are: What should I start doing? What should I keep doing? What should I stop doing?
This helps you recognise the good habits that are productive, habits that are interfering with your progress, and the habits you need to change to make progress. Think about the word you chose to sum up your rowing year and why you chose it.
What’s going to make next year awesome?
Write down 10 action steps that will get you there, for example: Drink more water, learn to steer a single straight on a buoyed course, improve my posture when sitting at my desk, arrive 15 minutes early for every practice, or hire a trainer.
