For most rowers, The Head of the Charles Regatta is the highlight of the fall racing season. Rowers from all over the US and the world flock to the shores of Boston, MA to compete, reconnect, and witness amazing rowing (and the occasional crash). Many athletes train for months leading up to this 3 mile long race, but once the shells are put away and the banks are nothing but a muddy mess, you might find yourself wondering how to refocus now that the Charles is over.
Some of you may head south to Philly for the Head of the Schuylkill, another fun head race, if it happens at all. Others will return to their clubs for local head races. For those elite and pre-elites you might be heading to Princeton, NJ for the upcoming Fall Speed Order or Pan Am Trials. Either way, the days and weeks following the HOCR are a great time to reflect on your training, and refocus on how to maximize your speed and enjoyment of the sport moving forward.
Here are a few things I found helpful post-Charles when I was training:
- Take time to reflect – Journal about your experience (highly recommend). Write about the race, your prep, warm up, what you ate, and what you were thinking during the piece. You’d be surprised what sorts of things you can uncover by sitting down for 15 minutes and writing out everything that you experienced before, during, and after a race like the Head of the Charles. It’s important to do this while it’s still fresh in your mind. Find a quiet spot away from the bratwurst and chowder in a bread bowl stands, pull out your notebook and get it all out. The longer away from the race the more you will forget so get it all out and make note of things that you can improve going forward.
- Recover – A day off isn’t always an option, especially with the next race just a few days later, but it’s important to recover. Perhaps you could go for a run instead. Get out of the boat and move your body. Running always helped me to reflect and process my experiences. It’s also a great way to clear your head so you can focus on what you need to execute the next time down the course.
- Move on from the result and get back to the process – I have a gold, silver, and bronze medal from the HOCR, but I never won the Champ Single. This was always really disappointing for me and admittedly I did a bad job of letting go of results following the race. Looking back, perhaps I put too much emphasis on the end result, which in turn contributed to a lot of anger at myself for not performing better. This isn’t helpful when you’ve got a selection event like the Fall Speed Order two weeks later. It’s important to acknowledge the result, but also take it for what it is and move on. Focus on what you can improve moving forward and avoid fixating on past results. A loss now means you have something to improve, which can mean a win later in the season when it really counts.
Whatever your next step in rowing will be this fall, I hope the above three things will help give you some clarity and perspective on your HOCR experience and get you refocused on what’s next. There’s still a lot of time this fall to improve your fitness, technique, and to have fun. Perhaps you’re already focused on next year’s HOCR and you’d be in good company.
