Great question and tough to pick out elements of racing above others. So let me provide this long winded explanation about some thinking before I make a simple statement. From a pacing perspective. Priority one is clearly sustainable speed (endurance) which is consistent speed. Second is max speed (Getting out of the start so your in the race) but in an efficient way. This is obvious to most. Third but often overlooked is the ability to change speed during the race at stages when others are slowing down. From a technical stand point in water drive is obvious and foundational, so with out it you can't focus on rhythm. Priority one is get the drive right in the water. Less obvious is the advantage of the recovery. Its probably seen as just a way to get to the next catch. However less obvious is it's not just about letting the boat run. Rather with the same stroke rate can you get the boat to travel further each recovery. Same rate but further is the key to success as this means two crews with same drive aren't the same speed over 2000m. So once maximising the drive has been established as a consistent habit the attention needs to turn to maximising the recovery. Approx 50% of the time spent in rowing is spent during the recovery and yet a lot of focus on the drive and assumption is more effort and more drive creates a winning performance. From a movement perspective the obvious things are sequence and leverage, but breath work and learning to keep the movement strong isn't just about effort, rather in breath, athleticism and relaxation. I think a lot of physical effort needs to keep an emphasis on breathing into the belly and diaphragmatic process to create even more power but with less cost. Final perspective is mental skills with imagery, and visualisation. Helping an athlete to create a clear mental image of their identify under performance pressures, along with their movement template and how they will move with their team and equipment and in the context of the environment is critical and is such a depth of opportunity. Its often untapped by athletes and coaches. This is event readiness and if coupled with quality technique, movement effort with breath, pacing with agility is a combination which is pretty comprehensive. At one level its all obvious and often attended to by athletes and coaches, and at deeper levels it's not obvious and definitely a potential source of advantage. It's a nested hierarchy, and a pyramid of performance which with some curiosity can unlock gains beyond the obvious. Now to answer your question. If I was to be pushed to say whats most critical for racing, then I would say mindset. With out the above or some version of it then just mindset alone doesn't achieve great results. But if a foundation is in place of the obvious and less obvious elements from above and then they are combined with this a mindset and attitude which is curious, determined and persistent then racing success becomes a reality.
![How to get BACK IN when your Canoe tips over [SOLO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lFP1cHGVQkM/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to get BACK IN when your Canoe tips over [SOLO]](/img/tr.png)
What happened that you fell in? 😂
Is there any aspect of racing in the 2- that you think is most critical to success (and perhaps overlooked)?
Great question and tough to pick out elements of racing above others. So let me provide this long winded explanation about some thinking before I make a simple statement.
From a pacing perspective. Priority one is clearly sustainable speed (endurance) which is consistent speed. Second is max speed (Getting out of the start so your in the race) but in an efficient way. This is obvious to most. Third but often overlooked is the ability to change speed during the race at stages when others are slowing down.
From a technical stand point in water drive is obvious and foundational, so with out it you can't focus on rhythm. Priority one is get the drive right in the water. Less obvious is the advantage of the recovery. Its probably seen as just a way to get to the next catch. However less obvious is it's not just about letting the boat run. Rather with the same stroke rate can you get the boat to travel further each recovery. Same rate but further is the key to success as this means two crews with same drive aren't the same speed over 2000m. So once maximising the drive has been established as a consistent habit the attention needs to turn to maximising the recovery. Approx 50% of the time spent in rowing is spent during the recovery and yet a lot of focus on the drive and assumption is more effort and more drive creates a winning performance.
From a movement perspective the obvious things are sequence and leverage, but breath work and learning to keep the movement strong isn't just about effort, rather in breath, athleticism and relaxation. I think a lot of physical effort needs to keep an emphasis on breathing into the belly and diaphragmatic process to create even more power but with less cost.
Final perspective is mental skills with imagery, and visualisation. Helping an athlete to create a clear mental image of their identify under performance pressures, along with their movement template and how they will move with their team and equipment and in the context of the environment is critical and is such a depth of opportunity. Its often untapped by athletes and coaches. This is event readiness and if coupled with quality technique, movement effort with breath, pacing with agility is a combination which is pretty comprehensive. At one level its all obvious and often attended to by athletes and coaches, and at deeper levels it's not obvious and definitely a potential source of advantage.
It's a nested hierarchy, and a pyramid of performance which with some curiosity can unlock gains beyond the obvious.
Now to answer your question. If I was to be pushed to say whats most critical for racing, then I would say mindset. With out the above or some version of it then just mindset alone doesn't achieve great results. But if a foundation is in place of the obvious and less obvious elements from above and then they are combined with this a mindset and attitude which is curious, determined and persistent then racing success becomes a reality.