Selection for World Cup One!!

Hello all.

Hope you enjoy the insight.

Over the weekend the NSW state championships were held. This regatta doubled as the selection regatta for the first world cup. Specifically for male heavyweight scullers the first four doubles in the final would earn selection into the world cup team so the pressure was on and the stakes were high.

The progression to the final of the double scull was as follows.
Heat of the single scull with top three progressing to the A final. Double scull combinations would be set based on results in the final of the single. Eg, 1st and 2nd sculler row a double together. 3rd and 4th sculler row the double together and so on. The doubles needed to progress through a heat to make the final. And then it was the big one!

Below is a summary of the racing.

Single Scull- Heat

Raced on the Friday afternoon. A heat or Semi-Final can be the most nerve racking racing experiences of the regatta. For me this was no exception at all especially having to sit around all morning and wait for the race to actually arrive.. The thought of faltering in the heat and missing out on the final is one which takes some mental capacity to overcome. Fortunately for me nerves were put aside and I put together a reasonable row and placed second in the heat to progress directly to the Final. In regards to the row, technically I felt strong, however not great physically which I put down to having done too much in the week leading in to the regatta and not being strict enough on my recovery and down time (partly as a result of starting university that week and also being busy with school coaching). 

So I got to bed very early that night prompting comments from my room mate that I was weird and there was something wrong with me. Anyways, I went to bed praying that I would wake up feeling more energised and energetic for the big saturday ahead. 

Single Scull- Final

I felt great prior to the final of the single. I was excited to see where I sat in the field. I think the best summary of the race can be shown through the following two images: showing the results and the splits down the 2000m race. And the photo at the half way mark of the race with me in second. (I was going well until the last 600m where I just ran out of legs and Purnell and Girdlestone went through me like a steam train with nothing I could do). Alexander is a force to be reckoned with at the moment, the guy is flying! Overall for me 4th is a pretty pleasing result considering my experience or lack of in the boat class. 

Pictures don't lie. Need to sit up at the finish.. 

Double Scull- Heat
I was paired with Nick Hudson for the double as Nick Purnell had opted to tackle the world cup field in the single scull so did not race in the double to ensure selection was straight forward. Following only a few hours from the final of the single the body was slightly depleted of energy reserves for this race. And as such was raced as a 'heat'  by doing enough to get through to the final and not much more which we were able to do.

Double Scull- Final

First stroke is always a nervous one. Once its over though the next comes so quickly you don't have time to think and from there blink and you are gone so its game on. 

From the heat of the double to the final we had approximately two hours, feeling tired I quickly got some food and fluid on board, found a stretching mat and with headphones in slept for 40 minutes. As soon as I woke i felt so much better and was ready to race.

The final of double was one of the most enjoyable races I can remember. Maybe that is partly because all the others are a distant memory... But for me this race was fantastic, In the warm up I couldn't help but remind myself of the outcome that may lie ahead, but secondly all the recent memories associated with my extended injury history and the frustration over the last 2 years of watching from the sidelines. Needless to say, I was going to give this race absolutely everything to ensure I gave myself the best result possible. The results page below shows the final outcome, without giving you the full run down of the emotion felt as we crossed the line in second place i will leave it by saying I was emotional, and as much as i tried to hide it from Nick in the boat with me I am sure he would have had some idea of what was going on..

And after only my 4th ever 2km single scull race and 4th ever double scull 2km race I managed to gain selection into the Aus 2 mens double scull and the Aus 1 mens quad scull.
WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
To view the Rowing Australia official media release please click here.

To everybody that has encouraged me, supported me, cheered for me, calmed me down when I was frustrated (crazy), congratulated me, helped me in the VIS and VIS gym, removed plantaris muscles from my calves, given me physio/massage treatment, liked facebook posts, been my parents, retweeted posts, watched Unsinkable epsiodes shared my blog, fixed my bike at BikeNow or purchased from here and lastly supported my journey so far in any way. Thank you so much. It all helps significantly.

Cheers, John

NSW State champiosnhips

Hello all,

This afternoon the NSW state champs kicked off at the Sydney international rowing course.
I raced in the heat of the men's single scull. There were three heats in this event, with top three from  each heat progressing through to the final tomorrow morning.  In Australia this regatta is used as the selection  event to pick the team for the first World Cup to be help on Sydney in late march. As a result racing is tough and to a very high standard with everybody keen to give themselves a chance to make this team.

I came 2nd in my heat, and was reasonably happy with my form. It is always nice to get the first race out of the way which usually causes more nerves than the final due to the worry of missing the final in the first place.

I'm excited  to give it everything tomorrow and see where I sit, however I know the rest of the field and even the guys in the B final are out to do the same. Blink and you are gone is a good way to explain the intensity of elite racing in that one small mistake and you are busting your ass to get back on terms. This is what we train for so embracing it is the best way to go.

Will touch base tomorrow.

Cheers, John

Racing review: first time in a (very) long time

Hello everyone,

Following on from my last post talking about the 720 days between competing in a 2km race, I managed to break the drought and race at the NSW Small Boats Regatta. The day of racing completely knocked me for six, and it's taken me until today to sit down and compose myself.

At the NSW Small Boats Regatta the heat of the men's single scull was not until late morning so I had some time to reflect during the lead in on how nervous I was*. In particular, reflecting on how I am sharing this journey, creating some build up in terms of getting back to racing and how embarrassed I would be if I came last by a country mile and therefore reassess my short-term goals. Obviously not the best mental preparation for a race, however just prior to and during the race I was able to tune into some of the technical focuses I had been working on while training at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
*Although the concern was present, by no means am I implying this completely overcame me and reduced me to a feeble mess prior to racing. I just feel it is important to continue sharing with you the honest insight into my thoughts.

Fortunately I was not last, in fact I managed to win, as the results below show. Not a bad way to calm the nerves following an extended period on the sidelines:

Upon qualifying for the final and achieving my goal for the day, the pressure was somewhat reduced leading into the final as I had nothing to lose. I could give it my all and see where I stood within the sculling group in Australia on this particular day. My goal was to go as hard as I could in the first 800m and see if I could maintain speed with the frontrunners in the race. As it turned out, I was with them for about 0.06 of a second before they blasted away from the blocks never to be seen again. So I simply put my head down and bum up and rowed as well and as tough as I could. The results below show the outcome:

Having these two races in the space of around 90 minutes most certainly took the sting out of my legs (or put the sting in my legs, whichever way you choose to look at it) and following that I would have been happy to get on the plane and fly back to Melbourne. To look back to 7 months ago when I was sliding around on the floor of my house barely able to stand up, let alone walk, to go to consecutive races following limited speed or competitive work in my training leading up was certainly a shock to the body.

I followed that up with racing the double scull with Kieren Kobelke later on in the afternoon but for multiple reasons it didn't fire. Needless to say I was ready to recuperate and head home.

Going forward from here we head to Sydney again this weekend for the NSW State Championships Regatta which also doubles up as the selection event for the Australian World Cup 1 team to race at SIRR 2014 from March 23-30. I will talk more about this later in the week so stay tuned. But for now I need to get to my last University class for the day, head to the gym and complete the day's training before getting an early night to continue recovering from what has been a big few weeks. Things have ramp up considerably.

Thanks for all your support and kind words.
Cheers, John

Unsinkable: Episode Six (On The Road Again)

In this episode I get properly fitted for my road bike using Body Geometry Fit at BikeNow (South Melbourne). I did this just as I was beginning to cycle again and ramp up my cross training. The episode also features the Victorian Institute of Sport cycling camp in Anglesea in October 2013 where we cycled 415km in 3 days. If you want to read more about specific data from that weekend have a look HERE. 


Chris Nikodemski and Stewart Morton did a great job working with me using Body geometry fit. The biggest improvement to my bike setup was made by fitting a new seat. Might not seem important, however for any guy who has ever had numbness on a bike in areas where there shouldn't be numbness they will understand that this can make cycling uncomfortable. Chris explained to me that this numbness is caused by a saddle which is too narrow and pinches blood vessels to an area which blood flow is rather important. The reduced blood flow can lead to long term damage...  So If I could offer one suggestion to anybody who experiences numbness, go and get a new seat tomorrow. You will not regret it I PROMISE. The guys at BikeNow will be able to point you in the right direction. I also was able to adjust my cleats to a more advantageous position and allow less use of my calf and more glute activation therefore improving my power output, which as an athlete is the aim of the game. 


Enjoy the episode. 

Cheers, John 

720 days ago....

Hello,
Hope this finds you all well.

720 days.... the number of days for me between racing at a regatta. 

In february of 2012 I raced at the NSW state champs in the mens four and mens pair. It was basically the last rowing I did before withdrawing from olympic selection and undergoing major surgery. At the 2012 NSW state champs i raced reasonably well in the mens four and I was optimistic following the racing that maybe I could scrape into the national team for that year and head to London. However, I can vividly remember the pain I was in travelling from sydney to canberra that evening post racing. My legs were screaming at me, It was horrible. I put it down to multiple races that day. However the next day when trying to do a recovery 60km ride with a few of the guys I did realise something was not right. My legs were in agony trying to ride at 20km/h on a flat road. I struggled through the next 10 or so days with severe pain, until the point I accepted what may have been happening. I booked myself in for a doppler ultrasound to learn that while my calf was flexed my popliteal artery was completely occluded. This explained the pain I was getting. Effectively while trying to row and train, my lower leg was being starved of oxygen, hence following an intense day of racing, my legs were completely stuffed. This was a problem first encountered in early 2010 resulting in two surgical procedures which I believed had solved the problem. So to learn that the problem was once again occurring was frustrating to say the least.

That was back then. Since that regatta, I have undergone 3 major procedures on each leg, spent weeks in hospital and at home unable to even walk, hundreds of physiotherapy, massage and doctors appointments. Spent more time in rehabilitation than in training. Turned myself into a half crazy kid (some may suggest more than half), pushed people close to may away and concerned those around me.

But this saturday i am racing again in Penrith at the NSW small boats regatta which will be the first step towards putting it all behind me. I have put myself through extreme physical and emotional pain over the last 2 years by being determined not to give up. This weekend will be an indication of how I am progressing, hopefully it suggests things are on the right track heading towards the National selection trials in late April this year.

To say I am nervous is an understatement. Following my injuries in 2012 I decided to make the move from sweeping to sculling, and this weekend will be the first ever 2km race in the single and double scull which is enough to make me nervous despite the long period since I last raced.

I will leave it there for now. Be sure to check in early next week, I will be sure to write about it all and let you know how it went.

Wish me luck.

Cheers, John

Unsinkable: Episode Five (For Green & Gold)

Hi there,
This episode is from August last year and follows me as I begin cycling again, I also reflect on the disappointment of not being able to do what I had desperately wanted to. Hope you enjoy!



As followers of this journey I want to offer you the chance to have some input into this project and web series. If there are things you would like to learn more about, things you would like to see appear in the episodes or suggestions you may have for me I would appreciate the feedback. Don't hesitate to leave a comment on this post if you have a suggestion for this ongoing project.

Cheers, John

2014 Here I Go.

Hello and happy new year.

Since I last touched base with you I have been having such a good time. Such a good time that I haven't found time to sit down and write about the experiences. When I first started this blog it was the day before surgery in June 2013 and for the following 4-5 months I couldn't do a great deal, especially the first month when I could barely walk let alone do my training so I was able to bombard the blog with updates. Anyways, now that I am 'healthy' again time has once again become precious. I endeavour to keep this short and to the point, and not leave such long periods between updates going forward. 

Christmas day family ride along the Great Ocean Road. 

Christmas Day Family Lunch

The last 3 weeks I have been on the move a bit, I spent christmas and saw in the new year while in Lorne on the Victorian coast. It was the 21st consecutive year that I have spent a period of my summer holidays in Lorne, you may recall me speaking about this place a few months ago so will not elaborate greatly on how much I love this coastal town, other than to tell you what I did. I cycled along the great ocean road, I went mountain bike riding in the Otways, I ate, I lay on the beach, I swam, I napped, I enjoyed time with the family and I had time to think back over the previous 12 months along with my goals going forward.

This is cycling on the Great Ocean Road and I love it

Climbing 'Benwerrin' in the Otways and holding 460W for 23:30 (Data here)

Following on from Lorne the Victorian Institute of Sport rowing squad headed to the Victorian alpine region to falls creek for a 9 day training camp consisting of rowing, cycling, ergos, hiking and weights training. This camp was slightly disrupted due to particularly cold weather and persistent winds which made achieving quality rows somewhat difficult. However this did make for some fun cross training sessions on the bike, on the ergo and in the gym. The short video below is one the ergo sessions we completed at around 1700m of elevation, at this elevation you really do notice the decreased oxygen in the air.

Attached below are some photos of training on falls creek camp. For more photos please head to the Unsinkable Facebook page. 

To finish up:

I do not normally get so excited for new years eve as I did a few weeks ago. 

For me the beginning of 2014 was a good milestone and one I had been looking forward to for some time. I had a pretty unenjoyable 2013, I went from travelling reasonably well on national training camp in january with an eye on returning to the national team, to surgery in February, rehab that followed was a waste of time as I had surgery again in June, from here you know most of the story and how 'crazy' it all became for me. Thankfully with the new year I am able to push this all behind me and get on with the task ahead. 

Things are really about to get going for me and before too long I will know if I am up the standard I desire. NSW state champs and world cup team one selection is in less than a month so wish me luck as I am going to need it. 

For now that is all from me. 

Cheers, John