Down Time

With any job there is such thing as working too hard.  Whether you are running a division on a warship, training full time for the Olympics or operating your own company, you need to take some "me" time.

There are many different ways to do it.  When I was on the ship I would work out.  In my current "job" working out is not a great way to get away from my job, working out.  I know a certain business owner that likes to sit in tree stands, sitting quietly for hours and waiting for a deer to become vulnerable.  Each person has their own methods.

I recently went for a long walk through a canyon to a beach in La Jolla, CA.  It was beautiful and therapeutic .  The sand stone forming the canyon and at times, natural steps brought me back to Hubbard Hall, the Navy boathouse.  It is a sandstone building with intense structure and beauty.  It is amazing how hard rock, such as sandstone can so easily be carved in to.  Below are some pics:

You can see the carvings in the sandstone to the right.  Thankfully, midshipmen don't feel the need to do this to Hubbard Hall.

Have a good one.

- Jimmy

Contrast Bath + Lightweight == Cold

I was a math major so I can only hold back the nerdyness so much.  The equation in the title needs some explanation.  Volp kicked the training plan in to high gear three weeks ago and we have been doing a lot of pieces.  With those comes the need to recover and I'm trying to coax my body into faster recovery mode any way I can.

When you think of rowing (or when I think of rowing) the first image that may come to mind is a tall, lengthy guy with a body fat % less than six.  That is by no means always the case.  Some of the best heavyweights in the world have a little bit of an energy belt that gives them some reserves when they need to go to the well.  Lightweights don't have that luxury and as we near the upcoming selection regatta and the first weigh-in of the year our "energy belts" are dwindling.

Yesterday we did some racing and afterwards I was feeling pretty wrecked so I decided to make use of the recovery baths at the training center.  There are two jacuzzis; one filled with 55 degree water and the other with 110.  You start with two minutes in the cold bath and then transition to one minute in the hot bath.  To get the maximal effect you should do three - four sessions in the cold and two -three in the hot, but making sure the cold is the last stage.  You can read about it here for more clarification.

There are a number of reactions your brain has when going through this process.  I say brain because I don't think your body actually has pins and needles in it.
FIRST:  COLD.  When you enter the cold bath the shivering onsets about 40 seconds in and hating life comes to mind.  Then with about 20 seconds to go you start thinking about that nice hot tub just two feet away!

SECOND: NOT HOT.  When you enter the hot tub your mind wants it to feel like paradise.  It doesn't!  The first thing I thought was, this isn't hot and then the tingling started.  Pins and needles enter your feet and legs and then after about 45 seconds you start to get comfortable, just in time to get cold again.

THIRD:  COLD... again
.
.
.
Repeat

LAST:  My body fat percentage is relatively low right now and the last two minutes in the cold water definitely left an impression on my body.  First of all, I did feel better.  The science is not completely sound and not specifically proven, so it may have been a placebo effect, but I felt better.  Secondly, I was cold for the next 4 hours.  It took my body a long time to regain it's warmth.  I even rowed for 1.5 hours and I was still warming up towards the end.

I will most likely do this again.  After all, I feel it helped and I've always seemed to return to the things that are painful (i.e. rowing and every August when I returned to USNA, haha)  But if you are healing from a surgery or some physical activity, consider contrast bath therapy.  My only advice is to bring a blanket.

- Jimmy

San Diego, German for ...

Anchor Man was a huge hit when I was in college.  Every time I enter San Diego County that movie is what first comes to mind.  After our last practice in Oklahoma City, Nick LaCava and I began the 1300 mile trek from OKC to Chula Vista.  We left on Saturday morning and arrived Sunday.

We started the trip at 5 am on Saturday and 2 - 2.5 hours later the sun was rising so I couldn't resist snapping a pic.

We got through Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle pretty quickly, despite a severe headwind that was eating up gas as if we were driving through downtown NYC.  Once we entered New Mexico the wind shifted to a nice tailwind and we finally didn't have to stop every 2.5 hours for gas.  

 I believe this picture is in New Mexico.  I wasn't really trying to get the truck in the pic, but thought is was cool once I downloaded everything.

This is Arizona on Sunday morning.  Throughout the Arizona portion of the trip I was surprised by how beautiful it was.  Texas and New Mexico were so-so, but Arizona was definitely a site for sore eyes.  Then we entered California...  

Chula Vista is gorgeous, but the eastern 200 miles of California is literally desert.  Here's a picture of some sand dunes.  There a little hard to see, but it was a pretty barren landscape. 

We arrived at the training center around 11 am PST and were pretty beat.  We had the day to recover and met Monday morning to unload the trailer and start getting the work in.  The atmosphere here is great and really forces you to remember what this is all about; fighting for medals at the Olympics.  There are more residents here than athletes.  A racoon was sniffing our dirty laundry on the patio the other night.  I don't think he found anything he liked.


Hope you enjoy the pics and have a good one.

- Jimmy

and then there were 8.

Just wanted to give an update on selection for the LM4-.  I try not to think about the process as "selection."  I try to go out and move each boat I'm in as efficiently and powerfully as possible.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  The cream will rise to the top in the end.

There has been a group of 13 guys here in Oklahoma City for a while and we recently found out that eight of us will be traveling to Chula Vista, CA this coming weekend until the boat is selected.

It's exciting to know that the light at the end of the tunnel is near.  Everyone in the group has gained speed and continuing to do so.  The combinations we put together are getting faster each time and the rowing as a whole is more unified.  Confidence is building within the group that we can put a fast 4- together and get the job done in May and later this summer in London.

Above is some video of the remaining 8 in an 8.

Have a good one,
Jimmy

Not Rowing: Mind sharpening

My life right now if very much focused on rowing.  The goal here is to qualify and fight for medals at the Olympics; focus is one of the most important elements of achieving that goal.  Though, sometimes I need to get away from it.  As an athlete, I feel you can not let the sport completely consume your life.

Some people like getting away by playing video games or watching movies.  I do watch a few movies from time to time, but challenging the mind is always something I've believed in.  I began reading a lot over the past year, attempting brain teasers and recently found a new one.

A very interesting and awesome distraction resource is itunes U.  I did not know about it until a couple of days ago, but you should check it out.  Some of the top colleges in the country have video taped courses and posted the lectures and class materials online.  You can audit a course at one of the top schools in the country (Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia and UC Berkley to name a few) for free!  I'm starting with an intro to computer science class at MIT.  I know I did not do well enough in H.S. or am smart enough to attend MIT, so this is the next best option.  You may not believe me, but this is WAY better than watching Netflix between practices.

Keep the mind sharp!

Have a good one,
Jimmy

Back to Leadership

It's been a while since I posted anything on leadership.  I'm trying not to be forceful with it and just let my experiences guide the posts.  I was lucky enough to go to a school that did teach leadership.  We had a bunch of phrases that mean nothing to most people and when I talk about them I feel bad because I don't want people to feel I think I'm in some kind of special club, but oh well.  Some examples:  "Message to Garcia," "Plebe card," and "Damn XO."

It's the last one I want to write about today. There have been many times in my short life that I have been told to do something that I don't necessarily agree with.  The worst is when it affects people who work for me.  The "Damn XO" phrase comes from the roll of the Executive Officer (XO) and his minions (Department Heads and Division Officers).  The XO would come to me and say, "ENS Sopko, the guys on watch in the communications shack are not allowed to listen to iPODS while working on the computers."  In my head I'm thinking, "what the hell do you care if they listen to iPODS," but I say "Yes, sir."  I then go back to my guys and I have two options: 1. I can tell them the XO is a jerk and won't let them listen to iPODS when working 2.  I can say, "No iPODS when working."  From experience, go with option two.  It is hard, but your boss told you to do something and in the military that's an order.  Unless it is unlawful, you have to obey it.

To me, the main reason you take responsibility yourself is so when it is time for you to make a hard decision your guys know it's you talking.  The XO, on a navy ship at least, is the most hated guy on the ship.  He is the lawmaker and enforcer.  However, he needs support in his role.  I'm not saying lie down and let the XO walk all over you.  If you have something to say go through the proper channels and make your voice heard, knowing that it may very well get thrown directly in your face.

The smartest wife ever and I at the
Lincoln Memorial over Christmas break

The same applies to the civilian world.  If you are in charge of people and someone above you makes a decision that affects your guys and they don't like it, DO NOT make your boss the scape-goat.  It's cowardly. Especially if your input was given and your boss either took it or changed it.  There is an order to things in any organization and that's why great organizations work that way.  I'm not referring to a dictatorship.  The head guy received recommendations, but he chose to not use them.  Now you, as his subordinate and the leader of the others need to make sure his ideas are put through the organization; support him.

That's pretty much all I have for now.  On a more personal note, Shaunnah (the Wife) was accepted in to Stanfard, Harvard and Dartmouth Business Schools.  We've got a tough decision but I figure it's a win-win.  I'm very proud of her.

Have a good one,
- Jimmy

Training Partners

First of all, Happy New Year!  I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays with friends and family.  I was lucky enough to travel home to Annapolis and go down to Virginia to see my parents and brothers for Christmas.  It has been awesome being with Shaunnah again and definitely makes me excited for the time when I get to move home again.  Although, the longer I'm away from home the better the rowing is going so Shaunnah and I are willing to make the sacrifice.

While on my break from the team I have had a workout plan to follow.  The main goal is to get rested from the previous five and for the next couple of hard months.  At the same time we don't want to let the progress of the previous months go to waste with laziness so there was still some mileage and hard work to put in.  I am lucky enough to have some friends in Annapolis who are willing to erg with me and even do some hard work.  I could do it alone, but it is MUCH BETTER to have company.  I would like to thank Tod Nix, his Annapolis Junior Rowing Team and James Smith for enduring the 90' erg sessions and two days of pieces.  As they say, "misery loves company."

I have trained alone before and it is no fun. It is much harder to reach your max potential on any workout and much easier to tell yourself 50' is enough when you're supposed to do 60'.  Although, with the motivation to do well at the Olympics I don't think many of us are stopping pieces early.

If you are committed to working out again this new year get a partner.  It will be much easier to make your working out a habit and not a chore.  You will see better results through pushing each other.  A number of my family members have begun working out a bit more and their partners help them keep going.

As I head back to OKC for the final push toward the dream I will think about the people who have helped me get to this point and I'm sure it will help push me to the end.

- Jimmy

P.S.  The video is of one of Todd's junior rowers and I doing some steady state.