"Be Prepared"
Its the Boy Scout Motto, and its a good one. Read this article about this guy who wasn't prepared for his triathlon in Cleveland last weekend:
"Everyone who reads this column knows I'm a fitness fanatic, that I like to push myself to set and reach new goals. Last weekend, though, one of those goals got the best of me, nearly causing me to drown, and the experience prompts me to offer a few genuine words of caution to my friends on the fitness ladder.
On Sunday, I took part in the Cleveland Triathlon, an annual race downtown consisting of swimming, biking and running components, starting in the North Coast Harbor, spreading out to portions of the East and West Shoreway, and concluding behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Last summer, I had a positive, tantalizing experience in the race's Sprint Division, so this year I upped the ante and undertook the longer Olympic distance, which entails 1,500 meters (nearly a mile, almost double the Sprint category) of swimming, 24 miles of cycling and 6.2 miles of running.
Once again, readers of this column probably know the swimming leg is what intimidates me most. I can bike and run for hours on end, but in the water, I'm liable to tire out in a few minutes. Even kayaking makes my heart race.
A reasonable person in this scenario would either abandon his triathlon ambitions or work hard to correct the weakness. But I did neither. Instead, I kept honing my cycling and running skills, figuring a few last-minute swim lessons would suffice to bridge the gap.
I may be slow, I thought, but I'll get through it. Then I'll just make up whatever time I lose in the water on the bike and run.
Silly me. Not once did I consider that I might not get through it. Not until I was flailing around in the water did I imagine how low on my list of priorities the clock could fall if I myself started to sink.
Yet that's exactly what happened. A few hundred meters into the swim, beyond the turn past the Goodtime III and into Lake Erie, a dreadful cycle kicked in: I got discouraged by my slowness, which triggered panic, which caused my fledgling swim form to break down. That, in turn, led to severe cramping and, eventually, exhaustion.
Before long, it was all I could do to stay afloat and wave my arms. While I'm certain I could have tread water much longer had my life truly depended on it, let's just say I was extremely glad to see the kayakers and boater who came to my rescue.
For a moment, before climbing into the boat and out of competition, I foolishly considered trying to continue. But then I thought not only of my family but also of all the people this year who've lost their lives in triathlons. All of them died in the water, and all of them were fit, competitive people, just like me.
And just like that, I let go of my goal and grabbed the boater's arm, opting to forgo the swim and finish the race unofficially. I decided then and there I'm not going to leave this Earth on behalf of a race.
My error, I think, was not in taking on a longer triathlon, but in not taking that event seriously enough. Instead, what I took seriously was myself, and that blinded me to the reality of competing in a lake famous for swallowing entire ships."
As can be seen, his error was not preparing himself for 1/3 of his entire race. If he was a good swimmer, he may have gotten away with it (because of the high technical difficulty of the swim leg which is more about an efficient stroke than anything).
This can easily be applied to tryouts. Don't short change yourself on preparation for any aspect of those few days. Music, marching, fitness, nutrition. Failure to prepare yourself for any one of these could mean your tryout. So when you are preparing yourself for tryouts don't push something aside thinking that its not important or that you can make up for it somewhere else...you may not get that chance.
p.s. I've swam twice that distance in Lake Erie many times and jumped off of the jet express in the dark, with a good 3-4 foot chop, a mile from shore.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Murphy's Law
For everything that you prepare and work for, and want so bad it hurts, something will go wrong.
This is true. I've experienced it often. In every triathlon I've ever done, something has gone awry. I'd run out of water, my water bottle falls off my bike (most common), I fall while dismounting, overheating in my wetsuit during the swim, knocking over the bike rack with my bike, locking my keys in my car right before the race starts (while 3 hours from home with the rest of my family 1000 miles away), making a wrong turn on the bike course, not being able to see because its too dark out for my sunglasses or mirrored goggles, bike chain slip of the cassette, swimming between the wrong islands and ending up 100 yards away from the transition at the end of the swim, swallowing a lot of water on the swim (there was a lot of chop), etc, etc.
So bad things happen. Does that mean that my race is over? Not hardly, (these races are at least an hour so a lot of the little things don't matter so much) I usually place in my age group (20-24). Does it mean that I could have done a little bit better if these things didn't happen? Probably, but then something else probably would have gone wrong.
So what does this mean to the candidates and vats who are about to tryout for the band in just a few weeks? It means that things will not go as you expect. You will turn the wrong way during facings, you will get caught going to at ease with your instruments up, your drums will fall off during a hats off, and you will likely screw up the tryout drill or an easy box drill while on the line, you will miss the line, rush the slow step, etc.
So, what do you do about it? Just accept that the fact that your going to make all of these mistakes and stop caring, NO! You just have to acknowledge that everyone will mess up one or two things here and there and no matter what, DRIVE THROUGH IT! So strive for perfection, but don't beat yourself up over it, remember to relax a little bit and enjoy the competition.
If I was making a sports team, no matter what sport, the first people I would pick are the vets. Why? Because I know they have determination to win. I can see it in their eyes. Think Rocky (not Rocky V, that was just bad) they have the "eye of the tiger". I see it in some of the candidates eyes too. Some people look scared, others are concentrating about what they are doing, and others look like they are about to kill everyone around them. That last ones what we are going for.
In conclusion, mistakes will happen, drive through it, and want this from the depths of your soul.
This is true. I've experienced it often. In every triathlon I've ever done, something has gone awry. I'd run out of water, my water bottle falls off my bike (most common), I fall while dismounting, overheating in my wetsuit during the swim, knocking over the bike rack with my bike, locking my keys in my car right before the race starts (while 3 hours from home with the rest of my family 1000 miles away), making a wrong turn on the bike course, not being able to see because its too dark out for my sunglasses or mirrored goggles, bike chain slip of the cassette, swimming between the wrong islands and ending up 100 yards away from the transition at the end of the swim, swallowing a lot of water on the swim (there was a lot of chop), etc, etc.
So bad things happen. Does that mean that my race is over? Not hardly, (these races are at least an hour so a lot of the little things don't matter so much) I usually place in my age group (20-24). Does it mean that I could have done a little bit better if these things didn't happen? Probably, but then something else probably would have gone wrong.
So what does this mean to the candidates and vats who are about to tryout for the band in just a few weeks? It means that things will not go as you expect. You will turn the wrong way during facings, you will get caught going to at ease with your instruments up, your drums will fall off during a hats off, and you will likely screw up the tryout drill or an easy box drill while on the line, you will miss the line, rush the slow step, etc.
So, what do you do about it? Just accept that the fact that your going to make all of these mistakes and stop caring, NO! You just have to acknowledge that everyone will mess up one or two things here and there and no matter what, DRIVE THROUGH IT! So strive for perfection, but don't beat yourself up over it, remember to relax a little bit and enjoy the competition.
If I was making a sports team, no matter what sport, the first people I would pick are the vets. Why? Because I know they have determination to win. I can see it in their eyes. Think Rocky (not Rocky V, that was just bad) they have the "eye of the tiger". I see it in some of the candidates eyes too. Some people look scared, others are concentrating about what they are doing, and others look like they are about to kill everyone around them. That last ones what we are going for.
In conclusion, mistakes will happen, drive through it, and want this from the depths of your soul.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Drive
Honestly, the chances of beating a vet are slim, but still not impossible. I can rattle off about four or five people who have done it right now. That being said, if you can't march better, then at least try to drive harder. Don't let the vets out drive you. I remember one of my first on the lines, Colin was with me and he was literally roaring down the field (the man is seriously a beast). I almost fell over. I almost fell over the first time I heard someone screaming at tryouts. Try not to scream, just yell. its usually easier to have better drum control if you yell through a breath, otherwise your diaphragm is moving a lot which moves your chest which moves your drum.
Some of the best advice I ever got was to make the squad leaders and staff, when they walk into that room to select the band, believe that not having you will hurt the band. Remember, this is a band. We play TOGETHER. We also march while we play. We are not a park and play line. I promise you will have almost just as much drill as the rest of the band and twice as much black stuff on your music.
Train harder! Go out there everyday as if it were tryouts. We expect no less from any of you. Don't let other people beat you back from water breaks/ to block / whenever. Show us that you don't only just want to be here but you BELONG here.
Some of the best advice I ever got was to make the squad leaders and staff, when they walk into that room to select the band, believe that not having you will hurt the band. Remember, this is a band. We play TOGETHER. We also march while we play. We are not a park and play line. I promise you will have almost just as much drill as the rest of the band and twice as much black stuff on your music.
Train harder! Go out there everyday as if it were tryouts. We expect no less from any of you. Don't let other people beat you back from water breaks/ to block / whenever. Show us that you don't only just want to be here but you BELONG here.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Learn your music
Summer sessions are there to getyou ready for tryouts.
Why would people not learn the music as soon as possible. If you try that during the season, I promise you will fail music checks and then you won't be in the band. School songs are easy so learn the music, you don't want to have to think about it right before tryouts. Down by the Ohio is probably the most difficult tryout song so don't think you can wait until the last minute. Throughout the summer you are showing us how much you are willing to work and how much you want to be here and if you aren't learning your music that really shows a lot about you.
Be smart. Train hard. Drive through it.
Why would people not learn the music as soon as possible. If you try that during the season, I promise you will fail music checks and then you won't be in the band. School songs are easy so learn the music, you don't want to have to think about it right before tryouts. Down by the Ohio is probably the most difficult tryout song so don't think you can wait until the last minute. Throughout the summer you are showing us how much you are willing to work and how much you want to be here and if you aren't learning your music that really shows a lot about you.
Be smart. Train hard. Drive through it.
I keep telling you, treat it like sports
Check out this video where some excercise scientists hooked a DCI tenor player to some monitoring equiptment during a practice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cdc-Ga_K00
Watch it, learn from it.
Learn your music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cdc-Ga_K00
Watch it, learn from it.
Learn your music.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Ready...Fight!
Do you understand how tryouts work?
Basically you work your butt off all summer getting ready for tryouts. You sweat, hurt, bleed and cry because you are pushing yourself so hard. You are driving so hard that you can't really talk normally until the next morning and you want to lay in bed all day because your legs and feet hurt so bad. Then tryouts come and you sweat it out and kill yourself for two more days, but then you get cut because some one else out played you, out marched you, or out drove you.
Are you going to let them do that? Are you going to let them take it from you? Are you going to be going down the ramp come September or are you going to be watching in the stands? Everyone around you is trying to beat you, trying to take YOUR spot.
FIGHT for it!
Drive harder than anyone else, longer than anyone else. The vets will likely be better marchers than you, but you can try to out drive them. Show us that you can march with the best of us.
Do NOT listen or do things that other candidates are doing to fit in. If you are there early, then practice marching, DO NOT SOCIALIZE, DO NOT PRACTICE MUSIC (you can practice music at home and chances are you don't have a turf field in your backyard). They are candidates, which means a) that they haven't made the band either, b) are trying to take your spot, c) are probably not good examples to follow. FOLLOW the VETS and SQUAD LEADERS! Especially the ones who have been around for a long time. DRIVE THROUGH IT. Get mad, be fierce, get that fire in your eyes, show us you want to be here! If others aren't yelling very loud, then good, blow them away and yell until you can't. Yell through stretches, through the blocks, sloopy, through the final ramp and the last OH.
Basically you work your butt off all summer getting ready for tryouts. You sweat, hurt, bleed and cry because you are pushing yourself so hard. You are driving so hard that you can't really talk normally until the next morning and you want to lay in bed all day because your legs and feet hurt so bad. Then tryouts come and you sweat it out and kill yourself for two more days, but then you get cut because some one else out played you, out marched you, or out drove you.
Are you going to let them do that? Are you going to let them take it from you? Are you going to be going down the ramp come September or are you going to be watching in the stands? Everyone around you is trying to beat you, trying to take YOUR spot.
FIGHT for it!
Drive harder than anyone else, longer than anyone else. The vets will likely be better marchers than you, but you can try to out drive them. Show us that you can march with the best of us.
Do NOT listen or do things that other candidates are doing to fit in. If you are there early, then practice marching, DO NOT SOCIALIZE, DO NOT PRACTICE MUSIC (you can practice music at home and chances are you don't have a turf field in your backyard). They are candidates, which means a) that they haven't made the band either, b) are trying to take your spot, c) are probably not good examples to follow. FOLLOW the VETS and SQUAD LEADERS! Especially the ones who have been around for a long time. DRIVE THROUGH IT. Get mad, be fierce, get that fire in your eyes, show us you want to be here! If others aren't yelling very loud, then good, blow them away and yell until you can't. Yell through stretches, through the blocks, sloopy, through the final ramp and the last OH.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
High Performance Athletes
JI Row,
Here we are, dead middle of the summer, and the heat is on! Last Thursday you got a small taste of what the summer heat will be like, so stay hydrated! Drink water all the time. If you just drink water at summer sessions, then you are already dehydrated when you get there and this will severely hinder your performance and its dangerous. Bring a water bottle! You can even just take a cheap bottle and refill it.
TREAT TRYOUTS AS IF IT IS AN ATHLETIC COMPETITION!
Seriously, the BEST advice I can give anyone is to treat this like a sport. This summer you have great examples of high level sporting competitions on TV all of the time. Watch the Olympic Trials, Olympics, Tour De France, etc. (baseball not so much for the direction I'm going with this). These athletes spend countless hours working on being able to execute the perfect form every time the step up to the block. They perform countless drills to reinforce the MUSCLE MEMORY of every movement so that no energy is wasted. They spend all of the time they are not practicing thinking about their performance and how to improve. They have a sense of bodily acuity, where they know exactly what every part of their body is doing at any time. They also have proper nutrition. Stay away from foods with bar codes (think Twinkies vs. Banana - go for the banana). Do NOT drink Gatorade because it tastes good, it is a training/ competition TOOL. Gatorade AM is a bad concept unless your a D I swimmer getting up and swimming hard for 2 hours at 5 am. Do NOT work out for an hour and think you need a powerbar. Those are good if you're on a 2+ hour tempo (medium to hard effort) bike ride.
These high level athletes also recover properly. If you work out nonstop and don't get the nutrition you need, then your body can't heal itself properly and be stronger for the next workout. Note: it is unlikely any of you are close to this point of overtraining.
Most importantly though, they practice EVERY DAY. Because they know that if they aren't practicing, then someone else is and becoming stronger/ faster/ better.
So be smart, if you have questions then ask. Katie is a massage expert, I'm well versed with training and nutrition and Jordan is a jock too. So we know what we're doing.
OSU Football is a top athletic organizations, they deserve the band that works just as hard. Do not insult this band, the row, alumni, fans, football team, past and present coaches, people of Ohio by being out of shape or not giving your full effort all the time. They call us the best because that is the respect that this band has earned. But simply to earn it once is not enough, we must work tirelessly and strive to be the best. Records were made to be broken, reputations fade, but legends live on. You may make mistakes, but Drive Through It!
Be Safe. Train Hard. Train Smart.
Here we are, dead middle of the summer, and the heat is on! Last Thursday you got a small taste of what the summer heat will be like, so stay hydrated! Drink water all the time. If you just drink water at summer sessions, then you are already dehydrated when you get there and this will severely hinder your performance and its dangerous. Bring a water bottle! You can even just take a cheap bottle and refill it.
TREAT TRYOUTS AS IF IT IS AN ATHLETIC COMPETITION!
Seriously, the BEST advice I can give anyone is to treat this like a sport. This summer you have great examples of high level sporting competitions on TV all of the time. Watch the Olympic Trials, Olympics, Tour De France, etc. (baseball not so much for the direction I'm going with this). These athletes spend countless hours working on being able to execute the perfect form every time the step up to the block. They perform countless drills to reinforce the MUSCLE MEMORY of every movement so that no energy is wasted. They spend all of the time they are not practicing thinking about their performance and how to improve. They have a sense of bodily acuity, where they know exactly what every part of their body is doing at any time. They also have proper nutrition. Stay away from foods with bar codes (think Twinkies vs. Banana - go for the banana). Do NOT drink Gatorade because it tastes good, it is a training/ competition TOOL. Gatorade AM is a bad concept unless your a D I swimmer getting up and swimming hard for 2 hours at 5 am. Do NOT work out for an hour and think you need a powerbar. Those are good if you're on a 2+ hour tempo (medium to hard effort) bike ride.
These high level athletes also recover properly. If you work out nonstop and don't get the nutrition you need, then your body can't heal itself properly and be stronger for the next workout. Note: it is unlikely any of you are close to this point of overtraining.
Most importantly though, they practice EVERY DAY. Because they know that if they aren't practicing, then someone else is and becoming stronger/ faster/ better.
So be smart, if you have questions then ask. Katie is a massage expert, I'm well versed with training and nutrition and Jordan is a jock too. So we know what we're doing.
OSU Football is a top athletic organizations, they deserve the band that works just as hard. Do not insult this band, the row, alumni, fans, football team, past and present coaches, people of Ohio by being out of shape or not giving your full effort all the time. They call us the best because that is the respect that this band has earned. But simply to earn it once is not enough, we must work tirelessly and strive to be the best. Records were made to be broken, reputations fade, but legends live on. You may make mistakes, but Drive Through It!
Be Safe. Train Hard. Train Smart.
Monday, June 2, 2008
My Verb - Band
Summer Sessions are just around the corner. Are you ready? Its already pretty hot out, and it will only get worse. Honestly though, be in shape, it will help so much when you can focus on marching and playing and not how much your legs hurt. So, start running, biking, swimming, whatever you do to get yourself ready. Some things I personally would advise...
- Be conscious of breathing. You should breathe out from the sides of your chest, not your stomach, which will help with drum control. When you are working out, focus on breathing out, this will help you not lose your breathe and is also very meditative which will help you on those long runs. Think about swimming, you spent 99% of the time breathing out (if you can't swim try watching someone who can - don't drown). If your stomach is moving you're pushing out your abs which is trying to hold you up and your insides in.
- Pushups - helps fill out your harness/ strap and helps show that drum who's boss, and is good for basic fitness anyway. No girl pushups. The JI Ladies do better pushups than the men anyway.
- Core Work - situps, planks, 100's, obliques, just be sure to work all around your abs. This means work your upper abs, obliques, and lower abs. A strong core will translate directly to better drum control and less back problems.
- Aerobic fitness - try to get out an at least run a few days a week. I recommend swimming becuase it works more muscles, forces breathing habits and is low impact. If you run, please do so with proper form and technique. I also suggest running stairs at a nearby stadium of some sort. This will sort of simulate marching, especially if you stay on your toes.
- Hydration - Drink WATER! Gatorade is good, but you have to be working out for more than at least around two hours and are working very hard in the heat. So, if you're running an hour, skip it. If you come to summer sessions at noon and are in the sun all day working out, have it. It actually works better if you dilute it a bit (and its easier for your body to handle when its not so concentrated). Do not drink large amounts of water every time you stop, please sip. The point is for your body to try not to lose the water and electrolytes throughout a workout, but you wouldn't fill a cup with a fire hose.
Those are the key points to remember for now. This is just advise to consider, please don't hurt yourself.
- Be conscious of breathing. You should breathe out from the sides of your chest, not your stomach, which will help with drum control. When you are working out, focus on breathing out, this will help you not lose your breathe and is also very meditative which will help you on those long runs. Think about swimming, you spent 99% of the time breathing out (if you can't swim try watching someone who can - don't drown). If your stomach is moving you're pushing out your abs which is trying to hold you up and your insides in.
- Pushups - helps fill out your harness/ strap and helps show that drum who's boss, and is good for basic fitness anyway. No girl pushups. The JI Ladies do better pushups than the men anyway.
- Core Work - situps, planks, 100's, obliques, just be sure to work all around your abs. This means work your upper abs, obliques, and lower abs. A strong core will translate directly to better drum control and less back problems.
- Aerobic fitness - try to get out an at least run a few days a week. I recommend swimming becuase it works more muscles, forces breathing habits and is low impact. If you run, please do so with proper form and technique. I also suggest running stairs at a nearby stadium of some sort. This will sort of simulate marching, especially if you stay on your toes.
- Hydration - Drink WATER! Gatorade is good, but you have to be working out for more than at least around two hours and are working very hard in the heat. So, if you're running an hour, skip it. If you come to summer sessions at noon and are in the sun all day working out, have it. It actually works better if you dilute it a bit (and its easier for your body to handle when its not so concentrated). Do not drink large amounts of water every time you stop, please sip. The point is for your body to try not to lose the water and electrolytes throughout a workout, but you wouldn't fill a cup with a fire hose.
Those are the key points to remember for now. This is just advise to consider, please don't hurt yourself.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Let's get this party started!
We going to party like its 1999!
This is the JI Row blog page. This is were your great leaders, along the lines of George Washington, John Paul Jones and Stephen Decatur, will post information about JI Row. In order for this blog to be affiliated with the band, questionable material cannot be posted hence the reason that the squad leaders are the only ones allowed to post. However, if you wish to share your wisdom you can email it to one of your squad leaders who will then post it. I know it sounds darn communist (the root of all evil) but that's how its going to work.
This is the JI Row blog page. This is were your great leaders, along the lines of George Washington, John Paul Jones and Stephen Decatur, will post information about JI Row. In order for this blog to be affiliated with the band, questionable material cannot be posted hence the reason that the squad leaders are the only ones allowed to post. However, if you wish to share your wisdom you can email it to one of your squad leaders who will then post it. I know it sounds darn communist (the root of all evil) but that's how its going to work.
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