Yawning & Fatigue

Question
Hi Al.

I row in HS (summer/southern hemisphere) and i find that during a day with multiple sessions on the water, after the first session I feel sleepy and not as strong as I could be. This also happens during regattas as when we line up for the second or third race of the day, I'm yawning during the warm-up and at the start line. This happens regardless of the intensity of the race warm-up.

What am I doing wrong?

Answer
Hi Dan: You have to understand that rowing workouts are very grueling and take a physical and mental toll on my body.  I remember in college, that after a 6:00 AM workout, I had a hard time staying awake in class throughout the day.

The whole point of all the running and weight lifting and rowing is to get the body to physically recover as soon as possible so that you can row multiple races at maximum level in a single day.  The untrained person might able to tough out one race in a day, but no way can he do a second.  But you can.  Everyone, even Olympic athletes are tired when they line up for the championship race after a grueling session of heats just to get there.  But the champion has the physical and mental toughness to row their best race yet.

Now I never recall yawning during a pre-race warm up.  Before a race I was so filled up with anxiety that yawning was the last thing I did.  Don't confuse yawning with a significantly bad performance due to fatigue.  Yawning is no big deal as long as you are rowing well.  

If it really concerns you, drink a can of Red Bull or a 5-hour energy an hour before the race.

Good Luck/AP