I imagine many of you are sorely disappointed not to have a fall racing season. While I am too, I have to sheepishly admit that I also feel liberated.

Every year, after the season is over, I tell myself I won't get so consumed by training next year. I'll find time to visit friends, go hike in the mountains, take a trip to the beach; but every year, it doesn't happen. I train. This year, while I continue to work out, it's not with the laser focus of preparing to race at the Charles. So my advice is to accept and appreciate this aberration from a normal fall, and take advantage of the break to do the things you say you want to do but can't find a way to fit it in.

I expect many of you are being forced, finally, into single sculling. I promise, it will make you a better sweep rower - if that's what you want to go back to. Now you have the time to learn to row the single well, to focus on the technique without worrying so much about being in peak racing condition. Go slow, row well, ingrain good habits, watch videos of Olympians to see what they're doing, and work on becoming more efficient with every stroke.

Without the pressure of training and racing, it might also be the perfect time to get proficient in another sport, allowing you to cross train in the future. You may have felt you couldn't do x well enough to get a workout, and you didn't have the time to learn so you just didn't follow through. Now you can learn to swim, play basketball or soccer (maybe more ball skills than team play), run, bike, lift weights, etc. If you don't get a great workout in every day, that's okay, and next year, if you get injured or you can't row every day, you'll have something to fall back on.

If you're like me, you have a hard time getting away from the concept that more is better. My logical side knows that isn't true, but it's oh so hard for my competitive side to believe that more miles, more workouts, more strokes, isn't always better. This fall, I can allow myself to relax.

If you feel this way too, slow down, find time for something less physical, like Pilates or yoga or meditation. Any one of these might end up being a key to future success - a way to gain more flexibility, heal a nagging injury or develop a stronger racing mentality. You won't know until you try.