Observing and Absorbing

So on Tuesday I will be racing the single at Canadian Henley. Yes, I realize that spending 10 days overseas in the lead up to a race is probably not the smartest idea. When it comes down to it, I just want to race. When I left Craftsbury for England, I was feeling pretty good about my boat speed and boat feel. I knew when I left that my training would be a secondary priority to experiencing London 2012 and supporting Peter through his racing. I couldn't be happier to take a step back from training and absorb the Olympic spirit around here. What an experience. One of the slogans for the Olympics is "Inspire a Generation". There are signs everywhere with those words. That is the overwhelming feeling for me watching racing and being a part of the Olympic regatta as a fan. Watching heroes of the sport warm-up, train, race, win, or die trying has been unbelievable. I have been at the races each day observing the what it takes to succeed at this level and I am hooked. I leave the course every day wanting to get on the water anyway possible and imitate Drew Ginn, Nathan Cohen, and others. So while I have not been doing a whole lot of rowing since I have been here, I feel very switched on technically and am giddy to get back into a boat. Having watched a few finals so far, it seems to me that rowing is 1500 meters of physiological and technical preparation. The other 500 meters is heart, spirit, balls, x factor, whatever you want to call it. Sure you can win a national championship, a world cup race, and maybe even a world championship with just pure physiology or technique. But the Olympics are different. People come out of the woodwork to win the Olympics. People who can push their bodies past what they should be able to do to what they believe they can do. Examples: South African LM4-, NZL M2x. NZL is the most impressive because they do it time after time. They are a head shorter and 20 kg lighter than every other double and they are always down open water. Time after time they stay in their boat and wind it to the line. Anyways, its been very fun to watch and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to witness these races.

I leave Sunday morning for Boston where I will connect to Buffalo en route to St. Catherines. My first race is 11:24 Tuesday in the Men's senior 1x.