The Torch

Well. Can't say I expected to qualify for the A final in the group of doubles. That doesn't mean we didn't kill ourselves to try and get there. It also doesn't mean that we are not a little bummed right now that we will be fighting for places 7-12 on Sunday in the B final. Bottom line is that the standard in this event is extremely high. The Norwegians are maybe the most impressive boat in the regatta regardless of class. They are making medalist crews look lousy. We put down a very aggressive first thousand today to try and stay with the leaders and it was demoralizing when those guys were just sitting a couple lengths up on everyone. Into a pretty stiff headwind, we put ourselves in jeopardy really early and ended up positive splitting the rest of the race. Who knows maybe if we had laid back we may have been able to shave a few seconds off, but whatever, hindsight is for idiots. We launched off the line and did what we could to stick with the field. I'm proud of the way we raced and have no regrets. Getting beat up by these doubles makes me more hungry to go back and train to beat them. It's like, "Yeah, I get it, you're faster than us right now. Perfect. Take your medal. You earned it. I want to go home now and earn mine." Mostly kidding, but not completely. Definitely excited for one last trip down the course and eager to lay down a good final 2k of the World Rowing season. It's been a fun one. I left Lucerne with a clear idea of what I needed to do to get faster and just how much faster I needed to be. I will leave here with the same ideas about the 2x. It's no fun getting beat. Its no fun hitting the wall. But they say those walls are there for a reason. To paraphrase Randy Pausch, they are there to give us a chance to show how badly we really want something. Only time will tell how I approach this particular Brick wall. More immediately, rest day tomorrow then B final on Sunday.