Monday at Pair Trials

Trying to go to bed right now after this evenings rep, but while I'm wide awake, I figured I'd write a short update on how things are going. Peter and I certainly did not plan it this way, but after hitting a buoy off the start in our heat, we found ourselves in a difficult position to qualify in the top two directly out of the heat. We were open water down after hitting the buoy, but pushed back into the Vesper crew and our teammates Parker and Andrew at the 1250. Knowing the progression and still in third place, we made the decision to conserve energy and prepare for the Rep where we knew we would need to have a great race just to progress to the Semi. My guess is that after we shut it down, both Tom/Yohann and Parker/Andrew were able to also take their foot off the gas and save their legs. Peter and I are definitely learning everytime out on the water and while steering has not been an issue for us, shit sometimes happens when you have only been in the boat for a couple weeks and have not done much work in the buoys. We were both a little discouraged after the Heat, especially when we saw that the quality of crew that we would face in the rep and the possibility that just  making the semi could be a tall order. This afternoon, we got off the line cleanly and were able to find a really nice rythm immediately which definitely allowed us to relax a bit and not think too much about the implications of the race. We were just focusing on flowing together and making it feel like the quad. I was happy with the way we held the integrity of the rythm from wire to wire. Both Ian/Ben and our pair were out in front in qualifying position but we knew the James twins and Ambrose/Dave would be really tough to hold off. Coming into the last 250 we had a solid lead and were able to protect it in some increasingly dicey water. We knew coming into the regatta that no matter what we would need to keep a level head regardless of our results because we might grow quite a bit as a crew over the course of the regatta. This piece was proof of that and we will look to keep trending positively tomorrow in the Semi. Top 2 through to the Final. Thanks to everyone who is pulling for us and have sent us messages of support, we really appreciate it. It's a lot of fun being down here mixing it up with so many talented guys all going after the same thing. We may not get the spot in Rio, but by bringing our very best I believe we are helping to create an atmosphere of high level racing that will bring out the best in everyone and hopefully produce a Pair for the Olympics that everyone can be proud of.