What Just Happened?
Well last night I thought anything could happen and I have to say it was an amazing experience today. The Kiwi's were fantastic and we felt like it was a drag race from the start. It was exilerating, intense and thoroughly enjoyable. The roller coaster of emotion in the final 24 hours was incredible and I certainly had moments were I felt like I was on a knifes edge.
The head space is so important and staying level and clear made a big difference in being able to perform under pressure. The best part is the sense of being able to plan, practice and then put into play our ideal row. We aimed to have the perfect row
and well for at least 1600m it was near spot on.
Our coach, Chris O'Brien was very happy with us and had some great feedback about how we rowed. We still have things to improve and we have no desire in back off from where we want to take our rowing. He thought I was a bit ahead of the rhythm off the back and that Duncan was sitting over the handle at the finish. They are fine adjustments but we are all to aware of not becoming complacent with today.
As for the result, before we raced we were satisfied with our preparation and all week we felt well prepared. Today was interesting because with the cooler weather it requires a slight shift in how we warm up and get ready to race. The water here was cold but today with the tail wind it was reasonably fast. Our splits were pretty quick early and although our last 500m was slower we certainly felt composed through to the end.
We intended on have a race that was about us making clear decisions and excecuting what we know is possible. What just happened? Was a question / comment that we discussed last week about taking things to a new level. It is about challenging our own expectations and blowing peoples mind about what is possible in a pair. I mention all this only because I know we don't take for granted what we have and that we are appreciative of the opportunity we have to row at this level and work with great people.
This is a list of those who have made a difference to our preparation. This is our team:
Pair + Coach
Our wonderful Families & Friends who make such a difference
Supporters of rowing in Australia
Victorian Institute of Sport & Queensland Acadamy of Sport
Rowing Australia staff, team mates, coaches and management
Our rowing clubs, Mercantile & Surfers Paradise
The amazing support groups in Geelong, Melbourne, Gold Coast & Brisbane
Duncan's work at TSS
All my colleagues through work
The inspirational team at Bluearth
And those rowers who have gone before and shown the way, this is important to us because we draw inspiration and learn from how others have competed
So that enough of the speech like stuff, but it is important to us to acknowledge everyone who helps us to get here.
That's about all for me now. I am off to have a quiet beer and to relax.
The head space is so important and staying level and clear made a big difference in being able to perform under pressure. The best part is the sense of being able to plan, practice and then put into play our ideal row. We aimed to have the perfect row
and well for at least 1600m it was near spot on.
Our coach, Chris O'Brien was very happy with us and had some great feedback about how we rowed. We still have things to improve and we have no desire in back off from where we want to take our rowing. He thought I was a bit ahead of the rhythm off the back and that Duncan was sitting over the handle at the finish. They are fine adjustments but we are all to aware of not becoming complacent with today.
As for the result, before we raced we were satisfied with our preparation and all week we felt well prepared. Today was interesting because with the cooler weather it requires a slight shift in how we warm up and get ready to race. The water here was cold but today with the tail wind it was reasonably fast. Our splits were pretty quick early and although our last 500m was slower we certainly felt composed through to the end.
We intended on have a race that was about us making clear decisions and excecuting what we know is possible. What just happened? Was a question / comment that we discussed last week about taking things to a new level. It is about challenging our own expectations and blowing peoples mind about what is possible in a pair. I mention all this only because I know we don't take for granted what we have and that we are appreciative of the opportunity we have to row at this level and work with great people.
This is a list of those who have made a difference to our preparation. This is our team:
Pair + Coach
Our wonderful Families & Friends who make such a difference
Supporters of rowing in Australia
Victorian Institute of Sport & Queensland Acadamy of Sport
Rowing Australia staff, team mates, coaches and management
Our rowing clubs, Mercantile & Surfers Paradise
The amazing support groups in Geelong, Melbourne, Gold Coast & Brisbane
Duncan's work at TSS
All my colleagues through work
The inspirational team at Bluearth
And those rowers who have gone before and shown the way, this is important to us because we draw inspiration and learn from how others have competed
So that enough of the speech like stuff, but it is important to us to acknowledge everyone who helps us to get here.
That's about all for me now. I am off to have a quiet beer and to relax.
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