Race Day - Heat for Lanes

Well Race Day! We headed to the course at just before 8 a.m. Our heat was to be at 10:10 a.m., so we wanted to be there early to check the boat and make sure everything was screwed down and placed in the right area. Everyone was pretty good, didn't seem too nervous and was ready to get the job done.

We did a warm up on the erg's, had a picture taken we all of us at the boat and at 9:30 a.m. made our way over to the dock with the boat. The FISA officials were at the dock with the bow number which had a GPS on it and they had to check out Brandie's blacked out goggles to make sure that there was no light getting in to them. Once we were all in the boat and settled we headed out to do a light warm up. The Arms only females were racing so we had to stop so that there was no wake for the rowers who were racing. The men's Arms only then came down, two heats and we were able to finish our warm up. Next off the block was the Trunk and Arms and then it was us the LTA 4+.

The start was extremely fast, the referree did not hold us long at all. Unfortunately our start was terrible, in fact it was crap! But we were able to pull it together over the first 250m and were closing in on the Chinese who had a great start and we were ahead of every other boat. Then we basically lost the plot. The last 750m of our race was the worst we have ever rowed!

We shortened up, were rushing the slide and just not getting any drive in the boat. It was a hard slog and the boat was not running at all. In the end we ended up 4th behind China in 1st, South Africa and Denmark. All I can say is thank God this was only a race for lanes. We have never rowed so slow! I don't know if we were nervous in the end but we certainly didn't row like we did yesterday. If we had we would have been miles ahead as the Chinese time wasn't that great.

At 1 p.m. we went out for a training session and it still didn't feel great, however it was a bit better than the race. We have to slow ourselves down and really start to drive the legs back and right now it seems like we are doing the opposite.

I am usually a very positive person and can take something positive from a race or training session. But to be honest I had a hard time taking anything positive from this race. I guess the only positive thing is that we have another chance to do what we know we can do on Saturday.

Last Training Day

Well I have to admit, I thought we had the best row ever yesterday but we surpassed that today! During this mornings session we had to do a start and full out race piece for 250m. We had a fantastic start and were holding a stroke rate of 36 within the first two strokes. Wow...I have never felt a boat run the way this one did. It was one of those rows that you didn’t want to end. If we can do that tomorrow we will be all very happy!

Adam had been standing watching us and the coach of the Japanese team came over to talk to him. When Adam asked him how things were going for his team he stated that he thought they were going really well...until he saw us! That made me feel good.

Tomorrow is just the heats and we are racing for lanes. I have been advised though that this course is pretty fair and no matter what lane you get you will have pretty good water. I always think of Kieran Perkins at the Olympics swimming in the 1500 he just got into lane 8 but took everyone by surprise to win the event. So no matter what lane we get we can do it.

Lunch today was at the course and it was fantastic to see the other countries that are taking part in the World Cup. There were a huge number of wheelchair athletes and it is really good to see that athletes with a disability are included in events like this with able bodied athletes.

This afternoon our session was comprised of a warm up and then we worked on starts. Some of them weren’t great, but others were pretty good. Then we were off the water. We were training during a time when only the Adaptive boats were allowed on the water. So we got to see some of our competition. We have watched the Chinese, Japanese, South Africans and Danes. No one looks to bad but it is hard to tell not being under race pressure. The only team we haven’t seen so far is the Ukrainian one.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, the nerves are starting to build but we just have to remember to hold it together and not rush the stroke. As long as we all stay relaxed and focused we should sail through it with no problem at all.

Day Two - Munich

Well we had the best row that we have ever had today! It was during this mornings session, which was held very early. We were on the water by 6:30 a.m. and we couldn't have asked for better water. After a warm up we did a 1000m piece but only holding a 28 stroke rate at 85 - 90% leg drive. The boat was sitting up brilliantly and it really did feel effortless. You could just feel the boat running well. It certainly didn’t feel as if we were working too hard and if we can have the same feeling with a stroke rate of 34-36 and 100% we will be flying!

This afternoon’s row wasn’t as good but it was much windier, but as David said there was no “punch” in the leg drive. I know that I personally row or do any exercise much better in the morning. So hopefully this was just because we are all a little bit tired.

It was certainly interesting on the water as more countries have now arrived. There are quite a few Adaptive rowers and while Lisa was at the course during the day she had a look at some of our competition in the Chinese and Japanese crews. She said that the Chinese look very strong but don’t row with much finesse and she only saw the Japanese come in to the landing. There are quite a few Arms Only rowers and boy do they look fit. We found out after our row that there are 6 countries in our category, so we are thinking that our heat on Thursday is for lanes and then Saturday is the do or die day.

We had a chat from Noel Donaldson, the High Performance Coach, and he has been observing us over the last couple of days. He advised us not to put any hurdles in our way as we have a job to do and don’t have much time to pull it together. I think we have all become a bit nervous and this has caused a bit of tension in the boat. We have to just worry about what each one of us can bring to the boat and give it our own 100% which will be different to everyone else. If we do that we can finish our race on Saturday knowing that we have done all we could do.

Between our rows today, Gene, Pete and I decided to take the train into Munich. Brandie had to see the physio and Lisa was meeting with the Cox of the Australian men’s eight to talk about the course.

It was a 15 minute train ride into Central Station and Gene had his trusty map from the reception at our hotel. I don’t know what it is about men but they don’t like asking for directions! Once out of the train station we had no idea where we were on the map and they didn’t want to ask anyone, so I took hold of the map, walked into a shop and the lady pointed to the spot. With this information we headed towards the Town Hall area.

We walked through the Old Botanical Gardens and came upon the Fountain of Neptune which was right across the road from the Justizpalast or in english Palace of Justice. What an absolutely beautiful building. The Germans must have spent an enormous amount of time rebuilding some of these buildings after the war. It is nice to see that they didn’t just tear them down and rebuild.

Fountain of Neptune

Palace of Justice

Palace of Justice side on

We walked further through the Karlsplatz and through an arch known at The Karlstorand this area was what I expected Germany to be like. There were open space areas where people were sitting around with friends, eating lunch or just enjoying the sunshine. There were food stalls everywhere you turned that sold beautiful looking fruit. Having come from Australia where we are just going into winter, it was wonderful to see cherries and strawberries. The cherries were so cheap that Pete bought a 1/2 kilo and Gene bought the same amount of strawberries. Talk about a treat!

Karlsplatz

The Karlstorand

We then went into St. Michael's Cathedral, which had been devastated during World War 2. It was rebuilt to its original state, talk about absolutely beautiful. We were told that we had to see the Town Hall clock at 12 noon, so we slowly made our way past another church called Frauenkirche or Church of Our Lady. It had two massive towers both with clocks, these towers are visible from practically any spot in Munich. It is known as one of the finest Gothic constructions in the entire country.

St. Michael's Cathedral

Church of Our Lady Towers

We then ended up in Marienplatz which has in the centre a pillar called Mary's Column. This pillar was erected at the order of Maximilian 1 in 1638 in homage to the Patron Saint of Bavaria. Talk about history! But the most amazing building in Marienplatz is the Gothic Revival "Neues Rathaus" or New Town Hall. It took 42 years to complete this building and the tower house one of the greatest attrations of Munich. It is the famous "carillon". It houses 43 bells and 32 copper figures and from May to October at noon a mechanism is started up which allows you to enjoy the sight of two dances at once. We sat and had lunch while watching this and it was amazing to see how many people stopped to watch. After lunch we were able to actually go up the tower of the New Town hall and the views were spectacular.

Inside New Town Hall

New Town Hall

View from the top of the Tower

We then just walked through the small streets in the area taking in the atmosphere and came upon the Viktualienmarkt or Food Market. One of the numerous shops was a deli and the guys just stood in the shop revelling in the smells. They would have loved to have any number of delicacies and wash it down with a beer from one of the many beer gardens around. Alas this won't happen until after our final! We even came across a May Pole in this area.
Food Market Deli

Gene trying some raw veal

May Pole

Pete enjoying the sunshine

By this time I had been on my feet enough so we headed back to the train station and made our way back to Dachau where we were picked up by Adam and the crew. We had about an hour and a half before our afternoon session.

What an absolutely beautiful city Munich is and obviously there is a lot more to see which unfortunatley most likely won't happen this trip.

Day one in Munich

This morning we headed to the Regatta Centre to go for our first row in the boat we leased from the Italian Adaptive program. It was a beautiful morning, not too cool and very sunny. When we arrived at the centre there were a number of people there, some with boats on the water and a lot of people putting boats together and setting them up. Both the 8 boats from Australia, men and women were there as well.


In no time at all we out on the water. It was a bit messy for about the first 500m as it was the first time we had all been in this particular boat and it took a short while to get used to it. There were a few problems as well that we would have to fix before the next row. This row was certainly needed to see if the boat was set up the right way. Unfortunately the rigging was quite high for all of us and we were missing a lot of water. I also had to move my foot plate angle because I wasn't able to get a really good push as my feet were too flat. But it was good to get out on the water.

Speaking of the water, what amazing water they have here. It is so clear it is unbelievable. We were told that the water is treated and this is obviously why it is so clear. I even saw a fish that was about 1/2 a metre in length!

On our way back down the course we did a few drills to assist with the balance of the boat and then did a couple of pushes for 20 strokes, picking up the pressure but not the stroke rate. The second piece we did felt absolutely fantastic. After getting the boat back to the landing we started lowering the rigging and moving not only my foot plate but also Brandie's and Pete's. We were also fortunate enough to be able to put some speakers in the boat and Marty the cox of the Australian men's 8 gave us some cabling to hook the speakers up, so that we would have a coxbox in the afternoon.

We had a session in the afternoon and after making the adjustments in the morning, the boat felt much better. The second half of the session we worked on picking up the stroke rate to 36 within a piece. That went so well, the boat felt like it was running really well. Towards the end of the session we did two 20 stroke racing starts. The second one was much better than the first. Once done we changed a few more things on the boat and that was it for the day.

I was able to get in for a massage with the team massage therapist and was lucky enough to have one of the team physio's work on me as well. It certainly does make a difference when you have the staff to assist your recovery.

I think with a couple more days in this boat we will be flying! I am looking forward to seeing what we can do over a few longer pieces.





Australian Boat Shed











Preparing our boat










In the boat



Out for a row

On Our Way

We headed to Sydney airport at about 10am and it is a good thing we did, as there were two major accidents along two of the highways we had to take from Penrith to get to the airport. So needless to say it took a bit longer than anticipated. The electricity in the car on the way was evident; we were all so excited to be finally going.

At the airport we took all our bags inside and then assisted with some of the gear that had been driven up from Canberra such as oars, medical equipment, food and tools. Heaps of boxes had to be taken to the Malaysian airlines counter to be checked in. No waiting in line for all of us as there are about 40 of us travelling together. Once we were checked in we had about 1 hour to kill before boarding the plane for what was to be a very long trip.

It was very nice to feel like part of the team as we were all in the same gear and I think it looked fantastic.

People were very friendly on the flight. I had a number of people ask me where we were going and what we were doing. The flight to Kuala Lumpur was about 7 hours and 50 minutes and once we arrived there we had a few hours to hang around the airport. I must say it is an amazing airport. We had a look around the shops and I think there will be a few things purchased on the way back! We then sat down, some had a bite to eat and the rest of us just had some water.



The time passed extremely quickly and we were then on the next plane to Frankfurt. This flight however was much longer, over 11 hours. Needless to say I don’t sleep well on a plane and I probably got about 2 hours total. I did however watch almost all the things on the t.v. screen!

We arrived in Frankfurt, local time 6:20 a.m. and then the job of collecting the bags and gear began. It was amazing to see how everyone pitched in and we loaded a bus and trailer with everything. Adam and David were renting a mini bus so that we would have it for the week and this is where we left them for the time being. We boarded the bus with the other rowers and it was off to Munich. Well actually just outside of Munich.






The bus trip was just over 5 hours with a couple of 20 and 15 minute breaks. We did have some fun on the bus but you could see that everyone just needed to get there, have a shower and a good nights sleep. Lisa tried to take the men’s 8 on at cards, but didn’t fair very well and a couple of the guys ended up crashing.

Everyone is staying at different hotels. The men’s squad at one hotel, the women at another and us the Adaptive crew at yet another. We are staying at the Hotel-Restaurant Gotz in Dachau. There is an amazing history here with the Dachau Concentration Camp. (Something that we are going to go and see, but not until after we race.)

Our rooms weren't ready when we arrived so we dropped our bags off and headed down the street for some lunch. We ended up in an Italian restaurant (I always find that funny, eating Italian in Germany), had a wonderful lunch, then back to the hotel. Brandie, Pete and I stayed at the hotel while, Gene, Lisa, Adam and David headed to the course. They were going to make sure the boat was there and Lisa wanted to scout out the course. We were then picked up a bit later as we were hoping to go for a short row, but we had a few changes to make on the boat.

We have leased the boat from the Italian Adaptive program. It is a Wintech coxed 4 and not that old. It took us about an hour and a half to change a few things and by the time we had it was time to head back to the hotel for dinner which was set down for 6:30 p.m. and we were already late.

We had a fantastic dinner, but way too much food! The owners actually cooked and served us themselves. They were very disappointed in our appetites! We tried to explain that we had been travelling for 36 hours, had a late lunch and hadn't done any exercise!

We headed up to our rooms at about 8:30 p.m. but I stayed awake until about 9:30 so that I would have a good nights sleep. Oh how wonderful it was to put my head down after close to 46 hours!

Off to Munich

Well I know that I said I wasn't going to write anything before we got to Munich, but I couldn't help myself! I didn't get much sleep last night because I am very excited and probably a bit still not believing this is happening! I am so excited about representing my adoptive country that I am just about jumping out of my skin!

We had a fantastic team dinner with the entire crew, coach David and his wife Rosemary, the TA double John (along with his partner) and Kat and Lisa's dad. We went to a place called OSSO, very nice, but a bit pricey, but I figured we deserved it!

One thing that has stuck in my brain, something that Adam said to us the other day was that we can only control ourselves and do what we have to do. We can't control any outside influences such as weather, water, other teams or even our own teammates. We just have to do what we know we can do as individuals.

When I do my speaking for the MS Society I often ask people: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” I think this is a really important question because if we all lived our lives thinking and believing that we would never fail just imagine what we would actually accomplish and what our world would be like. I am going into this race knowing that we cannot fail!

Camp has finished bring on Munich!

We finished our camp yesterday even though we thought we had one day left. Coaches gave us today off to do some running around, some had doctors appointments, physio appointments, changing money and posting things home.

It was very exciting yesterday in a number of ways! We had a very short session in the morning just to blow away the cob webs and then in the afternoon we had a 500m time trial. This is half the distance we have to race. We went up against the TA double, Kathryn Ross and John McLean, silver medallists at last years World Championships. We didn't have the best start as we were too close to the buoys but we were able to pull it together and had a fantastic race piece. We clocked 1:53 over the 500 and we all believed that had we had a better start we would have broken the 1:50 barrier. This is right where we want to be.

Then after our training session we had a team meeting with Adam Horner who is the Adaptive Rowing co-ordinator for Australia. At this point he presented us with our Australian Team gear! So it was very exciting to have the shirts, track suits, hats and zooties with AUS written all over them. It brought home to us that this is really happening. We have all put the hard work in over the last few months and we truly believe that we will be able to go over to Munich and win this event.

Lisa's (our cox) dad arrived yesterday and was able to see us row. I think he was impressed! He joined us for dinner along with Dom Moneypenny and to celebrate our going to Munich Dom made us a pavlova! Not a great food for training, but by god it was good! We had a fantastic night and are now just itching to get on the plane.

Tonight we have a huge dinner with all the Adaptive rowers, coaches, parents & partners (who are here) and RA staff. We head to the airport tomorrow at 11am to leave Sydney at 2:20 pm. So the next time I add to this blog will be when we arrive in Munich.