Henley Day 3,4,5

Quick rundown as I've had sporadic internet access:

Saturday we raced at Reading and were placed in two events where we lost by one length each time to Kent School and WPI - frantic start and not a pushing base which created some challenges. Ended up making a rigging change and then rowing back in gorgeous weather through the locks. One of those rowing moments where you just say "I am so lucky to be here". Finally we had a wonderful dinner hosted by the Higgins family where we grilled out and had a blast.

Sunday we rowed twice in the afternoon - trying to improve our start and also find a better base speed - again good progress.

This morning we rowed a full distance 2000m piece with the Brunswick School piecing beside us to Fawley - on the third stroke of the start our seven man hit the stanchion with his blade and ended up getting knocked off his seat. We continued anyways and did a reasonable job. At least we have a good feel for the distance at rating. Will try and make it into London this evening for a show (Jersey Boys) and then back to Henley.

Tuesday we expect to piece against an Irish club crew from Galway over the Fawley distance. I hope we can have a cleaner start.

Henley Day 1 & 2

Finally got quick access to the internet and can post a couple of updates about what has been going on so far.

We arrived on time at Heathrow and navigated our way to Henley easily enough - after meeting our hosts, exchanging some money for GBP, and getting a bite to eat we found our rented boat (a beautiful Empacher) and spent the next hour rigging, checking pitches, adjusting shoes and oars, etc.

We rowed the course twice and then had a solid dinner at the Row Barge which is under new management - the busy times of the regatta will surely stress the kitchen (slept like the dead afterwards).

This morning we again rowed the course twice and predictably made a ton of improvement off a post-airplane row - now it's back to the course in about ten minutes for the row to Reading. It should be a good way to find some swing together and get a little bit more for what we are putting in...great to see so many familiar faces and get a chance to catch up about what has gone on in the last calendar year. Thinking back to it, exactly a year ago we broke an oar in the qualifier and were eliminated. It's still not pleasant to think about but it doesn't sting as much anymore (perhaps time does heal all wounds!)

Hartford to New Haven to JFK

Made good progress on work today and then somehow navigated through some potentially brutal traffic to pick up our stroke Dave Werner in New Haven and then on to JFK. The airport experience, a la Peter King has been very smooth and we were able to get through security with cox box in tow easily. Now it's a matter of taking care of those little things like letting your bank know about international travel and setting up a meeting time with our hosts.

Can't wait to visit some of the key points from last year's trip - the Row Barge, Rose and Crown, that special deli on the main street, and the gentlemen in the boat tents.

Henley Bound

I can't believe it has come so quickly but the Four Score and Four Boat Club eight is about ready to depart for England tomorrow night. We'll be flying through the night and arriving in Henley ready to rig, row, and meet our hosts Minnie and David Wilson and Keith and Lyn Goodwin. The Goodwins and Wilsons have hosted Trinity crews in 2005 and 2008 and hosted the Yale women for the Henley Women's Regatta. There needs to be a book written about Henley family hosts who have probably seen and heard some amazing stories of overseas crews and their deeds on the water and their exploits off the water.

Also, just saw Eli Roxby and John Graves at the boathouse picking up their pair in preparation for Nationals on Mercer Lake. They look lean and fit and apparently have the boat going incredibly well.

Also, found out that we have another athlete training with the South Jersey Rowing Club in preparation for Canadian Henley as well. Keep it going! I'll be trying hard to keep the blog updated from England.

NYAC Scrimmage

Heading down to the Travers Island Boathouse tomorrow to do a little work with the NYAC summer program before we head to England on Wednesday. Should be good racing with a fair amount of wind and rain. Solid practice today with good adjustments from piece 1 to piece 3.

Summer Rowing

More great news today about summer rowing plans - so far we have X athletes rowing for the Boston U23 Development Camp, X for Riverside's competitive program, X for NYAC, X for Penn AC, X for Hudson River Valley RA, and X number of other incoming freshmen who will be keeping their hands on the oars this summer. There's no better way to get better at rowing than rowing...And you can quote me on it!

FISA Rowing World Cup Series

You can watch FISA rowing online for the entire World Cup Series. More updates to come later today.

Reunion Row Recap

Fantastic reunion row this morning with representatives from the Class of '64 all the way to '04.  Two eights on the water for almost 5000m of rowing on a picturesque day on the river. Hearing the stories of past races, victories, near-victories, and adventures as a team are what I, as a coach, am hoping our current athletes will remember. Everyone looked successful, healthy, and had loving families in tow!

I also took a little video of the dock getting used for the DEP so we can make some progress with our dock replacement project.

Last four personal workouts: 

10' blocks and some short intervals on the ergometer mixed with 40 minutes of spin biking

75 minutes in a heavy training single working on some low rating power x 2 and then some lactate production work last night and steady state on the slide ergs.