We're in between rows after an 8 AM row where all three crews did two loops looking to make some of the technical changes that we identified yesterday from the differences in our shells. What's remarkable to me is how the athletes perceive the speed in different hulls and how they can adjust for it with their impulse and technical awareness.We have one rower down right now with a hamstring/lower back injury - we'll try the OTC remedies here of electrostimulation, intrasound, and ibuprofen gel. Other than that, the weather is cool and sunny - about 70-75 degrees with a little breeze.
Observations from the path:
1. Coaches on bikes are very different from coaches in launches - I'm convinced that the more frantically a coach is driving their bike the more poorly their crew is rowing. There is very little of that 'cool as a cucumber' look to anybody.
2. Every coach sounds the same! We all want calmer bodies and better blade work and more leg connection - in fact it made me feel kind of unoriginal when everybody seemed to be saying the same things ad nauseum - that begs the question...what differentiates one coach from another?
3. All coxswains sound the same - albeit from the same country. US coxswains speak about the same technical things while the British coxswains sound similar as well. I would love to know who originated the British coxswain phrase of 'Get on the legs....THERE! On the legs...THERE!' It seemed that every cox and rower in a coxless boat said it at least once. I guess it wouldn't be rowing if wasn't repetitive.
4. Funniest coxswain saying of the day while a crew was doing a racing start - 'You're at 42 strokes a minute...ohhhh....you're a clever bunch....42......clever....42....ohhhh.' Loved it.
We'll go out this afternoon to finalize the rigging and hopefully an early night so people can get some rest!
