Henley Day 7

Wednesday June 29 - The beginning of the regatta is always pretty special as the course, grounds, and enclosures look immaculate - the wear and tear of so many rowers and spectators hasn't accumulated and the excitement is palpable. Even though there are very few close races on Wednesday the nerves for everyone are pretty apparent as steering, breakage, and boat stopping crabs can take an excellent crew out on the very first day. Enjoyed the Stewards Enclosure from the stands and after lunch headed back to St. Andrews Road...had a quick nap, foam rolled for a good twenty minutes, stretched out, and arrived at 4:00 PM for the 6:30 PM race (maybe too much time). Warmed up on the C2 Dynamic as I had been doing on all of the other days and the machine is growing on me...Good feedback from the body but I wish there was better monitor feedback for what is happening during the stroke.

Had a pretty good warm up though we were interrupted by some massive barges (not surprising) and eventually lined up against Thames 'C' on the Berks station while Four Score and Four RC was on the Bucks station. We had a solid start that worked well but had a hard time finding a base that worked...again we were a little short. We ended up winning by 1 and 3/4 lengths but it hadn't felt truly easy and we weren't able to cruise. Nevertheless a win at Henley is pretty sweet and we enjoyed it with some Thai food afterwards.

Very clear from times and margins that tomorrow was going to be very tough...Combined Services RC (a combination of British Navy, Royal Air Force, and Army men with prior rowing experience at UL and Leander) at 6:00 PM - right after the tea break.