Canadian Champs
The Canadian Championships are over and the weekend went well. As with any regatta, there were a few issues or points of contention that everyone had to deal with and it was interesting to see the reactions. There is always a choice as to whether you let certain things drag you down or whether you rise above them and perform in the face of adversity. The winds were fairly strong for most of the weekend, which made the racing more technical and increased the importance of being able to steer straight… and avoid hitting the buoys!
We progressed through the heat and semi-final comfortably and I was pleased with the race pace rhythm that we found in those races. That ease at 37/38 was something that I didn’t feel this summer, so it was great to be able to find it again. The final brought with it a screaming tail wind, leading to a fast first 1000m and an increasingly bumpy second 1000m. Dave and I had a good start and pushed out in the lead early; we didn’t have any big moves, just consistently inched out and broke open water on the 2nd and 3rd place pairs around the 750m mark. We continued to ease away from the field through the 3rd 500m and were getting ready to sprint in the final 500m when we hit the rolling waves. There was no sprinting - just managing the conditions and avoiding any mistakes. We had wanted to really lay down our best 2000m piece so were a bit disappointed that the conditions kept us from really opening it up, but we were happy with the result. We needed it and can now close the door on a bunch of lingering issues and look forward to the next 8 months. Any critics or negative influences are now left with no ground to stand on and can fade into obscurity. It was a great weekend.
“Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction”