June 3 - Selection Camp Day 3
It rained all night last night, and the river was a chocolaty brown, fast moving mess when we got to the boat house. We’re pretty sure that we saw a palm tree float by among all the debris. It was pretty nasty.
Our first attempt to push off the docks this morning was thwarted by thunder. When we finally got out on the water, the row was pretty good, until it started to rain. By “rain,” I mean “absolute downpour.” I can’t remember ever rowing in a deluge of that magnitude, before. It was an adventure.
Fortunately the sun came out for our afternoon races, and we really got some good work done. I rowed with both Jesse and Aerial in my boat today, and we proved to be a pretty fast combination, regardless of who filled the fourth seat.
As I predicted, today I got my turn to face a little direct competition. For the final seat race of the day, I switched over to the 3 seat of the other boat and Andrew took my place. In the day’s earlier races, my crew had been winning by between 2.5 and 3 boat lengths over only a 500 meter course. When I was switched out of the boat, the two crews finished in almost a dead heat, though the crew made up of Jesse, Aerial, Jen, and Andrew was probably a second or so ahead of my new boat. In any case, the difference in performance was noticeable. Jesse says that it was a decisive victory in my favor, but I’m not as confident. The only way to really be sure of anything is to win and to win big. I’d feel more comfortable if my second crew had finished out front, even if by only a few inches.
Oh well, what’s done is done.. Tomorrow the team selections will be officially announced. Some here seem to think that my inclusion on that list is a foregone conclusion, but I am not ready to declare victory just yet. Perhaps I have lower confidence in myself than others do, or perhaps I’m just trying to stay motivated and focused. In either case, I won’t breathe easily until I hear my name tomorrow afternoon.
As I told my dad before I left, this year I have a great chance to make the team. Selection will only get more difficult as we approach the Paralympic year. I have no contingency plan for failure, so I hope the basket in which I’ve placed all my eggs survives the weekend. Faith… Courage…
Our first attempt to push off the docks this morning was thwarted by thunder. When we finally got out on the water, the row was pretty good, until it started to rain. By “rain,” I mean “absolute downpour.” I can’t remember ever rowing in a deluge of that magnitude, before. It was an adventure.
Fortunately the sun came out for our afternoon races, and we really got some good work done. I rowed with both Jesse and Aerial in my boat today, and we proved to be a pretty fast combination, regardless of who filled the fourth seat.
As I predicted, today I got my turn to face a little direct competition. For the final seat race of the day, I switched over to the 3 seat of the other boat and Andrew took my place. In the day’s earlier races, my crew had been winning by between 2.5 and 3 boat lengths over only a 500 meter course. When I was switched out of the boat, the two crews finished in almost a dead heat, though the crew made up of Jesse, Aerial, Jen, and Andrew was probably a second or so ahead of my new boat. In any case, the difference in performance was noticeable. Jesse says that it was a decisive victory in my favor, but I’m not as confident. The only way to really be sure of anything is to win and to win big. I’d feel more comfortable if my second crew had finished out front, even if by only a few inches.
Oh well, what’s done is done.. Tomorrow the team selections will be officially announced. Some here seem to think that my inclusion on that list is a foregone conclusion, but I am not ready to declare victory just yet. Perhaps I have lower confidence in myself than others do, or perhaps I’m just trying to stay motivated and focused. In either case, I won’t breathe easily until I hear my name tomorrow afternoon.
As I told my dad before I left, this year I have a great chance to make the team. Selection will only get more difficult as we approach the Paralympic year. I have no contingency plan for failure, so I hope the basket in which I’ve placed all my eggs survives the weekend. Faith… Courage…
posted by Jamie at 1:47 PM
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