August 13, 2006 - Final Camp has Begun

Jesse and I arrived in Philadelphia Friday night courtesy of the Ryan Pawling shuttle service. We spent the evening with the rest of our boat at the apartment where Aerial is staying. She and Jen prepared some awesome pasta, and we used the evening to rest up for the week ahead. I think the mood was casual, but focused. The sense of anticipation around the table was almost palpable.
The first day of rowing could not have gone better. We did a long steady state piece in the morning and technical work at night. Everyone felt that the boat was coming together well, and our excitement has grown after every work out we’ve had so far.
After our morning session Saturday, we had the long-awaited delivery of our US National Team gear packages. It was really exciting, especially for Ryan and I who are on the national team for the first time. As I pulled on my team USA uni, it kind of hit home that in just over a week I’d be representing my country. It’s so easy to let things seem imaginary and, in some ways, it is good to live in the moment and not look ahead too much. It was truly a special moment for me, though, when I first looked at my gear and took a moment to appreciate that it is all real and I’m really a part of this incredible program.
Sunday we had what, I think, was our best row yet. We did a pyramid of 5 pieces—2k, 1k, 500 meters, 1k, 2k—and, for maybe the first time, we really started to feel that allusive sensation rowers know simply as “swing.” The catches were all going in at the same time, the application of power was very even across the boat, and the stroke rating seemed to shoot up effortlessly. After practice, the mood on the dock was one of total elation. For those who have gone to previous worlds and finished out of medal contention, vindication is so near they can almost taste it. For the rest of us, the possibility of exploding onto the scene and grabbing a medal is becoming more real than ever.
Our time here has not been without adventure. Sunday, Jen’s car broke down and we left the boat house after our evening practice to find that her muffler was practically lying on the ground. Thus began a very, very long evening that included a pizza run, a group crossword adventure, and many hours of storytelling and bonding. As we lie there on the asphalt to stay warm, laughing at almost everything because we were so tired, it struck me that we’re really a team now: really the deep kind of friends who sincerely love one another and who will dig deeper for each other than we would for ourselves. More than anything we’ve done on the water, that realization makes me feel ready for Eton.