Looking forward to the B Final

I say Shane wins the gunshow.  Colin says me - but that's just him being nice.  USA LM4x 2013 left to right, Shane, me, Colin, Andy. 

Racing here is extremely competitive.  Go figure - World Championships!  This comes to me as no surprise, even though this is only my second National Team.  Here is a picture from our rep yesterday, taken only a few strokes into the race.  We went full-effort from about 400m into the piece right up to the 2000m mark.  We were outsprinted, trading bowballs with Hong Kong at the line.  Great race by them, and Denmark who opened up a lead in the 2nd 500m on both of us.  I cannot recall rowing a tougher, harder race.  Every stroke after the starting sequence was max.  The last 800m were some of the most intense strokes I've taken in a boat, the last 200m a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, that familiar tunnel of noise and light and ferocity, all four of us going with everything we had, together.  "Controlled sprint" it was not - it was the desire to win.  It's kindof harsh when that desire in the moment takes you completely, and after the dust settles you must face a reality that does not immediately align with what you've put into the fight.  That's what's great about rowing - a result is a result, and as long as you lay it ALL out, both in preparation and in the moment, you cannot be upset with your performance.  There truly is no better look at yourself than in the last few meters of a very, very close race.  How bad do you want it?  You will find out.  Our loss had nothing to do with lack of resolve or execution, we simply ran up against the limits of our speed on the day.  We're not here because this is easy.  The fun of it is finding limits, together, sharing an experience that is only found in such battle.  When the fight is on - we fight!  Chris McElroy, our coach, has helped so much to get us to this point, and it's his guidance that puts our effort into results.  I'm proud, again, of the way we raced the rep and of our improvements as a crew.  We broke 6:00 in flat water with the slightest headwind, going 5:59.  One of our goals for the regatta was to demonstrate true international speed.  With the fastest time from both reps being Denmark at 5:57, we have accomplished this goal.  I like this picture because it captures the intensity of the race.

More about this experience to come in the following days and weeks.  We still have a job to do, and we're going to have fun doing it tomorrow in the B Final.  Our improvements from Monday's Heat in the rep were evident in the performance.  We look to improve again for our Final.

Go USA!