Second Chances

Tomorrow we have our repachage, or second chance race. The top two boats will advance into the A/B semifinals on Friday, the rest will be in the C/D semifinals tomorrow. We've draw a difficult rep, with more than two fast boats. We'll be in lane 6, all the way on the outside, with New Zealand next to us, then Great Britain, France, Russia and Indonesia. None of these boats can be discounted, and in particular we'll have to be wary of the British and the French. The French in particular have a massive sprint, so no margin will be large enough for comfort.

We've implemented some of the changes that I talked about previously, and I think splitting the responsibility of making the calls has been beneficial. I feel very comfortable calling the moves, and I also think that having to keep an awareness of where I am on the course will help me race more aggressively. In addition to the commands, I've been trying to sit more upright, keeping my chest up and out both at the catch and the finish. It was something that we were working on earlier in the summer, but that sort of fell out of our vocabulary. I think that it really helps me maintain power as I get tired, and keeps my stroke more effective. It also stops me from going for too much length in the stroke, which I believe will help in the start and the sprint, since I can be a little quicker and help push the rate.

Tomorrow will once again be about execution. We have to do what we know we're capable of. I was a major part of the breakdown of that during the last race, but with a little more confidence and relaxation, I think that we'll be able to perform. Time will tell. Everyone wants to be in the A/B semi. There's no room to back off and save energy for the next race, so calling tomorrow a rep means nothing. It's a race. Six boats across, two thousand meters to row. First two bows across the line move on.