Another early start today, breakfast at 5:30am, on the bus for 6:30am and headed to the Olympic Regatta Centre. The day started out cloudy, grey and cool with a threat of rain but we’re no strangers to adverse paddling conditions so the weather was no real concern. Turns out it warmed up!
Today moved very quickly…we got off the bus, dropped our gear in our space in paddlers village, got our marching orders from Coach, started our warm up and then headed down to marshalling for our first 500m race of the day.
Our first race had us in lane 2 right between Vermont and New Zealand. There was a delay on the dock so when we loaded our boat and headed to the start line we had some time to make up to catch up to the other boats in our race…no harm, it was a good warm up!
On the start line Shirley and Laura got us in the starting boot, the strokes (seat one – Tracy & Linda) made sure the head of our dragon was in the center of the boot while the back (seat ten) continued to paddle us forward to keep us in the boot. However, we rebounded off the boot and started the race slightly behind the other boats.
Even with the rebound we nailed our start. Up…up…UP…POWER and then lengthen! We surged down the race course and fought to pull our boat out in front. Laura and Shirley called a number of power series and we crept up seat by seat by seat to win our first 500m heat race! But looking over at the other boats we saw just how close Vermont was. So close! Too close!
500m Race #1 times:
* Rowbust – 2:24.113
* Vermont – 2:26.580
* New Zealand – 2:28.202
Back in our huddle we had the usual debrief with Coaches, we discussed and dissected our race…how did it feel, were we able to keep our strokes long and the stroke rate. As always there are things we need to work on.
And it wasn’t long before we got the chance to do just that. We were off to marshaling again for our second 500m race of the day.
This time we were not delayed in loading our boat…but this time the current caught us and pushed us towards other boats loaded and trying to get away from the dock. We found ourselves sideways and being pushed between two other docks. Shirley’s excellent steering skills and Laura’s eyes and direction got us clear of the situation and headed out to the start line. We shook off what had just happened and brought our focus back inside our boat.
As we approached the pass through between the back channel and the race course we were called to a stop because a boat had capsized just beyond the finish line! Yep, it happens…thankfully it’s not happened to us! But it certainly could.
The boat and paddlers were cleared from the water, everyone was okay and we were able to approach the start line for our second of three 500m races.
Second race, we were securely in the starting boot, this time in lane 1. For a 5th straight time we nailed our start! Again, we battled with Vermont down the course. Again, we pulled ahead seat by seat. Again, we crossed the finish line just before them. When Laura called us in to a power, their drummer called them to power…they were mirroring our race plan! We’d won, but we needed to make some changes for the third race.
500m Race #2 times:
* Rowbust – 2:23.466
* Vermont – 2:24.788
* New Zealand – 2:29.194
In our debrief huddle we formed a plan! Coach Sarah had one “small” request….she wanted to see us win by a half a boat length. Okay Coach, we’ll do our very best to delivery!
This time there were no hang ups in getting away from the dock and soon we were approaching the start line in lane 3 for our final 500m race of the day.
We had our orders…half a boat coming up Sarah!
We powered out of the start and went in to our nice, long stroke. Surging down the race course we put the new plan in to action. Shirley quietly spoke to the back 6 paddlers to power it up…we felt it in the middle and front of the boat and started our power series to get us out of there! It worked…the other boats were not powering! They couldn’t hear us, so they couldn’t mirror us! We did it again and again. We were in stealth mode. Quietly pulling out in front. Sarah had asked us to give her a half a boat length…we filled that order and more! We gave her more than one full boat length in our finish! We did it!! We’d won another Gold medal!!
500m Race #3 times:
* Rowbust – 2:22.161
* Vermont – 2:27.233
* New Zealand – 2:27.538
The last race proved to us that if we trust our long stroke it will carry us to victory! Cheryl & Sarah are always telling us to trust the stroke, trust the race plan…and we did just that. Each 500m race we did better and better, shaving time off with each pass across the finish line. We worked together as a well oiled machine and got the job done! We are elated in our performance today as are our Coaches.
Another trip to the podium for us! Another medal to wear proudly!
Only one race stands between us and total victory. The 2km. It’s our favourite race!
Tomorrow is another day off for us, we’ll be nicely rested for the 2km on Saturday when the race venue changes to the Tisa River right in Szeged! The stands will be packed with paddlers and locals!
Check our Facebook page for pictures and videos of today’s victory.
Thank you to our readers who are following along with these adventures!
A very special Thank You to three very special sponsors – Movati Athletic, Egg Farmers of Ontario and Siskinds the Law Firm! Movati is where we go to get fitter and stronger all winter, Egg Farmers of Ontario provided our new race jersey’s and Siskinds our new uniform pants – all three make us look and feel GREAT! Thank you!!
Stay tuned folks! More excitement coming your way…
Suzanne Newington
Rowbust member since 2011. Proud member of the Italy (2014), Australia (2016) and Hungary (2018) CCWC crews.