More practice today AM and PM, but a few less miles as we start to prepare for the weekend races in Reading. Weather today was gray with spits of rain now and then, with moderate winds, gusting at times. The 4-, aka, Platinum Fantastico Quatro, is moving well and, most importantly, steering straight and with confidence. The 8 is moving well, and looking good.
For those of you who have not raced at an unfamiliar venue in a far away place, in addition to all of the physical and mental preparation the athletes are normally concerned with for focused and aggressive competition, there is the added challenge of keeping that edge while being surrounded by a new and exciting environment like Henley. For many, this comes with time and experience. Our women are working hard to hone their racer's edge, so that they may bring their best racing against these skilled British crews.
Tomorrow the boats depart for Reading the old fashioned way, via the River Thames, up through four locks, Marsh, Shiplake, Sonning (next to George Clooney's house) and Caversham. We all return to Henley overnight (only 30 min away by car or bus) and the racing begins Saturday and Sunday at the 175th running of the Reading Amateur Regatta. The 8 races round one at 1PM, pitted against Kingston, and the 4 races round one at 3:15PM versus Nottingham. Victories result in progression to the next round of racing, which happen later in the day. Sunday's races are a bit later (and on a slightly shorter course). The 8 first races at 4PM, facing down the Radcliff LW crew (US), and the Platinum Fantastico Quattro will duke it out with Nottingham. Once again, only the winner of these two-boat side by side races will progress to race again in the event.
As for the news of the day, it's all about the food. Thursday's is Farmer's market day at the Town center -- always delicious fruits, veggies, cheese and English delectables (such as GIANT creme and chocolate filled donuts!). And then there's Amore, the Syrian chef who prepares gourmet meals for our women at their house. His main concern is making sure they are fed delicious and nutritious lunches and dinners.....
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| Amore with his new apron - a gift from the women. |
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| Monday's arrival lunch - flatbread pizza, new potatoes and fresh salad! |
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| Today's lunch - fresh wraps ready for the rowers! |
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| Tonight's dinner - authentic Indian curry (with some other, less exciting food too for the less adventurous) |
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| Community table sharing To be clear, the coaches are fending for themselves with traditional English fare such as meat pie and porridge! Gotta dash! More tomorrow, hopefully with scenes from the Big Adventure. Cheers! Coach Pat   |
Thank you the blog! It's great. Love the pics. I like the captions too like Fantastico Four! May I suggest for the eight : The Elite Eight?
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing about the upcoming races. Best of luck!