Thank you!

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has followed my progress throughout the journey to Beijing. It has been long and it has endured its ups and downs, but all has come to an end. I am so appreciative of the support that I received from everybody. Through hero messages, text messages, emails, facebook messages the lot, I honestly had no idea of how many people have been reading this site until I received countless messages of support and congratulations. It has blown me away!
Thank you to those who even went to the effort of organising events including the Toowoomba Downs Club members and my school friends who have made the effort to always keep in touch even though I have always been many many miles away!

The Second Week of Olympics!

Probably the best week of my life! Parties, friends, shopping, watching other sports and relaxing. Life couldn't get much better. The Olympic Village in the second week was one of the greatest experiences ever.

Athletes are an interesting breed. We look after our bodies as if they are a porcelain doll 99% of the time, however, that 1% when it is time to let the hair down, it most definitely is let all the way down! The second week of the Olympics, was that 1% of the last four years. I had the opportunity to meet so many other Australian athletes, which we don't normally get to do.

In the village, everybody is relaxed, happy and enjoying every moment of the day. It doesn't matter who came what, or where you are from, everybody will talk to everybody (especially at the McDonald's line in the early hours of the morning).

I had the opportunity to spectate some other sports including both the men's and women's basketball matches versus USA, the syncronised swimming duet finals, the 10m platmform men's diving qualifiers and watched endless hours of actual live closed-circuit television of every single event. Not like the Channel 7 'live'; that was about a 45 minute delay! It was awesome!

The Olympic Wrap Up

I suppose by now, almost three weeks after we raced in Beijing, I have had enough time to reflect on our performance and my experiences at the Olympics.

I won't sugar coat it, I was very disappointed with our racing at the Olympics. Every race we started, within 250m we were already on the back foot and struggling to keep up with the other crews. This was shattering. After having such a great lead up to the Games, it was really hard to comprehend how fast the other crews were going. I wouldn't say we were going any slower than earlier in the year, our problem was that we needed to step up from those performances but we didn't.

We only have ourselves to blame, however, at this stage it is hard to pin point exactly where we went wrong. Most of us are baffled. On the positive side, the girls that I have spoken to about the racing and myself all believe that we have learnt from our experience in Beijing and are keen to try it again in London.

Prior to the Games, many people were commenting on how little experience our crew had at the Olympics. With only one member having competed at Athens, we were a young inexperienced crew trying to take on veterans of the event. Initially, these comments didn't phase us, although, now having competed at the Olympics, experience actually helps. Maybe not your physical contribution to racing, but experience would definitely help your mind cope with the overwhelming distractions that the Olympics offers. Subconsciously, your mind is thinking overtime trying to absorb all the new activities happening around you. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before!

The Day of the Heat

Well it is the day of the heat. We are at our hub outside of the village preparing for the race. Just relaxing in air conditioning before our race this evening at 7:30 AEST. The boat is travelling well and I think that all members are looking forward to the opportunity of seeing where we stand in the field. In our heat we have drawn Netherlands and Romania, both very tough crews. However, if we wish to win the gold medal we have to beat them all!
Hope the coverage back home is showing the rowing. The swimmers have started to win medals now, so I there will be too much rowing on now.
Everybody think fast thoughts! I'll let you know how it goes!

The heat of Beijing.... Literally!

Well we are here. We have managed to start getting settled in to a routine, even though we did arrive on Friday night. We got in quite late on Friday night, once our visas were checked off, our luggage was scanned (atleast four times by the time they were in our rooms at the village) and we had experienced our first meal at the dining hall (which is the size of two football fields) it was time for bed at midnight, or 2am AEST. It was almost 24hours of travelling from Sydney bed to Beijing bed.
The following day, was a big one. We left the village in the morning and went out to the Australian team recovery centre where we got to experience the uniform collection. It was an awesome experience. Similar to if you would walk into Rebel Sport pick out about 50 items of clothing, all in your correct size because a volunteer would run around for you, and then exit via the front door, just waving at the cash register.... no money needed! It was awesome. Along with all our sports gear, we picked up our formal attire for the opening ceremony and the AOC function on Thursday night. I can't give away too much, but the opening ceremony outfits are a real treat for you all watching back at home. With so much excitement, 8 hours passed by of just trying on clothes, so we were back at the village by 5pm, still yet to see the rowing course.
On Saturday we started to train out at the course. Saturday has been by far the hottest yet. It was a clear day and swelteringly hot! It was the worst Brisbane could get in the summer, although we were training at midday rather than 5am when we would in Brisbane. Many of us suffered heat stroke a little, as we were all very sleepy by the time we headed back to the Village.
We have started to get back into routine with training. The days have been more humid than the first, although, the heat hasn't been as bad which makes it bearable.
The crew is coming along well, I think we are all adjusting to the climate well and we are managing to get through the training. We were able to pick up where we left off back in Sydney, which was important especially moving into faster hotter water here in Beijing.
I will be sure to keep you all updated on how we are progressing. Hope all are well back home and are looking forward to the next two weeks being nothing but sport on the box set!

We are off to Beijing!

Well the day has come. Tomorrow we fly out to Beijing and there is a lot of excitement amongst the girls. Apart from the stress of making sure we speak to everyone before we head off and watching the final of Amazing Race on channel Seven, we are excited and looking forward to our big arrival in Beijing!
If you see any footage of news channels in Australia of us arriving, you must check out our lovely uniforms! They are very nautical?
Our final preparations have come together at just the right time. We have found some speed and enjoyed the race work that we have done over the past two weeks. We are fit, we are prepared and we are definitely looking forward to racing in Beijing.
In the next few days we are going to experience many new adventures, I am sure of it! Exploring the Olympic village, arriving at the rowing course, getting all our uniform and checking out the dining hall which is the size of two football fields is just the beginning.
There is wireless at both the village and our rowing course hub, so I will be sure to keep you all updated whilst I am over there!

Finding Speed

It is that time of the season. The time to find some speed. For most of us in the crew, I think I can safely say all of us, we are the athletes that love to race. The racers. So it is this time of the season that makes all those early mornings, long days and months living out of suitcases worthwhile.
At the moment, we are in the team camp, which is very exciting as all the crews are here and it allows us to be able to use other crews to race against. The mens heavyweight double is our crew of choice. They are meant to be seven seconds slower than us over 2000m, therefore they are a great pace boat to work against. They also love a good battle.
Today we did a series of 15 stroke starts which allows us to practice making every start consistently the same. This is vital to racing. It enables us to line up on the Olympic start line and know what to expect from the first stroke even with the external distractions that the Olympics will throw at us.
With only five days until we fly out, everyone is getting very excited about the next few weeks, however, we are trying to keep it under control. I will keep you updated on our progress, enjoy!

The end of one camp, the beginning of another

Last Friday we all successfully completed the final day of our hardest camp for the year. We have all managed to stay in one piece, I can't deny there are small niggles from our bodies, however they are under control and are expected with the amount of stress we have been putting them under for the last two weeks. I won't deny it, sleeping in on Saturday morning was one of the greatest feelings that I have felt for a while. Knowing that I didn't have an alarm set, and not having too much to do that day, I decided to lie in bed and watch TV. Something that I don't usually enjoy or do that often, but the timing was perfect. I caught up on my favourite TV shows including Amazing Race, Private Practice and Prison Break that I had missed for the past two weeks, and it was bliss. I rose from bed at 10:30am to enjoy toast (not cereal because that is what I have when training... dare to be different!) and then began the arduous task of sorting out clothing to put into storage in Canberra, take to Queensland, take to Beijing and take to Penrith.
Although some may disagree with my level of organisation, I think I am on top of it. However, it doesn't necessarily look like it at the moment as I have everything I own spread across the bedroom... I swear it is organised!
On Tuesday, we will set off for Penrith, not to return to Canberra again for a while. We will be joined by the entire Australian Rowing Olympic Team in Penrith to complete our final preparations before boarding the plane to Beijing on 1st August. It is very exciting times at the moment. We have been making the final decisions before departing including what to name the boat, who we will be rooming with and what to pack, of course! I will be rooming with Kate Hornsey, my pair partner of two years, which will be great as we have already been under very intense situations together and this will help during racing at the Olympics. The naming of the boat, however, is still being decided, although I do think that Amy Gillet may be a possibility. I will reveal more information on the name in a few days when it is confirmed.
For now, with the Olympics approaching very fast, excitement is growing daily. It is strange to be watching the television and seeing advertisements for the Olympic games or documentaries about the Olympic Games in Beijing and to think that I will actually be apart of that. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. Ten days until we board the plane, and I can't wait.
I will keep you updated throughout the preparation camp.

The End is Near

We are three days out of one of the biggest camps that we will go through in the season. Fortunately, I can report that the crew seems to be intact, except for a few niggles here and there. We have been trying to complete this camp for four years, however, any crew that I have been apart of over the years have not been able to finish the entire camp due to illness or injury. So there must be something special about this crew. It is definitely a good omen leading into our final preparation camp, starting on the 22nd July.
The crew is feeling a little tired at the moment, which is expected. However, all of us are trying to achieve perfection every single stroke. While sometimes the boat may not feel the best we have had it, we are always gaining the physical benefits from the sessions and learning more about the boat and each other. Fortunately, all members of the crew, including our two reserves, all help each other get through tougher moments of the camp. Our cohesion as a group is quite unique, which enables each member to offer a little something to the crew and support each other just that little bit better.
Finally, on a physical health status for the family. I am back in the boat, well and truly. I have completed all training sessions since the crash with not too much trouble at all. The bruising is still a little sore to touch, although that doesn't seem to be a problem in the actual rowing action. So, all in all, I am fine.

Back in the boat!

Well I managed to survive the day with two rows completed from the first stroke to the last. It was a great relief!
With eight days to go until the end of the camp, we are starting to get quite fatigued and taking each day as it comes. The eight is progressing well, sticking together as each session gets harder to get through. Just a short note to let you all know that I am okay.

The Crash

Well I am sure that most have heard by now that yesterday morning I was involved in a head on collision in the eight with a single sculler. Fortunately, both of us managed to escape with minor injuries. It happened on the Nepean River in Penrith, 5 kilometres up from where we boat at the Nepean Rowing Club. It is a familiar landmark for rowers, a place called 'The Narrows'. Basically, it is a 30 metre stretch of water about 10 metres wide, allowing only one boat through at a time. However, when approaching The Narrows there is low vision for both crews and unfortunately by the time that we had realised that we were in trouble, it was only split seconds before the collision happened; too late to do anything.
Being a sport where you sit down and go backwards, when you are rowing along in your own zone, focused on your own crew, to be hit in the back mid-stroke is one of the most frightening experiences. Trying to explain the sensation, I refer back to a few months ago when the media were talking about the damage that king hits can do on a victim. The reason being that the victim of the king hit is unable to prepare the body for the hit and therefore can't prepare for the hit. This was the same with the collision. Most of the damage that is done, due to the fact that the body doesn't have the time to prepare itself. Similar to falling over face first without putting your hands out to break the fall.
My injury is only minor. I have bruising across my lower rib cage, with some fluid surrounding the side of the rib cage on my right side. It has only been 24 hours since the collision and the swelling has gone down substantially. I will visit the physio again to get another check up as he may be able to start working closer to the area affected.
For the moment, I am out of the boat for another day, fortunately we have a scheduled day off for tomorrow and then I hope to be back on the water by Thursday morning. Until then!

The Last of Canberra.... for a while

We are all packed up again and ready to head to Penrith the home of the Australian Olympic Rowing course to endure one of our toughest rowing camps of the campaign. The camp involves 16 days of no sleep inss, training three times a day most days, many kilometres of rowing and creating a whole new definition of fatigue. But it is all part of 'the plan'.
The idea of the camp is lift to a new level of workload in order to stress our bodies so that the next time we taper, we will be at a level of fitness that we have never been before. Fortunately the next time we taper, will be the Olympic Games.
After 16 days, the other crews of the Australian Rowing Olympic Team will be joining us in Penrith for a team pre-olympic camp where we will race and train against other crews such as the mens double and the mens four in order to get faster and faster especially under racing conditions.
I will ensure that I will keep you all updated throughout the camp, where possible. I may be a little tired so please excuse poor grammar, spelling and any other punctuation problems.

Winners of the World Cup Series

At the conclusion of the third World Cup in Poznan, in which we didn't compete in, the Australian Women's Eight became winners of the 2008 World Cup Series. The series is done on a point system and with our gold medal from Munich and the silver medal from Lucerne we came out on top just in front of Romania and Canada respectively.

This achievement doesn't mean a lot in the big picture as we head towards the Olympic Games, although it is a nice win to get along the way, and something that Australia hasn't achieved in many years.

Back in to training now in Canberra, and it is a lovely chilly and foggy morning here. We will be getting on the water at 10:30 thankfully, however we did have to do 90minutes of cross training this morning... just to keep out of the cold!

Back in Oz!

I am back in Canberra now, well at least physically, I am still not sure where my body clock is. Jet lag is one of the worst sensations. It is taking me a few more days than I had hoped for me to get over it. The first night I got back I managed 5 hours sleep, then 12 hours sleep and just as I was thinking I was over the jet lag, I was wide awake at 3am this morning thinking about all the things I had to do.
However, if it is not the disrupted sleep patterns that annoys me, it is having to get back into training while still jet lagged. Even though I have only managed to do some light cross training in the gym, it has still hurt a lot more than what it should. For example, this morning I did one hour on the bike. Usually I would struggle to get my heart rate above 140bpm, however, this morning I was struggling to keep it under 160bpm (which is quite high for light exercise). I became quite worried, although was settled when I realised that my body clock is still disrupted and even though I was doing exercise at 9am (AUS time), my body was probably wondering what I was doing trying to exercise at 1am (Europe time)...
Other than trying to re-adjust to the new time zone, I am attempting to prepare myself for my two exams in the next week. I am managing to get through three pages before I want to drift off to sleep. So it should be interesting. Fortunately I was able to do a substantial amount of uni work on tour, so I should be prepared well enough already, I will just need to go over it all again on Monday morning and hope for the best!

The End of the Camp

Only twenty-four hours until we embark on the flight back to Australia. Just quietly, I can't wait! We have had our final training session this morning; we did 90 minutes of cardio in the 'sweat box' gym. It is the gym that we have been frequenting for the past seven weeks for weights and cardio sessions, although it is like no other. It's humidity is about 90% (worse than any Brisbane day) and temperatures well into the thirty's, good for weight loss!
This afternoon we will be spending time transforming into normal people. The hair straighteners will be out again, washing the hair of course and packing our suitcases, strategically trying to fit about 40 kilograms of luggage into a 22kg suitcase and 7kg hand luggage. Some of us are struggling!
I will be flying back into Canberra on Wednesday night and then we have four days to recover from jet lag with some light training. Ready to get back into training Monday afternoon. I will be sure to keep you all updated on our progress in Canberra. Until then, ciao!

Almost Home!

Well it has been a long campaign, but it has disappeared relatively fast. Today the crew for the Olympic Games was announced as the four girls who were completing final selection were told of their positions. The crew for the Games now stands as Lizzie Patrick (cox), Sarah Heard, Sarah Tait, Kate Hornsey, Liz Kell, Brooke Prately, Natalie Bale, Pauline Frasca and Myself. At the moment, there is only one position for a reserve in Beijing, however, on the 23rd June we will be informed if Australia is allowed to have two reserves for the women's team. If so, the two girls who missed out on final selection will be able to go to Beijing, but not compete.
It is a hard situation as the eight is trying to move on with our progress, yet within our squad there are now two girls not feeling too great. We are all sensitive to their feelings, and hope that they will be able to accept their position and be able to meet us back in Canberra refreshed from a tiring campaign and support us towards our goal of winning the Olympic Games.
Outside of selection, I am finishing my final preparations for my exams. I will be sitting these at the AIS the week after I return home from Italy. It will be very exciting once they are over, as I plan to have the following semester study free to focus on the Olympics, and to enjoy my time off rowing post Olympics.
Well, with only four sleeps to go, I am finishing up the final touches of my European tan, just in time to return to Canberra and rug up again. The last few days of the tour have been bright and sunny which has been a nice change from the continual daily drizzle.
On that note, I best get my running shoes on and start the run to the gym...

Varese Camp 2

With only one week to go until we begin our journey back home, there is still so much to be done. At the moment, the eight is undergoing final selection for the last two seats in the boat. Due to special circumstances, the starting eight is being re-assessed and by the time we arrive back in Australia, the Olympic eight will have been named. Currently, there are six of us who are guaranteed a seat, including myself, but there are four girls who will be completing racing in pairs to gain an Olympic seat. It is quite a hard situation to be in. The reason it has come about, is because we have achieved two great results in the first two World Cups, and all members of the squad have been apart of at least one of these medal races. Although, I am confident that who ever ends up in the boat, would have fought hard for their position and is capable of adding something special to the crew.
This camp has been designed so it is very similar to our schedule in Canberra. Therefore, we have been afforded the luxury of having a day off today. I went into the town of Varese and enjoyed being a 'normal' person for a day. To classify being 'normal', it involves putting on jeans, jewellery, straightening my hair, buying one or two items of clothing and eating out for a meal. I got to do all activities, and the weather was the first blue sky day in Varese. Having said that, we are now experiencing a storm very similar to a Brisbane summer storm.
Well, the count down is on, silently anyway. We all try to keep quiet about how many days there are to go, otherwise it seems like the last few go forever! Until then, Ciao!

Lucerne Wrap Up

Racing the in the women’s eight event over the past two years has allowed me to experience some of the best racing of my career thus far. The Lucerne World Cup was no exception. It was a race where you remember taking the first stroke and that is about it. It is not until after the race when fellow team mates congratulate you and compare your race to that of a lightweight men’s four final, when you realise how close the race actually was. The women’s eight event is evolving into one of the hottest contested events, and while it is great to be apart of such a contest, it is also great to be one of the leading crews.
Although we finished a close 0.4 behind the USA, the two time world champions, we are happy with our result. Our international campaign has been worthwhile and all crew members have now experienced the battle of the women’s eight race. We have all assessed the race and look forward to going back to Varese, Italy and start our six week training block leading into the preparation camp.
Other than rowing, Lucerne is one of the most spectacular cities I have ever travelled to. It is an oasis within the peaceful surroundings of the Swiss Alps. I am glad that I finally was able to visit this beautiful venue and I hope it is not the last.

One Race Down, One Race To Go!

We are here at Lucerne, the place where rowers worship, apparently! Since arriving in Lucerne, I have been amazed by the pituresque surroundings. There are mountains surrounding the city all with snow, including Mount Pilatus. As you push off from the pontoon at the lake, the mountains create a breathe taking backdrop that is unbelievable!

Today we won the heat by over six seconds to Great Britain and China who came second at the last world cup. They were a good crew to have next to us, as they were an indicator for us to use to measure our progression from the last regatta. The reigning world champs are here, the USA, and they won the second heat. They did clock a faster time than us, however, they were in a three boat battle to the line with Germany and Canada. We were all racing for the top position as first place went straight to the final.

I have put a few photos of the last few days of the Varese Camp, where we were training with our men's double scull. They are a good training tool as they are the same speed, if not a little faster than us over 2000m. Enjoy!

Off to Lucerne - World Cup 2

The first of the training camps in Varese has come to an end and we are packing up all the boats and suitcases to drive to Lucerne tomorrow. Throughout the training camp, our previously injured members, Brooke and Pauline, have been able to train every session, stress free, which has enabled the crew to move on from our performance in Munich.
After Munich, we have all sat down and assessed the race - always looking for ways to go faster! It is hard as we look towards our races in Lucerne not to just think of winning the final, however, as always we must only think of the process. The heats will begin on Friday and we won't know the draw until Thursday night. We should be ranked in the top two from our performance in Munich. As last year's world champs, the USA, are competing a this world cup for their first international race for the season, it will be a great opportunity to size up the competition!
We will arrive tomorrow afternoon in Lucerne for a light paddle to stretch out the legs from travelling. On Wednesday morning, the program has a few race pieces of 1000m and 750m. This will allows us to get a feel for the course and its metre markers and have a good hit out two days before we race.
Most of the crew haven't raced at Lucerne, including myself, so we are very excited about racing in such a beautiful area of the world. I will have to get photos on here, to make all those at home jealous! Or just to show the place...
Until Then!

A Day of Rowing Tour

Training in Varese is coming along quite well. After Munich we have been able to get our two injured rowers, Brooke Pratley and Pauline Frasca, back into the boat successfully with no further problems. In this post, I thought that I would take the time to give readers an insight of a day in the life of a women's eight rower while on training camp.
Wake up is routinely at 6:00am, enough time to dress appropriately (after checking the weather) and put the kettle on to make the first of many plunger coffees for the day before the start of breakfast at 6:25am. After getting some good Italian nutrition into your body (usually force feeding because you know the next time to eat isn't for another six hours) we are in the 9-seater vehicles and off to training. On arrival, we have 30 minutes to warm up. I prefer to run three kilometres to loosen up and then some time stretching/sleeping on the mats in the gym. When ready, we all gather with our coach, Lyall McCarthy to hear what the session entails and the daily technical focus. The morning session will be between 22 kilometres to 26 kilometres of rowing and then finish it off with a seven kilometre run back to the hotel. The run is a struggle, although we have been doing this routine for four years now, so we all know that we just have to do it to get home. It is also an incentive that the faster you run, the quicker you get home to eat.
We arrive back at the hotel around midday, which is when I take the opportunity to get on to the internet while everyone is at lunch (it is always faster when only a few people are on the wireless connection), so I can call home on Skype and check what is happening in Australia.
After lunch, which is guaranteed to be pasta, omelette, some sort of meat in gravy and salad (it is not too bad, just the same every day!), I retreat to my room and study for about three hours prior to the afternoon session which begins at 4:00pm. The other girls who are older than me and who were fortunate to discover elite rowing after university get the opportunity to sleep, read or eat gelati. The price to pay for a degree!
At 4:00pm, we either have weights and a run, cross training (more running) or rowing. This session is usually less intensive as the morning, unless you have to row again, which is rare. For cross training, I run 15 kilometres or sit on the rowing machine for 70 minutes. Although on the first day of cross training, four of us did manage to go for a long walk (2hrs 50min) up Campo Dei Fiori in Varese. It is a massive hill, 14 kilometre uphill climb to be exact. The weather conditions were great, at least at the bottom. By the time we reached the top, a huge storm had come across the valley, dropping the temperature to below 10 degrees along with strong winds and rain. To make it worse, we lost mobile coverage, so our coach was unable to come and pick us up because he thought that we must have been still climbing. We did make to the top (I wouldn't let them turn around, we were too close not to reach it), but we then had to run down hill for 10 km before we were able to get shelter and mobile coverage to let the coach know we were just about ready to be picked up. It was an adventure, and we all managed to keep high spirits which made the situation better. We all thought, atleast we have a story to tell to the others...
So that is a day of training camp. We do have a day off coming up on Saturday. I am thinking I will use my very broken Italian to try and get myself into Milano for the day via train. Until then, Caio!

Training In Varese

The training camp has begun! Lago di Varese is serving up great water for us to train on, with still conditions and mid twenties in temperature. Our schedules at the moment are 2-3 hour water training sessions, then a 40 minute run home just in time for lunch. We have a few hours in the afternoon for studying or eating gelati then another 2-3 hours in the afternoon either at weights or on the water again. It is very full on, although we have done this for four years now, so we are all used to the training.
The weather has been beautiful, we are all starting to get rid of our Canberra glow and bronzing up a treat!
I will try and get some video footage or photos up of the lake and the rest of Varese. It is beautiful here!
Until then!

The Final Wrap Up - Munich

The first world cup was defnitely a very exciting one! Traditionally, the Australian eight has had mixed results although this regatta was different. Entering the final as the fastest qualifiers we were confident that we were on good form for the final.
The race didn't start to plan as we were a little behind by the first 500m, two seconds off the Chinese. Through the second 500m, Lizzy Patrick our cox, stayed calm and controlled the crew to start the wind to the finish line. Going through the 1000m mark, we were slowly gaining on the Chinese although, through the 1000m they pushed again to hold off our surge. With 750m to go, Lizzy demanded an effort which was timed perfectly with the Chinese's fade. Within 20 strokes we were ahead and moving away with every stroke. Leading into the 500m to go, we pushed away again to gain clear water and then the Chinese were never going to come back from there as they had used a lot of energy to hold us through the middle thousand. It was basically a two boat race between us and the other heat winners, the Chinese crew. The other crews including the dominating Romanians, Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany were at least one boat length at all time behind us. By the end of the race, we had won by 6.8sec over China, then back to Romania in third. We were very pleased with this race as it was a step from our heats race, which was a very important goal for us.
We are now in Varese, Italy preparing for a two and a half week training camp on Lake Varese. It is camp which involves many kilometres of rowing and running each day to ensure that we are the fittest we can be leading into the next regatta; Lucerne World Cup at the end of May.
I will try and get some photos up on the blog, to keep you all envious of the weather that we are getting here in Italy.
Until then, Ciao!

The Night Before the Final

The preparation into the World Cup hasn't been ideal, although, all problems aside we managed to win the heat yesterday by two seconds to the Netherlands to go into the final as the fastest qualifiers for tomorrow's final.
As it was first through to the final all the other crews, other than China who won heat two, will be racing in the repecharge to gain a place in the final. Our form is looking good, however, in the eights event you can never underestimate the countries such as Germany, Netherlands and Romania. Nevertheless, we will try and improve on our heats performance and try to out perform the other crews to win.
We were quite happy with our racing, although we felt that our technique could have been improved. So today we are working on some of the final touches in order to make the final the best race that we can put together at this stage.
Also, keep a look out for updates on our crew, as Mark Beretta from Seven's Sunrise is closely following our progression to the Olympic Games.

Arrived in Munich

Yesterday we arrived in Munich after a long 36 hours of travelling. The girls and the boys are staying in different hotels at the moment, because we booked the accomodation so late. However, the girls difinitely got the better end of the deal. We are staying in this quaint little hotle which is famous for its restaurant, so we are eating quite well.

At the moment, the eight is falling apart a little. Last night one of our reserves who is already needed because of the injuries in the boat, fell sick and was vomiting all night. So we aren't able to train in the eight at the moment which is a little annoying, but we have to deal with these things. Hopefully, she will improve in a day or so for racing on Friday.

Fortunately, I am in good health. Touch wood. I went walking with on the girls yesterday into the town of Dachau and discovered the old town (altstadt). It was a beautiful little alleyway with cobblestoned roads and markets set up for Sunday. However, they were very unusual markets. There were two vacuum cleaning stores selling parts for your vacuum cleaner, a g-string store, a store selling dentistry equipment, a bracers and belts store and an army disposal store. Not exactly your arts and crafts markets!

I will keep you all updated on our progress through the regatta. Hopefully by Friday we will be right to go!

The Olympic Torch Relay

The last two days have been what I feel to be the beginning of a very exciting Olympic experience. The night before the torch relay, the women's eight was invited to the Great Hall at Parliament House for a celebration of the torch relay hosted by the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, HE Mr Zhang Junsai. Attendees of the function were the other torch bearers, politicians of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory and many other celebrities including Ian Thorpe and Mark Beretta. The night was an amazing experience, with the Chinese entertaining us with their traditional drums and dancers.

The following day, 24th April, it was the torch relay. After a practice run the day before, we were escorted to Reconciliation Place on Lake Burley Griffin by several water police. We were welcomed by thousands of Chinese students who were bussed in from Melbourne and Sydney (over 100 buses). Their support was unexpected and truly amazing. After receiving the flame, we rowed it across to the bottom of Anzac Avenue before the torch was carried towards the Australian War Memorial. Here we were met more a few more thousand Chinese people, who were very excited about the occasion, as they were shouting out to us 'We Love You' and 'Welcome to Beijing'. Fortunately we were not disrupted by protesters. However, the Chinese Embassy has to be commended on their efforts to bus over 100 buses to Canberra from Sydney and Melbourne and supply them with shirts saying 'One China, One World, One Dream' and other merchandise including Chinese flag stickers and Beijing flags.

The torch relay was quite an experience and one of many to come. We are all packing up and getting ready for the World Cups to come in just over a week now. It will be a good opportunity to see how we stand against the rest of the world.

One Day Until Torch Relay

With only one day until the torch relay across Lake Burley Griffin, (from the base of Parliament House to Anzac Avenue), we are all very excited about the experience but also the commotion. We had a practice run this morning, and there will be five water police boats with approximately 40 policemen on board escorting our boat from the AIS rowing sheds to the torch relay. Lizzy Patrick our coxwain is the official torch bearer, however, we all managed to get torch bearing uniform, which is what it is all about. There will be many photos to come of the event.
Our trip to Sydney last week, was quite successful. We managed to race twice in two days. Both races were a shock to the system, however, were quite useful in our preparation towards the upcoming world cups. The eight clocked times that were the fastest of all the crews racing at the Olympic Selection regatta. This was a good indicator of where we stand because the crews that we were racing where physically prepared from racing, whereas we were in 'training mode' still.
Also, unfortunately the Who Magazine photo shoot and makeover has been cancelled for next week, however, will hopefully be rescheduled for when we are back in the country after our first tour.
We head overseas in just over a week now. We still have had a few injuries within the boat, although we have been able to continue training in the eight, thanks to the recent selection of our reserves.
Tonight we are all off to a dinner at the Great Hall at Parliament House. It is to welcome to the torch to Canberra and it is hosted by the Ambassador of the Republic of China. Although it is also an opportunity for the girls to get dressed up, which is never passed up!

How Fast Can We Go?

The week that has been is the type of week that an athlete of any calibre craves... Tapering.

It has been quite a nice break from the chilly weather conditions of last week.

Next week, the eight will be racing at the 2nd Olympic Selection Trials to test how fast we can go. With the previous weeks of tough training under our belts, we have been able to ease the training load and actually start feeling 'good' physically and mentally. It is a rare time for us.

I will be changing seats from bow seat to 3 seat, because our usual 3 seat has a small rib injury, which can become quite serious if you continue to row. Our reserve will be sitting in my seat, however, it will not be a disruption to the boat. Afterall, this could happen at the Olympics, it is good practice.

We are looking forward to racing the mens under 23 fours who are the same speed as us, and we want to win. The three races will allow us to try new tactics before we race the world in the upcoming world cups. It is much needed race practice.

I will be sure to update the site of how we go.

Training in Canberra

The week has finally come to an end. Fortunately, the week was cut short because the usual three hour bike ride was dismissed from the program, much to our appreciation. It is very rare for our coach to amend the program like this, however, as he always states, 'when I look into your eyes, and I can see the back of your head, I know you've had enough'... Maybe today was one of those days.

The eight is coming along well. With some great technical changes made this week, we are able have consistent efficient rowing throughout all training sessions. This is the key to racing well; ensuring that every training session has been completed with the most efficient and effective technique, while pulling very hard on the oar.

Throughout the week, we also had the crew from the 7:30 Report come out with us for a session. They will be doing a segment on the men's and women's eights. They are saying next Tuesday, however, they also said that it can be delayed if breaking news occurs... we think this is a way to increase their ratings, promise a time and then delay it for a week, so you end up watching more than you intended. The segment will be on Sally Robbins most probably, and James Tomkins for the men's eights, although you will be able to see footage of our eight out training. Stay tuned.

Training in Canberra

At the moment we are based at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. The Olympic Australian Women's Eight are in a hard training block of eight weeks before we depart for the World Cup tour in Europe.

We are three weeks into the training block. So far we have been through some of the hardest training weeks of the year. They have been consisting of over 30 hours of training per week. Last week, was the hardest so far. It included over 140km of rowing (approx 18 hours), 4.5 hours in the gym lifting weight, 5 hours on the bike and a further 3.5 hours in the gym doing interval training. However, as the first hard week of a three week block, the start of this week hasn't been easy either.

It is safe to say that we are all sleeping well at night, trying to squeeze in as much sleep as possible before the 5:30am start the next morning.