Not much is new in my training. The crew of Big Blue recently formed a team and competed in Concept 2's 'World Rowing Challenge'. Thanks mostly to the wonderful meters logged by Steve and Charlie, we finished in 13th place based on average meters per team member; and would have been higher if not for me. Nigel was also up there with around 1/3 of a million (about what I had including water meters), but only erg meters counted for this challenge, and while I did hit the machine a few times, I have been fortunate to enjoy plenty of rowing outdoors over the last few weeks.
Props to the 10 men of Albion Correctional Facility who averaged 1.3 million meters a piece over the 30 day challenge. Steve placed 73rd overall in individual ranking. With gumption like that on the crew, I think we've got a lot to look forward to as we near the end of summer when training will ramp up. I don't feel too bad about all the water meters I'm getting; Steve, Nigel, and Charlie, along with 3 other members of the crew are Canadian; it's their choice to live up there. I think 'Canada' is Native American for "Land where you ice fish during spring race season"
As for the sane down here in the South, last weekend saw the second biggest college Sprint race in the country come to Oak Ridge last weekend. SIRA (Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association) went off without a hitch. Major props to the volunteer force at Oak Ridge, especially those that help me and the Tennessee Crew team with the coarse install over the last few months.
The 60+ teams at SIRA did leave me with one question; what are so many teams from the mid-west and north doing at the Southern Regionals? I raced in our Open Mens 4+, and enjoyed some tight races in my last SIRA at UT. We missed A finals, and ended up in 4th in the B final, with a fair 6 seconds between 2nd and 5th. A friendship forged with the guys from Central Florida grew when they edged into 2nd in the heat over us by just a few feet. We saw them again Sunday and held off their strong sprint at the finish, so our standing over all fell short of my hopes, but it was fun non the less. Why would we do it if we won them all?
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