Off 2 Trials

About to head back up to Sydney, but this time to row. It's our National trials and it will be very interesting to see where everyone is at.

Personally I have had some apprehention over the last week. Although being busy has distracted me somewhat, when I think about where we are at I really don't know. This time of the year for Duncan and I has historically been quiet loose and vague. It is well before we start measuring and ultimately managing our processes and performances.

To that end we must be realistic about what these trials offer us. It's an opportunity to have a few long distance hit outs. To be compared to others and to take a good look at our own preparation thus far. I guess the anxiousness or slight intrepidation sits with the unknown. We have very little in the way of recent references for training so we will be relying on memory and trust in our movement as a pair. This is a great thing in a way because it tests us to stay true to what has worked before.

So it is simple:

We will, Row long, be dynamic and allow our natural levers to work for us.

After digging into the old archives I was able to find a few past result sheets for time trials on the Nepean River. It's seems that from these and my keen memory the mark of 17min for 5km has either never been broken or only once by Richard Wearne and Rob Walker. The best I have gone with a former partner, Ben Dodwell was about 17min 5sec and with James I think we got to about 17min 10sec. There may have been a few pair who have done similar times, like the Stewart Twins. Now all this is reliant on fast conditions and no weed. I thought it worth mentioning as it has been a number of years since we have done time trials on the river at Penrith.

It should be a good week and the learning will be important for us. Obviously for others it is a critical step in the selection process which I am sure will bring out some raw emotion and increased intensity.

The format is straight forward to a degree. Single scull for 5km first day. Pair 5km for second day. Then it sounds like we are over to the Olympic regatta for a couple of 2km trials. This bit a have been trying to get my head around because it is early in the season for 2km work, but due to the need that has been identified to get selection of our crews done earlier it means that everything comes forward in the season. Duncan laughed when he found out as commented that it would be interesting to do a 2km time trial at 28 spm. He's a big man and take a whole season to get moving. What he doesn't yet realise is the in the 5km trial I will be racing up and down the slide at 32+ spm which could cause a few challenges if he insists on a rate of 26 or so.

Anyway we will see how all that comes together. The cool thing is we will be in the single first and with his slow start to the season with preparation it is my best chance at knocking him off. We're not half competitive see. If he beats me with the limited preparation I will never live it down. Just like an indiscretion years ago that had to do with a 1750m mark.

Enough of all that, the week will be a stepping stone and one that we will make the most of. So we are off 2 trials to see what we can do...

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