Dear All, Firstly, apologies for having to forward my last email, I cannot seem to work this Spanish keyboard!!
Well, we have moved on from our training camp at Tilburg, to the much hotter weather in Spain (it is about 2:30pm here and it is 35 degrees and about 90% humidity) We are staying at a very luxurious hotel in Gerona, about 120km north east of Barcelona.
Each day brings with it many new challenges, mainly transport. We are staying about 30 minutes away from Banyoles – which is the lake that we will be competing on – and the only transportation method that we have is buses that are organised by the regatta organising committee. Clearly they are way out of their depth as we are often given incorrect bus times and are left stranded for a while, but as we are patient Australians we are managing to fill in the time relatively effectively!
Unfortunately last night, i received some sad news, the Senior A Coxed Pair that i was to be competing in has had to be withdrawn. The reason is that one of the guys in the Olympic Eight is struggling with his back at the moment and they need to use the reserve athletes to help them train in Italy. This was disappointing, but it is all a part of the process, Hopefully the Olympic Eight will be at full fitness in three weeks time for Athens. The only relief with this news is that I am able to eat again – I had managed to lose 7 kilograms since leaving Australia and I only had two more to go to make weight, but that is not going to eventuate now.
From a coaching perspective, the Junior Four is travelling well, but face some very tough competition. We will see how they go on Wednesday in the heats. The news from Brandenburg is good with our Under 23 guys (Under 23 Coxed Four and Huddo) all training well and injury free. The first Sydney Uni Boat Club athlete to race is Tim O”Callaghan, that will be tomorrow in the heats of the Lightweight Coxless Pair.
I hope that you are all well… I am off to have an ice cream to put some of that weight back on!!
Cheers,
Marty Rabjohns