Such a Long Time to Be Gone and a Short Time to Be There

Tuesday, June 20th, Henley-on-Thames

As of 6:30 PM yesterday (June 19th), we have been in England 1 week. It's an odd phenomenon here. Time passes by quickly, but when you look back, 1 week somehow feels like a month. Eat, sleep, row, repeat. That the name of the game here with the American Expeditionary Force.

We took Sunday to recharge our batteries a bit. Some made the trek down the road to do their laundry, and some went to town to hunt down the perfect wifi/coffee spot. Others visited the course to watch the last day of the Henley Women's Regatta. We were lucky enough to see some strong American crews racing such as Radcliffe College Lightweights, Northeastern, and powerhouse The Ohio State University. It couldn't have been better weather, with little wind and sunny skies.

This has in fact been typical of these past few weeks in England...untypical of England no less, but somehow we have brought the good weather over here. Sunny and hot every day, between practices we quarantine ourselves recovering at home out of the sun, trying our best to stay cool, unburnt, and well-hydrated, Coach's orders.

For this is a big week indeed, a critical week. As of Sunday night, we learned that both the 8+ and the 4+ will need to qualify for the Temple Challenge Cup and the Prince Albert Cup, respectively. Every day counts, every stroke, every off-the-water decision, as we must make sure we are in tip top form for Friday. The 8 will face about 50 crews in their time trial for 10 spots, while the 4 will face about 28 crews for 9 spots in the regatta proper. We've been getting on the water at about 7 am these past few days to avoid the blistering heat and sweltering midday sun. The ice cold showers in the boat tents - which we were allowed to move into as of last Friday- offer a welcome respite from the hot air and an ideal start to post-practice recovery. We also avoid much of the boat traffic from the other American crews, this way. We've seen Deerfield, Kent, Tufts, Yale, Boston University, and Bowdoin, among others.

Our mornings have been primarily hard, race-prep interval workouts while our afternoons, recently being rowed later and later, to again avoid the weather, focus more on technique, rhythm, and power-per-stroke. We've been continuing to sample some great local fare in the evenings, Sunday having a delicious meal at The Bull on Bell's St., getting to try out their pre-ordering system. The wagyu burger was by far the favorite. Yesterday, we headed again to our favorite local haunt, The Rowbarge, for some fantastic chili-con-carne before heading out on the water for our second practice of the day around 7, while it was still light out.

Tonight, the crew looks forward to donning our formalwear and heading just north of Henley to Oxford, where we will be attending a dinner at the Williams at Exeter Program house in honor of the upcoming 50th reunion class. Some of us were busy today outfitting our boater hats with new purple and gold ribbon for the occasion. No doubt they will prove useful next week once the regatta starts.