The Calm Before...

The day before racing starts here at the Pan-Am Games. The opening ceremony is tonight in the OMNILIFE soccer Stadium in Guadalajara near the Athletes Village. We are at a "satallite" village and will have our own little rowing Team Canada get-together. There is a specific opening ceremonies outfit that we have been under strict orders to not wear until 3pm today. Let the top fashion of The Hudson Bay Company shine through, clear the runway, red on red on white is coming through for next top model.

Today, Friday, the weather has pulled through for us. The glass-flat water and sunshine was a blessing this morning. The Lwt4-, that I row in, had an excellent 4km race warm-up practice. Everything is feeling great. I have had so much extra energy with this taper, hours of lounging between practice rows, that I want to go for a long run to burn off some extra steam. I know, however, all this energy is going to saved for the race - with nothing left. It is important for us to place 1st or 2nd in our first heats, so we advance on to the finals. Instead, if we come 3rd or worse, we will have to re-race in the afternoon in the reps to try and re-qualify for the finals. Often, I am told, that the wind picks up in the afternoon and blows down the valley creating a big side/head wind. I feel it is better to row in calm water under top performance instead of working the wind and waves. For example, yesterday afternoon we had waves coming over our gunnels most of the way up the course during a practice row.

Today I went for a walk down the street from our hotel with Travis. A few blocks away we found ourselves in the middle of a large parade that was about to start. There were probably 7 mariachi brass marching bands playing with people dancing and singing all around us. We found out later that during the whole month of October in the Guadalajara area there are religious and harvest festivals held.