Fog, Harley Street and dinner at UL

The wind dropped yesterday but then fog arrived.  It meant we weren't allowed onto the water until it cleared enough to be "safe".  "Safe" seemed to be when they got sick of saying "no not yet" as it was still pretty thick by the time we got out.  By the second session it was clear and we had great water to paddle on.  I had a good session with TJ (Tom James) as T-Ran was unwell.  Today he was back and feeling better, so we did the first session together.  The second session I did with TJ and had an opportunity to do some slightly longer pieces at race pace.  This isn't the kind of preparation you would hope, and sadly this kind of thing has happened a few times in the last two or three years.  It's frustrating as it means you enter into trials with very little preparation against some really strong athletes.  On a positive note, when I have done some work at race pace (once with TJ and once with T-Ran), the pace has been good and we have performed reasonably well compared to the other GB squad pairs - que sera, sera.

Yesterday I popped down to Harley Street.  Thankfully not for any treatment but for a CT scan.  My legs were scanned to measure the individual bones, to see if the apparent leg length discrepancy I sometimes have is actually down to a difference in bone lengths.  Dr Ann should have received the report this afternoon so I should find out relatively soon.   There is no real rush as I've survived 22 years without knowing.  If there is a difference I may have to adapted the boat so that I am driving straight.  If my legs are different then there will be twisting forces being put through my pelvis which will twist my spine as I push in the boat - we obviously want to eliminate this to prevent injury and to apply more force in the right direction (=speed).

After Harley Street I went coaching at Putney Town and then onto dinner at UL.  Bev (coach Brian's wife) cooked a really nice meal, served up with help from out very able boatman "Uncle" Stef.  Every Tuesday the club comes together for dinner; last night Rusty (best described as UL's "Godfather") hosted the evening and invited all the current UL and Alumni athletes and coaches on the GB squad.  The current UL members in the squad are Jess, Fran and myself.  Alumni athletes are Cam, Mel, Tom and Matt.  Coach Darren Whiter and Logistics Manager Maurice Hayes were also in attendance.

Feel free to comment and ask any questions.