recap.

Note: This blog entry was written over 4 days: Sunday 8/2 - Wednesday 8/5

It's kind-of hard to write this; because, to write this entry, I must acknowledge that it's all over. Being that I am currently sitting on my couch at home in new york, it is, for sure, over. Exactly one week ago today, more than a full year of preparation, execution, and racing, came to a sharp point - 2000m down, a third place finish in the B-final at world u23 championships in Racice, Czech Republic.

(blm4x B-level final, usa middle of picture, 3rd place)

It is almost unbelievable that 2/3 of summer has passed, along with countless meters and stories, sunrises and erg sessions, weigh-ins and rainy afternoons. As always when I never thought it would come, it came. I remember the elation of landing in Prague, it was the same feeling as when we were told by G-man on the dock of Mercer Lake that we would go to worlds; both moments were like - holy shit! this is really happening.

(Sebastian Kirwan looks ecstatic upon his arrival in Czech)

After the typical airport shenanigans, and one seven hour flight and we'd arrived in Praha. As we settled in, we worked on adjusting to the time differential. No naps allowed here - the less you nap the more quickly you acquaint yourself to the new schedule. So we resisted our urges and battled odd drops in blood sugar with an old friend, jolly ranchers. After our travel day, our boats finally arrived. Monday morning were rigged and prepared ourselves for what would prove to be the 3 toughest races I have ever experienced.

---

Our heat, was an interesting introduction to international racing. At 11:24 on Thursday July 23rd, we lined up against: Germany - who would go on to place second in this event - Hungary, and Venezuala. Our goal for this race was to be second or better. We wanted to send a message that we we're fast enough to medal.

Germany was blazing fast off of the line and got way out early, a lead they held comfortably throughout the race, while we battled with Hungary who was able hold us tightly and push away in the final 500. Though, we didn't place second as we would have hoped we were able to avoid the repechage, which took place on friday.

We had a full day of practice on Friday, and were able to make some rigging adjustments which allowed for a little more comfort within the boat. We were also feeling more comfortable in our surroundings now; we knew that if we were to have any shot at making the A-final, we had to put up one hell of a fight. We needed to come top three to make it to the a-final, and with Germany, who had already handily beaten us, we focused in on russia, france, denmark, and turkey. Everyone was gunning for the three A-final spots; we had our work cut out for us.

Before bed on the friday, we met with g-man and spoke amoungst ourselves, prepping for the biggest race of our lives. This seems so trite to say, and almost silly, but, I shit you not, it was true.

Our race plan here was simple, qulaify for the a final, third or better. If it's better, great, if not, keep making moves until we're third.

The morning of the semi was rather blustery, raging tailwind as had been the case all week, there was a bit of swirling wind at the start when we locked onto the stakeboats. As we sat ready, our point well adjusted for the wind, a gust blew us astray. With the polling over we proceeded to start, taking our first 5 strokes into the buoy line. It is to all of our credit that we kept our cool. We were last off of the start, last through the first five hundred, but as we came scratching back, our speed improved greatly. By the 1000m mark, we were within 4 seconds of the leading German quad, and within 1.5 seconds of both Russia and France, who were in second and third respectively. We had surpassed Denmark and Turkey, and we'd be damned if our push was over now. At 500m to go, we were less than a second behind France, we had made our case in the third five, it was now time to see who had the legs for this last five.

Our increased cadence and maximal exertion was not enough to out sprint the french. France secured the last spot in the A-final by 1.72 seconds.

We were pretty floored by this, we seriously felt that we deserved a spot in the A-final. There was no way to remedy our feeling, the best thing we could do was focus on a first place finish in the B-final.

Bob and Mike's room in the hotel, due to its honeymoon esc nature became our boat's meeting place. They had a couch and a flat screen, I didn't know those existed in cheap 3-star hotels, but apparently they do. The night before the finals, we met and spoke with g-man. Again, it became clear that we needed another all out race, we had something to prove. We needed to prove that we deserved the A final and that we were above the other boats in the B-final.

We lined up Sunday morning with fire in our eyes, it was time to end this thing, prove our point, take it home. We sat ready for the third time, 2000m away from the finish of what has been the most fulfilling experience of my life.

"Denmark, Sweden, United States, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey; Attention."

RED LIGHT

GREEN LIGHT

3/4 - clean
1/2 - clean
3/4 - port blade bobble in 2 seat, my bad, fuck, FOCUS
Lengthen - Clean
Full - Clean

38 spm, here we go, hit the legs, go.

First 250 down, breathe, heads in, take it to the 500, then we look, survey, and attack.

500m gone, down again, not last this time, 5th, turkey is done, lets real them in.
"GO" - we move, noticibly and with signifigant increase in boat speed.
750 down, "Go again" We are going for this one goddamnit, GO.
1000m, still in fifth, the czech and turks are ours, GO again. GO. Spain is right there.
1250 down, will calls the sprint, "PICK IT UP!" We jack it, 36, 37, GO.
1500m down, its us, Denmark and Sweden all fighiting it out for first. I make the call to empty the tanks, we all gasp for breath, lactate reeling in our legs, here it is boys, the last five, 400 to go, GO!, 300, GO!

250 left, bouys turn red, i look to our left, there the fuckers are, they're walking, I scream GO! one last time and we make our last push for the line, hands quick, legs pressing, heart pounding, breaths loud and fast. We hit the line and collapse.

3rd place.

Fuck.

In all of our heads, I think I can safely assume that this was the first word to pop into our brains as we crossed the finish line and looked over our shoulders to see what the finishing positions were.

We went for two short cool down laps and took the boat in to de-rig. As we passed the grand stand each time during our cool-down, there was loud cheering from the usa contingent. Thanks to all who were there to support us, you made us truely proud in our endevours.

Shortly after derigging, we entered the catering hall and gorged a bit. This did feel pretty good and so did the cold beer they were serving at the grandstand. Aside from the gear trading and beer drinking that followed, I hope I've left you with a pretty good gist of our experience on the u23 national team.

Thank you once again for all who have supported us and believed in our efforts.

-Pete

FINAL RACE IN RACICE

Hello everyone, sorry that I haven't written in a while, I was trying to stay focused for my races and weight and wasn't able to easily find a computer. I hope you enjoy this post because it will be my last one from Europe. Now on to the good stuff -

So we finished 9th of 13th in the lightweight men's quad. We got 3rd in the B final behind Denmark and Sweden. We beat out Turkey, Czech Republic, and Spain. It was extremely competitive racing and our starts were never that good, which makes all the difference at this level of racing. We were always the slowest boat off the starting line. The real nail-biter was our semi-final race where the top 3 boats went on to the A final on Saturday. We got off the line slow because our boat was pointed directly at the buoy line in order to compensate for the cross tailwind. This would have helped compensate for the increase in wind speed but because the announcer started us sooner than we would have liked, we hit the buoys with our oars. After straightening out the boat and cranking up the rating, we were able to push our way into fighting position. France was in third and our goal was to overtake them in order to make the A final. We were able to pull up even with them, then with about 500 meters to go, they made a push and held us off. An incredible race to watch and quite a frustrating one for us after that slow start. We came into our final race on Sunday hoping for a win, but again we had a rocky start and Sweden and Denmark got up on us, and even though we were able to walk back even with those two boats, they were able to hold us off with about 300 meters to go.

Personally, racing in the U23 World Championships has been an incredibly eye-opening and very productive learning experience. I've raced and watched some of the best rowers my age from around the world, which reminds me, I would like to make a shout-out to the women's lightweight quad who trained with us all summer at GMS and congratulate them on their silver medal and one incredible performance. Victoria, Katherine, Summers, and Devery - awesome job and I'm expecting to hear a lot more about your accomplishments in the future. The USA women's 8+ and men's 4- (four without coxswain) both captured silver medals in their respective events.

After racing, a lot of crews traded some of their countries' gear with one another. I was able to pick up an entire French warm-up suit (pants and jacket) and t-shirt, as well as a Dutch shirt, and Great Britain and Australian polo. Mike Nucci, however, got the one item I sought after, the Italian racing vest - truly a popular and much coveted piece of gear.

So that's it from me. I plan to take August pretty lightly in terms of training and work and plan on using that time to relax in order to prepare for the much anticipated senior year at Columbia. I'm stoked to get back and see my teammates, but mostly, I'm excited to start training in anticipation of making senior USA team for the World Championships in New Zealand next fall. It's been an awesome time with my boat mates Pete, Will, and Mike, and I really enjoyed my time under our coach, G-man (Guenter Beutter). I would like to thank all those who supported us, especially family, friends, and fans - without you guys we wouldn't have accomplished all that we did. If you didn't check out our fundraising site here it is:

http://www.firstgiving.com/guenterbeutter1

Thanks again to everyone. Go team USA and go Lions!

Last Day of Practice / First Day of Racing

Hey everyone so again, we apologize for the lack of updates but we haven't had access to a computer in a bit. Anyway, a lot has happened since the last posts but I'll start with yesterday's practice.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was definitely the most hectic and stressful day of our trip so far. We kicked our day off by arriving late to the course, due to a late arrival by the bus driver at our hotel, and were consequently forced to practice during the busiest time of the day. The water is crowded enough when there aren't a lot of teams practicing, so you can only imagine how difficult it is when every 4-, 4+, 4x, and 8+ from every country is rowing up a space wide enough for one boat (they designated one lane going up the course for all fours, quads, and eights.) The main problem is that as a men's quad, we are faster than almost every boat in our lane, with the exception of the men's eights, so we are always stopping to avoid hitting boats or swerving into other lanes to pass them. We faced these difficulties on Monday and Tuesday as well, but they were particularly difficult to overcome on Wednesday. I'll elaborate: Every rower and coxswain on the water has only one thing on their mind while practing the day before a race and it's this: Get as many good strokes as you can, no matter what. What this meant yesterday is that every boat (including ours) only cared about getting the most amount of clean water to row on, even if it meant cutting off other boats or giving them bad water. Being one of the faster boats on the water allowed us to make our way to the front of the pack and by the end of both practices (morning and afternoon) we had rowed in some very good water and taken some excellent strokes. At the end of the day, we all felt ready to race the heats that awaited us.

That leads me to today: the first day of racing. In our event, there were three heats. One heat of 5 boats and 2 heats of 4 boats. We raced in the last heat against Hungary, Venezuala, and Germany. We only needed to finish in the top 3 to advance straight to the semifinals, which will take place on Saturday. Needless to say, this took a little bit of pressure off. However, G-Man gave us a little pep-talk last night where he explained we should try to get first or second in the heat, because that puts you in a position more likely to win a medal. We arrived at the course around 7:30, giving us two hours to check our weight before we had to do our official weigh-in. Bob, Mike, and Pete were all comfortably under their target weights and I was slightly over mine. However, they were all light enough to make up for my fatness. This allowed us to grab a bite to eat before the weigh-in. When 9:30 finally came, we weighed in with no problems. The came my favorite part: the pre-race lightweight feast of clif bars, energy drinks, fruit, and breads. It doesn't seem like much, but to me, it was Thanksgiving dinner. After we ate, we had a little over an hour until we launched, so we warmed up a little bit on the ergometers and performed the other pre-race rituals we've developed over the years. When the time came, we brought our boat to the dock and headed up to the starting line, ready to race our way down the course as Team USA. We had a good warm-up with little interference from the other boats and before I knew it, we were on the line. I can't say much about the race now because we have a boat meeting, but I promise one of us will give a play-by-play later. We finished third in our race behind Hungary and Germany. We didn't have a very good race and we're hoping to perform better in the semifinals. The good thing, however, is that we don't race tomorrow so we'll be able to practice and work out all the kinks that held us back today. Anyway, I apologize for having to cut this short, but I need to get to a meeting with the rest of the boat. As I said before, one of us will explain the race in greater detail soon.

- Will

Two day till racing

Today we did our first race pieces of the trip. In total we did 3 laps in total. On the second and third laps we did 250m from a dead stop on the final 250m of the course. The first piece was all out in terms of rate and power, while the second was supposed to be a the same as the first 250m of a real 2k. Our pieces were almost identical in time, which is not necessarily a good thing, but the second piece which simulates the 2k more was definitely fast. This was also the first practice without any wind and it turned out to be a really good row overall. I hope the weather stays the same and doesn't become rainy and windy.

While sitting at lunch today we all realized that everyone can understand us while we can't understand them. All the other teams can joke around and talk about whatever they want without anyone else understanding them. It kind of sucks that we don't have some secret way of communicating like Gaelic for the Irish, but whatever I guess if we need to communicate they will undoubtedly understand what we're saying.

Arrival: Racice

I tried to post this on Sunday but couldn't because of faulty internet.

So 16 hours after arriving to JFK, Bob and I have finally made it to the Czech Republic. We were also stuck on the runway in New York for 3.5 hours which only elongated our trip. We arrived at the course around 4 PM and were the last ones to get there. Pete had already checked into Hotel Roosevelt in the morning and Will had been at the course for hours.

As I looked around at the Racice race course I realized the awe of making it to the World Championships had completely subsided and all the guys are ready to do business. We're all ready to execute what we've been training to do for all these years. While we have only been training with each for 5-6 weeks, we've all been training for this competition for our entire rowing careers. The neat and perfect 2k race course is waiting for us...

We spent a half hour at the race course and then hopped on the bus to go to the hotel. We drove through little picturesque Czech towns that all look the same and arrived at the hotel ready to eat and sleep. Tomorrow is the first day on the race course and another day in the training program - nothing more, nothing less.

Czech

Hey so this is the first chance any of us has gotten to use a computer since we've been here, so we apologize for not posting anything earlier. We've been in the Czech Republic for about 36 hours now so I'll fill you in on everything that has happened so far.

We all left JFK around 6 o'clock on Saturday night and arrived between 7 am and 2 pm (Czech Time) on Sunday morning in Prague. There were buses that met us at the airport and took us straight to the course, where we met other members of the US team and had a chance to check out the course. The venue is incredible. It's 8 lanes wide, marked every 250 meters with towers, and has a pretty big grandstand. We didn't have a chance to practice on Sunday afternoon because our boat was still in transit so instead, I ran two laps around the course. This gave me a good opportunity to see it from every angle and I've concluded that it's by far the nicest 2000 meter course I've been to.

Our boat arrived this morning and after almost three hours of rigging and scrambling to find missing parts, we put on our Team USA unisuits for the first time and went out for a row. There has been a really strong tailwind ever since we arrived so it has made practice pretty interesting. We still have a few things to work out with the boat but overall, we are rowing pretty well and I'm getting very excited to race.

The area surrounding the course is really nice as well. The 30 minute drive from the hotel to the race course provides a lot of beautiful scenery including several small villages, distant mountains, and something I have never seen before: hops farms. One great thing about this area that Pete pointed out earlier is that it's a place that none of us would probably ever travel to on our own, so we feel very privileged to be here.

The food is also really good, which is both a blessing and a curse. Part of me was hoping I wouldn't like it so I could just stick to eating the food I brought, making it easier for me to lose weight. However, I can never seem to get enough of the breakfast pastries and the entrees they serve for dinner.

I can't think of much else to fill you all in on, but as we continue preparing for racing, we'll write more. Hope everyone is doing well back home. Bye.

an honor and a challenge

I'm finding that as this blog grows and I get to read the thoughts of my boatmates, that we are sharing one of the most extraordinary and transcendental experiences any person can have. It still jars me to put on my USA unisuit and strut around the house. I did this last night while my sister and her boyfriend (not a rower) were watching a movie; he was likely asking himself "what the hell is that kid doing walking around the house in his underwear when company is over?" My thoughts: yeah, whateva!

Leaving the white house yesterday was not nearly as sad for me as it was for the other guys (will) because I will be returning in the fall; however it did feel great to hear many a "good luck" as we walked out the door. Jon Winter especially offered up a few excelent tips for traveling and racing as he has had the experience numerous times over the past year.

I am nearly finished packing, I've been filling up my suitcase while writing this.

yes pete, this is really happening!

Goodbye USA

So yesterday was our last practice on the beautiful Lake Lillinonah in New Milford, CT. The next time the four of us will be in a boat together will be in a rented boat from Europe on the championship race course in the Czech Republic. We're all very stoked and excited to race over there. The only thing in the way of Mike and I arriving in the Czech Republic is a 6 and a half hour flight from JFK airport to Zurich, Switzerland, followed by a 4 hour layover and 1 and a half hour flight from there to Prague. We'll be decked out with some of our gear for the first time with our new Team USA polo shirt and jacket. We love the new gear and we all love the fact that we represent Team USA. Somehow the red, white, and blue rowing crest on the polo shirt brings out the color of my eyes (at least that's what I tell myself).

Luckily I am not a huge fan of airline food because I have to be very cognizant of what I eat and how much I eat in order to prepare for our first weigh-in for U23 Worlds on Thursday. I am expected to weigh-in around 71.2 kg (about 157 lbs.) and my travel buddy, Mike, has to weigh about 67.5 kg (about 149 lbs.). Don't ask me why Mike weighs so little because he's only about 2 inches shorter and has a wider waist than me. Don't worry though because we still like to give him a hard time for having a rather large backside. For whatever reason he's just naturally light which helps me out, so everyone is happy.

Well, time for one last workout in the USA on the erg (indoor stationary rowing machine) before Mike and his dad pick me up on their way to the airport. The next you hear from us will be from Eastern Europe!

Last day at GMS!!

So today was our last day at GMS!  We all unpacked our rooms and left for our respective homes this afternoon.  It's sad to leave but it's also really exciting.  I'm finding it hard to believe that we leave for Prague tomorrow but I think we're all ready to race and hopefully win a medal!  We will all arrive in Prague on Sunday morning and once we are there, we will only have about 6 practices on the course before we duke it out with the best light quads in the world.  You can follow all of the racing and see our results at http://www.u23-2009.com/.  From there, just click on the "Results" page and you'll be able to see how all US boats are doing.  We'll keep posting as more exciting stuff happens.

Help us out!

Like reading our blog?  Please help support us by donating money at our fundraising site:  http://www.firstgiving.com/guenterbeutter1.  Every penny counts so we are incredibly grateful for any support you can give us.  If you can't make a monetary donation, tell your friends and family about this blog!  It means a lot to us to see that people are interested in our trip so please, spread the word!

The Rowers

As my first post I wanted to tell everyone a little bit about each rower. We have a good mix of guys from various colleges and clubs throughout the northeastern United States.

Our bowman, Will Kelly is the second oldest of four, all of whom row. He is from New Canaan, CT. His older brother, Nate is going to the U23 World Championships in the men's heavyweight double with Columbia rower Sebastian "Seabass" Kirwin. Will is the youngest member of the quad, a rising junior and was the stroke for the second varsity at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. A talented rower and former Junior National Team member in the quad, Will is the jester of the group. After a large cup of coffee, Will is known to talk so much that random strangers find it necessary to tell him to "shut his loud mouth." Always with a funny comment or fresh dance move, it is hard not to laugh when you are around Will. As this is the first time Will has ever rowed lightweight, his is finding rather quickly the deep appreciation and attentiveness most lightweights have for each meal and the numerous conversations that revolve around milkshakes, fast food, desserts, and any other artery-clogging meal that infiltrates every lightweight's nightly dreams.

Pete Orlando, or "Grandpa Pete" as his boat mates call him, is two seat in the quad. He is from Pelham, NY and a recent graduate from Ithaca College and member of New York Athletic Club. Pete is a very relaxed guy. Always taking his time, whether it is on the dock getting set up for a long row, sipping coffee for hours at a coffee shop, or when simply making his daily bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, Pete rushes for nothing or nobody. He is the one who keeps us in line on long rows by commenting on our technique or relaxing our rhythm. Watch out though, because if you upset Pete he has been known to quip teammates with such outdated insults as "goober" or "dillweed" (whatever that is). This is Pete's last year of U23 eligibility, and after having such a rewarding summer at GMS under head coach G-Man, it is likely you will be hearing more of his rowing success for years to come if he decides to stick around and continue his training here.

Mike Nucci sits three seat in the quad and hails from Blue Bell, PA. Mike is the weight-maker of the boat, meaning that he helps fatties like yours truly and Will make average weight by weighing in under the boat average (FISA boat average is 70 kilograms or roughly 154.3 lbs.) Mike is a rising senior at Columbia University and has been in Columbia's varsity lightweight 8 for the past two years. I've known Mike since we were both 13 and there hasn't been a season of rowing where we haven't rowed on the same team. We started rowing our freshman year at St. Joe's Prep and somehow managed to end up rowing lightweight together at Columbia. We began sculling (rowing with two oars instead of just one oar while the rower is designated to one side of the boat) at Malta Boat Club in Philadelphia where we both won gold in the intermediate lighweight quad at Club Nationals in 2007. Mike is a comical character and my best friend, but can be a little too excitable at times for those who are constantly around him (take for example his boat mates who eat, sleep, and row with him everyday). An example of this anxiousness is on any random night Mike will get the urge, perhaps unyielding fixation is a better term, for candy, and is restless until this craving is satisfied with a quick run to the local Rite Aid. His weakness is anything chocolate or his all-time favorite candy, Sour Patch Kids. Even with this vulnerability, Mike is still both light and fast when it comes to rowing, so we can't help but laugh whenever Mike has another urgent craving.

And that leaves me, Bob Duff, as stroke of the quad. I am a rising senior alongside Mike Nucci at Columbia. I am from Huntingdon Valley, PA and the second oldest of five in a line of siblings who all row. My older brother, Shawn, is class of 2008 at the University of Delaware who was the first Duff to spread the crew gene to his brothers and sisters. He currently helps coach where he first learned how to row at St. Joe's Prep in Philly. My younger brother, Jimmy, just finished his freshman year at Marist. Both my brothers are big guys at 6'4-5" and at least 200 lbs., yet somehow I managed to get stuck with the puny lightweight gene. My younger sister, Johanna, just graduated from Mount St. Joe's after a successful season capped with a trip across the pond to Henley. My youngest sister, Mary, a rising senior at the Mount was also in the boat. Johanna heads to Northeastern as a Husky in the fall. I'm not sure why rowing became so popular amongst my siblings because both my parents never touched an oar before their kids started rowing. My uncle Jim McGlone, though, started rowing at the Prep in the 70s and then went on to row for Yale, and his two sons followed suit rowing at the Prep. The eldest, James, rows lightweight at Princeton while the other, Patrick, still rows at the Prep and just earned a spot on the Junior National Team this summer.

I hope you learned a little something about the guys in the quad. Stay tuned for more posts from us and a post following our arrival in the Czech Republic on Sunday.

<3 Bob

First post

Hey everyone,

So we just started this blog to keep anyone who is interested up to date on what we have been doing and how our training has been going.  Since this is the first post, I figured I'd give you all a little bit of background information on our training.

We are rowing at the GMS Rowing Center in New Milford, CT, coached by Guenter "G-Man" Beutter.  GMS is the site of both the Men's and Women's Lightweight U23 Quad camps so we've been sharing our training time with a girl's quad that also qualified for U23 Worlds.  We've been at this camp since June 8th and most of our time has been spent in the quad with the current line-up so hopefully our experience together will help us out at Worlds.  A lot of our training is long steady state rows but recently, we've done a lot of race-pace pieces.  We've had some pretty good results recently so we're looking forward to racing over in the Czech Republic next week.  Things start to get pretty exciting from here on out so keep checking the blog to hear about our training and race results.

 - Will