Greetings from Philly

The weather here today is in the mid 90's with 80% humidity. Training this morning was somewhat cooler but what the coach (Tom Hewitt) has us doing each day leaves us ringing wet and ready for a good rest before the next session.

The training camp began on Monday morning 8-4-03 @ 0730. The team members for the double and I met at the PRPD boathouse on West River Drive on the Skuykoll river. We set the rigging and seat position of our boats and went out for a row so the coach could see where we were at and what we needed to work on. That evening the team members from the four, double and single boats met. The four was a mixed gender team. The team members were Arial (visually impaired), Jennifer (above-knee amputee), Jimmy (below-knee amputee), and Dwayne (visually impaired). The double is also a mixed gender team Scott (above-knee amputee), Angela(L1 paraplegic). Both Scott and Angela participated in the 2002 World Championship in Seville Spain. In the single was myself, a T8 paraplegic. The coach Tom Hewitt coached rowing at Rutger University which the UW beat in Henley, England a month ago. Of course, I reminded him of that:-) Tom laid out his expectations for the next two weeks and passed out the training schedule.

The actual water training began @ 0730 on Tuesday morning. The training for myself has been once each day either AM or PM. Tom felt this would be enough as he did not want to over-train or injure my shoulders as that is all I have to move the boat. Each session was approximately 2 hrs for each boat.

The first couple of days was spent on changing the rigging, rowing, checking it out, and changing it again to find the most comfortable position that provided the longest stroke with optimum pressure on the drive. The spread (distance between oar locks) is set at 161 cm, the seat 60 cm from the line of work, and the blade pitch set at 6 degrees. Once this was finally achieved, the training began to be much more intense. It began with putting full pressure on the drive and then some slow easy strokes to get the feel of the blades and connect with the water. Videos were taken to see what was needed to enhance our rowing skills. It was suggested that I use a chest strap to aid in pulling me back because I do not have use if my abdominal muscles. The chest strap was a great improvement. I feel much more comfortable and confident in the boat. I am able to apply much more pressure on the drive which is moving the boat much faster and straighter. On the 13th we did time trials from 500 meters. We did one with the current and one against the current. It averaged out to be 4 minutes for 500 meters. Whether this is good or bad no one knows as this will be the first time for the "Arms Only" class. Personally I am working on improving that by fine tuning the skills/techniques I have obtained.

All in All, the training has been beneficial and I have seen much improvement and progress in all areas of rowing as well as the technique. I have the strength, but technique is everything.

Anyway this evening and tomorrow are a day of rest. I will be able to catch up on homework, take my mid-term for Aviation Safety Systems, take a nap, and quite possibly take in some of Philadelphia's historical sites, something I have not had a whole lot of time to do. I most definitely am away but not really on any type of vacation. But it is all good and the strong will survive!

I wish you all the best and I ask for you prayers in my journey.

God Bless