Greetings to all,

Greetings to all,

Not a ton has changed with my mood since I've arrived here in Beijing. Despite intermittent bouts of drowsiness throughout the first few days because of the time change, I've been nothing but excited and thrilled to be here. I now find myself closing in on my time to compete here at the Olympic Games, and things seem to be right on track. On the water the C-2 has been feeling stronger with each day, and my C-1 has also been pretty consistent. Off the water, yesterday marked our first day of rest without any paddling. It felt good to let the body recuperate a bit, but even more so we had a chance to go into the city and try our hands at some bargaining in one of the famous silk markets.

Our bus pulled up after the 40 minute commute outside the six story bargain shopping mecca. The timer was set, and in we went with two hours to haggle our way towards reasonable (synonymous with cheap) for "designer" goods. I teamed up with the legendary Christopher Pellini and we set out to make our mark on the silk market. Keep in mind this is not your average western shopping mall. It is commonplace to have your arm grabbed, or have "hey canada" to be shouted in your direction if you happened to be wearing a canada t-shirt (perhaps my first mistake). Nonetheless, a confident Pellini and I set out to conquer the silk market and make off like bandits. After an assortment of small purchases, we found ourselves with 20 minutes left and we hadn't quite conquered the urge to shop, it was then that we came across a suit vendor and decided to have a gander. Quickly we each found suits that we were quite pleased with, and decided to inquire as to the price. After a great deal of haggling we left with with some nice threads and smiles on our faces. Upon boarding the bus, everyone was eager to see what each other had bought. I thought the best two purchases were the giant winter coats, that entirely coincidentally Mark and Emilie Fournel had gotten, though Steve Jorens' flying helicopter was also very cool.

This morning we were back on the water, and off to the racecourse at 8 am as per usual. It was extra exciting today, because when we got there Gab and I were greeted by the arrival of our boat name stickers. I know this doesn't seem like a detail worth really getting too hyped about, (please excuse my potential lameness), but I thought it was super cool. I have always watched the Olympic paddling and thought that the names alongside the gunnels of the boats were one of the really sleek details specific to the Olympics. And now... voila, pasted alongside our black and red C-2 are A. Russell and Ga. B-Sevigny
(Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny comes under fire for character limits). Alright, well I guess that is about enough from me. We are off shortly to fire off a hard workout in C-2. Thanks to everyone who has written me such kind words of encouragement, it is greatly appreciated and makes me even more excited to race.

Keep it very real,
Andrew

ps. I know it's only pre-season, but Chargers off to a good start... expect more of the same in the months to come

Hello and greetings from Beijing,

Well let's just say the opening ceremonies lived up to the hype. Despite being extremely hot and sweaty for much of the night, walking into the stadium to the cheers of thousands was simply incredible. However, the most amazing part was yet to come. The lighting of the torch was like nothing I had ever seen before. When the lap of the stadium running on air took place, I felt chills, and all of this capped off by the lighting of the flame. Finally, as if they hadn't gotten everyone with the spectacle of the floating runner trailed by video footage of the running of the torch, the fireworks that followed were also very fun to watch. I am finding myself running out of adjectives to describe just how great I thought the night was. Oh yeah, did I mention that Yao is an absolute giant of a man, seeing him up close was mind blowing, let's just say he has a few fans in China, the stadium erupted when he entered carrying the flag for the host country. It was funny too, because even the event staff that manned the sidelines of the track seemed to become overcome with excitement, and they were all shouting his name in unison. All in all I felt so lucky to have been a part of the moment, and I left the stadium feeling more excited than ever to race. We didn't get back to our hotel until fairly late and I slept like a rock upon arriving.

Today we paddled twice and both practices were in singles. The humidity makes the air very sticky, and leaves a grey fog in every direction, but it has become more manageable with each practice, and the smog is not very noticeable where we are racing. Both of the practices today felt really good, and I was feeling very connected and strong for each. Tomorrow Gab and I will train just once in C-2, and then probably just relax and watch some of the events on the tube. Off the water we are keeping things nice and light, watching the occasional episode of entourage, and looking forward to the next season. The staff and volunteers wherever we go are incredibly hospitable and have really made me feel very comfortable. Anyway, that's all for now, looking forward to another great day tomorrow. Thanks for reading, and keep it real.

Andrew

ps. if you haven't seen any of them yet, the canoe club videos entered on www.canoekayak.ca are pretty fun to watch, I recommend a gander

Hello and Greetings to all,

So the surreal journey has finally reached its final destination, the Olympic Games. It was such a great feeling when the plane touched down in China to think that we were indeed here. We made it through the Beijing International Airport and on to a bus to head to the village. After a short stay, a bite to eat, and a nice flag ceremony, we bussed it to our hotel called the Dragon Villas. This morning after a much needed sleep, we headed over to the race course for our first paddle. The first thing I noticed was the intense humidity and grayish fog that was all you could see in all directions. When we arrived at the venue and made our way through the security checkpoint, the course was revealed in all its glory. It seems to be an extremely well put together race course, with large warm-up lanes and fast water. It didn't take long at all on the water before my shirt was entirely soaked through. The sticky weather is most noticeable when you leave an air conditioned room. You can literally take one step out and it feels as though you've been hit by a wall of heat. After a nice lunch and a little nap, Gab and I headed back over to get out in C-2 for the first time since arriving. We had a great practice, and perhaps it was my expectation that I would be so rundown by the time change- not really sure, but I felt great on the water, and we were really moving the boat well, good timing I guess. Though they say that the third day is always worse, so perhaps I'll brace myself for the next couple of days to be more of a struggle.

So as I get ready to sleep tonight, the opening ceremonies are dominating my thoughts. This was one of the things that I was super excited about right away when I made the team. I have a feeling like it'll be an absolutely spectacular event, and will live up to expectations and then some. I always remember it being one of things I looked forward to as a kid growing up parked in front of the tv during the Games, and now I am actually here to live it. That seems to be a general theme so far, I just feel super fortunate to be here and be a part of everything. Off now... eyes are starting to involuntarily shut on me, keep it real and thanks for reading, more to come...

Cheers,
Andrew