Greetings all,

It's been a while since my last blog, and in my absence I've managed to keep pretty busy. I stood as best man to my good friend Patrick White, I put in a few hours at my other job, and had a great stay in Nova Scotia overall.

I've been training in Ottawa now for the past week, and it's been a really positive experience. The C-2 has been moving really well, and I think I may be starting to find a little more connection and rhythm in my stroke which is definitely a nice feeling.

This past week the volume and intensity were quite high, and we managed some quality challenging workouts. One of the better ones we did was in the company of the Baron van Koeverden, and it was two sets of (7,5,3,2,4,6 minutes) with one minute rest in between each piece (first set with resistor). It is always a treat to train with Adam because he keeps you very honest, being as fast and talented as he is, you're never quite able to find a real comfort zone; instead you're always pushing to stay up to pace.

I also really enjoyed Canada Day this year in Ottawa, what better a place to spend our nation's holiday. The Rideau Canada Day Regatta was a blast. I raced the traditional 100m event and was second to fellow NS resident Richard Dalton. Later in the day I managed to catch up with some good friends from my university days for a little barbecue and fireworks. I have to admit I've never been huge on the fireworks, but this year I really enjoyed the show. Perhaps, when you're in the company of royalty things are done a little more grand.

Off the water, being a sports nut, I've really enjoyed the stretch of sports coverage at the moment. You've got the excitement of one of the biggest free agency periods ever in the NBA headlined by Lebron, the NHL free agency, the start of the Tour de France, oh and a little thing called the World Cup. What heartbreak to see Ghana depart, I was rooting hard for them to win it all.

Ok all for now, I need to stretch.

Keep it real,
Andrew

p.s. Adam Sandler is no longer in the least bit funny, don't believe me? ... go to the movies late when the only thing showing you haven't seen is Grown-Ups. Worst!