Bronze is Progress

0.98 seconds. That's all that stood between us from competing in the final's of 2008's Colorado Dragon Boat Festival Novice Division. That was the difference between the gold or silver. But we settled for bronze.

As much of a competitor as I am, all I'm willing to say is bronze is progress. Given the fact that VPN has only competed in this event for the last 3 years since the organization's conception, I'd say we are definitely making progress. Obviously, this is our best finish thus far. But I think we can do better. And we were less than a second away from standing on the highest tier, and tasting that gold.

Everything was going according to plan. Eliminate Janus Boat, and we would well be underway to smelling ultimate victory. Well, we eliminated Janus, but then came the flukey start in our 3rd race with those hockey-helmet-wearing fish sticks. What kind of name is WagenKamp's anyway?! Because of the loss, we were forced to race additional races of which we were in need of a few more subs. The 4th race required for some of us, including myself, swapping of sides with our rowing partner to try and muster any advantage of the less-tired arm. We still came up short. 0.98 seconds short that is. I think VPN's Dragon Boat history would have been dramatically re-written if the wind and starting official had cooperated. Simply, things don't always go according to plan, and we should always expect the unexpected. But, these are mistakes that I am recording and committing to memory. And, I will be sure to share these vital experiences when engaging next year's lineup.

Although we ended with a 3rd place finish, I truly believed we were the 1st place team. I am truly proud and honored by our team's achievement. Without any doubt, we had a heck of a run. And, we didn't walk away empty-handed. So that is still something to be said.

0.98 seconds. That number will be engrained in my mind from now until the races roll around next year. It will be the sole, driving, motivational factor that will push me and my crew to train harder, paddle deeper, and thrust that 1 ton boat faster in 2009.

Eve of jitters

It's like this every year for me. I can't sleep. My stomach feels like it's full of butterflies.

I'm hungry for victory.

One week away

They call me Vincent van Row — I'm the master of my craft

Craft. Boat. You get the point.

The eighth annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival takes place this weekend at Sloan's Lake. The two-day event is filled with food, crafts and a whole lot of racing.

This is my seventh year racing — I missed 2004 because we didn't have a team. Instead I spent six hours at the gym working out my frustrations of not being able to race.

I'm racing with the Vietnamese Professional Network team this year. If there's something I've learned from my years of racing, the ethnic teams are scary. (The Mongolians, Cambodians and Laotians are always among the favorites)

This year is nice, it's the first one since 2003 where I'm not the team captain. It's much less stressful to be just another rower.

Though, I've found it difficult to bite my tongue and not chime in my two cents. But I think I've been better as the weeks of practice have gone on.

I'm happy with my team this year. In my seven years of racing, this ranks toward the top in terms of overall strength and experience — the team we had in 2002 where we won the gold was the best one though.

But I truly feel we have a legitimate shot at taking the Novice trophy this year. This is the first year I've done months of on-water training (My left hand still has the scars from the cuts I received in practice). Plus we actually did conditioning during practice for once.

But most importantly, I have faith in my team and I hope they have faith in me.

I just hope they have faith in themselves because if they knew what they were capable of, they would be amazed.

Circles

It's a week later and I'm feeling stronger. I haven't lost any strength despite my previous weight gain, but I'm working toward getting lighter and stronger. Power-to-weight ratio needs to be better.

Having two-a-day workouts should help. (Plus, it gives me an excuse to eat steak for breakfast)

Our second practice took place on Smith Lake at Wash Park last Saturday. We got a few new members to show up, including my nieces Michelle and Monica, who have eight years of experience between them.

We started off with some warm-ups, though I think we need to increase the length of our jog.

The best part was that we had canoes this week. We piled three to four people in each one and practiced around the lake.

I was in a three-person one with Katie and Patrick. I love those two – no matter how far we went, they wanted to keep going. Can't beat that attitude.

It would've been fun to go straight, though. Kind of hard to avoid circles with an odd number of people.

After an hour or two on the water, we got back to shore and ate some burgers and hot dogs. So good after a nice workout.

I'm hungry now. A taste of the water instantly brought back the past seven years of racing. I've gotten a gold medal and a bronze medal. I want that trophy – And I want to eat pho out of it, dammit!

A bumpy start

It's getting close to dragon boat time again and I'm feeling fat and sassy.

Weeks of drinking and eating in four different states have taken its toll on my midsection. It's only been a few days since I've gotten back into town and I'm just getting back into my workout routine.

Just the perfect way I want to impress my new team, the Vietnamese Professional Network crew.

For the first time in four years, I'm on a team where I'm not the captain or coach. I'm trying not to be the person I hate most – the guy who oversteps his role. I'm just a member of the team now, so I'm supposed to bite my tongue and follow orders. I've slipped a couple times and talked out of turn, but I'm working hard to correct that.

Paddling along the lake in Broomfield was interesting. The area we had to sit on was kind of small – for me at least. My big butt kept creeping toward the water. Minimizing my butt size is something I need to work on over the next two months.

I'm impressed with my team so far. Alex is a good captain and the core group seems to be enthusiastic. Plus, this is probably one of the stronger teams I've had in years.

Can't wait to see our progress over the coming weeks.