Killing time til raceday

So we are in Switzerland, and I gotta say, it's SOOOO good to be out of New Jersey. The weather here is awesome, and the scenery is great with the snowcapped mountains and the attractive locals. We've been here since Sunday AM and are trying to get our bodies adjusted to the European time zones in time for racing.... we did our standard World Cup travel itinerary - flew in 6 days before racing starts on a red-eye, and took a few days to get our bodies in whack. It's super important we don't mess around with the jetlag, so we stay hydrated and don't let ourselves sleep unless it's at night. With the pre-race nerves and a body still on a North American clock, it can be tough for a rower to get a good night's sleep. I'm still not able to get to sleep when I go to bed, but am feeling relatively adjusted at this point (Wed). After a really, really bad experience with Ambien while racing in Germany four years ago, I force myself to do it all without any drugs or sleep aids.

Lucerne is a great place for racing because the course is one of the best in the world with great protection from wind and the town is really easy to get around. The food here is AWESOME, especially the candy. While I've given up candy due to two root canals last year, I am caving and eating a decent amount of Swiss chocolate and gummi candy to satisfy my sweet tooth while I am getting to weight. Fortunately with the crew we have here weight should not be an issue, which is good and allows me to walk around with less stomach growling during my stay. Looking forward to some greasy Swiss food after the racing, as well as hopefully getting to the top of the local mountain peak (Mt. Pilatus).

Heading to town on my afternoon off to shop for Swiss Army knives and a watch.... they are everywhere in this town... then I'll probably watch about four hours of French Open tennis with German commentating on Eurosport before heading to bed (and I don't speak any German). Will try to enjoy this week and race hard, because as soon as we get back to the states the intensity ramps up again right away as we get right back into seatracing....