Update #2 - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)

Untitled #4 - Our Street - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)
Untitled #5 - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)
Untitled #6 - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)

Update #1 - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)

Untitled #1 - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)
Untitled #2 - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)
Untitled #3 - Split / Croatia (Tue 30 Jul 2013)
Arrived in Split late on Monday Night from Szeged via Budapest. More than a 1000km and 13 hours on the road. A long but adventurous day.

A new camera (a Canon S110 which replaces my faulty S95 - which is just fantastic) and workflow via iPad mini and a wifi connection between the iPad Mini and camera. Getting the hang of it all very quickly. Uploaded a selection (*) to my Picasa Site (*)

Split is just beautiful. Lots of colour. Plenty of narrow lanes with light and shadow, all which the camera seems to capture in amazing detail.

2013 Auroras Flag Bearer Speech - Joanne Petterson - Australian Team Dinner / Gyor / Hungary (Sun 21 Jul 2013)

Introducing Joanne Petterson: Your 2013 Auroras Flag Bearer
A Tribute to Joanne and all those who have supported her in paddling and life - Love Geoff (*)
Gyor / Hungary (Sun 21 Jul 2013)
I would just like to say how honoured and proud I am to be representing you as the Australian Flag Bearer.

I love this sport and am very passionate about it and have been fortunate to witness many opening ceremonies and I still can't believe I have been given this honour to carry the flag.

I have been involved in the Australian squads since 2003 and have been fortunate enough to have been included in many great teams and squads, and have met many wonderful people over the years.

Each Aus Sqaud experience has been memorable for all different reasons and we are now making more memories together which we will reminisce over for years to come.

I have loved this time in Gyor and it was so nice to see how good all the divisions looked on the water and how each of the divisions supported each other.

We have all trained hard and put in a lot of work and we are now ready to face the rest of the world, so what is important now is what goes on in your head.

Some things I have learnt over the years are:

1. Trust and believe in yourself, your team mates, coaches and managers knowing we have done everything required.

2. Work together as a team and a squad on and off the water and support each other.

3. Go hard and don't hold back.

4. Focus on doing your best possible race rather than focusing on the result.

5. Be positive and be brave - you can go harder than you thought was possible and your body will be able to do it.

From my experience, I have seen it time and time again, not just in paddling but in life, keep a positive attitude even when things become tougher than you could possibly imagine, as anything is possible.

I know this to be true and I have witnessed many great moments in this sport and through that have realised as the German crew said to us after a Final at the 2009 World Championships "you made the impossible, possible".

I often remember a comment one of my coaches said as we huddled together in a circle after our last race together at the 2009 World Championships. He said "look around at each of your team mates, this will be the last time this team will race together". So saviour the moment.

I'd like to wish everyone well in Szeged, go hard, be strong both physically and mentally, be brave, but most of all have fun, these are all memories we are making together which will last a lifetime.

Introducing Joanne Petterson: Your 2013 Auroras Flag Bearer / YouTube - Gyor / Hungary (Sun 21 Jul 2013)

Introducing Joanne Petterson: Your 2013 Auroras Flag Bearer - YouTube (*) Gyor / Hungary (Sun 21 Jul 2013)
A tribute to Joanne and those that have shared her journey over the last 13 years in paddling and in life.

The song, Holy Grail by Hunters and Collectors is a personal favourite of Joanne's and I think it goes back to her first campaign - Poznan 2003. She would also choose it as her song contribution to the Tampa 2011 Senior A warmup / motivational CD compilation.

I hope you like it Joanne.

It was fun trying to sequence the photos with the lyrics - I hope I have not been too literal. All done on the road with final touches were made on the 80 min train trip from Budapest to Gyor (lucky i got that seat by myself) using an iMovie on an iPad mini - incredible really

These photos have taken right across Joanne's experiences in paddling and across the World. I was unable to title the photos, some places include Shanghai, Qingpu, Busan, Wujin, Macau, Hong Kong, Scotland, Sydney, Canberra, Kyoto, Berlin, Prague, Kawana, Cairns plus lots more.

I will change the cover photo of the YouTube video to that of the first photo in Kyoto when I get back to Sydney. This is the one YouTube automatically selected on upload.

It has been an honour to share these moments and memories with you and I know Jenny and your Parents would be so proud of you.

Go Joanne and Go the Auroras.

Running - Evermore (Wed 03 Jun 2009)

Running - Evermore / YouTube (*) (Wed 03 Jun 2009)
I have this song from iTunes and listen to it a lot and finally found the above on YouTube.

I had heard it on the radio when it was released and liked it as an RPM song also.

I watched this with Jenny the night of the big game. I had a little injury and missed the Aus training for Prague that night. Joanne was not there as she was at the training session in the rain and cold. I sat on the lounge while Jenny stretched out and I massaged her feet and toes - something she loved.

At that moment in time we did not know that Jenny had a 4cm brain tumour - that news would come one week later. Another week later she would have the brain tumour removed (*). A week after that her heart would fail (*) to be revived for a painful week in ICU where Jenny would leave us (*), suffering a massive pulmonary embolism.

Maybe the lyrics would become a precursor to the journey that is bereavement, grief and knowing that there is a future. This blog shows this all:

I don't know
I really don't know
If this castle in the sand
Is strong enough to stand

Cause I know
How it feels
All the pain
Is so real
Cause you sink
And you drown
Till your feet hit the ground
Running, running, running, running

I always remember this when I hear this song. It is now nice to have the video from the Games pre game entertainment to remember those moments of innocence before the events that would change our lives forever.

On Photography - Jorg Colberg (Tue 09 Jul 2013)

Jörg Colberg (*) writes On Photography (*):

People usually love talking about their photographs, and they love telling you what is in those pictures (even if most of that is not apparent to a stranger at all – we’re certainly all photographers in the sense of believing there are things in the pictures someone else simply can’t see, given her or his lack of background knowledge).

via Photography’s Existential Dread (*).

Dimitri the 6 year old Carpet Snake - Newtown (Sun 07 Jul 2013)>

Auroras 2013 - Bank St / Sydney (Sun 07 Jul 2013

Auroras 2013 (1 of 3) - Bank St / Sydney (Sun 07 Jul 2013)
Auroras 2013 (2 of 3) - Senior B's - Bank St / Sydney (Sun 07 Jul 2013)Auroras 2013 (3 of 3) - Pacific Dragons - Bank St / Sydney (Sun 07 Jul 2013)
A beautiful sunny Sunday for our last Sunday training session here in Sydney. A bit cool under the Anzac Bridge before the session, but a cobalt blue sky for our session.

Thanks everyone. It has been a great campaign thus far. Safe travels and all the best for what it is about to unfold in Hungary.

Note to self. At this point in time I am reminded of this great little observation by Spencer Lum (*) from here (*):

The 90% point is deceptive. It feels like you’re nearly there. But you’re really just getting started. And if you don’t make the big push right then and there, you’re not doing the things you need to do to learn what you are really all about. It’s in the final 10% that all the good stuff happens.

On Toughness - Carl Valle (Fri 05 Jul 2013)

Gerald - Slug / Leichardt (Wed 02 Jul 2013)
Carl Valle (*) writes On Toughness (*):

the mental (*) component of what is toughness (*) is something of a debate.

The ability (*) to get up and do another is sometimes more valuable than elaborate periodisation.

Pushing the body is a balance, and nobody knows the outcome until the most important meet.

via Unwritten History of David Hemery (*) by Carl Valle (*).

Been doing a bit of pushing lately at training - lots of repeat efforts - 200's, 500's, 1000m and 2k's. Love it because it is different for me and because of the insights mentioned above.

Once upon a time ..

Once upon a time - YouTube (*) (Sat 30 Aug 2009)
Hard to watch in so many ways, but I am glad that this moment in time in our lives was captured. It was just short of 10 weeks since Jenny died. Everything was so raw back then and it makes you realise how far we have come since those moments in Racice.

On Passion, Committment, Control and Ability - The Gerro Factor - The Advertiser / Reece Homfray (Wed 03 Jul 2013)

Joanne and Jenny – 2004 IDBF Worlds 500m Premier Mixed Podium - Qingpu / Shanghai (Fri 22 Oct 2004)
Dave Sanders (*) talks about Simon Gerrans (*) and the The Gerro Factor where words like passion (*), committment (*), control (*) and ability (*) are used:

If you’ve got that passion and commitment – we now call it the Gerro Factor – if a kid’s got the Gerro Factor he’ll get somewhere.

Dave expands:

Simon doesn’t have to be gifted to do what he does, he just does everything he can control to the best of his ability. Which is train right, eat right, sleep right, recover right - they’re the things he can control.

via Simon Gerrans' coach tells of how Tour de France leader's amazing work ethic led to yellow jersey (*) by Reece Homfray (*).