Category: Quotes

In the early months of training you're thinking 'What the hell is all this for?' because the race is so far off. There's so much tedium and discipline and brutal effort to hammer through. You have to resist the subconscious desire to put an end to all this self-inflicted hardship. But as the days pass and you feel yourself getting stronger you begin to live for the next day. You punish yourself with a will in training because you know you're facing a race that will suspend your life. Somewhere in the race you will find out what it is you've been working for. And you're asking big questions of your body and when the right answers are coming back, it's a feeling you know you will never forget.

Nobody Beats Us! served as our main trigger. We practiced using trigger words, private verbal keys, which unlocked certain thoughts for us. We had a half-dozen phrases - some dealt with maintaining our technique, some dealt with our stroke rating. The most powerful phrase was 'Nobody Beats Us!' According to our plan, when I said these words to Paul toward the end of the race, we would immediately shift into our final sprint, rowing as high and hard as possible, straight through until we crossed the finish line.

Brad Alan Lewis 1984 USA M2x