Respect

Respect. That's what comes in my mind after the second session on the DWD course this morning. Respect for the power of the water, respect for the control of the WW-coaches on the water. After two succesfull runs on the white water track during the first session, I had good hopes about the second session. But this turned out to be a lesson in modesty. I swam a lot today. Look at the clip of the training session of David Florence on the DWD-course. David makes the track look like a piece of cake. With a single bladed paddle. I can only have great admiration for a performance like this...

And now something completely different: In the afternoon Lieke and I visited the finish of the first edition of the Pro-tour de Ronde van het Groene Hart here in Woerden: 1. Wouter Weijlandt (Be), 2. Graeme Brown (Aus), 3. Gerg van Avermaat (Be). 203 km in 4.23 hours. Great admiration for this performance too; a hard course on a windy day. For a distance like this, I need a day, these guys do it in the afternoon... Respect!
It reminded me of an earlier lesson in modesty I had about 10 years ago, when I attended a cycling trainingweek in Mallorca. On the first day of this week I joined the training of the group of elite racers -> a level below the pro's. A big mistake: I learned there is a world of difference between a racer and a tourer in the cycling-world. I have never been so exhausted as I was after that day...