July 28, 2012 – Final Preparations
I wasn't sure what to expect as we left Quebec City and headed off on
our 3 1/2 hour trek to the town of Roberval, a small town on the banks
of St. John lake steep in open water history. As we rode into town I
started to notice the signs for 58 Anniverse Traversee Internationale Du
Lac St-Jean, the week-long celebration that includes a town supper on
the street, the 10k event we are participating in, 1k-3k and 5k age
group events, and the historical 58th 32k lake crossing. It is a
tremendous event embraced by the entire Roberval community and attracts
swimmers from all over the world.
Posters with pictures of past champions included American Greta Anderson, seven-time champion John Kinsella, two-time champion Chad Hundeby, and our own Olympic Coach Paul Asmuth who won the 32k crossing of the lake three times. Our American team here includes Olympians Alex Meyer and Haley Anderson, National team members Eva Fabian, Arthur Frayler, Emily Brunnamen, Christine Jennings, and FINA rep Dale Petranec. Alex won his 25k World Championship here in 2010 and the group has fond memories of their trips here. After the race we will return to Lake Beauport for our final preparations before heading over to London.
Like most of you, we will be watching the opening ceremonies on TV. The logistics of our trip made it somewhat impossible for us to be in London so far before our race. We will have the opportunity to walk in the closing ceremonies which will be a special ending to our incredible journey.
Enjoy the photos I have added which include our training camp at Lake Beauport outside of Quebec City, the pool at Laval University, and our time in Roberval. We now have one week left in Canada and two weeks until the Women's Olympic 10k. The days seem to be getting shorter! All our time and thoughts will be devoted to connecting the dots that lead to Hyde Park.
