Today, Pam and I have left for a Grand Adventure. The Dragon Dream Team, Ohio's first and only all breast cancer survivor dragon boat team, will be representing Ohio at the International Breast Cancer Participatory races in FLORENCE, ITALY!! We are incredibly excited, though perhaps there is a little trepidation lurking in the back of our minds.
We have been raising funds for a couple years for this, and paying installments on the trip for almost as long. Many of us went to dragon boat boot camp in FL in April (otherwise known as the Space Coast Dragon Boat Camp), where we paddled at least 80 KM in 6 days (including a 15 km 'run to the causeway' on one day, and a 2000 m race on the Saturday morning). We practice three times a week on the Portage Lakes, we've already gone to one race this season in Buffalo (3 medals), one of our members has spent a season and a half learning to steer (everyone on the boat must be a survivor in a sanctioned race, so our coach can't steer). And we are importing a former member who moved to Atlanta to be our other steer, as we have entered TWO boats! Both of our drummers are working with injuries, but stalwartly agreed to drum. I've been learning Italian for a year and a half (learning a language at 63 is very different than at 20!).
So, the garden is Preened and (at least roughly) weeded, daughter Christina and husband Eric have dropped us off at a hotel in Pittlsburgh, arrangements and arrangements and arrangements have been made, and the team is as prepared as possible for the races in Italy. It will be a 500 m race on the Arno River; the set-up is in Cascine Park along the river, near the historic city center.
More later!
Some links you might enjoy:
https://www.dragondreamteam.org/
http://www.florencebcs2018.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqw-ugfq-Ys
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