What I Love

A gentle breeze, but mostly flat water. This morning we had 1 eight, 1 double, 1 single (me!), and 2 men’s singles out on the water. We warmed up around the lake, from the finger to the log boom and then, practiced starts from the boom back into the finger. I definitely need some work on my starts, especially the first two strokes. Each of my first or “pry” strokes was a wobbly start and the second or “quick” stroke was a frantic, uncoordinated follow-up. The main piece today was about one full lake loop, plus a little more of steady state at 24-26spm. I was surprised at myself for rowing most of the steady state at 26-28spm, considering I often have a hard time at higher rates.

Many women on my team love big boats--eights, fours, quads. And I do like the dynamics and speed of the big boats, but what I really love are the small boats—singles, doubles, pairs. In big boats, there is always room to hid your technical flaws, to slack off on power, and to blame everyone else in the boat for the bad set, lack of power, rush, check, or poor timing. To be fair, there can be good reason to blame everyone else in the boat. After all, in an eight, you are responsible for only one-eight of the power, set, timing, etc., and you can only control your own one-eighth. You will probably go crazy if you worry about what the other seven rowers are doing. Thus, when eight rowers can come together, row together, and make the boat fly, it is a beautiful sensation, and it is one reason why many rowers love rowing big boats.

Yet, there can be beauty in small boats. The single forces you to be honest with yourself about your technique, balance, and power. In the single, there is only one person to blame—yourself. In the double and pair, the two rowers have to be in-tune with each other; with time and practice, the two will develop a feel and understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The two rowers have to be complementary. If one person slacks or tires, the load of the boat will shift and it will quickly become obvious to the other person. Small boats are beautiful because they can show what one or two individuals can achieve.