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| Cal Lightweight Men's Four taking it to the finish line; copyright row2k.com |
Closer to home, I raced in the Women's Collegiate 1x at Pacific Coast Rowing Championships at Lake Natoma in Sacramento on Saturday. Since there were only three entries in all the women's single events combined, I was grouped into the Collegiate 1x, although I am no longer 21 and in school.
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| In the 1x; copyright row2k.com |
I was lucky enough to borrow a beautiful Van Dusen single for the race. When I first saw the boat, I had a mental "freak out" moment. The boat was much lighter and more narrow than the club's old Vespoli single that I normally row. The hull of the Van Dusen felt so thin, as if I could damage it just by carrying it. I was also very concerned about setting the boat. The conditions at Lake Natoma were not pretty with high winds and rough water, and here I was with this narrow racing single that I had never rowed before.
I launched early to allow myself time to adjust to the boat, and found myself at the start line with 40 minutes to spare. At the starting area, I could see white caps on the water. When I went to practice some starts in the same direction as the race, the cross-headwind blew water into the boat. I did not do a good job warming, not really wanting to row in the rough water. By the time, I lined up at the start line, I had two inches of water in the boat. In the morning races alone, a pair, single, and four managed to flip.
I looked at my competition--one from Saint Mary's and one from UC Irvine. Both girls had beautiful, new Fluidesign boats. Do you know how much I would love to have my own Fluidesign boat?! But, at the end of the day, it is not about the boat--it is about YOU, the rower. Both girls looked somewhat uncomfortable in the rough water. I wanted to reach out and say, "Hey, I was in your shoes once. Don't be scared. It's all part of the learning process. In fact, I was literally, in your shoes five years ago."
But I kept my mouth shut because who am I to say anything? Maybe they were rowers who did not make the boat and were put into a single. Or maybe they were top rowers with killer erg times from their program who wanted to try out the single. Never underestimate the competition. The competition might not look like they know what they are doing or they might row like shit, but they might still BEAT YOU.
Saint Mary's, UC Irvine, Lake Merritt. Attention. GO! And with the rough water, my start sequence and twenty high went right out the window. I maybe did a few half strokes to pick up speed, maybe a few high strokes, and went straight to the settle. The Van Dusen had no place for a stroke coach so I raced without relying on stroke rating or time, which is fine with me--less to worry about. By the first 500m down, I did not even notice the rough water--either the water got better or I am so good in rough water that I should try open water rowing. It was probably the former, not the latter. My steering, however, was another story. The wind was blowing us to starboard. I managed to stay within my lane and not hit any buoys (minus the finish line buoy), but maybe wasted at least 10-15 strokes on steering, overcorrecting, re-correcting, etc.
The whole race felt pretty good, but I also was able to stay ahead and in control. Life usually feels pretty good when you are ahead and not behind, trying to crane your neck around to see the competition.
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| Right before the finish line; good thing you do not see me getting blown into the finish line buoy right after I cross the line(!); copyright Brian Birch |
PCRC is just a small step in the scheme of bigger things, but it took me a long time to get here and feel comfortable here. I must absolutely give thanks to all the people who have helped me directly or indirectly just by being at practice to race against. Special thank you to the Birches.
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| Thank you, Dede! (Somebody once said that I look about the same size as Dede. That person is definitely wrong. I look about 1.5x bigger!) |
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