This is Why We Row

Saturday:  A rather chilly morning considering this time of year.  This morning, we had 1 eight, 1 quad, 1 women's single, and 1 mixed double (me) out on the water.  The workout was 1x1,000m race piece followed by 4x500m pieces (two with starts and two with sprints).

We had a long warm-up, all the way to the end of the lake and back to the dam.  The mixed double felt good again, and it was nice to confirm that our practice on Wednesday was not fluke.

On the first piece, we were with the eight for the first 250m before we slowly started to walk up on them.  By 500m, we had open water on the eight.  You always have to careful not to count your chickens before they are hatched.  You have to be ready for the competition's sprint.  Anything can happen in the last 250m.  No matter if you are ahead or behind, it is crucial to stay focused every single stroke until you cross that finish line.

For the 500m pieces, Chris staggered the boats with the quad and single lining up ahead of the double and eight.  In the double, our pieces went pretty well with a few off-strokes when the wind picked up or when we had trouble getting hands out of bow fast enough.

Can you spell lactic acid?  After the second piece, my muscles were swimming in lactic acid.  The third and fourth piece passed in a blur, and we were done.

Why do you row?  Maybe you love the sport.  Maybe rowing is fun for you.  Maybe you love to be on the water.  Maybe you row to relax or just for fitness.  Maybe you like to compete.  For me, I am not sure why I row.

I once told my brother how much I hate to race.  He replied, "Isn't that why you row?  We row to race.  You don't get excited to race?"  Ha, nope.  I hate the pressure, stress, and uncertainty.  I think I row because after getting an engineering degree, having the Princess, working in the real world, I have no other skills besides rowing.

For me, rowing is not about fun.  It takes a lot of practice to be mentally tough day in and day out.  I do love small boats because of the simplicity.  You cannot control the eight other people in your boat, but you can control yourself in your own boat.  But it is days, such as today, when your hard work pays off and the boat flies and when I remember why I row.  I row because the feeling of a fast boat is addicting.  I row because I want to see how far I can go.  I row because five years ago, I finished last at PCRC and five years ago, I did not make the Head of the Charles boat.  I row because someone long ago said, "No," and I say, "Yes. Yes, I can."