Session 2

Week 2 of the Learn to Row course was well attended; no drop-outs and three new members. After a brief re-cap of the things we'd forgotten from a week ago we did a warm-up on the ergs and we were then soon out on the water in the eight again.

This week I was put in seat 6, stroke-side. As before, seat 7 and stroke seat were there for stability and manoeuvrability. This meant that I was, in effect setting the stroke. This did not come easy. I could feel myself gradually increasing the stroke-rate and the coach pointed out, by megaphone from the launch, that I was rushing the slide. When I corrected this and adjusted the stroke-rate downwards this seemed to throw the rest of the crew out of synch and I could feel the boat lurch and sway as we progressed upstream assisted by a strong tail-wind.

After a while we introduced some seat slide into the rowing action. Just a couple of inches slide at first and then half slide and eventually full slide with our out-side knees being thrown out of the boat. I was impressed at the speed generated by this.

A couple of times it felt like I came close to catching a crab. We were still square blading and I was finding it awkward getting clearance between the blade and the water's surface when returning to the catch position. My square blade was catching against the tops of the wavelets on the river and this was disturbing the rhythm for me and for the rest of the crew who were struggling to follow my erratic movements.

To combat this problem I made sure that I dropped my hands firmly and sharply at the end of each stroke. I quickly realised that this simply created a new problem as the fingers of my left hand smashed into the sax-board, crushed between boat and oar handle. Usually I learn from my mistakes, especially painful ones, but sadly I kept repeating this one. I did try moving my left hand further inside the boat but then found that my thumb nail snagged against my left thigh.

To prevent further repeated injury to my fingers I started resting my open palm against the top of the oar handle as I slid back into the catch position and I did more work with my right hand. The coach noticed this and made me row with my right hand on top of my head so that I would get used to my left hand taking on most of the workload. I got the idea of what the coach was trying to teach me but this did not prevent the fingers of my left hand from getting crushed again and again.

I am hoping that when we get on to feathering the blade in future sessions this will give me more clearance for blade over the water and as a result of this there will be better clearance between my oar handle and the sax-board.

Anyway, at the end of session 2, we returned to the boathouse upright and dry yet again.

Session 1

Session 1 of the Learn to Row course went well and has whet my appetite for the remainder of the course. We started with introductions. There were 12 newbies on the course and plenty of club members keen to help out and share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport. There is a good mixture of men and women on the course with ages ranging, I would guess, from 20s to 60s and a wide range of sizes and body shapes.

After a brief health and safety talk we were given instruction upon the correct use of the Concept2 rowing machines. We were then set off erging in unison while the coaches walked around correcting posture and technique where needed. We were on the ergs for about ten minutes but it felt like half an hour. A tour of the boathouse followed after which we were split into groups and taken out onto the water.

I was put in seat 5 in an eight, rowing on the bow side of the boat. Seat six was occupied by another novice and seats 7 and stroke were taken by a couple of experienced rowers to help provide some stability and manoeuvrability for the boat. We rowed mainly as either bow four or middle four and got a good feel for the boat. We rowed with arms only and kept the blades square. Sliding the seat and feathering the blades will follow later.

For a few strokes we got a nice rhythm going. I followed 6 like a shadow but suddenly he stopped rowing. "What's he messing about at?" I thought. The coach then announced from the motor launch that 6 had caught a crab. "How embarrassing for him. What a silly novice mistake to make" I thought. A few minutes later we were rowing along nicely again and picking up a bit of speed when suddenly, as I went to tap down at the catch, I felt the handle of my oar dig into my chest and it pinned me to my seat. The more I tried to free myself the more the force of the water held the blade handle against me. I was surprised at the force of the crab to say that we were going so slow. Eventually I managed to get the spoon out of the water and into the air and recover my position. I don't know how I would have done this if we had been going at a high speed.

We returned to the boathouse upright and dry. Result!

Prep for session 1.

The first session of the learn to row course takes place tomorrow morning. Here's an extract from an email received from the course organiser:-

 

"In the first session you will be shown around the boathouse, introduced to the boats and equipment you’ll be using, shown the correct stroke and hopefully get your first experience in a boat on the water.  You will be supported by your coach and by a number of enthusiastic club members, some of whom have come through the same Learn to Row introduction.  By the end of the course our aim is for you to have grasped the basics of the correct stroke on and off the water, and have sufficient technique to enable you to row happily and safely on your own or in a crew with others.

 

Come dressed for the gym, but with an eye on the weather for when we go outside (if it looks like rain, bring a hat rather than an umbrella!).  Also please bring a change of clothes in the unlikely event that you fall in.   Statistics show that the most reliable way to fall in is to forget your spare kit!"

 

The weather forecast looks fine and warm so I'm hoping to stay warm...and dry.

 

My shoulders and arms were a little bit stiff yesterday after my exertions on the erg on Thursday. My daughter says that this stiffness was due to poor technique in pulling too much with my arms rather than pushing with my legs from the catch and into the drive phase of the stroke. I need to remember to keep my arms straight and my wrists flat. I think I was doing what she told me correctly and that the stiffness was just my body telling me that I am out of condition.

 

The stiffness had fully resolved by the time that I woke up at 6am today ready to take my daughter to the rowing club for her Saturday morning coaching session.  I have spent the rest of today on my allotment. I have done a good six hours of hard grafting, digging, weeding and harvesting. Now my body aches as if it has done another four minutes on the ergo.

 

Me? Rowing? No chance!

I have decided to learn how to row. I don't know where this will lead but I will use this blog as a journal to record my progress.

Why have I decided to row? My daughters are both keen rowers. I spend many hours taking them to the local rowing club and hanging around the boathouse waiting for them to finish their sessions. I also travel with them to regattas up and down the country. I don't really feel that I have time for a new hobby in my life but I have decided that if I can't beat 'em I should join 'em.

Most weeks at the rowing club someone will ask me if I fancy having a go at rowing. I have always resisted. Why would I want to dress up in a lycra all-in-one rowing suit at my age? I'll be 50 in a couple of weeks for goodness sakes. I also struggle to see the appeal of going out on the river in all weathers and temperatures. These people are obsessed, driven, almost crazy; I have seen them going out in the snow and rain and in sub-zero temperatures. And those early mornings! No thanks!

A happy state for me is warm and dry. When I look at rowers I just see cold and wet. Cold and wet is my idea of misery. I suppose that rowing burns up so much energy that rowers don't feel the cold like normal people. I do hope so because I don't want to be the only one sat shivering in the boat. I do feel the cold. My teeth will chatter and my knees will knock and I will lose the power of speech.

Rowers tell me that, being tall and skinny, I am the ideal shape for rowing. Well, I am not as skinny as I used to be but I am just about tall enough to get away with the extra girth that I have put on around my midriff in the last few years. Posture and flexibility may be a problem. I have not been able to touch my toes for many years and when I sit down I naturally prefer the comfort of a lazy slouch. I will find it very difficult to keep a straight back while sliding backwards and forwards on a hard little wooden seat.

Anyway, despite my reservations, I have now signed up to the rowing club's "learn to row" course which will take up my Sunday mornings for the next six weeks. I am committed to giving it a good go. I have paid my £20 course fee and signed the health questionnaire/disclaimer and now I'm raring to go.

Tonight, as a warm-up, before my first session on Sunday, my eldest daughter agreed to give me a lesson upon the correct use of the Concept 2 indoor rowing machine. She laughs in hysterics at You Tube videos of non-rowers attempting to use rowing machines in gyms and she often comes home from her own gym with hilarious tales of poor technique and incorrect use of that particular instrument of torture. I am pretty keen not to become an object of rowing machine hilarity and so I paid pretty close attention to what she taught me.

My time for my first ever rowing machine 1km was 3 minutes 59 seconds. I was supposed to do this at a capped rate of 20 strokes per minute. I over-rated slightly at 21 strokes per minute. I don't know if this is a reasonable time or not but at least I now have a benchmark against which to measure future efforts.