Row, row, row your boat ...

I started a rowing course this past Monday - every evening (M-F), 3 hours a night, for 2 weeks. And I am sore! The first night we spent our time on land - it was too windy and we had to go over all of the important (and boring) safety things, terminology, technique, etc. They have this really neat indoor "tank" that you can practice on. The seats are at the edge of a big pool, and the oars are actually in the water so you can practice the feel of your stroke before you get in the boat.

Last night we took the boat out - an 8-seater with the coxswain in the stern. Funny thing - I thought that this course would be a great way to meet people (ie. men) and our class of 8 is all WOMEN! Oh well .... Anyhow, it was a bit windy yesterday but we went out anyway. I could not believe how long the boat was! And skinny - I was worried that my big ass wouldn't actually fit inside (and my ass isn't the biggest in the class by a long shot). There is a lot of prep work that needs to be done before you even get into the boat - you have to prepare the coach boat (the boat that rides alongside us with the coach yelling commands through his megaphone). And then you have to carry the gi-normous 8-sweep boat down to the water, place it ever so gently in the water, lock your oars in, get people seated, strap your feet in ..... lots of work. Lifting, back twisting, crouching - all difficult when you're older and not so flexible. Throw in my rebuilt hip and it was a challenge.

But out on the water was awesome! We were quite unsteady at times - skinny boats aren't the most stable. And we never had all 8 of us rowing at the same time. We practiced rowing in 2's and 4's for about 2 hours. I was in the stroke position - the last person closest to the stern who sets the pace for everybody else, and the one who sits right in front of the coxswain. I think that I did pretty good - I was mainly responsible for steering us back to the dock (with a lot of help and direction from the coxswain) and we didn't crash, so I did OK. So much fun! The wind was crazy at times, but being out on the water as the sun was going down was so magnificent.