Next Saturday I will be going to Station L to do some rowing. I'm way pumped. I haven't been in a boat since May of last year.
I'm hoping to meet some people at the club too. It will be a good chance for me to get more of a social life, something I'm certainly wanting and needing.
I can't wait to feel the slide under me, smoothly rolling back and forth, the oar in my hands; the feel of a good, clean catch and my legs pressing my feet into the foot-stretchers, the swing of my back and a fast finish followed by "quick hands away" and an easy recovery up to the next catch. Then do it all over again 20-30 times a minute.
Seeing the pictures on the Station L website also got me really excited. I was taken back to the Severn on those chilly fall mornings when you can see Venus, and the sunrise is falling upon the smooth water.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
In The Beginning
I started rowing in college at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, where, in my junior year, I joined the crew team. I put in a total of four seasons (two fall, two spring) and rowed in eights, fours, a pair, and a single.
The most interesting boat was the pair, a difficult boat to row in because the two rowers must balance their strokes and be well synchronized. My partner Fred and I always went a little to starboard. The pair was just a one race project to see what it was like. Most of the time I rowed in eights and sat stroke seat. Being stroke was great. It pushed me to be the example for the boat and to learn good ratio and rhythm. It also forced me to practice patience for my fellow boatmen who, like myself, were imperfect humans, and it made sure that I wouldn't be able to watch anyone else and focus on their technique instead of my own. I am forever the critic and coach and sitting at stroke made sure I could only see my oar.
Our coach was the noble Leo Pickens, famous for yelling such lovelies as 'Quick with the legs!' and 'Send the boat!' One his favorite concepts was the Republic of the Boat House. The Republic refers to the Republic of Plato, one of our readings at St. John's, and by this he means that...well I guess I'm not sure exactly what he means but I take him to mean that for our team to embody the Republic of the Boat House we all pitch in and look out for one another, that we are a team that strives for the good and the beautiful as it manifests in rowing and in comradeship. The reason I bring it up is that every season he would make a speech about the Republic of the Boat House and forever I will remember him for it. One more idea about the RBH: in Plato's Republic a just city is constructed to study justice in the individual, I think that what Mr. P meant, perhaps, is that, by attempting to construct a just and noble team, we might be able to bring that justice and nobility into our individual souls.
It wasn't until the winter of my second year that I found a true appreciation for the erg. I started researching different training programs online and was keeping careful records of my workouts. Part of the reason for my obsession was to distract me from my senior essay that I was working on during the same period. I enjoyed logging my erging meters on the concept2 website. I've even dreamed of buying an erg, but it is cheaper to join a rowing club here in Portland and use the club ergs.
After being in Portland 10 months now, I'm starting to take steps to join a club. I'm thinking about the Station L club that rows on the Willamette River. The practices are 3x a week at 5am which is an hour earlier than our practices at St. John's--I'm waiting to see how just how motivated I really am to be in a boat.
The most interesting boat was the pair, a difficult boat to row in because the two rowers must balance their strokes and be well synchronized. My partner Fred and I always went a little to starboard. The pair was just a one race project to see what it was like. Most of the time I rowed in eights and sat stroke seat. Being stroke was great. It pushed me to be the example for the boat and to learn good ratio and rhythm. It also forced me to practice patience for my fellow boatmen who, like myself, were imperfect humans, and it made sure that I wouldn't be able to watch anyone else and focus on their technique instead of my own. I am forever the critic and coach and sitting at stroke made sure I could only see my oar.
Our coach was the noble Leo Pickens, famous for yelling such lovelies as 'Quick with the legs!' and 'Send the boat!' One his favorite concepts was the Republic of the Boat House. The Republic refers to the Republic of Plato, one of our readings at St. John's, and by this he means that...well I guess I'm not sure exactly what he means but I take him to mean that for our team to embody the Republic of the Boat House we all pitch in and look out for one another, that we are a team that strives for the good and the beautiful as it manifests in rowing and in comradeship. The reason I bring it up is that every season he would make a speech about the Republic of the Boat House and forever I will remember him for it. One more idea about the RBH: in Plato's Republic a just city is constructed to study justice in the individual, I think that what Mr. P meant, perhaps, is that, by attempting to construct a just and noble team, we might be able to bring that justice and nobility into our individual souls.
It wasn't until the winter of my second year that I found a true appreciation for the erg. I started researching different training programs online and was keeping careful records of my workouts. Part of the reason for my obsession was to distract me from my senior essay that I was working on during the same period. I enjoyed logging my erging meters on the concept2 website. I've even dreamed of buying an erg, but it is cheaper to join a rowing club here in Portland and use the club ergs.
After being in Portland 10 months now, I'm starting to take steps to join a club. I'm thinking about the Station L club that rows on the Willamette River. The practices are 3x a week at 5am which is an hour earlier than our practices at St. John's--I'm waiting to see how just how motivated I really am to be in a boat.
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