Getting Back on the Seat

Getting back in the saddle didn't work. Getting back on the runners felt a bit obtuse. So, getting back on the seat remained. At least at this hour of the night - trying to get something out.

Last weekend, I realized that we'd already been out on the water 3-5 times at this time last year. This, and recent Rowing News issues, had me yearning to get back to rowing. We've had an unfortunate stretch of intermittent thunderstorms these past few weekends and haven't planned much water time. I washed down the shell to get rid of the gunk from my last paddle in December.

This weekend, Kathleen joined me for a first row. It was midmorning, bright and sunny, with a strong breeze. I remembered about half of the "system" I had together for getting our stuff together and donkeying the shell down to the neighborhood access ramp. On the water, our technique was rusty and our bodies were creaky, but it was good to be sculling. The wind was mostly southerly and did generate some white caps along the longest fetch of the lake. From our kayaking adventures, we've learned that fetch is the distance that the wind can blow on water unimpeded. Recalling this no-no from our CYC rowing stint, we turned around and continued hugging shore. All in all, a nice hour on the water getting our feet "wet" again.

1st Erg Exercise Experience

I used an ergometer for exercise for the first time today at the local YMCA. It was a Model D from Concept2.Their website recommended doing several short rows the first time. I did four of 5 minutes each. It took most of the first one to the hang of how to use the thing. I started out being a pansy on the drive and didn't get much resistance until I used my arms. It wasn't until near the end of the first "set" that I realized I had to hit the start of the drive much harder in order to get any resistance for my legs. The last three went much better. As usual, I had to be careful about engaging the back too soon. Next time, I'll bring the FlipVideo to tap one of these sets to get a better handle on my technique. Since I'm still recovering from a 2 week long infection, the small number of short sets suited me just fine!

P.S. Everyone who uses the machine calls it an "erg." It's a made-up name meaning work meter or work machine. The common name reflects the love-hate relationship everyone seems to develop with using the thing for (winter) training.

Rowing Against the Current

I just finished Rowing Against The Current (On learning to scull at forty) by Barry Strauss. It is a short, enjoyable, fast read. I'm not sure how someone who's never rowed would like it. The author does a good job of describing a number of ephemeral aspects of being on the water, a bit of the sport becoming a sport in the late 1800's, rowing in ancient naval warfare, and some of the serious training he does. Plus midlife angst of former teenage non-athletes, not the career or marital kind of crisis. Recommended.

Next up, David Halberstam's The Amateurs.

Cold Weather Rowing #1

I've rowed a couple times now when the temperatures were in the 40's F. I had anticipated the dressing appropriately for rowing would be fairly similar to dressing for running. Differences noted so far:

1. My hands are warmer. Duh! They're being used as part of the exercise. Also ...
2. I'm moving faster in the boat than I was on the ground. "Longer" vectors hence greater variation in relative speed depending upon the orientation of the boat direction and the wind direction.
   
3. My torso feels colder since my sweating back is pointing forward, more often into the wind.

I'm labeling this post #1 because I expect additional observations from experience and learnings from others and other resources. I've noticed that the mantra for kayaking is "dress for the water temperature" but that doesn't seem to be the case for rowing. I'm thinking this might be because most folks row for a school, which have coaches in a power boat, or a club, which have rules for accompanying chase boats as the weather chills. Not quite sure where the single scullers stand.

My observation so far is, except for getting in/out at our access ramp, I'm only wet from my own sweating. However, one goof with an oar and I could be in the drink. Brrrrr. So far, I'm staying REAL CLOSE to the shore.

Being Thankful

Everything finally came together for a row today. Although I've been off all week, it's been rather cold and windy so far. At least, colder and windier than what has seemed manageable. Our days have been starting out below freezing and almost warming to 50. More on the temperatures in another post.

I may have mentioned it in an earlier post, but it bears repeating on Thanksgiving. 2008 has seen a drastically improved work-life balance. This broke the downwards trend over the previous 4-5 years. I'm grateful that Kathleen stuck to her guns on wanting to try sculling. After our dock was built, I was leaning towards less expensive kayaking but she was steadfast. We've really enjoyed doing something together and being out on the water. And the exercise component has me back into an active lifestyle. Stopping my 3-4-5-a-week running schedule was the first casualty of the work-like imbalance. Through the good fortune of lake access, a shell dealer, and the rowing club in Charlotte, we got off to a great start and are self-sufficient in the activity. Thank you, Lord!

Almost Funny Clothes

My youngest sister said that people ordering funny clothes for their hobby means they've gone off the deep end. Well, these aren't obviously specialty clothes (that'll have to wait until the warm weather again). Errrrrr - I guess I need to admit that the mitten-looking things qualify us:


JL Racing/Rowing does custom apparel for clubs and competitive teams. We picked up a pair of their cold weather deals for the Purist jackets and CoolMax tops (which are cut short in front and long in back). What with the rowing stroke having us bent over almost all the time, the specialty cut should make a big difference. Kathleen didn't have any leggings that weren't cotton and my running tights are rather garishly colored. We'll try rowing with baseball caps over the beanies since we both found the glare from the sun to be a killer.

The mitten-looking things are called "pogies" (po-gees, hard g). Byron and Nancy at CYC recommended them. They go over our hands AND the ends of each of our oars. Direct hand contact on the oars is, apparently, critical, so true rowers don't wear gloves. Kathleen's been wearing golf gloves to prevent blistering. We'll see how this plays out for her.

UPDATE: Dec 23. Finally uploaded the picture of our cold weather rowing duds.

Moss Lake Water Temperatures

I asked around about winter water temperatures for Moss Lake. I was pointed to Newt Henson at the Water Treatment plant. Here's what he sent me for temperatures read from 5 ft or 15 ft depths where their intakes are located:

              Avg          Low           High
11/07          59           54            66
12/07          52           50            54
01/08          46           45            54
02/08          46           45            46
03/08          52           46            54
04/08          59           54            61
05/08          66           61            72
06/08          79           72            81
07/08          82           79            84
08/08          84           81            86
09/08          79           72            82
10/08          68           61            72

He said the coldest they've measured was 39 degrees.

(Much bigger) Lake Norman temperatures are here. Looks like it's warmer there.