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To row [rowing]
Jun. 3rd, 2022 06:55 pmI initially, delusionally promised myself it would only be a month of coaching. Subconsciously I knew it would probably be longer than that.
There have been other periods in my life where I have not gotten to row, for a range of different reasons and excuses.
This morning was my once-a-week chance to actually row, so in spite of a night of poor sleep, I got myself out of bed, dressed, and to the boathouse.
I've finally reached a point with coaching where I have enough time and space to take a small handful of photos and videos of everyone out rowing. The photos and videos serve multiple functions. Getting to see oneself rowing reinforces the narrative, "I am a rower." The photos and videos give us honest feedback and don't hide our flaws; we can learn how to improve from them. They help us retain an awareness of how fortunate we are to be able to be out on the river like this. They are a celebration of rowing.
However, some sublime moments are simply impossible to photograph: those brief, glorious minutes this morning when the morning sun shone through a small window in the clouds, lighting up the trees along the Hudson River with a sideways, fiery, golden-green glow, the colors of which danced in the reflection in the river water beneath the boat.
This morning was also a reminder that rowing asks things of us that we might feel reluctant to give. While the light was beautiful, today there were many moments when the boat did NOT flow in the way I would like it to. The easy, selfish path would be to respond by lashing out in frustration, or to simply give up and let the boat dictate my rowing. The more difficult path is one of patience, working to find a way to focus and refocus, and refocus again, my thoughts in the boat, on my feet, to make the most of this rare opportunity.
I might occasionally like to think I've come far on my path as a rower, having rowed for over 2.5 decades by now, and yet all too often I still forget some of the most basic lessons of rowing. The best rower is the one who can get into any boat and row well. May I continue to strive for this standard.
There have been other periods in my life where I have not gotten to row, for a range of different reasons and excuses.
This morning was my once-a-week chance to actually row, so in spite of a night of poor sleep, I got myself out of bed, dressed, and to the boathouse.
I've finally reached a point with coaching where I have enough time and space to take a small handful of photos and videos of everyone out rowing. The photos and videos serve multiple functions. Getting to see oneself rowing reinforces the narrative, "I am a rower." The photos and videos give us honest feedback and don't hide our flaws; we can learn how to improve from them. They help us retain an awareness of how fortunate we are to be able to be out on the river like this. They are a celebration of rowing.
However, some sublime moments are simply impossible to photograph: those brief, glorious minutes this morning when the morning sun shone through a small window in the clouds, lighting up the trees along the Hudson River with a sideways, fiery, golden-green glow, the colors of which danced in the reflection in the river water beneath the boat.
This morning was also a reminder that rowing asks things of us that we might feel reluctant to give. While the light was beautiful, today there were many moments when the boat did NOT flow in the way I would like it to. The easy, selfish path would be to respond by lashing out in frustration, or to simply give up and let the boat dictate my rowing. The more difficult path is one of patience, working to find a way to focus and refocus, and refocus again, my thoughts in the boat, on my feet, to make the most of this rare opportunity.
I might occasionally like to think I've come far on my path as a rower, having rowed for over 2.5 decades by now, and yet all too often I still forget some of the most basic lessons of rowing. The best rower is the one who can get into any boat and row well. May I continue to strive for this standard.
