Rowers, all sorts

This weekend, I made my debut as a masters rower at the Springfield Regatta in Longmeadow and the Paper City Regatta in Holyoke. I also coached some great teams and raced my very own single for the first time!



It is always interesting to learn a new sport. I remember watching Australian Rules football in Sydney and just having giggle fits the entire time at these buff, elite athletes doing seemingly ridiculous things...I'm sure it is similar to how people from other cultures must feel at Fenway park or Gillette Stadium! Today, Michael learned the rules of masters rowing as we discussed my race in Holyoke. He wasn't impressed. The conversation went something like this:



M: " How'd you do?"

Me: "I had the best women's single time, but I didn't win."

M: "Did you get disqualified?"

Me: "No, but a woman in her 40's came in a minute behind and with her age adjusted time she beat me by 1.4 seconds."

M: "That's weird. And dumb."



I understand Mike's point of view, especially since he comes from a running background. The winner is the winner. Give age group awards or something! But I have to say, although it was disappointing to lose to a woman I passed during the race, I kind of like the concept of age adjusted times. It takes away that "I'm too old to race" attitude and replaces it with a level playing field across all ages. It makes me want to grow old with rowing. Today I saw a 95 year old woman race! Pretty awesome.



I love licorice, all sorts: a big bag of licorice full of different colors, textures, and flavors...if you've never gotten to taste this deliciousness, follow this link http://candy-crate.stores.yahoo.net/baslical.html (disclaimer: as a nutrition professional, I recommend eating these only occasionally). Anyhow, during the regatta today, the phrase "rowers, all sorts" kept repeating in my mind. There were so many people of different ages, abilities, and backgrounds at the Holyoke boathouse, all with the common goal of racing a 4k down the CT river!

Some notable performances at the Paper City Regatta:

I watched at least 5 adaptive rowers race today. Men and women who are in wheelchairs on land fly down the river, sometimes even faster than the rowers in the open division. They are truly inspirational.

The Holyoke Rows High school team had a blind girl in stroke seat with impeccable form. Absolutely amazing!

We had our first teenage mother racing division. Rowers from Norwalk CT and Holyoke raced down the course in their first big, multidivision regatta. The girls I coached all summer were fantastic spectators as well as rowers...I've never had such a great cheering section at the finish line of one of my races!

My masters rowers raced twice this weekend and have improved immensely in just a year's time. And they had a great time. What an awesome bunch. I'm so happy I made the decision to coach through the fall!

My new little boat (a retro '76 baby blue lightweight Van Deusen) is amazing.

Lastly, I felt fantastic during my Saturday and Sunday races, and came home with one 1st and one 2nd place medal. Maybe it's the training? Maybe it's the new pre-race grub?....or perhaps just my change in attitude. Whatever the case, something is working. And I like it!

All in all, a great first weekend of racing.