Rowin' on A River

Last Tuesday, the 30th I had my first chance to practice rowing on the Thames River!

It was much easier than the practice tank because the boat actually moved when we rowed. It's definitely not as easy as it looks though, because keeping the boat balance depends upon all 8 women sitting up nice and straight and even on the seat....and that's not really easy to think about when trying to keep one's stroke in the correct form.

It is probably the most team involving activity I think I have ever attempted....as Cross Country and Track were more individually driven. So to think that every move I make incorrectly...shifting my weight or not keeping the timing of the stroke, or holding my paddle to high or too low....becomes a little nerve-racking. I felt like I was constantly holding the rest of the boat back when I couldn't get my paddle out of the water quickly enough.... not to mention I kept hitting my hands on the side of the boat...and I'm sure that's not suppose to happen. Ah well, its all in the pratice and I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon enough. The girls said we did good as a group for our first "outing" as a group...so that was nice, even though my perfectionism issue tells me that I need to work on getting it down soon. :)

Nevertheless, I enjoyed getting out and exercising on the water so much. I don't have a picture of me in the boat yet, so this random one will just have to do and you can just imagine my face here.