We've all heard the popular rowing phrase, "Rowers do more before 8AM than most people do all day." Even though the phrase is a bit exaggerated, it does do justice to the early mornings rowers face every day. Whereas most sports hold evening practices and weekend events, it is most common for crew practices to be held in the early hours of the morning- usually starting before dawn.
When people ask me about crew, I won't lie. I'll tell them the good, I'll tell them the bad, and I'll tell them the ugly. While it's fun to go on and on about the feeling of accomplishment that can be achieved, I don't fail to tell them what is to be expected to achieve such accomplishment. When I utter the the words, "wake up at 5:00," all the jaws drop. In one instance, I even received the reply of, "You're my hero..."
It's hard at first, but nothing is ever meant to be easy on the first try. I never thought that I'd be able to wake up early every day. I mean, I'm most definitely not a morning person. I could sleep until 2:00 in the afternoon if you let me. I think that once you develop a love of the sport and a sense of determination, waking up early simply becomes another everyday activity. Whether you like it or not, you become a creature of habit. You wake up at 5:00AM on a daily basis, and the days you sleep past 8:00AM are considered sleeping in.
If you have trouble wrapping this concept around your head, let me put it this way. Some people have to wake up as early as 3:00 AM for their job. Some have to work the night shift. To outsiders, these people are crazy. To them, it's nothing, because they love what they do. Rowing is no different. You just have to love it.
The purpose of this post is to tell you that it really is worth the early mornings. As painful as it sounds, there is so much to love about them. We all know that it sucks to get to practice expecting to have a good row, only to be told it's too choppy to go out. It's the worst feeling to have water practice in mind, and then arrive only to find that you have to complete an 8K on the ergs. There is nothing fun about the ergs. Nothing. I don't know about any of you, but I'd much rather take water practice over land, any day of the week.
Moving on. My point? Unless you have the problem of rowers in your boat sleeping in, you can expect to be on the water during morning practice- one reason why teamwork and determination are two of the most important aspects of the sport. The tranquility of the water provides me with a sense of relaxation, even during some of the more physically exhausting pieces. This to me is the number one reason why morning practice is better.
There's always the following reasons, as well:
When people ask me about crew, I won't lie. I'll tell them the good, I'll tell them the bad, and I'll tell them the ugly. While it's fun to go on and on about the feeling of accomplishment that can be achieved, I don't fail to tell them what is to be expected to achieve such accomplishment. When I utter the the words, "wake up at 5:00," all the jaws drop. In one instance, I even received the reply of, "You're my hero..."
It's hard at first, but nothing is ever meant to be easy on the first try. I never thought that I'd be able to wake up early every day. I mean, I'm most definitely not a morning person. I could sleep until 2:00 in the afternoon if you let me. I think that once you develop a love of the sport and a sense of determination, waking up early simply becomes another everyday activity. Whether you like it or not, you become a creature of habit. You wake up at 5:00AM on a daily basis, and the days you sleep past 8:00AM are considered sleeping in.
If you have trouble wrapping this concept around your head, let me put it this way. Some people have to wake up as early as 3:00 AM for their job. Some have to work the night shift. To outsiders, these people are crazy. To them, it's nothing, because they love what they do. Rowing is no different. You just have to love it.
The purpose of this post is to tell you that it really is worth the early mornings. As painful as it sounds, there is so much to love about them. We all know that it sucks to get to practice expecting to have a good row, only to be told it's too choppy to go out. It's the worst feeling to have water practice in mind, and then arrive only to find that you have to complete an 8K on the ergs. There is nothing fun about the ergs. Nothing. I don't know about any of you, but I'd much rather take water practice over land, any day of the week.
Moving on. My point? Unless you have the problem of rowers in your boat sleeping in, you can expect to be on the water during morning practice- one reason why teamwork and determination are two of the most important aspects of the sport. The tranquility of the water provides me with a sense of relaxation, even during some of the more physically exhausting pieces. This to me is the number one reason why morning practice is better.
There's always the following reasons, as well:
- If you practice in a populated area, there's not a bunch of people and/or distractions. Remember, who's crazy enough to be up at 5:00AM?
- During spring season it can get insanely hot during the afternoon hours. Not in the morning.
- There are always less excuses for one of your fellow teammates to skip practice. No one has appointments, classes or meetings to attend at such an early hour.
- You have more time to accomplish everything you want, AND still have time to row.
- And of course, you achieve a sense of accomplishment for the day by 8:00AM; the same time at which many of your peers are just rolling out of bed, or still sleeping.
Today I leave you with a fact:
The average American lives 74.1 years, and sleeps away 1/3 of it.
That's no way to spend the one life that you have!
*Picture Courtesy of Kyle Stanley (HOTC 2009)
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