It's Worth the Early Mornings...

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:

1. 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?
2. During spring season it can get insanely hot during the afternoon hours. Not in the morning.
3. 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.
4. You have more time to accomplish everything you want, AND still have time to row.
   
5. 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)

What Rowing Means to Me.

The title of this blog, "Pain is temporary. Victory is forever." describes the sport of rowing in a nutshell. To some, rowing is just a way to stay in shape, or possibly just another sport that they are a part of. To me, rowing is more than a mere sport; it's a passion. You will find that this blog is dedicated to rowing- everything from what it means to me, to experiences that entail. Check back every month for updates. I do hope that you become a regular follower :)

I am one of the few that is able to say how thankful I am to be an alumna from a high school that provided crew as one of their club sports. The fact that crew often went unnoticed at my high school was demeaning; however, I didn't let that get to me, because rowing not only provided me with a workout, but a sense of integrity.

Rowing has taught me the true meaning of camaraderie, dedication and teamwork. I've taken these three elements from rowing and have applied them to my everyday life. Ultimately, this has made me a better person, which is another reason why I am so grateful for the sport. Through crew, I've met some of the most influential people that remain in my life today. My four best friends, that I met through rowing for my high school, mean the world to me. We are all so different, but our love for rowing and all that entails has brought us closer than any other value, activity or moral could.

It's a shame that some people who join crew are robbed of the true experience. This could be for any number of reasons including, but certainly not limited to an unsettling first experience, poor coaching and a team that refuses to give their all. Fortunately I can say that I have not experienced any of the previously mentioned.

First, allow me to take time to explain my first experience. I was 14 years old when I first started to row. Before crew I was involved with soccer, basketball and summer league softball. The summer before my freshman year, I realized that although I loved playing all of these, I knew that I didn't want to continue on to the varsity level in high school. When I first learned about rowing, I was told that the sport offered something for everyone, and I decided to give it a try. I spent one day at the boathouse, and I was hooked. The graceful movement of the boats along the river was something I one day wanted to be a part of. I knew it would take a lot of work, but I was willing. It absolutely paid off.

Second, I have my coaches to thank. They have immensely bettered my rowing experience. I had a lot of coaches come and go throughout my high school rowing career, some staying for as long as three years, to those that lasted a week. Not only did my coaches teach me the importance of rowing, but they were the ones that taught me the importance of dedication and teamwork. They most definitely did not just hand over everything; I, as well as my teammates, had to work for it. I was motivated to give my all because my coaches weren't just there for money. It was obvious that they were there because of their love for the sport, and their desire to make us a better team at all costs. My coaches provided me with a chance to learn about every aspect of the sport, and for that I am more thankful than I can describe in words. As a result, I have had the pleasure of rowing every seat of almost every boat, only excluding pairs and the bow seat of a quad.

Being just under five feet tall when I first joined, I was assigned to the position of coxswain- more on that later. Although I was primarily a coxswain throughout high school, because I grew to be close to five feet, seven inches by my senior year, I also became a rower on both starboard and port sides. I learned to scull the summer before my senior year, and had the opportunity to row a few single races as well as a handful of double races.

Now, graduated from high school with 20+ medals, I have continued my rowing journey by joining Ohio University Women's Crew. Our fall season just finished and I am happy to say that it was a very successful season. Out of our team's five entries in our only regatta, we left with three medals; one bronze and two silvers. I look forward to winter conditioning, and what I anticipate to be another fantastic season come spring time.

Today, I leave you with a quote:

"Rowing, like success, is a journey, not a destination,"- Rick Clother (Rowing Coach)