A Test of What? Patience, Most Probably!



Indoor rowing at Manchester Velodrome



The weather is absolutely beautiful, unseasonably warm and almost making up for the dismally wet summer. You would think, then, that the rowing fraternity at our local club would be eager to take to the river as quickly as possible during the sun-balmed evenings. Apparently not!
I have noticed a distinct tendency, very akin to that which I noticed as a former air-sports instructor, to stand around and talk about the sport rather than actually get on and do it.

This is particularly true of some of the more experienced crews: they certainly look the part standing round in flip-flops and faded splash-jackets and gazing distantly downriver, but I could count the times I've actually seen them rowing on one hand. The Husband is distinctly aggravated. Not only does the 'training programme' (and I use the term loosely here) change literally week by week (actually, none of the proposed sessions have been fulfilled), but he can never tell if, when he turns up at the boathouse as instructed whether there'll be anyone to coach him, even if he's gone to the trouble of arranging a coaching session. What tends to happen is that he arrives (along with his new rowing buddies) and finds that, despite it being perfect weather, no-one is there, or that there's been a gym-session declared, or that by the time everyone's got their arse into gear it's getting too damn dark. But - hey - they've had a splendid time standing round talking about what they would have done.
Last night he turned up promptly from work hoping to get a good hour plus on the water only to find that everyone was expected to do a 2k erg test. Even the poor guy who'd just returned, unwarned, from holiday. Fortunately the Husband wasn't too bothered - he's competed in the British and English indoor rowing championships and is currently following a Concept2 training programme at our local gym in order to compete again in the spring - climbed on his erg and did an easy sub-seven. Didn't push it, had something left in reserve and  recovered quickly. This caused some consternation amongst the men. Husband is a total novice, so wasn't expected to perform well, yet he beat most of the squad with ease. There seems to be a mystique to the erg that 'real' rowers like to bang on about, as if it's some dreaded instrument of torture that they love/loathe simultaneously but that 'non-rowers won't understand; etc. etc., but in reality all it gives is a basic indication of stamina and cardio-vascular condition.
It's not rowing. There is no point to it until you've got the technique sorted out - you'll never use the fitness it imparts unless you can row well enough for it to make a difference, and the best training for rowing is rowing itself. And as for using it to determine who gets a place in the best boats....well, that had to be quickly rethought!

Turning the Corner

After a pretty horrendous few weeks of assorted illness and stress we seem to have turned a corner. The Bright-Eyed Boy is certainly a lot better than he was seven days ago, and whatever was wrong with him (and I suspect that a rather nasty, but seemingly innocuous, virus had thoroughly disrupted his chemistry) seems to be finally leaving his system. Daughter #3 ,who last week uncharacteristically spent an entire day in bed laid up with the snottiest cold ever, returned to rowing-training last night. She was pretty pooped after it, but still managed to stay up way past her bed-time organising her friends' end-of-term party (chez nous - don't ask how that happened). The dog's upset stomach also seems to be getting better. Thank goodness! I was dreading an extended and expensive session at the vet.

I am also feeling...well...less despairing actually, which is a massive relief (DG) because I certainly didn't like the way I was feeling this time last week. The extremely low mood was probably largely due to worry about the Boy, disrupted sleep and the lack of sunlight.

However, the husband woke early this morning complaining that 'all the bones' in his face ached and the B-E-B started complaining about a sore throat. Daughter #3's cold is making its way around the household no doubt. But strangely enough everyone is pretty cheerful. I just hope that, in an effort to keep going until Christmas, I don't get another virus like the one that laid me out and robbed me of my seasonal enthusiasm last year!

Jolly Boating Weather

The weather is unpleasantly warm and clammy at the moment, the sky oppressively a uniform grey, no breeze...every thing smells moistly of the grave. It was with a great sense of relief that I observed the bluey blackness of an approaching thunderstorm yesterday, the turmoil of trailing mamma bulging and curling from the clouds above us. And yet.....nothing! Thunder rolled in the distance, the cool pressure wave of air rustled the drooping flowers, huge blobs of rain spattered on the patio promisingly....and then an unnerving calm fell....the birds, which had fallen quiet started to twitter again. The storm front passed silently peeling back to a brilliant blue sky and hot evening sun. Weird! Today is grey and humid once more, and the forecast looks as if it will remain thus for the rest of the week.

Daughter no.3 has taken up rowing. This is a big commitment time-wise: it seems to be a given that she will be competing at a junior novice level by next summer, and that her practice sessions will reflect this. Initially rather nervous and shy, she seems to have taken to the new sport with enthusiasm, exhibiting a determination and organisation that I would not have expected of her a few months ago. It is quite tiring for me too, as I have to taxi her to and from the rowing club each time. Still, it is great to see her confidence growing, and I think it is very healthy to have an absorbing sporting activity during the tricky early teenage years. here's hoping she carries on enjoying it as much. It is very peaceful sitting by the river watching the scullers, and watching the more experienced and older athletes is akin to watching racehorses go through their paces, a harmony of muscle and motion. I can almost feel my heart rate and blood pressure dropping as I am lulled by the lap of the water and oars. I am not so certain that it will be as relaxing in the middle of winter, or even in foggy April or rainy October. The warm weather of the moment certainly contributes to the pleasance of the experience as I perch, coffee and book to hand, gazing across at this most historic of cities.

A Bit Thin...

Well, the husband performed brilliantly at the English Indoor Rowing Championships last Sunday, and I'm immensely proud of both his performance and the dedication it took him to get there. He came up trumps for the competition and knocked 5 seconds off his personal best. A week of careful training and carb-loading seems to have paid dividends. It was all rather exciting: the pre-dawn departure, the drive acrosss the snowily spectacular Pennines and the buzz that always surrounds a gathering of like-minded individuals in competition. I have to admit that I'm quite tempted to train up for the British Championships myself - there seems to be a dearth of competition in the female heavyweight 50-59 year-old class. Just to check the feasibility of this I jumped onto the rowing machine at the gym the other day and put in a 500m sprint at 2mins 10seconds. Not brilliant, I'll admit, but I had just done half an hour of pretty intense cycling (14 km) so I reckon that with a bit of practice I could whittle that down a bit. the winning time for the first 'lady' was 1min 45....so there's something to aim at. I don't think I could do the 2000m though....far to much like hard work!

The new exercise regime seems to be working out quite well. In going to the gym just after the school run, I manage to minimise the disruption to the working day, being back at my desk mid-morning, energised and raring to go. My thought processes seem more cogent too, probably as a result of the extra oxygen being pushed round my reluctant and sluggish system, plus the endorphins released. I am actually starting to look forward to the sessions now, rather than search for reasons to avoid going. I do feel much better than I did even a couple of weeks ago, when the post-virus malaise was still lingering. I feel more positive than I have for months, optimistic and organised. The rapidly increasing daylight hours help a lot as well.

As I was walking the dog the other day in the bitingly cold (for England) winds, I encountered an ol chap and had an exchange of words that, I reflected, would be almost unintelligible to anyone from outside Yorkshire.

"A bit thin" he said. I agreed. "Still" he continued "We're going the right way now."

My thoughts entirely.