After a 15-year hiatus, I am back in a boat. I learnt to row in 2002 when I went to university in Manchester (first UMIST, then later, the newly merged UoM). I used to play rugby for Norfolk, and was quite used to competitive sports in general, and when I got to uni the sheer volume of both alcohol consumed and the players themselves put me off. I wanted to keep fit, and also fancied retaining general motor functions. At the fresher’s fair I was asked by one of the rowers if I fancied trying out their open day at the boat house, and so I did.
The open day allowed I think 4 at a time to go into the eight, in the middle of the boat. We paddled up and down Manchester’s ship canal, and I really enjoyed it, so I came back. As my technique improved, I made my way quickly up the ranks into the men’s first eight, competing in longer (5-10km) “head races” on various rivers around the UK. The following year I was rowing in both the first eight and occasionally the 4- (coxless 4), depending on performance, fitness, etc. The year after, I was men’s captain. The following year, I had to ramp down my rowing and focus on actually getting a decent grade in my Physics degree, as the academic challenge became very real. Once I started the PhD I had stopped rowing completely, mainly because I was travelling a lot, and you can’t be part of a competitive boat (that needs to train together multiple times per week) if you’re in the rainforest for 6 months.
So began my hiatus. I kept fit, but as many readers will know, I moved to Tokyo, and rowing isn’t big in Japan to say the least. Though my fitness suffered over the years, my weight didn’t balloon due in part to the Japanese diet. Upon returning to the UK I was probably > 90kgs and it wasn’t really muscle mass. I started going to the gym, and looked after my diet, and the fat fell off over the months, and the muscle piled on. I got to about 85kgs of lean muscle mass, and felt comfortable there. Even though I was in close proximity to Cambridge, I didn’t end up joining a boat club there, and instead mainly did cross-fit type exercises, just to look after myself. Again, travelling with work was a main consideration.
Fast forward to this wonderful pandemic infected 2020, and company travel has all but stopped. Home office is now standard for many people, conferences are cancelled, and meetings are digital. So, I am at home a lot. I started off lockdown with tubs of haribo and lots of biscuits. I also grew a moustache, just for fun. I maintained the weight of 86kgs that I had at Christmas, but this was less muscle and more fat. I wanted to get back in shape, and was pleased when the gym re-opened. The year before I was a lean 83/84kgs, and wanted to be back there. But it’s not really a vanity thing (only a little; I want to be able to fit into my suits… whenever they are next needed), but a fitness thing. Being as I am not travelling as much, I wanted to do some fitness outside that wasn’t just hitting weights in the gym for no real purpose.
This summer I joined the local Boat Club on the Rhein, Breisacher Ruderverein. They’re mostly a sculling club, and have a huge boat house with a variety of racing shells (rowing boats). Sculling is rowing, but with an oar (or ‘blade’) in each hand. Rowing, called “sweep” rowing in the US, or “crew”, makes use of just one blade per oarsman (or oarswoman). Until this summer, I had only rowed, with one blade out to my right-hand side (left side of the boat, as one sits backwards). This is “stroke” side, and the opposite side is “bow” side. So, I tried my hand at sculling, and it’s great fun. Inherently harder to have to think about my left hand actually doing something other than just pulling (when the blade is out of the water it is “feathered” to move freely through the air, before being “squared” back, ready to go into the water for another stroke. This is repeated 24-34 times per minute over several kilometres for a standard race.
After a few weeks of sculling, in a single (1x), double (2x) and quad (4x), I went out in a lighter single… and promptly capsized. Fortunately, it was summer, so the water was warm, and now can call myself a proper sculler. I didn’t enjoy the swim very much, and couldn’t easily get back into the boat.
Something I will spare my readers is photographs of my blistered and calloused hands. Rowing may appear glamorous from the outside, but in reality, it’s sweat and blood and popped blisters. Anticipating another lockdown/gym/boat house closure, I bought myself a Concept II rowing machine (ergometer, ergo, erg) for use in the apartment. If you’d have told me that 18 years ago when I started rowing, I would have laughed. I hated the erg! However, I am coming round to enjoy its challenges, and think I will be fitter at 37 than I was at 23.
Unfortunately, most races in 2020 have been cancelled. Winter is “Head Race” season, which are longer races, often in the larger boats like the 4 or 8, over several km. Our next planned race is at the Swiss-German border, on the Rhein, at the beginning of December.
Our 8 is coming together nicely, and we had our first coached session on Sunday, with another coming this Sunday.
There’s something quite spectacular being on the calm river, with herons and swans waking up, having their breakfasts, flying around, fish jumping out of the water to catch flies, and having the sun rise over the autumn colours on the Rhein.
