Head of the Charles Regatta

My fall rowing season came to a close this past weekend with the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, MA, where I placed 10th/57 in the Club 1x event. I was 37s slower than the winner, but it was a great race with regards to technique – the technical changes I made a month ago have helped tremendously. Now begins winter training, with lots of weightlifting and workouts on the rowing machine, with some water rowing when it’s not too cold.

Midway through my race at the Head of the Charles rowing regatta in Boston, MA

DMT’s Development in Rowing

On Sunday, I competed for the first time in 3 years, at the Head of the Potomac regatta in Washington, D.C. I got 4th of 8 in the Open Men’s 1x, 50 seconds slower than the winning time, and in the raced thought “I really need to improve my fitness.” The next day, I locked into a technique that has been eluding me for almost 2 years. It is a technique and rhythm that makes rowing miles and miles so enjoyable. It emphasizes elasticity of motion, and hanging my weight off the oar handles in a way that is both physically taxing and intoxicating. The analogy I use is riding a mountain bike on a slight decline – if you’re in too light a gear, you can’t properly lock onto a strong pedal motion; in the right gear, however, you can stand up and push down on the pedals with a deliberate, satisfying strength that keeps the bike going very fast.

My next race is the Occoquan Chase, on the Occoquan Reservoir in northern VA in a few weeks. One week later is the Head of the Charles, where I’ll be racing in the Club Singles event. More on this in the weeks to come.