Hell Ain't Got Nothing Compared to Us

Last last week, that of March 8-15, was my Spring Break.  And how does one spend one's spring break?  Sure, you could drink yourself into a midmorning blackout, or perhaps have multiple one nighters with random people who looked great at that party (not so much the next morning), or *my personal favorite* waking up at 2, 2 in the afternoon that is.  But, who wants to do that when you could be waking up at 7, eating a bowl of dry cereal and torturing your body with physical exertion for the next 5 hours?  Well, really, only rowers.

My friends slowly disappeared, one by one by one, and left Adams Hall a social ghost.  The place was dead, not a soul stirred in the Park, and the shops had closed down.  The campus had shut down, but I was willingly stuck inside.  Or, was I?  After wasting a perfectly good Sunday sitting inside and playing Halo 3 till my eyes turned red with fatigue, I crawled into bed at 11.  I awoke to the sound of an alarm going off, little beeps that bored into my sleep addled head.  The first day had begun.  I dressed in a tank top and compression shorts, prepared for a day of beautiful weather and balmy temps.  Andrew picked me and the other novices up in his faded blue Taurus and away we went to the Occoquan Reservoir.

There we rowed for four hours, our bodies jostling for space and tipping back and forth, trying in vain to set the boat.  As our legs slammed down and our sweat covered arms pulled oars to chests, we journeyed far up the artificial lake.  As we panted and tried to regain our strength, Dane, the Novice Coach, issued the order to row, 3/4 pressure, the 30 minutes back.  Once back at the boat house, I looked down at hands not only shredded by continual stress and friction, but fingers with blisters torn off and skin ripped raw.  It was indeed going to be a long week.  

The next four days continued in much the same manner, with the exception that instead of beautiful skies and warm temperatures, we were blasted with wind, rain, and sub 40 weather.  This, might I add did not make it easy to wake up.  However, we prevailed and novices became novice extremes, capable of technique and not just floundering.  More on rowing later.  The racing season is coming up, and I am sure will be a topic of much interest.