Taking up the challenge: Rowing

For the first time this summer, I may have gotten overconfident.

I can safely say that, for the bulk of this series, I have entered every Amateur Athlete Challenge with a certain sense of foreboding.

I knew I’d never last while running with a tri-athlete; I was scared to death of wrecking on a bicycle; I was out of my class weight lifting; I had no experience with kickboxing; and swimming was just too technical.

And while I comported myself pretty well in most of those events -- I’m in halfway decent shape -- I was nowhere near the level of my amateur athlete hosts.

Yet after spending an afternoon watching the work of the master’s division (any rower over 21 years old) of the Lake Lanier Rowing Club -- which features several athletes close to double my age (31), I admit that I was thinking this might be pretty easy.

Oops.

Let me offer a big tip of the cap to anyone who does this with any regularity -- because, as I discovered on Wednesday, no matter your age, rowing can administer a pretty physical whipping.

And I didn’t even do it for real.

Because rowing requires precision and coordination amongst teammates, the LLRC didn’t have enough help available to work a newbie through a training session when yours truly was present. “When you get in a boat for the first time, it’s mayhem,” LLRC coach Jim Pickens said. “And we try not to throw novices to the wolves.”

Therefore, I was put through the paces on two different rowing machines -- one of which was your average rowing machine that can be found at any gym. The second was much more complicated and looked like a real oar set-up from a boat, placed on top of a stationary structure.

“So, I’m not going to be on the water -- no chance of drowning -- this should be a snap,” I remember thinking as we walked into the LLRC’s training facility.

The thought even continued as I learned the basic stroke of rowing: as Pickens puts it, “you’re doing repeated squats, driving your heel into the floor and pushing back with your legs.”

You also use your back and arms, when, after straightening your legs, you lean back a little in your seat, while flexing your elbows to bring the oar into your chest. Then you push your hands away from your chest quickly, bend forward slightly and squat back down for another pull back, then repeat, repeat, repeat...

It was all going pretty swimmingly -- until they told me to attempt a 500-meter row, in two minutes.

As with any relatively foreign maneuver, it’s not so hard to execute at even half speed -- but at full speed, things get ugly. And when you have to row the equivalent of 500 meters in two minutes, speed is a necessity.

I could feel my legs pushing OK, but the coordination between my arms and back began to jerk out of rhythm -- slightly at first and then more and more with each stroke. My host, who was impressed with my early form, winced a little and began explaining that even one oar out of rhythm can really foul up a boat on the water. He even talked about one of the club’s boats flipping a week ago, due to this very issue.

“It was actually very pretty to see,” said club member April Smith, who had dropped by to check on my progress. “It just very slowly tipped up and over.”

Did I mention how glad I was I wasn’t on the water? Otherwise, this Amateur Challenge might have been swimming, part II.

As it was, I was starting to swim in my own sweat.

The training room lacked the breeze Lake Lanier often provides -- as well as any hint of air conditioning. And, as my heart rate climbed, the sweat began to pour off my face and neck. My breathing also quickened and my back began to get a little annoyed with me.

At this point, I began thinking how much more impressive these master’s rowers looked now, versus when I saw them from the comfort of a motorboat on Monday.

The 500-meter sprint kicked my heart into gear -- about a 125 rate after two minutes -- and had my back and shoulder muscles getting a little concerned.

“It got you a little, didn’t it?” Pickens asked, once I finished. “It’s nice to see you sweating some.”

I could only imagine how much more I would have been sweating had I been on a boat full of masters rowers who actually knew what they were doing -- worrying about messing them up, while trying to keep up.

I doubt -- even if we had flipped -- that would have been a pretty sight.

I will say that rowing was pretty enjoyable, and I may well go back for a "Learn to Row" class that Pickens holds frequently -- the next coming in August. It was also very easy on my joints -- no banging around. And it got my heart rate up plenty; this was no walk in the park.

And I promise I won’t underestimate any Amateur Athlete Challenge again.

***Look for Access North Georgia sports editor Morgan Lee’s amateur athletes challenge column at the end of each week this summer. The column is preceded by a feature on an area amateur athlete at the start of the week.***