Rowing Fatigue

Rowing is hard on the body and hard on the soul.

There is the physical work of training. One or two workouts six days a week will fatigue any body. Quads, back, lats, shoulders, arms. Every interval, every steady state, every race piece takes its toll on the muscles, soft tissue and joints, abused by the cumulative effect of repetitive, challenging work.

But there is also mental fatigue.

Spring comes, the river thaws, and life in New England bursts forth. There is a giddy joy that comes from being allowed back onto that native rowing water. The new-found escape from the erg. But gradually, over weeks and months of training and racing, the brain tires of focusing on technique, of pushing past pain, of pulling another power ten. The strokes taken over weeks and months are taking their toll.

The brain--hypnotized and deadened--slows with the stroke rate, as spring sprints shift to fall head races.

And somewhere in there, the days get shorter and the rows get longer.

My muscles have hardened over the course of the summer, but in the cooler temperatures, strong veers toward rigid. The waves are higher, the rows are wetter, and patience is shorter. My body aches, my brain numbs.

The leaves change color. The sun sets earlier. Lethargy creeps in. Winter will soon arrive, and I will be ready to welcome indoor training.

Rowing is hard on the body and hard on the soul.

For now, I just need one more nap.