In the rain
The Pacific northwest-style weather that marks winters out here has begun. Gentle mist ranging to big and steady rain drops. Since it doesn't rain between April and October, it takes a few days of being surprised without an umbrella to begin to care about the weather forecast.
Luckily for me, I've spent enough time outdoors in less than perfect weather to be unphased by being rained upon. Last night I walked out of work to a steady light rain. Lacking an umbrella, I just zipped up my fleece vest and made steady progress to the Muni stop. I'm going home, so what does it matter that I'm a little damp for a while?
This morning's row was more of the same. Steady light mist, which, if it has to rain, is the best kind of rain. Last night, anticipating rain, I packed my most imprtant piece of rain gear: Baseball hat. If it's not raining on your face, the rain is tolerable.
I stroked an 8+ this morning with a somewhat mixed crew. The first 3/4 of practice was mediocre at its best. It felt like people in the boat (particularly someone on Starboard) were making some lurching body movement after the finish but before hands were away. And whoever it was lacked the sensitivity to correct his bad habit. It was very frustrating. It felt very sloppy.
But at the end of practice, we were cruising out against our other 8+, rowing a very long and comfortable 27 strokes per minute while the other 8+ was at 32. Folks were hitting their catches and driving hard and then relaxing on the recovery and (unlike during the first part of practice) not disturbing the flow of the boat while approaching the next stroke. This felt good. Didn't really mind the rain.
Luckily for me, I've spent enough time outdoors in less than perfect weather to be unphased by being rained upon. Last night I walked out of work to a steady light rain. Lacking an umbrella, I just zipped up my fleece vest and made steady progress to the Muni stop. I'm going home, so what does it matter that I'm a little damp for a while?
This morning's row was more of the same. Steady light mist, which, if it has to rain, is the best kind of rain. Last night, anticipating rain, I packed my most imprtant piece of rain gear: Baseball hat. If it's not raining on your face, the rain is tolerable.
I stroked an 8+ this morning with a somewhat mixed crew. The first 3/4 of practice was mediocre at its best. It felt like people in the boat (particularly someone on Starboard) were making some lurching body movement after the finish but before hands were away. And whoever it was lacked the sensitivity to correct his bad habit. It was very frustrating. It felt very sloppy.
But at the end of practice, we were cruising out against our other 8+, rowing a very long and comfortable 27 strokes per minute while the other 8+ was at 32. Folks were hitting their catches and driving hard and then relaxing on the recovery and (unlike during the first part of practice) not disturbing the flow of the boat while approaching the next stroke. This felt good. Didn't really mind the rain.
posted by Kenneth at 9:48 AM
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