Unexpected

I was never the athletic type. Ever. The closest I got to sports was summer swim team, which was completely relaxed and basically just for fun, or Parks and Rec Field Hockey throughout middle school. I did attempt track in the 7th grade, but something went wrong with my foot, and I ended up having to quit. All throughout high school, I never did anything physically active or strenuous.

A few weeks ago, someone asked me if I had even done Crew. Of course not. She told me that I looked like I would be good at it because I have long legs (courtesy of Dad), and that I should try it out. At first I wasn't going to, but then I figured what the heck. Might as well do something while I am here because up until then, I had plenty of free time to mess around, do homework, and still get more sleep than I have in years during a school year. So about three weeks ago, I went to the first practice.

The first week of practice for the Crew Team is called "Hell Week". It's basically intense conditioning in order to weed out those who are not serious about it. The first day was really easy: they showed us some of the movements for rowing on an erg machine, and then we did cardio for forty minutes or so. The next three days, however, we were running up and down stairs, pushing and racing trucks down the parking lot, sprinting, doing circuits, etc. It was really good, but I was really sore after the first week.

The second week they put us on the water and started teaching us how to row on the water. It was really fun. Because we were just learning and numbers varied each day, I was put in a mens boat. The boat construction is different for men and women, so I was in this huge boat with all these guys who were loads stronger and taller than me. When we carried the boat down to the dock, I couldn't even reach it! It was really good though, because I sat in front of a varsity rower, and he was able to really help me figure everything out!

Practices start at 5am, so it's early!! This week we have been on the water each day, getting stronger at rowing and working together in the boat. Crew really is such a team sport, because if one person is off just a little in the boat, the whole thing messes up! I'm really glad I decided to try it, and I'm looking forward to improving this semester!