At my age, it is common to talk about the autumn of our years. At least for our kids, it may seem that way - we are “old.” For me (and my wife and friends), this age does not seem as old as the numbers used to sound. So let’s forget about calling it autumn, as if we are into the final quarter or nearing the finish line, and just focus on what we have and what we do.
One observation i have made often: I am moving a lot slower than I used to. It does not mean i cannot take some hard (perhaps I should just say “firmer”) strokes. But I used to start a row strong and get stronger. I used to customarily row at length out of breath and sweaty, dripping. I used to warm up quickly. I used to burn more calories than I eat. And it used to be I would not wait to warm up to pull hard(er). Now, I tend to begin very slowly or easily, both on the water and on an erg. It consumes not just a couple of minutes to get my breath up and approach a second wind, but instead it now consumes many minutes for my body to warm up. The aches and stiffness ease as I work on posture and stretch out. The pace I would like to achieve seems unachievable initially. It is only after 10 to 15 or more minutes later when my body has begun to get in the rhythm and work better that i find my pace quickening. And even then, it is not usually to what had once been my standard range or pace.
I wonder whether this is a sign I am letting myself down, not pushing, not seeking a higher plateau of exertion sooner. I confess it seems to me that allowing this more used/older body more time to get accustomed to effort each day (A) seems like giving in but (B) may be a healthy approach. I wonder if a stress test would tell me something about how the body warms up and what my peak or sustainable level of effort has become.
We all know folks our age who have continued to compete. People who are affected more substantially than I am by the cancellation or “remot-ification” of racing in this Covid situation. I find planning to race helps me gear up and work harder. Although for me that is still closer to what I describe above than the level of effort my friends exert in order to compete and medal. For competitive racers, the denial of that test not just once but over and over must be disagreeable. And it must create a training challenge. Perhaps they can find others to compete with privately to help them stay strong. Some of them, i am sure, will continue their self-motivated training regimen and look forward to the time when life returns to something closer to normal. In the meantime, they have the remote racing that is being offered. Along with the drive that has stood them in good stead for so long.
It is also a challenging time for novices. Some clubs are able to keep up a limited offering of novice rowing classes. But the opportunity for a newcomer to learn to row and to move into rowing/sculling with others has changed, stretched out, lost some of the camaraderie. Kudos to all the coaches and boards and rowers who are still making opportunities for novices to start, to learn and to row independently.
To them, to the competitors, to all of us, as Spock would say -