Rowing in MUD was brightened up with ZUMBA!

So just as a heads up, I didn’t plan on writing every day, but it just happens to be that I have something to say and share (probably won’t be the case every week though;)).

Today was a challenging day (as many are when one trains mostly on their own).  Fortunately I have amazing teammates that I will be training with more consistently throughout the winter, but for now the fun will be put on hold, haha.

Work kept me very busy as I prepare for a trip to Boston next week and the weather has made it difficult to feel motivated with rowing – not in my own desire to row, but with the environment…

If you run, have you ever felt like you have weights around your ankles slowing you down?  Or if you bike, have you ever felt like you had the chain on the biggest gear, making it harder to keep a high cadence?  Well today, my boat moved like it was in MUD (thanks Kathleen for the very accurate description)!  I tried to imagine the mud turning into water (one would expect right?!), but it didn’t.  It’s hard to look down at your splits (which is the speed at which you are rowing), and see that you are rowing slower than just a few weeks back.  I came across the following that helped me feel like I wasn’t going crazy:
"...boat speeds decrease by 1.3% (~4s over 2k), when the water temperature drops from 20o C down to 5o C. If the water gets warmer, up to 30o, then the boat goes 0.6% faster (~1.8s over 2k). The power trend fits very well to the experimental data (R2 = 0.99)."

Rowing Biomechanics Newsletter by Dr. Kleshnev

Thank you Dr. Kleshnev!!!

So all in all, days like today are challenging, but this journey wouldn’t be as much fun or fulfilling if it wasn’t a challenge;)

In other news, ZUMBA IS SO MUCH FUN!  I went to one of my good friend’s ZUMBA classes today and it was amazing (check out: workitoutfitness.ca)!  I have wanted to go for a long time now but truthfully never had the time – I often sit in my kitchen with my husband and work away at my computer doing reports and what not in the evening.  But today was special.  I felt that I needed a break from the busy day AND it was an opportunity to support her as she was teaching this amazing class in downtown Toronto at Lululemon.  I’m not sure if many of you have taken a Zumba class before, but I know I could never do anyone else’s because it just wouldn’t compare…the energy was SO high, the moves were INTENSE, and it was an hour of non-stop DANCING!  Yes, I am still high from the energyJ.  Below are some pictures of Robyn and the gang after the class.  This will hopefully be the first of my many classes I attend.

Alexandra, Sarah, Robyn, and me - we go all the way back to grade 4!

Most amazing Zumba instructor!

Until next time…