During the RowFest national regatta last week, which was held on Lake Ford in Michigan, I raced my single on Friday afternoon. I’m always somewhat nervous about it because most of my rowing has been in the double, which is larger and steadier. The single is a narrow little boat that can be hard to control in the wind.
Last Thursday had such high winds that many races were canceled. I rowed the double with my husband, but it was still windy and choppy enough that we couldn’t get much speed. That gave me some anxiety about going out in the single the next day. Better conditions were predicted, but Thursday’s wind had been worse than the forecast, so I couldn’t be sure how things might turn out. I told myself to stop worrying about it.
As it happened, Friday afternoon had little wind and the best conditions of the regatta. I felt all right about racing the single, although I didn’t win a medal in that race. I stayed even with one of my competitors all the way down the course, but she put on more speed at the end and finished ahead of me. That didn’t bother me too much, however. My husband told me later that she’d said, after the race, that she and her husband had been trying to beat us for a long time and saw us as their benchmark. That left me feeling happier!
Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”
