Team Work & Lessons Learned

I had a really tough outing today. The water was rough and the stream was strong. I was really struggling to get my rating up because I couldn't physically draw the blades through the water fast enough, and I didn't want to rush up the slide.

The Mind is Willing, but the Body is Weak

I was in a double, at the stroke position, and my doubles partner was convinced that I wasn't getting my hands away fast enough and that was why I couldn't get my rating up. I was getting them away as fast as I possibly could, but I took her feedback on board and tried harder to be faster. It made no material difference to the speed at which I could draw the oars through the water because my physical strength has its limits. At that point I felt I had no other option than to rush up the slide in order to increase the number of strokes per minute. It was horrible. I wasn't able to sustain the pace without the proper recovery between each stroke - especially when each stroke was taking everything I had - so I had to ease off on the pressure and take my stroke rate back down to a rate at which I could achieve better ratios.

Communication is Key

It was a very disappointing outing for a number of reasons, but most of all I was disappointed that I hadn't stuck to my guns. Being in a team means communicating and working together. If I felt that I was not being listened to, or that we were not working as a team, I should have spoken up more assertively. I don't know everything, but I do know the limits of my own physical strength. I could have given myself an injury and I'd have no one else to blame but me.

Lessons Learned

Team work can be tricky at times. You can't always choose your team or control how they will behave, but you can learn something from every experience. The row must go on! :)