Okay, I haven't done very well with posting regularly...hopefully I'll do better in July! I'm jumping forward, now, to some of my present-day learning: gym class.
I am living in Ottawa for the summer, and I decided I wanted to keep working on my "sporty" learning...not only is it good for me and a way to meet people here, but my husband is forever pushing me to work on my sporty skills (he's rather sporty himself). So I signed up for a women's parks and rec program called "It's Never Too Late For Sports". Advertised as a way to learn some sports skills, I thought it would be a great introduction to a variety of sports, and I would (hopefully) not feel awkward in front of the other people (since the other people had signed up to learn, just like me!).
Turns out to be a lot of fun! And, amazingly, I am more coordinated and sporty than some of the other women! Since it's an intro class, everyone is pretty laid back about winning and points, and there's lots of encouragement and cheering when you do something well. We spend the first half hour learning some skills and doing drills, and the second half-hour playing the game (usually somewhat modified, since there are usually only 6 of us). As you can see, it is very much like gym class...we (as a class) decided that calling it "gym class" is a much more accurate (and less cringe-inducing) name than "it's never too late for sports", so we're going with it. So far, we have played beach volleyball (okay), field hockey (so hard!! but fun), and beach badminton (the wind is problematic). Tomorrow, we play soccer-baseball...see, just like gym class. The main difference is that the super-athletic kids aren't dominating the game and pushing to win, so you can actually learn something. In fact, I've had such a good experience that I'm going to sign up for the July session!
June 26, 2011
June 01, 2011
Lesson Two: Rowing
Following my singing lessons, I decided to push myself into something more sporty and try rowing. At my family cottage we have quite a few dinghy-style rowboats...the kind you row solo and are VERY hard to tip over. I've always enjoyed rowing those, so I thought I'd probably like rowing crew, too. So I signed up for a "Learn to Row" session at Argonaut Rowing Club in Toronto.
The first evening was a bit disappointing: we watched safety videos and learned proper form on the "ergs" (rowing machines to non-rowers). I volunteered to be in the tough coach's boat; I was there to learn, after all! Sure enough, the tough coach (I think his name was Frank, but I'm not 100% sure) got us on the water right away at the beginning of Week #2, while the other eight practiced more on the ergs for the first half of the night. I started off in the last seat position (bow), being one of the lightest people in the boat. It was challenging to keep in stroke with the rest of the boat, especially with the people in the middle losing the rhythm set by the person at the stern (stroke position). I think almost everyone caught a few crabs the first night (angled our oars incorrectly in the water, making it difficult to control). Lots of yelling from Frank, but he gave us some more positive comments once we were back on land! VERY sore the next day, especially in the lower back and shoulders.
The next week, Frank tried me in seat #2 (at the stern of the boat, behind the stroke position). This suited me much better, since I didn't have to decide whose rhythm to follow, just had to keep steady with Frank. I stayed in this position for the remainder of my rowing sessions, including when we tried rowing in fours (instead of eights). Frank continued to yell at all of us while in the boat. I continued to be sore after rowing, though it got a little better as time went on.
For our final week, we had a Regatta with people from all the Learn to row sessions. Yes, Frank continued to yell at us. We had gotten a decent rhythm down in our practice during the previous few weeks, but that was nothing compared to how hard we pushed ourselves during the race. We got out of synch a couple of times, but we managed to come in second!
I really enjoyed learning to row, especially since I wasn't the only person being yelled at! However, it is an expensive sport and crews mostly practice at unfathomable times like 5:00 am. Maybe someday I'll go back to it.
The first evening was a bit disappointing: we watched safety videos and learned proper form on the "ergs" (rowing machines to non-rowers). I volunteered to be in the tough coach's boat; I was there to learn, after all! Sure enough, the tough coach (I think his name was Frank, but I'm not 100% sure) got us on the water right away at the beginning of Week #2, while the other eight practiced more on the ergs for the first half of the night. I started off in the last seat position (bow), being one of the lightest people in the boat. It was challenging to keep in stroke with the rest of the boat, especially with the people in the middle losing the rhythm set by the person at the stern (stroke position). I think almost everyone caught a few crabs the first night (angled our oars incorrectly in the water, making it difficult to control). Lots of yelling from Frank, but he gave us some more positive comments once we were back on land! VERY sore the next day, especially in the lower back and shoulders.
The next week, Frank tried me in seat #2 (at the stern of the boat, behind the stroke position). This suited me much better, since I didn't have to decide whose rhythm to follow, just had to keep steady with Frank. I stayed in this position for the remainder of my rowing sessions, including when we tried rowing in fours (instead of eights). Frank continued to yell at all of us while in the boat. I continued to be sore after rowing, though it got a little better as time went on.
For our final week, we had a Regatta with people from all the Learn to row sessions. Yes, Frank continued to yell at us. We had gotten a decent rhythm down in our practice during the previous few weeks, but that was nothing compared to how hard we pushed ourselves during the race. We got out of synch a couple of times, but we managed to come in second!
I really enjoyed learning to row, especially since I wasn't the only person being yelled at! However, it is an expensive sport and crews mostly practice at unfathomable times like 5:00 am. Maybe someday I'll go back to it.
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