Two days 'till HOCR...thank you, rowing.

I couldn't be more excited to be racing in the Club Single event at the 47th Head of the Charles Regatta . I am healthy, well-rested and happy to see that the weather forecast (albeit a moderate headwind) will be pretty friggin' stellar. To your average spectator, the boats don't seem to move that fast and the athletes tend to reveal little of the pain that they are feeling, but the hard work that goes into this sport is understood by few. Competitive rowers spend countless hours working on technique and pushing themselves to the brink of what well-trained bodies/minds can tolerate, all before most of the population has begun to hit the snooze bar. We are a rare breed and I am ever grateful to have stumbled upon this activity, not only for the invigorating workout, but for the great people that rowing attracts. Good luck to all of my water-bound brethren this weekend; may many a finish line be crossed with empty buckets!

Photo courtesy of scullingfool.org

These shoes were made for rowing.

Besides dealing with a busy 2010 apartment rental season in Boston, most of my time has been spent gliding over the Charles River in Boston/Cambridge. Thus, I have been neglecting this very blog! Congrats to me...I just bought a new racing shell for myself and and it is finally sinking in that I have my own single! For you laypeeps, that's a 24' long, 10" wide sculling (rowing) boat for one person (me). While the boat itself certainly set me back a few, there was all of these boring gear that I had to buy...cover, cartop rack, rigger bag, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But, I did come across these amazing shoes while shopping in Harvard Square that are perfect for on the dock; they are more stable than flip-flops (you can wear your socks!) and are MUCH more attractive than Crocs! The 'Miller' shoe by Native has me very excited http://nativeshoes.com/products/miller. They are waterproof, odor proof, washable, animal product free and come in many colors. Native also makes other styles that resemble Wallabees and Converse Chuck Taylors...I had a hard time deciding which kind to get, not to mention which color. I hope that my fellow rowers ditch those ugly Crocs, stop trying to lift weights in flip-flops and upgrade their boathouse footwear. I can't wait to rock them before my next row!