April 27, 2004

Why I pull ...

I strap into my velcro shoes, check my rigger and get ready to shove off. It's a typical Thursday morning around 6:00 am and we're doing pieces on the water to get ready for our weekend regatta. The eight of us do our warm up and weigh enough. The workout is five four-minute pieces with starts. I roll up to half slide, and take a deep breath. We lock in our oars and Julia calls the start. Start 5, high 10, settle 10, the pit begins. Roll, Snap, Splash, Drive. I feed on the rhythm. The motion falls into place with ease from our many practices but slowly my form deteriorates as I become exhausted.

It is around this time that I ask myself the inevitable question that every rower faces. What the heck am I doing here? Why am I on this river, in this boat, with these eight other girls? It's taken me more than half a year and a lot of long hard hours of practice to be able to begin to answer these questions. The rhythm of the clicking oar locks and rolling wheels engulfs me again and my mind starts to wander. I think about the other girls in the boat working with me. All of them pulling, sweating and working themselves to the edge with me in this boat.

I pull because Julia, our coxswain, has been here with us every practice, pushing us through our pain with her words. I pull because Christine is our stroke and I would follow her anywhere. Because I know every strand of hair on the back of Tabitha's head, every T-shirt slogan, every visor. Because Kate is my rock. Because Jenna is going to break 8 minutes this year. Because Erin goes to practice even when she is nauseous. Because Meg worked like a maniac to fix her form and get into this boat. Because Laura's going to run a marathon in the fall. I pull because all of these girls are asking themselves the same thing right now. Because we are all as one.

It sucks me in again, the rhythm of the boat, rolling up-the blood flowing in, exploding back-the blood rushing out, one beating heart.

- Danielle Monteverde '07