The Marcolian Online

Mar. 1 , 2007

Men’s Crew up before dawn
Eric Dowler
dowlere@marietta.edu

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP; the alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. You could easily roll over and go back to sleep, but it’s time to get ready for practice. You wake up, get dressed and eat a spoonful of peanut butter as you leave the room at 5:25 a.m. It is a 1.2 mile run to the Lindamood-Van Vooris boathouse. You begin to run and gradually wake up, getting closer to Putnam Street Bridge and finally reaching the boathouse. Everybody is standing around, stretching and preparing for a two hour row on the beautifully calm Muskingum River. At 5:45 a.m. the first crew launches from the docks and disappears into the fog.

The coxswains confidently maneuver through the dense fog with the help of an occasional street light. Coach soon appears in the launch (motor boat) and begins to call out different technical drills to work on. Progressing through the warm-up followed by some technical rowing, Coach informs the coxswains to prepare their guys for some race pieces. The coxswains begin what rowers call “builders.” Builders are 10-20 stroke pieces at various cadences that prepare the rower’s bodies for intense, high-rate pieces. It is now 6:15 a.m. and the sun is beginning to come up, burning the fog off the river. Next are the race pieces. Coach’s favorite workout: 4 x 2k. This is four sets of 2000 meter race pieces--the distance of an official collegiate spring race. Pressure (intensity) of all the pieces--ALL OUT.

You and your boat head to the starting line, which is located almost directly across from the McDonalds on Gilman Ave. As the coxswains get aligned, Coach reminds us that every piece should result in complete failure; a term which means pushing your anaerobic and aerobic threshold to the max. At 6:25 a.m. the first of four pieces is started. You fire off the line, reaching your anaerobic threshold within the first 15 strokes, with only 225 more to go. The first 500 meters is approaching, and you begin to settle into the race plan cadence. With each stroke you push away the other crews further and further. Washington Street Bridge is approaching and you think to yourself, almost halfway there. The bridge comes and goes quickly and now you’re coming up on the boathouse. You begin to lose your sight to tunnel vision and all you can hear is an occasional grunt of desperation. All right, this is it, Putnam Street Bridge; Only 400 meters to go. The cadence begins to rise and your body is filled with so much lactic acid that quitting seems easy. But it’s not an option! It’s a three-boat tie coming into the last 15 strokes and you are not going to lose. The cadence rises even higher, and then you pass under the railroad bridge crossing the finish line. Who won? You don’t care because all you can think is how badly your body hurts and how you just want to be able to see straight.

It is now 6:31 a.m., and you have just finished one of four pieces. Coach gives you a few minutes and then tells the coxswains to take the crews back up to the start to begin the next piece. You think, Why the hell did I get out of bed at 5:00 o’clock in the morning for this? Then, somewhere far in the back of your head, you remember what it felt like winning the 2006 Dad Vails and how badly you are willing to fight every single day, morning or night, to defend your title and beat every single crew you line up against.


• Campus News • Viewpoints • Sports • Arts & Living • Greek wrap-up • Ask Marc • Spotlight • New faces at MC • Meet our staff • Staff profiles • Letters to the editor policy • History of the newspaper • Benefits of advertising • Ad rates		Mar. 1 , 2007 Men’s Crew up before dawn Eric Dowler dowlere@marietta.edu BEEP, BEEP, BEEP; the alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. You could easily roll over and go back to sleep, but it’s time to get ready for practice. You wake up, get dressed and eat a spoonful of peanut butter as you leave the room at 5:25 a.m. It is a 1.2 mile run to the Lindamood-Van Vooris boathouse. You begin to run and gradually wake up, getting closer to Putnam Street Bridge and finally reaching the boathouse. Everybody is standing around, stretching and preparing for a two hour row on the beautifully calm Muskingum River. At 5:45 a.m. the first crew launches from the docks and disappears into the fog. The coxswains confidently maneuver through the dense fog with the help of an occasional street light. Coach soon appears in the launch (motor boat) and begins to call out different technical drills to work on. Progressing through the warm-up followed by some technical rowing, Coach informs the coxswains to prepare their guys for some race pieces. The coxswains begin what rowers call “builders.” Builders are 10-20 stroke pieces at various cadences that prepare the rower’s bodies for intense, high-rate pieces. It is now 6:15 a.m. and the sun is beginning to come up, burning the fog off the river. Next are the race pieces. Coach’s favorite workout: 4 x 2k. This is four sets of 2000 meter race pieces--the distance of an official collegiate spring race. Pressure (intensity) of all the pieces--ALL OUT. You and your boat head to the starting line, which is located almost directly across from the McDonalds on Gilman Ave. As the coxswains get aligned, Coach reminds us that every piece should result in complete failure; a term which means pushing your anaerobic and aerobic threshold to the max. At 6:25 a.m. the first of four pieces is started. You fire off the line, reaching your anaerobic threshold within the first 15 strokes, with only 225 more to go. The first 500 meters is approaching, and you begin to settle into the race plan cadence. With each stroke you push away the other crews further and further. Washington Street Bridge is approaching and you think to yourself, almost halfway there. The bridge comes and goes quickly and now you’re coming up on the boathouse. You begin to lose your sight to tunnel vision and all you can hear is an occasional grunt of desperation. All right, this is it, Putnam Street Bridge; Only 400 meters to go. The cadence begins to rise and your body is filled with so much lactic acid that quitting seems easy. But it’s not an option! It’s a three-boat tie coming into the last 15 strokes and you are not going to lose. The cadence rises even higher, and then you pass under the railroad bridge crossing the finish line. Who won? You don’t care because all you can think is how badly your body hurts and how you just want to be able to see straight. It is now 6:31 a.m., and you have just finished one of four pieces. Coach gives you a few minutes and then tells the coxswains to take the crews back up to the start to begin the next piece. You think, Why the hell did I get out of bed at 5:00 o’clock in the morning for this? Then, somewhere far in the back of your head, you remember what it felt like winning the 2006 Dad Vails and how badly you are willing to fight every single day, morning or night, to defend your title and beat every single crew you line up against.
Mailing address: Marietta College Box A-20, Marietta, Ohio 45750-4000 Physical address: McKinney Media Center, 508 Putnam St, Marietta, Ohio Phone: (740) 376-4555 E-mail: marc@marietta.edu