Having been an “erg rower” for about 6 weeks now, I just did my first live competition. It was the NW Ergomania Indoor Rowing Championships, where I raced in the 2000 and 1000 meter events.

Dale McKinnon and I traveled to Seattle University for the event. In the gymnasium, there were a total of 40 Concept 2 ergometer rowing machines, half for warming up, half for racing. The racing ergs all faced a giant movie screen showing lanes of virtual boats synched to the machines.

At any given point during a race, you could look up and see your position, your distance in meters off the lead boat, and your 500 meter split time – or “tach time.” That tach time is THE number you race by, as I understand it. It’s how you pace yourself, whatever distance the race.

The auditorium was swamped. From high school and college rowing clubs on up through every generation of masters age group. The energy was ridiculously high. I mean it was hard to think it was so pumped with music, an MC, and hundreds of people cheering and screaming as races neared the finish line. For someone used to the open water, it was major noise- and crowd-overload. But at the heart of it all, it’s RACING, and in that respect I felt right at home.

Dale watched my first warm-up, and gave me some pointers on leg drive, handle return, and posture for maximum oxygen intake. We watched races and discussed technique. We had fun sizing up (and were in awe of) the abundance of caricature-like, over-sized legs and backs on some of the men and women there.

We watched the senior masters women race, and saw World Record #1 of the day fall when 71-year-old Luanne Mills pulled a 8:11 for the 2000 meter. AWESOME woman who Dale and I made it a point to befriend.

My first race came at about 10 a.m., 30-39 year olds, 2000 meters. My strategy was to pretend I was working out in my garage, race my own race, and ignore any rabbits that might take off on an energy-sucking, too-fast start. It worked. I won the race in 6 minutes 18 seconds. One for one, one to go.

Obviously, I was stoked to win, but if there was something I took from that first race, it’s that with more experience I would learn to spend it ALL over the 2000 meters. There were guys and gals of every class that would literally fall off their machines at the finish line, and be carried by friends out of the race area. I didn’t see any puking, despite the labeled buckets, but erg racing is a sport of agony, apparently, and that’s a sign of leaving it ALL on the race course. Occasionally, a racer would spend it all too soon and wouldn’t even reach the finish line.

Dale and I spent the next few hours shooting photos and video, meeting athletes and watching races. We watched World Record #2 of the day fall when a gal in the 20-29 age group rowed a 6:44 or something like that. I didn’t get her name, but the crowd was going APE!

At roughly 3 o’clock, it was time for my 2nd and final race: the Men’s Open 1000 meter. No age groups, no classes, 2nd to last race of the day, lay it on the line and damn the consequences. There were probably 14 or 16 of us. The 1000 meters is over quick, and all I knew is that I had to pace well enough in the first half to prevent complete agony in the 2nd half.

When the MC shouts “Row!” everybody’s first 5 strokes or so are just stupid hard and fast, then we settle in. I hadn’t done that hard a start and got a little worried at my tach time. But by 500 meters I was at 1:26 and was in the lead. The guy just to my left was in 2nd, so I knew as long as my tach time for the 2nd half was as fast or faster than his, I was golden. I glanced over at his monitor, saw his tach, and felt an immediate wave of Schadenfreude. He was fading. It was mine. I had fuel in the tank, so I held on through 800 meters, then tried to kick the final stretch. I crossed the line in 2:58 for the win.

At one point in between races, a guy asked me if I’d rowed on the water. When I said I hadn’t, he said, “Well, Ergs don’t float.” They may not, and they’re certainly a different world from any sort of on-water racing. But it’s a hell of a workout, and when your little digital boat up on that jumbo-tron starts creeping away from the competition and you know everybody’s muscles are burning and lungs are heaving… and that wave of Schadenfreude washes over you… by golly, it is RACING, and I believe I’ll be doing some more of it.

Brandon with world record holder, 71-year old Lu
anne Mills. Check out her strength and impeccable form in the start of her record setting 2000 meter event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34274321@N08/4317770198/

Happy Racing… Indoor or Out!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden