When Ben first told me about his plan for a 24 hour row I thought he was smoking something funny. I literally googled it to see if something like it had been done before. To my initial surprise, rowing for extended periods of time is nothing new and has been done for centuries. So what the heck? I signed up (as if I had a choice 🙂 and luckily joined a wicked awesome team. I am in the gym most days and spend a good amount of my time there, but everything always feels so different with an event going on, it all seems so new. Seeing everyone getting ready and the excitement building up was very motivating. The real fun however was watching people progress into the row, and how the time passed. The first few rotations everyone was nervous and energetic, but as the hours passed and the aches and pains started the mood obviously changed…but it never soured. We all knew what we were getting into, we knew it was going to be uncomfortable. As we went through the night you could see the fatigue building in everyone. As I was rowing, I would talk to myself and try to keep positive. I just kept saying, “this is such a beautiful moment right now”. That simple thought really helped me stay positive, which for an event like this is 90% of the battle. I was thinking of how grateful I was to be around such a amazing group of people, doing such an odd, strangely sadistic thing. As the sun came up the next day and we got some food in, the mood livened. It was as exciting as a row finish could be, but that was not the point. I took away the experience of hanging out with the best people I know, and another notch in my belt of interesting physical events that will make me stronger and ever so slightly more prepared for whatever else I choose to do. I cannot thank everyone who participated, donated, and helped out enough. I am so lucky to be a part of this community. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
