Having been on the Cam since 10am, we waited until 11:40am to push off. We warmed up rowing up to the start line and set into a nice rhythm, nervously wondering how our first race, as a novice crew, would go.
Four minutes into the race, after building up our strokes, and after pushing a strong 10 power strokes, we started catching up with the boat in front of us. After overtaking, we realized we had actually gone past two boats! No words can express the amount of adrenaline and emotions filling us, although we still had more than half of the race to go. When Owen passed under the last bridge all we had to do is keep our rhythm and push it to the finish line.
It took us 12:08min, and more than 360 strokes. 360 opportunities to catch a ‘crab’, 360 opportunities for something to go wrong. We focused at one stroke at a time. With minor mistakes here and there – we conquered each new stroke with every push of the legs, looking at the girl in front, squaring up early, synchronizing each movement until the very end.
More work to come, but it already feels amazing to be part of a team that is eager to do its best in order to win!!!
Polina Ceastuhina