Monday 13 October 2008

one-handed rowing ...

I don't know if you've noticed from my "Track my Progress" page, but while I'm keeping on with the rowing part of the challenge, I've not exactly gone all out on this rowing thing. I DO enjoy it - in small doses, and it does give you a good work out ... but I can't get too excited about it really. I originally intended to do 3.5 Km per row (1% of the total roughly), but then I upped that to 5 Km per visit - mainly because I wanted to get through it! The problem however, is that this extra distance is creating a bit of a problem - or maybe that should be being a bit of a nuisance - for me.

You see, when I had my tumour last year, it was in an unusual place (NO, not there!). It was on my left forearm, about half way between my wrist and my elbow. And it turned out to be on a part of the muscle, so ... to get it out, the surgeon had to take a strand of muscle out too. He had no idea how this would effect my arm/hand, but thankfully, there was no lasting problem - which is useful, as I'm left handed!

Well ... no lasting problem ... until you start rowing 5 Km, that is! The first 3 -3.5 Km are usually okay, but in that last 1.5 Km, at some point, my left hand starts to feel a little numb, and my grip isn't so good. I keep going, but occasionally, if you are wandering around the gym, you'll spot me taking my left hand off the bar, and rowing on with just my right hand, while I frantically shake my left hand to get the blood flowing again - which it does, by the way, and I do finish with both hands in action. But it is annoying, especially when I'm trying to beat my previous time and I have to slow my pace while I get my left hand started again!

But that's why I'm not taking on extra distances on the rowing as I have been with the cycling - I just can't see me managing to get a 10 Km row in one-handed, however much I might want to!

I bet Steve Redgrave - sorry, SIR Steve Redgrave) never had this problem ...

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