Category: Mentally absorbing workout

Part of the rationale for today’s title is the fact that the pull of gravity for someone on the Moon is only about 17% as much as the pull of gravity for someone on earth. If a horse which was accustomed to the gravity on earth were to experience gravity only 17% as strong, it could probably run faster on three legs in that weaker gravity, than it could run on 4 legs on earth. Keep that in mind when you read about the second online rowing session that I did today.

Today’s indoor rowing consisted of a 5 minute ultra slow session which I will call session 0 (zero) because it was almost zero effort.  The main session was going to be limited to a single 30 minute online session.  But one of the guys, who happened to be in Portugal (not that it matters, but I think its cool that people all over the world can row together online), asked if anyone would like to join him in a second 30 minute session, because he wanted to do more meters.

Nobody else wanted to, so I asked him what pace he would row the second 30 minute session.  He said “Slowly, about 2:05.”

I replied, “I’m 71 and 2:05 is fastly for me.”

One of the other guys, who is located in Connecticut, chimed in with “LOL” and then added “Bigly fastly.” It was a joke which I immediately understood since I’ve been keeping up with current events in America but I don’t know whether any of the rowers in other parts of the world understood it.

Anyway, the guy in Portugal then said he could row the second 30 minutes slower, at between 2:10 and 2:15.  I told him that I’d row with him at a pace of 2:10 and that when the 30 minute timer counted down to 4 minutes remaining, I’d increase my pace to around 2:00 and then he could see how many meters he could finish ahead of me.

So the two of us rowed the second 30 minute session and when the time counted down to 4 minutes remaining, I changed my pace from 2:10 to 2:00.  At first, the other guy kept on rowing at the slower pace.  But then he seemed to notice and he picked up his pace to around 1:52 and caught up to me.  But he didn’t stay at the 1:52 pace and pass me.  Instead, he slowed to match my pace for the remainder of the few minutes left and we finished almost even with each other.

Afterwards, I told him that I’d expected that he’d have finished about 100 meters ahead of me.  Paraphrasing his reply, he said, “I was rowing with only one leg.  I’ve got a cramp in the other leg.  LOL”

So… If he had been located on the moon and rowing online from there…. he could have rowed a lot faster than me, even with only one good leg and the other leg cramped.  I think everyone could row a huge amount faster, if gravity were only 17%.

Today’s rowing added up to more meters than I’d originally intended, but I’ll probably sleep better tonight because of it.

Happy rowing to you, whatever your gravity may be and however many arms and legs you have full use of.

As warm-up before today’s rowing, I cut down three small trees. They were the most likely culprits for an invasion of roots into sewer pipe behind our house.  The stopped- up drainpipe from house to sewer was somewhat of an emergency yesterday evening, which warranted a weekend and nighttime visit by a plumber who specialized in that problem.

The area where the roots invaded was right under three small Palo Verde trees, so they were all three cut down today.

Palo Verde trees are pretty when they bloom, but they are not nice to be physically close to.  They are covered with stiff, needle-sharp thorns.  The three scratches on my arm are three of a few scratches received while cutting and carrying away branches. A few cactus thorns managed to get stuck in my legs also.  Ordinary results, it seems, when working near and among native desert foliage and plants.

Palo Verde trees don’t make good firewood either.  If burned in a fire, the wood burns quickly and the smoke stinks.

As for today’s rowing:  It was more fun than it had been the previous few days.  The reason it was not boring and was fun today is:  I didn’t watch any movies or videos to distract from the experience of rowing.  The rowing was mindful, focused and sufficiently ethereal to be fun and mentally absorbing.  Even though I rowed alone…. online, but alone. Sigh.

Happy rowing to you.