COACH YOU BLOG

Bumping gremlins
13/8/2014

There’s nothing like rowing the Cambridge Bumps to bring out the fear in me … all the months of training, all the hard work everyone’s put in, all the effort from the Marshalls and the bank party; the moment that Canon fires, it’s down to us, eight rowers to make it all worthwhile.

It’s an intense position in the boat – being at Stroke, with everyone following you – every part of every stroke is considered. I’m still too new to rowing to have it in my muscle memory yet and so have to concentrate incredibly hard. On top of that it’s sensing how the people in the boat behind me are feeling and performing, feeling how the boat is moving.

I can sense the rising panic in the boat as we start to rush the slide and try everything I can to slow it down so we can all breathe. And, this is fine in a training session …

But when the whistles are blowing from the bank and people are cheering you on, when the cox is screaming at you to take up the rating or go for a Bump then it’s so easy to be overwhelmed with panic.

To be honest I just didn’t know what to do … sounds crazy as a coach but the adrenaline kicks in and your heart begins to pound and all those neural pathways explode into a blur … all control is lost and it’s as if I’m rowing for my life. To be honest, it’s not fun, it’s terrifying! I’m thinking “If I have a heart attack now we’d have to stop … but it would have to be a real heart-attack, not heart burn, I’d have to actually die … and that would be fine!” And when this happens I either collapse or try really hard … and in rowing that’s not necessarily a good thing … every muscle in my body tightens and wants to get into action … I’m pulling the blade like a windmill and the effect slows the boat down.

I have a gremlin (self-limiting belief) called Drama Queen who when over-excited or scared talks ten to the dozen, pitch getting higher and higher, running out of breath and getting  light-headed; hilarious but manic. She was prevalent in my Am Dram days and still now sometimes now when I’m speaking or training and I’m able to recognise her by the tone of  voice and take back control. I suddenly realised on the Wednesday night of the Bumps that she was showing up in my rowing. I hadn’t recognised her previously because I’m barely able to speak when rowing! In the heat of the moment, when just going for a bump, whistles aplenty, crazy screaming cox, I felt her take over and consciously took back control.

And we bumped!

So, on the last night, all in our “Ladies What Row” fancy dress (headscarves, pearls, horn-rimmed sunglasses and red cupid bow lipstick – including Christian, our cox!) we were happy and relaxed. Drama Queen was no-where to be seen. We were chasing a crew we’d not caught on two previous evenings and were being chased by a crew who had successfully bumped up the division every night.

Honestly, we expected to be bumped! Nevertheless we were determined to enjoy it … we had SO many people watching us that night we felt that technically elegant rowing, no matter the result, was the order of the day – especially in our outfits. Christian altered our game plan which allowed that to happen. When the cannon went off we moved smoothly from the start and left the chasing boat behind. We surprised ourselves by consistently moving up on the boat we were chasing and were all terribly shocked to catch them, let alone so early on the course, it worked!!! WE BUMPED AGAIN!!!

The learning? Well, recognising how gremlins get in the way in all areas of our life… when we are conscious of the gremlin taking over, we can choose to take back control. I was already practiced in dealing with Drama Queen from Am Dram days and so it was simple, once I’d unexpectedly recognised her, to take back control in the boat. Also, I think sometimes it helps to be less passionate, to be less emotionally connected to the outcome and to stay in the moment … to enjoy the moment whatever the outcome!

If you’d like to discover your gremlins and learn to take back control, do get in touch!