Photo Credit Konstantinos Papadopoulos
A LIGHT TOUCH
BY HEATHER REID
his summer, I took on a new
sport: rowing. I took a ‘Learn to
Row’ class from the Chicago
Rowing Foundation and have stayed on with the recreational-level group, going out on the Chicago River (or doing inside workouts in the ‘tanks’) 2-3 days a week. It’s been a long time since I was brand new at anything, which is a vulnerable place to be at any age, but at 54 (all too near 55 but let’s not round up, shall we?) it’s particularly interesting.
My road to rowing (should I say river?) is a long time coming. My freshman year at Northwestern, I heard there was an open call for women to come find out about the rowing program, and I was intrigued. I was not an incredible high school athlete, although I did play varsity basketball for two years, and I loved sports in general. I mentioned this opportunity to my boyfriend at the time, and he somehow talked me out of doing it. I don’t remember his logic, but I’m sure my teenage brain didn’t need much of a push from my first love to be convinced. Truly, I’m sure it was more about him than me, but I’ll save that for my therapist. So I didn’t go.
T