My first half-marathon indoor rowing medal!

What is half-marathon indoor rowing?

The studio that I’m a member of hosts half and full marathons every February and August. Half is 21,097 meters (or 13.1 miles for the non-metric folks), all on a rowing machine. Each rower gets 3 hours to finish it; 5 hours if you’re doing a full. They usually have it during Regatta, which is when all the studios across the country compete to see which gets the most meters.

If you’ve read my previous post about indoor rowing, you might remember that my next goal is to challenge myself to finish a half-marathon. After I wrote that blog, which was at the end of July, the studio announced that the event was slated for August. 😬 NGL, I all of a sudden didn’t want to sign up, and I immediately started second-guessing myself.

Let’s Talk Roadblocks (aka the “Why Did I Do This to Myself?” List):

• I’m not a morning person and the half-marathon starts at 7:00 am!
• I was extremely worried about IT band and lower back issues that flared up last year.
• The “negative Nancy” in me was taking over mentally, questioning if I could even finish in 3 hours.
• I wasn’t sure how to prepare for one since I’ve never done any half-marathon anything!

But with some pep talk, encouragement, and slight peer pressure from the crew, especially those OG full marathoners, I decided to go for it.

Here’s How I Got Ready Without Losing My Mind:

• I had a couple of accountability members. We checked in on each other to see how preparations are going, both physically and mentally.
• To get myself mentally prepared to possibly be on the erg for three hours, I rowed back-to-back classes once or twice a week. It helped build endurance and test how my body handled longer sessions.
• I took my prep seriously, yet made sure to have fun during my journey. Since I took an extra class or two to help with my endurance, I also ate my favorite pasta and bread three days and the day before.
• Since waking up early is challenging for me, I bought my favorite canned caffeine the day before and enjoyed each sip during the first hour of rowing.
• I made sure I was well rested the day before the half-marathon. No rowing (or any other sesh) and only bought necessities such as coconut water, bananas, protein bars, and coffee to help me fuel during the race.
• I finally bought an erg cushion. Thankfully, it came the day before and it saved my booty!
• I spoke to other OG crew members who’ve done it before. Each one had different insights about their experiences with their first half or full marathons. The advice that stuck? “Just survive and finish.” Slightly morbid, but accurate.

Race Day!

Finally, the day arrived. I entered the studio slightly nervous, as I was about to do something I’ve never done before. Other half-marathoners and I were waiting for our queue to get on our erg since the full-marathoners (who had been there since 5:00 am!) were warned that we were entering the room. First-timers like me entered the room quietly since we didn’t want to ruin their flow. However, to my surprise, they were all still very energetic and welcomed us without even pausing their strokes.

I took my time settling in: stretched my lower back and legs, did a little warmup with the pick drill, and told myself I could do this—even if my brain was still debating that fact.

The First 1k Meters is Mental Gymnastics

The first thousand meters seemed the toughest to cross. I kept trying to do the math in my head. “What should my average split time be? What should my strokerate be? How many meters can I get if my split time is blank?” Thankfully, one of the coaches reassured me that my form is great and that I shouldn’t worry about the math. Since it was my first time, I’m essentially setting my personal baseline should I decide to do another half-marathon in the future.

Once I crossed 2k meters, I found my rhythm. The coach advised that the best pace for me was 2:50 split, and all I needed to focus on was my form.

When I crossed my 9k, I started hunching my back, and my lower back started getting stiff. Plus, the hunger pangs started getting to me. After they played my requested favorite Linkin Park song, which pushed me to hit 11k, I figured it was best to take a breather, stretch, and fuel with a protein bar to get me through the last 10k. (Pro tip: Always call a coach before getting off the erg or your meters might disappear. And no, I’m not emotionally ready to talk about that happening to anyone else.)

The Final Push

As I started the second half, some of the full-marathoners were finishing their sesh. The room turned into a hype zone! Coaches would announce if a rower was close to crossing the finish line, which pumped up the rest of us to support them on their last set of meters while encouraging us to keep going.

During the last 2k of my meter, it was complete mayhem, which I loved! Coaches and other rowers were yelling to keep me rowing. One asked what I plan to eat after my sesh, and I yelled, “Croissants!” 😁 I even got to pick which song to row to, ensuring that I finish strong. Beyonce’s “Run the World (Girls)” got me to the finish line. And after 2 hours and 6 minutes, I rowed all 21,097 and a little more to spare for good measure.

Stretch. Breathe. Medal. (And Croissants!)

After I finished, I did a much-needed cooldown: pigeon pose, lizard, cobra, figure four, downward dog…basically all the yoga I’ve ever learned. My body felt okay-ish, but my fingers? Raw. Apparently, I gripped the handle like I was holding on for dear life. Noted for next time.

During my stretch and cooldown, I was handed the medal I’ve been coveting.

Final Thoughts and Fuel

If you’re thinking about doing a long rowing sesh like this, I hope my experience helps. I found this link to give you a better idea of how to prep and conquer your first (and maybe many more) sesh.

Overall, the experience was exhilarating and satisfying. I pushed past mental and physical doubts and came out on the other side with a medal, a smile, and an almond + Dubai-style croissant in hand from one of my favorite bakeries. Worth it.

Happy rowing sesh, friends! Stay active!

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