For me, rowing has always proven a little difficult. I am not the fittest guy in the world, weighing in at almost 260lbs, but I have a good idea of how I move the boat, but with a lack of fitness, I struggle to put pen to paper. Since Shrewsbury, I have been back, full time. Trying my hardest to move my bulk, and also gain some fitness along the way.

Ergo after ergo, mixed in with a number of water sessions, have helped keep me on my toes, and with respect to my technique, I have never been happier with the way I move in the boat. Obviously there is room for improvement, but with every session that goes by, I'm finding myself concentrating on much more than following the guy in front.

I have enjoyed myself so much over the past weeks. I have learned so much from the coaches, but learned from some of the more experienced scullers also. Not only is it a great feeling, to have the support from fellow members, but it is probably the main reason I keep coming back. I find myself forever wanting to improve, on what criticisms I am given from my peers, and when one is corrected, another brings itself to the surface, so I never lose focus, from start to finish.

Being more of a social member at Trent than a competitive rower, I have seen my share of regattas, but with the surge of training, I felt why not give racing a try. With Loughborough and Burton being the only regattas I can attend, before I go away on my honeymoon, I felt Loughborough would be as good a regatta as any, and it will give me an idea, of what I need to work on, before I compete at Burton.

With most of the crews already decided by the coaches, I was found left out. This didn't really bother me too much, although, people were aware that I wanted to race, so I asked Kenny if he fancied doing a double. He was quick to reply, and by the end of the day, we had entered as a Senior 4 double.

Now I am a novice sculler, and I have never raced before, and here I am preparing to race in a senior 4 event. My diet changed, my training increased, and I found that I managed to lose almost ½ a stone in just over a week leading up to race day. I was ready.

Race Day. I wasn't ready. I woke up late. Missed my mouth with my toothbrush, and also got soap in my eyes. Lost my all in one and also thought that I should mention that I went to work by accident, forgetting it was race day. I was nervous. I am, to a lot of peoples surprise, a very nervous person. I rarely show it, but I think people realised on the day, that I was panicing.

I hadn't had a good session prior to the race. I caught a really nice crab, which forced the blade out of my hand and into my rib cage, during a 4 minute piece. It winded me. I can tell you now, I had words with that blade, and we now have a mutual understanding. It doesn't hurt me, and I don't stamp on it till it splits in two.

Its wasn't a great start to the race day. We hadn't won a race all morning, and with the junior 14's quad coming past our little sitting spot, my nerves went up two notches. 1 hour till race time. I kept running questions through my head, how can I keep the race pressure constant throughout until its time to pick up. Will I burn out before the 500m mark? Will I catch a really embarrassing crab? Will I fall in?

A tap on the shoulder, “Are you ready?” Quick answer, “NO!”

We registered, rigged the double, and were about to get into our boat, when Kenny realised something. “Oh, no seats, bugger!”. Nothing was going to plan. For some unknown reason I even attempted to get into the boat, while Kenny was fetching the seat. I was about to sit down when I realised.

I sat down, poured water on the seat rails, and was pushed out onto the water. The seat rails, squeak like crazy, and water seems to help with the problem. I'm not the biggest fan of screeches, and now we had even more weight in the boat.

My heart rate went up as we passed everyone who came to watch and also compete. My Mum and future wife were in the numbers. Oh Joy, more pressure. We continued past the 500m mark and then the 750metres. Then the familiar voice we all know, John Ash, umpiring at the starts. Maybe it wasn't going to be that bad.

We were up at the start for quite a while. The race before ours, was delayed as there was a crew late to the start. After accepting there warning, they raced off the starts. Then “Senior 4 Doubles, please come forward to the starts”.

Crunch Time. This is it, no turning back now. My heart was still pumping my blood around at abnormal levels, and its was only going to get worse. As Kenny brought us up to the stake boats, we had a few seconds to put even more water on the rails, just in case, the screeches start up again half way down.

Attention! What? There wasn't a get ready call, Kenny was still adjusting the boats alignment, and barely had time to come forward, and prepare before “GO”!

We were off, the heart rate quickened, but I wasn't panicing. The start went really well, but we hit a very nice head wind coming down the straight course. Me and Kenny aren't the lightest people in the world, and with the wind in our backs, surely the boat wasn't going to move to its full potential, but I kept coming up the slide, and pressing those legs, over and over. I was running out of breath, and while glancing to my right, I saw the 750m marker. My mind went through the old I have only done that much, routine. I kept coming. Kenny was fantastic. He kept on top of everything, and eventually I settled down nicely. We had a crew to our right in full view. We were not losing.

I upped the rate, and tried to increase the power, and I hope that I did and that it could be felt. 500M to go. I was really tired now. The head wind in our backs, and also the launch to our left, following the race leaders, came right up to level with our boat. It was as if we were being washed out, and our position on the water changed from flat, to sort of resting on the wake of the launches wash. I think it hindered us slightly, as we were compensating for this slight lean, and the boat who we were ahead of took over us, gradually.

Final 250m, the sprint finish, I was going as fast as I could, and my legs were really starting to hurt. I was going for it. I knew we wouldn't win at this point. The launch had gone past us, so it was obvious, that we were a fair way behind, but it didn't matter, I wanted to finish well. We crossed the finish line, and I thoroughly believe that that was my greatest ever piece. Even with the slight problems we may have faced, I still feel I performed beyond my expectation and once I got going, I never even thought about messing up. Kenny was chuffed with the piece, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

I smiled, I was happy. My first ever race. Even though it wasn't what the club needed, it was exactly what I wanted. A clean race, with a pressured finish. Spectacular. The first race, of a hopeful many, and with much more training and weight loss, a future win, if not more.

Back home now, training once again. Next stop for this novice, Burton.

Dan Clamp - TRC Senior Squad June 2008