Strength to Strength

Abby and I, while driving to the bank, jokingly called ourselves rowing nerds. It seems that we can not get away with conversation that does not include rowing. What we are finding out more and more, especially as we row with Carlos individually, and then come back to rowing with each other, is that our differences are highlighted. We talk about how we feel the boat acceleration, and where we are putting our impulse to make that thing move! I told Abby, now that I know where her strengths lie, when rowing with her, I try to max those, and not get frustrated on the parts of the drive where I feel we are not as one. I have come to think about rowing this double as not trying to look like a mirror of each other. If you looked at the Romanian LW2x winners in Athens, they looked very different rowing. But they moved the boat together. And so this is where I feel how making huge leaps and bounds. We are going to move this boat with our different strengths, and not give them up simply to match/mirror. Rather understand where they are, and use them. I believe this is a higher level of relationship building. Where you don't lose your identity in the other just to match. Rather you both keep your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses, together.