2.

     Practicing rowing is just as hard as rowing on the water is.  It is hard to determine how well a person is doing, aside from technique, while they are on the water.  Rowing teams have land days, which can make or break a rower's place in the line ups.
     Of course, on land days, athletes run.  Running for rowing is crucial, because the legs are the first muscle used in each stroke.  A rower with strong legs will out-pull a rower with strong biceps, because of the way each stroke is taken; legs, back, then arms.
     Another land day workout include the dreaded ergometer. To first-time athletes, the erg typically seems "fun" in a way.  But as the workouts progress, technique of the athlete improves, and comprehension of the workout increases, the erg becomes the worst enemy of every rower.
 
  
     This simple machine looks like every other work-out machine.  And to those looking for just a work out, it may be.  But to an athlete on a rowing team, this is what determines your fate at each race.  Coaches can't see how hard a rower is actually pulling when the team practices on the water.  On the erg, it gives you exact numbers, and the lower an athlete gets their split, the lower they want it to go.  In rowing, once a goal is reached, you give yourself a new goal.

 1:29.8.  That's the average split on this rower's piece.  It means they took one minute, and twenty-nine seconds to pull 500 meters.  The number in the top right corner, 45, is the average stroke rate.  That means they take 45 strokes per minute.  Of course, the athlete who had accomplished this must be an experienced rower, because the split is very low, and takes years for one to achieve.

      Rowers all come together each spring for erg sprints.  The picture above is of Atlanta Junior Rowing Club and Saint Andrew Rowing Club, at the annual Georgia Tech erg sprints.  This event kicks of the Southeast spring rowing season each year.  It is probably one of the most dreaded events in the sport, but one of the most exciting as well.