Greenville Indoor Rowing

Meter Milestone: Dave Penney

This morning at the end of our 9:15 class, Dave walked past me and quietly said, "yes, I did hit 3 million meters." I said that we need to get a picture to celebrate. The picture is below. I just assumed that he had just hit it. When I got home and printed his certificate, which I will hang this afternoon at the studio, I realized that he had actually hit his 3 million back on July 9th. Congratulations, Dave, on hitting your three-million-meter target.

No need to rush into telling me when you hit your next milestone. Just kidding.

GIR couple, Susan and Doug Sheeks are visiting Philadelphia. I just got this on my phone from Susan. Just had to post it on the GIR page. Susan said she had to run the stairs three times, because her photographer (Doug) "wasn't on his game". Well, due to her rowing and yoga at GIR, three times was a piece of cake. You go, girl!!

Meter Milestone: Larry Smith

Yesterday in our 10:45am class, Larry hit the 4 Million Lifetime Meter mark. Larry comes in, gives a friendly greeting to everyone and sits down on an erg and gets to work. It obviously pays off.

Congratulations, Larry, on a job well done. Now it's on to 5 million and a free prize from Concept2. Your 4-million-meter certificate will go up today at the studio. Row On!

New crew member: Sara Bowne

Sara came this morning for her orientation session and trial class. She was talked into trying it by her sister, GIR crew member Laura Barry. Sara did really well and when we were finished and had a chance to talk and answer her questions, she made the decision to join. She plans to row three days a week and booked her first seat for this coming Monday.

Welcome to the GIR family of indoor rowers, Sara, it will be great having you row with us. Row Strong and Live Long!

Happy Birthday GIR Instructor, Debbie Schmitt!

Yesterday was Debbie's birthday and a few friends took her out to dinner to celebrate last night. As you have heard many times on here, we like to have fun at GIR. So, Laura and I picked her up to take her the restaurant. We loved her choice of birthday attire, complete with pink cowboy boots and a stick-on tattoo. Here she is getting ready to go into Sweet Basil Thai.

The stick-on tattoo says: Old Enough to Know Better / Young Enough To Do It Anyway

Goodbye and good luck, Yury Yurko. Yury is a young man whose family had moved to Powdersville, SC from Russia several years ago. At Powdersville high school, he was a competitive swimmer. He happened to stumble upon a rowing machine, tried it and liked it. He reached out to me to get some rowing instruction. He joined GIR and shared with me that he wanted to try to get a college rowing scholarship. I hooked him up with Xeno Mueller, an Olympic gold and silver single sculler that trains high school rowers wanting to get selected by colleges. He worked remotely with Xeno for three months.

Yury has done so well in his training that he got a grant in aid from Cornell to be on their crew. He and his dad came to see me to say goodbye as they are taking him to Cornell this weekend to begin his adventure. I am convinced that one day, Yury will make the USA Olympic rowing team.

Yury gave Laura and me a beautiful Russian plate that is very famous in Russia, and a thank you note that means a great deal to me. This is what he said: "Coach Lowell, thank you for changing my future and giving me another chance to compete at a high level. I'll row hard for the next four years and make the most of this opportunity.
- Yury"

He already has the best 2K erg times of any of the other recruits coming to Cornell. Good luck, Yury and row strong my friend. Keep me posted on how you are doing.

Member feedback: George Fox

I received this email today from crew member George Fox:

"At a recent, routine cardiology appointment, the cardiologist did several noninvasive tests to determine my cardiologic health. Everything turned out fine, but one thing that impressed me was his advice to me as I left his office. He said, "Keep rowing." Indeed. It's a great way to stay in shape and be with a good group of people at the same time. George (1045 M,W,F class)."

Thank you for sharing, George. The doctor is right...Keep Rowing!

Meter Milestone: Kitty Caldwell

Yesterday morning in our 9:15 class, Kitty hit the 16 Million Lifetime Meter mark. She has been working really hard to hit it. I know how Kitty thinks and I know she is already thinking about 17 million.

I am late getting this picture posted, but I already hung her new certificate yesterday afternoon. Here is Kitty on the right, holding up the 6 and class leader, Debbie Schmitt, on the left holding up the 1. Well done, Kitty, congratulations and just keep on doing what you are doing.

Returning Crew Member: Carl Burton

I was getting ready to lead our 9:15am class yesterday and was totally surprised to see Carl walk in the door. He had not rowed in a year and said he needed to get back, and he then told me two things: 1) he has had hip replacement surgery and 2) he has retired from his dental practice.

Welcome back, Carl, it was great to see you walk in that door. He has already booked his two classes for next week.

New Crew Member: Wofford Lee Jones

Wofford reached out to me last Thursday wanting to find out more about GIR. We talked on the phone that afternoon and he wanted to come for a trial class Friday morning at 9:15. He did that and had a good time and even got to be a part of one of the "world famous" MWF 9:15 parties. I gave him information on what we had to offer and asked him to think it over.

I got an email from him this morning saying he wanted to come Tuesday evening for his first official class and will be buying a 10-class punch card. He also booked 10 classes for the month of August. Welcome to the GIR family of indoor rowers, Wofford. You will be very pleased with your decision and I'm sure that you will hit all of those goals that we discussed. Row Strong and Live Long!