I spent a good solid hour tracking down an ERG to get my afternoon workout in on Sunday. It became comical. I put some serious miles in touring my old hometown in search of that one place that held the key to my workout for the day. Lesson learned: Rowing machines are not easy to come by in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I even had one fitness center attendant look at me like I had spoken to her in a foreign language when asking “do you all have an erg?…it’s a rowing machine?” She brought me upstairs to the lat row station and replied “you can do rows on this?” I thanked her for her time and proceeded to gym #5 where I finally found an old (but most importantly, functioning) erg. The best part–I think the gym attendant was so surprised that someone was seeking out a rowing machine that he allowed me to use the gym for free, no guest fee required. Thank you, Byron from Spectrum Fitness in Baton Rouge.

The search for this simple (yet apparently rare) exercise machine just to get a sub-max 6K done shed light on a couple of things for me: (1) Rowing has become an obsession; I’m calling it a healthy one, but an obsession nonetheless. Having a goal and something that I have developed such an intense passion for has been refreshing as well as tormenting. I had been told rowing is addicting (thus leading to obsession), but I also know that I’m a passionate person, and perhaps that could explain the instant love and connection with the sport. This love affair has spread into other areas of my life. It has become an annoying distraction at work and invades my everyday thoughts. If only I could make a living off of a boat and a couple of oars, right? (2) Determination, discipline, and relentless desire will take you places. Not just to 5 different fitness centers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Yeah so what if I hadn’t found a rowing machine? I would’ve done something to get my heart rate up and get a decent workout in. But I know that every day counts. Every workout counts. And it is completely in my hands as to how hard I work and the quality of work I put in. So that meant doing it right and doing all I could to find an erg. The feeling of accomplishment and pure satisfaction upon finishing my workout was worth the trouble.

P.S. If you’re ever in an unfamiliar place and you need to find a gym with a rowing machine, the Indoor Rower Finder on the http://www.concept2.com website is awe-some. Awesome. If only I had remembered to use it prior to my Planes, Trains, and Automobiles real-life movie experience.