A 55-year-old, non-athletic, mother and doctor, lost 50 pounds is now winning medals for her athleticism.
What’s her secret?
“At the age of 55, I had never been on an athletic team in my life. The very first team shirt I ever owned was my Portage Lakes Rowing Association shirt. Anyone can row!” Dr. Janette Moleski said.
A patient in her office at Hudson Family Practice, Inc. lost 15 pounds and Moleski wanted to know how she did it. “She told me, ‘Rowing.’ My response was, ‘Rowing what?’ I had absolutely no idea that the sport even existed in Ohio.”
Moleski started rowing last April. “Being the athletically challenged person I had been all of my life, I really thought this was something I could do.”
She joined Portage Lakes Rowing. “I just love the people there. They are some of the best people in the entire world. Even though I was slow and overweight, they welcomed me with open arms.”
She also loved the benefits. “The weight just came off. It is an exercise that uses all the major muscle groups. It is non-weight bearing so for those who have knee or feet problems. It’s a perfect exercise and can tremendously help in those areas. It’s also a great cardiovascular exercise.”
She competed in a four-person boat in Columbus and won the bronze. Last year, Portage Lakes Rowing competed in Cleveland and won the gold.
Moleski also won the gold in the 500-meter-indoor-rowing in Cleveland for their “Urge for the Cure” competition.
Barak Kraus, Green resident, founded Portage Lakes Rowing in 2005 with 12 rowers. Last season, they had 58.
The association rows three times a week from Craftsman Park in New Franklin. They row Sunday mornings at 7 a.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays and 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome to join.
They have a Learn to Row Program on May 9-10 and another session on May 11-12 for the cost of $30. There’s a $225 spring membership and a $400 membership to row from May through November.
“This is worth it,” Moleski stated. “This is $8 a week. Slightly over a dollar a day. If you look at the cost of fitness clubs, and other activities to get healthy, this is a tremendous bargain.”
They also have many winter events and have indoor racing.
“Obesity is expensive,” she stated. “If you are an overweight woman, you will always pay more for your clothing. You have more health issues and more co-pays and medicine.”
“The first time I got in a boat,” Kraus stated, “I loved it. It is the synchronization of power. The feel when you are in the boat. These boats get moving very fast. They get about 12-13 miles an hour which is fast for a row boat. Everybody is catching in time. You feel like a well-oiled machine and you look around and you see the ducks and the sounds of the oars entering the water. It is a great experience.”
“The water, the environment, from the early morning fogs to sitting under trees and watching a bald eagle to the smell of the mist in the morning, and the sunshine on your face,” Moleski said.
“It is appreciating every sense that you have and appreciating God’s creation. ”
Kraus, a basketball player, had knee injuries. “Rowing is straight forward and straight back. It is not side to side so this was something I could do.”
Moleski has her own family practice and is board certified in clinical lipidology, cholesterol and diabetes management.
She put an indoor rower in her office. “My patients tell me they can’t exercise. I put them on the rower and show them that they can. They are surprised.”
She loves the total experience. “I can’t wait to get back on that water,” she said. “This has allowed me to set a good example for my patients. I am practicing what I’m preaching. I can run steps which previously I was literally walking like an old lady. I have energy that I have never had, ever. I didn’t feel this good in my 20s. It has also helped me to make friends all over the state.
“This has given me something in my life to really be excited about,” she continued. “There are so few things that would get me up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, but I’m awake before the alarm goes off just in anticipation of getting up and rowing.
“Rowing becomes a part of you,” she stated. “There is a rhythm that stays with you even when you are not rowing that becomes a part of your every day life.”
For more information to Portagelakesrowing.com.
