Now that I see it...it is too late.;-)
Hmmm, that brings back memories. I loved rowing in college, but to be honest, if you are rowing your all, that last 500 meters on the water you think you are going to die. The trick is ignoring it and saying it is all in your mind.
The rowing machine helped me a lot with upper back pain caused by a collapsed thoracic vertebra. I thought I wouldn’t be able to use it but actually felt no back pain at all when rowing, and as I got able to row for longer I found that my pain doing other things was lessened and I started being able to stand and sit comfortably without pain. Does make me feel like a bit of a fool for putting up with the pain for years when that was all it took.