Gold star!

Looks can be deceiving...

It was an absolutely beautiful and summery weekend on dry land, but the River Thames had other ideas!

Because an odd number of people turned up for the ladies squad outing on Saturday morning, the coaches decided to put together a IV, three doubles, and a single scull. I am the only person in the squad who actually enjoys single sculling, so when they said that I would be in the single, I was so happy!

I pretty much shot up the river right away to do my warm up, whilst the others sorted their boats out. The sun was shining, the river was calm, and although I was rowing against the stream, it felt easier than usual, which was great. When I got up to the weir to turn around, I took off a couple of layers because it was such a warm day.

You can't step into the same river twice

Normally the journey downstream is the fastest, because you're carried by the current to a certain extent. On Saturday, however, the river seemed to have had a personality change. The usually helpful and accommodating downstream journey was tough! The currents were so strong that it felt as though I was hardly moving! I had to push down with my legs as hard as I could with every single stroke! The waves were lapping over my boat from every direction! It was bizarre to say the least! My warm up was definitely complete by the time I got back to the water near the boat club! I turned my boat around again to do the second loop of the river.

On the way back upstream, we had to do a continuous 16 minute piece, which meant that we had to do 2K at race pace, turn at the weir, and shoot right back downstream again without taking a break. The conditions going upstream were as lovely as they had been when I did them the first time that morning, so I assumed that the freak conditions on the other side of the river had been just that - freak conditions. So I happily raced up to the weir, turned and raced back downstream. But again, on the downstream journey, I was moving, but the boat wasn't. It was a battle to get that single scull to shift against the horrible currents and the wind and the waves. It was like rowing on two different rivers going each way!

Sea-legs

As I was powering along, I passed some quads, IV's and doubles, and they were not moving much either. They didn't catch up with me or overtake me, which is very unusual! So I realised that the conditions that day were affecting everyone.

My legs and glutes were struggling! I did one more loop, and I could feel the lumps of tension forming in my glutes as I crunched over them! It was a real test of endurance and willpower! I gave that third and final loop everything I had, and then I took my boat back in to the boathouse.

When I paddled up to the landing stage, I couldn't actually stand up! I had to roll out of the boat onto the landing stage (and the bird poo...) for a second before my legs were of any use to me! I put my boat away and went up to the cafe to wait for the rest of the ladies squad to finish their outing.

Small Victories

As the ladies started to drift up to the cafe, they each congratulated me on surviving out there in my single. I was really pleased with myself, to say the least, and even the coaches were impressed, which is unheard of! Andy likened the conditions to the North Sea! Charlotte, who had been in a double, said that I deserved a gold star, so I will take that and allow myself to enjoy that small achievement for a while until the next challenge!