Pre-Regatta Rituals & Nerves...

Only 2 days until my first race of the season and the nerves are kicking in!

Last summer I did a couple of regattas in a double scull, each regatta with a different partner and with varying results. This time, however, I will be racing in a single. No one but me in the boat. I will be completely alone... It is a scary thought. Part of the experience of training in double was that camaraderie. You were in it together. You may not always agree about everything, and we had our issues, but we worked through them together. I may never race with those people again, but we developed a strong bond that we will have for life.

I am, by nature, a single sculler. I like the independence that it brings, but being nervous alone is a new experience. I am excited in equal measure, but it's not the same.

Brutal Manicure!

So! I have decided to focus on my pre-regatta rituals. Sculling is very hazardous for one's knuckles. It's very easy to scratch yourself when you draw the handles of the oars towards you at the end of a stroke. The right hand can be a bit zealous as it crosses over the left hand and, especially during a race, knuckles get scratched, there can be blood, and it's not good. As a result, my pre-race ritual includes cutting my finger nails right down and scrupulously filing away the sharp edges.

Yogalicious!

Because there are only 2 days until the race, I have drastically reduced the intensity of my workouts. I do not want to have any muscle fatigue on the day! No cardio or weights for now, just yoga. Sculling is all about balance and finesse, so yoga is great for both. I include yoga in my daily workouts anyway because it is the ultimate stretching and strengthening practice. No aching muscles for me! And it has the added benefits of calming and focusing the mind. Bonus!

Boat TLC

After taking care of my body, my boat is next in line. I will be cleaning that bad boy from top to bottom! The wheels, the runners, the inside and outside will get a thorough once-over. I'll do the usual safety checks, take her out for one last spin and then it's back on the rack until race day!

Let the games begin!

Circuits - Reborn! Just under 2 weeks until my 1st regatta of the season!

I am preparing for my first regatta of the season in 2 weeks, so I have stepped up my training schedule to match my ambitions.

After doing some searching online, I found these great circuits that have all the movements needed to strengthen my rowing muscles.

A couple of the moves in there are insane! But they have the desired effect. Check them out and let me know what you think.

I have gone back to doing yoga every day, which has kept the aching a bay, and I'm doing lots of racing starts and practice in my single scull.

The first circuit that I have incorporated into my workout is the 'Fast & Dirty' Circuit Workout (sounds good already right!) by Alex Silver Fagan (ASF). It is amazing! Nothing else has made me sweat this much in such a short space of time! I lost 1lb after just one session!

The circuit is just 6 exercises, and you do 3 to 4 circuits / sets:

1. Burpee with Side-to-Side Shuffle (8 reps)
2. Split Squat with Shoulder Press (8 reps on each side)
3. Decline Push-up with Cross Climber (8 reps)
4. Dumbbell Front Squat to Rotational Press (8 reps)
5. Renegade Row (8 reps on each side)
6. Overhead Reach with Toe-Tap Leg Extension (8 reps on each side)

The first time I did this circuit, I managed 2 sets, but the 3rd set almost killed me!

I did the circuit again two days later and I already felt so much stronger! The 3rd set was hard, yes, but it was righteous!

The 2nd circuit - Total Body Strength Workout for Women - is also from ASF. It's more of a dynamic workout, and requires no use of weights, but you can feel the burn!

The first time I tried it was in the afternoon of the same day that I tried the other circuit. I only did 2 sets of this more dynamic circuit, but that was followed by a yoga session.

1. Touchdown (1 minute)
2. Hip Escape (1 minute)
3. Hop to it (10 reps on each side)
4. Mountain Climber Mix-up! (1 minute)
5. Combo Deal - Front squat followed by split squat (10 reps on each side)

I did the circuit again two days later, straight after the other circuit. I followed that with 4K in my single scull to cool down out in the open on the river. It felt great to have measurable progress!

Team Work & Lessons Learned

I had a really tough outing today. The water was rough and the stream was strong. I was really struggling to get my rating up because I couldn't physically draw the blades through the water fast enough, and I didn't want to rush up the slide.

The Mind is Willing, but the Body is Weak

I was in a double, at the stroke position, and my doubles partner was convinced that I wasn't getting my hands away fast enough and that was why I couldn't get my rating up. I was getting them away as fast as I possibly could, but I took her feedback on board and tried harder to be faster. It made no material difference to the speed at which I could draw the oars through the water because my physical strength has its limits. At that point I felt I had no other option than to rush up the slide in order to increase the number of strokes per minute. It was horrible. I wasn't able to sustain the pace without the proper recovery between each stroke - especially when each stroke was taking everything I had - so I had to ease off on the pressure and take my stroke rate back down to a rate at which I could achieve better ratios.

Communication is Key

It was a very disappointing outing for a number of reasons, but most of all I was disappointed that I hadn't stuck to my guns. Being in a team means communicating and working together. If I felt that I was not being listened to, or that we were not working as a team, I should have spoken up more assertively. I don't know everything, but I do know the limits of my own physical strength. I could have given myself an injury and I'd have no one else to blame but me.

Lessons Learned

Team work can be tricky at times. You can't always choose your team or control how they will behave, but you can learn something from every experience. The row must go on! :)

The Humble Yoga Mat

The humble yoga mat is the unsung hero of yoga. Here are some tips about how to care for your mat, and yourself :)

When I did my first yoga class, I didn't have a mat of my own, so I borrowed a spare one from the teacher. It had been borrowed by countless newbies before me... It smelt like feet, had grubby marks all over, and it was not very pleasant to touch.

Yoga mats are not expensive. A normal one is about £10. I would suggest buying a couple: one for at home use, and the other can be kept in your car for classes and yoga emergencies.

I tend to do yoga after my shower when I'm nice and warm. I always moisturise after a shower. I do it on autopilot. But the problem is, it makes my hands all slippery... Not great for yoga! So, try not to moisturise your hands before a yoga session.

Keeping your yoga mat clean is easy and important. I just use fairy liquid (washing up liquid) and give the mat a good rub down in the shower / bath and rinse it off. If you don't have anywhere to hang it up to dry, you could lay it on a towel, or give it a wipe down with a towel. Simples.

If you have hard floors at home, you can make your yoga experience more comfortable by laying the mat onto a rug, rather than straight onto the hard floor.

This blog post won't win any awards, but I hope you find it helpful (in a really mundane way).

Yogi with a mat :)

Feeling That Connection

Erging was always a necessary evil for me. I saw it as a way to keep fit as opposed to a useful tool for rowing. The saying 'Ergs don't float', was used a lot at my old club as a reason for not taking erg scores too seriously. Performance on the water is ultimately more important. It's easier to get a good erg score because you don't have to worry about balance or water / weather conditions.

Being on the water feels natural and comfortable to me, so getting my rating up on the water was never a problem. Feeling the connection between my oars and the water, and feeling the consequences of my actions makes it easier for me to correct and adapt my technique. On the ergs, however, I struggled to make the mental and physical connection between my actions and the numbers on the screen. I couldn't quite work out how erging was supposed to feel.

Like a Fish Out of Water

I didn't know what the connection was supposed to feel like. I wasn't quite sure what it meant to squeeze with my glutes, as I thought I was doing enough by pushing down with my legs. I didn't have a discerning eye when looking at other people's technique. I felt like a fish out of water on an erg!

Thanks to some great erg coaching from John Gill, and the support of a couple of the experienced ladies during our squad erg sessions, things are finally clicking into place. My sequencing is improving and I now know what the connection feels like, and my glutes just keep on firing! Even a relaxed session on the ergs now is more powerful than what used to be a hard session for me!

Milestones

I did a session on the erg this afternoon, and my times are better than they ever have been, and that was just during the warm-up! Rowing is a journey that I came to quite late in life, and it has taken a lot of perseverance to get this far, but it has totally been worth it! I'm still a novice and this will be my second regatta season, so who knows what will happen!

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!

Cometh the hour, cometh the [wo]man

Temptation

Last week, our circuit training instructor said she wouldn't be around for our session this week, so we should run it ourselves. That announcement seemed to have turned us all into naughty school children. We all nodded dutifully and assured her that we would be fine without her for one session, when in fact we were all thinking "Yay! Day off!"

My husband calls me a Tasmanian Devil because I'm always darting around doing something and keeping busy. I'm always buzzing with energy, and if I didn't exercise, I simply wouldn't sleep. So I got my kit on and went down to the rowing club last night to check the lie of the land. If no one else turned up, I was going to do a session on the rowing machine or do some weights.

Don't Short-circuit!

I got to the club, and I spied Catherine - in the far corner of the gym - one of the faithful. She's usually one of the first to send out an email to check who will be down for each session, and she only ever misses training if she's unwell. You can count on her to be there. I went over and chatted to her for a bit as we waited to see who else would turn up.

After a few minutes, Donata arrived and informed us that one of the other ladies had also been around but she didn't see us, so she left. Oh well. Three's better than none. So we set up our circuit, and got started.

There were about 12 exercises. We did a minute of each exercise, and allowed between 5 - 15 seconds to move on to the next exercise. It was great because we worked together to do the timing, and it felt like team work. We took a couple of minutes break after each circuit, and we did 3 laps of the circuit in total. It felt really good.

Opportunity Knocks

After the session, I went over to chat to one of the coaches, John, who was coaching the para squad at the time. He has coached people to Olympic gold level, so I am always keen to get as much knowledge and input from him as possible and, luckily, he is always very happy to give it. I thought we were just having a casual chat when, before I knew it, he had me on a rowing machine and I was doing a whole bunch of new exercises. It was brilliant! After just one session, I have so much practical and useful feedback that will help take me to the next level. The rowing machine feels like a whole different beast now. So many things have fallen into place since our first session a few weeks ago, and I am aching in new places today, which means that I'm finally starting to engage the right muscles on the rowing machine.

I really need to lose my novice status this year. It will be my second year of regattas and I am determined to win something!

Persevere & Doors Will Open!

It has been a long day! Went to work, did some work; came home, did some more work; went to a little leaving do for a colleague; and then to the rowing club to do an erg...!

When I got to the rowing club, there were a couple of people in their who I knew, so I chatted to them for a bit, before finally sitting down to tackle the beast.

Some of the ladies went out for a night time outing, whilst the others presumably had other commitments, so I was ready to erg solo. One of the guys said he'd keep an eye on me, so I didn't feel quite so alone. It was a great help. I couldn't just wimp out and go home.

The first 5 minutes were tough, and I felt like giving up, but I didn't leave my colleague's leaving do and go all that way for nothing! So I carried on. Mark came over when he'd finished his weights session and sat with me for a bit so he could give me some pointers. It felt like a good solid session.

Once I'd finished the set piece, I grabbed my stuff from the changing room and headed downstairs to go outside to my car and I reached the door at exactly the same time as Sir Steve Redgrave!!! Sir Steve Redgrave!!!!!!!!!! He opened the door and very kindly held it open for me so I could come out first. He is a giant of a man! I walked under his arm and barely got within sniffing distance of his armpit!

The moral of the story. By sticking with my set piece on the erg and not cutting any corners, my path collided with a shooting star of Olympic greatness! Go hard or don't even bother leaving home.

New Highs! The 'C' Word & Personal Bests

The 'C' word...

Circuit Training was amazing this evening! I was like the Duracell bunny! Everything was at full intensity, top speed, and max fun! I really enjoyed it! And that's something I thought I'd NEVER say about the 'C' word... i.e. 'Circuit' training!

The instructor couldn't believe it either! If there was a prize for enthusiasm, I would've won it tonight! The moral of the story, perseverance makes light work of anything. If I put the same amount of hard work and determination into my other goals, it won't be long until they move from the 'To Do' list and join the 'Done' list!

Personal Bests

Yesterday evening's erg session was fantastic! I'm still floating on the high from slashing a whole 6 seconds off my personal best split time!

We started off with a 34 minute set piece, alternating between rating at 18 and 20 strokes per minute, and then we did some intense sprints! 10 x 30seconds burst of flat-out power! I have never been so fast! It was like I was an out of body experience - as though someone else was erging, but using my body to do it.

It's amazing how much more one can achieve if they just ignore their limiting internal dialogue.

Don't Let Fog Stop You From Seeing Clearly

It was very foggy this morning, so one of the coaches made the call to cancel our outing. I got the text message at 6:30am, just as I was stepping out of the door... Total anticlimax!

Rather than let the weather dictate my next move, I was determined to at least do a session on the erg. I decided to wait for the fog to lift a bit, so it was safer on the road. Whilst I was waiting, an email pinged over from Catherine. She, like me, was all dressed up and jeed up ready to go! So I sent an email out to say that I'd be at the club by 08:30am for an erg session if anyone else fancied joining us.

Myself, Catherine and Donata did some pyramid interval training, which was great. I even managed to squeeze in some shorter 2 and 3 minute sprint intervals at the end of our session! I'm building up to doing double sessions on the ergs by the summer, so I'll be ready for the regattas!

There's ALWAYS something left!

Yesterday night, Circuits was tough! Our trainer changed it up, and the session was more focus on getting a cardio / aerobic workout. I didn't want to, but I almost gave up.

Whilst I was doing one of the skipping sets, I decided to imagine that someone was aiming a gun at my head, and they would shoot if I stopped. That worked for a little bit, but then I decided that a clean death would be a sweet release from the nausea in my stomach. So! I imagined that they were aiming the gun at my right knee, and the thought of real pain spurred me on!

There were a couple of other crews training in the gym at the same time, and when I finished, one of the guys said that it looked like I'd breezed through Circuits. If only he knew that it was a life or death situation!

After all that hard work, I was still able to keep my balance and walk down the stairs without falling on my head. Essentially, I was fine. And that's the thing. No matter how hard you think you're training, you still have something left. It's not advisable to train until you pass out, but it has been known to happen at ergathons!

One of the coaches at the club summed it up nicely. You need to be able to give your best performance in every race. At some regattas, you may have to race 2, 3 or 4 times in a day! Every race has to be your best. So you need to train smart. Get your body to the point where it gives everything that it's got and finds the same to give again.

Sculling & Circuits - A quick catch up

Single Sculling Ecstasy!

I had my first outing in a single scull at my new club on Sunday!!!

The ladies squad had competed at Wehorr on Saturday, so after their epic efforts, they understandably decided not to train on Sunday. So, I had the river and our coach all to myself at 7am on Sunday morning! The river was on a green light, so I went out in the single scull. It was amazing!

Normally when I've been training in a crew boat for a while, I get a bit nervous about getting back into a single, but because it had been almost two months since I was last out in a single, I was too excited to remember to be nervous! I swooshed across the river and rowed it like I stole it!

Andy, the coach, filmed me so I could have a look later. I thought my blades would be splashing around all over the show, but it wasn't too bad at all. There are always a few things that I need to work on, but that's the fun of it.

Double Trouble

After my session in the single, I went out in a double called 'Double Trouble'. It was a full-on morning, and I've never felt so tired in my life, but it was worth it.

Circuit Training Insanity!

Last Wednesday it was hard! Rather than just do the usual skipping between each set, our trainer, Jacqui, mixed things up a bit. We did burpees, squat-thrusts, mountain running (or something like that), and skipping. It was intense!!!

After the success of the previous week's competition, there was another competition to see who could do the best skipping. It was the only thing that kept me going! I think Jacqui took petty on me, because I won the skipping contest! My prize was a sherbet dib-dab! #RetroCool!

Erg buddies

Whenever I don't feel like training, I always end up having the best session ever!

Last night was one of those nights. A couple of people from the squad have come down with the dreaded lurgy, so they emailed to say that they couldn't make it for training. A few other people were conspicuous by their lack of comment, which I took to mean that they either had other commitments or just needed a day off. I felt like falling into that latter group of silent abstainers, but no matter how hard I try, I can always find a reason to train, because I know how crappy I feel if I don't train. So I decided to be a silent participant. I was just going to show up at the rowing club and train with anyone else who showed up, or just do my own thing.

But then there was a ray of light! One of the squad, the lovely Naomi, sent me an email and asked if I was going along. She is awesome, and I quickly responded that I would absolutely be there. An erg session conveys a sense of self-righteousness like no other, but the only thing better than an erg session is having a great training partner.

Naomi gave me a couple of really great pointers that just clicked and made sense. I'm quite flexible and I have built up some decent core strength because of yoga, so I tend to over-extend at both ends of the slide when it comes to erging. I reach too far forward, because I can, and I lean too far back, because ditto. Naomi got me to come to front-stops on the erg, so that my shins were perfectly at a 90 degree angle with the slide, and she put a lumpy bit of sellotape there, so if I came too far forward, I would feel it with a bump. It worked a charm!

We did 3 x 10 mins pyramid at UT1, and the first 10 mins was tough. Naomi looked over now and again to make sure I was rocking over properly and not leaning too far back. I tend to daydream a bit when it comes to technique on the ergs, because there are no immediate consequences. You won't fall off an erg (but of course I'm sure some people do manage it!), but if you don't pay attention in a single scull on the water, there will be soggy consequences! But training with Naomi kept me really focussed. Ruth is another great person to train with, but she was at home nursing a cup of lemsip.

It was a really positive session, which was just what I needed to kick me out of the negative mindset that was forming. I'll need buckets of positivity to get me through Circuit Training tonight... :)

Just Keep Swimming!

Motivation

This morning was interesting. I spent an hour outside in the freezing cold wind, carrying, rigging and de-rigging boats. I was cold to my bones!!! After a while I was so cold that got in the car for a while and turned on the heated seats to warm me up! I switched on the radio and this guy was talking about some epic long distance swims that he'd done. Each swim took between 10 to 17 hours!!! He described one swim that he'd done when after a few hours he had lost all sensation in his spine. He thought he'd have to stop and get into the boat that was accompanying him. So what he did was to give himself a goal of swimming for just one more minute. And when he managed that, he swam for a minute longer, and so on. He was still swimming 3 hours later! Well! That got me out of the car and back to the boats! 20 minutes later, I'd finished the job! I was cold again, but it didn't matter!

Afterwards I did some pieces on the erg to warm up again. Once I was warm, I did 10 x 300m sprints and hit my ultimate PB (personal best)! It was amazing! A little bit of hardship goes a long way! Whenever I feel like giving up again, I will think of that dude who couldn't feel his spine, and I'll keep on going!

Work / Life / Rowing Balance

I have no life. I work, I row, I sleep. Training is increasing in intensity, and I'm needing more sleep as a result.

This is what my life looks like at the moment. When I get home from work in the afternoon, I have something to eat right away (so my food can digest before heading out to the rowing club) and then I'll usually rest for an hour. That is the only rest I get all day, so I savour it.

A Stretch in Time Saves Your Ass!

After that, I'll head to the boat club and train for an hour or two, which includes warming up and stretching afterwards. The stretching is the most important thing! For every hour of exercise, I stretch for at least 15 minutes. Usually some yoga poses along with the traditional P.E. stretches we all had to do at school.

When I get home I jump in the bath or shower, followed by dinner and bed.

Sweet Dreams

Now that my training is consistent again, I sleep so well and deeply. I love it. I'm exhausted when I go to bed, but I feel refreshed and energised when I wake up in the morning. I get between 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night.

Life

Friday's are my only day off training, so that's when I can catch up on my life. Last night I went out for a meal at the Cattle Grid in Windsor, which was really good. The best milkshake ever! The cobbled streets of Windsor look great on a postcard, but they're not so great when you're wearing stilettos!

Appetite

These past few days my appetite has started to catch up with my activity levels. I'm one of those people who doesn't eat breakfast, and if I have something for lunch, I'm not hungry at dinner time. I will have hot drinks (no milk) throughout the day, which tend to keep my hunger at bay, although I'll have a cereal bar or some fruit when I feel peckish and something small in the evening. These past two or three days, however, I have pretty much eaten two proper meals a day, with second helpings! I have been ravenous! My muscles are demanding food!

Good Fat for Healthy Organs and Muscles

Because I don't eat a lot in general, I make a conscious effort to eat the right foods. I don't cut anything out of my diet as such, but I do try and add the right kinds of fats and sugars into my diet. I eat lots of avocados because they provide the good fats that my organs need for healthy function, and that my muscles need for development.

Natural is a no-brainer when it comes to food

I use olive oil liberally because it's a good fat. I get worried when I hear about fat-free diets and fat-free foods. Some general rules of thumb that I use are: Good fat is good for you. Processed fat is bad for you. Natural unprocessed food is good for you. Too much sugar is bad for you, but there's nothing wrong with sugar that occurs naturally in food. Simples.

Windsor shenanigans

No rowing this morning because I went to Heathrow airport at 7am to say goodbye to my sister. She's moving to Australia for 14 months... Very sad to see her go, but really excited for her! We spoke to her on the phone a few times, right up until the plane was getting ready to head for the runway. A rowing holiday in Australia and New Zealand is in order!

Because it was still early when we left the airport, my parents and I decided to go into Windsor for some breakfast, but we ended up staying there until 1pm!

We had breakfast at the gorgeous Windsor MacDonald hotel, followed by some sightseeing and shopping. It was a great day. I don't like shopping, so I tend to avoid town centres. But when I do need new stuff, I add it to my list and usually buy it online or check the shops if I'm passing by. So I managed to pick up a few things whilst we were out and about. I got a new umbrella and some high-tops, and my dad very kindly bought me some new smart knee-high boots for work. He also treated me to some delicious fudge and chocolates... Yum! I am going to be so spoilt now that my sister is away!

Random clock in the pavement, Windsor

Windsor is so pretty. It reminds me of Bath and Cheltenham. It's so cool that the castle is right in the middle of town. When I moved to Warwick just over 3 years ago, I was surprised to discover that the castle was right in the town centre. But Warwick Castle has quite a lot of land and a moat surrounding it, so you can only see the castle boundary walls from the outside and not the castle itself. In Windsor, however, the castle itself is just another building in the town, with just a narrow grass verge surrounding it. Very cool.

It was quieter than I'd expected, especially as it's still half term, but it was nice to stroll around without the crowds.

It's not very often that I get to spend quality time with my family, because rowing takes up all my time, so it was a real treat to spend some time with my parents. They are very funny and good company, and it was a day well spent. We parted company at lunchtime. Back to work and training as usual tomorrow. My abs should have recovered by then, and be ready for some more punishment!

Back on the river after a month!

Today was my first outing in a boat in exactly 4 weeks! It was so exciting to have my first outing with the new club this morning! I went out in a quad with some of the ladies. A 6am start has never felt so good! I didn't care what the weather was going to be like, I just wanted to get out there into the elements!

There is a 2k stretch of river upstream from the club to the lock, and we did 8 lengths in total, which was 16k. It felt so good. We did a few 1k and 2k race-pace pieces at around 28 s/m. Such a treat after coming from a club with just a 700m downstream stretch; although, rowing on the Avon did have its advantages. It is fairly narrow, which means you get very good at steering. On the Thames, it seems that people don't get to hone that particular skill. We crashed into two other boats and narrowly missed a swan. There was another collision near the boat club when a double and a single collided and their riggers became locked into place so they couldn't separate. They then crashed into another boat, and it was the impact of that crash which separated them. So, I'd best look out when the responsibility of steering falls to me.

My core muscles are still feeling bruised from Thursday's session, but I'm not aching, thank goodness. I could really feel my stomach muscles engaging as I did the rock-over at the start of each stroke today. They're definitely getting stronger!

16k? Try 8446 miles!

Emma Mitchell, one of the women who recently completed an epic 8446 mile row across the Pacific Ocean, was at the boat club today. What an incredible achievement! Unfortunately I live in a cave with no TV, so I didn't see the news or know anything about it until today. She was very friendly and unassuming, and smiled shyly as the coaches told me all about her exploits. So impressive! And there I was, feeling good about my 16k!

By the time I got back home it was lunchtime, and I hadn't eaten any breakfast, so I was hungry! A nice bowl of chicken and spaghetti went down well. No more outings until next Saturday, but plenty of land-training to keep me busy until then.

Mad Dogs and Rowers

The ladies squad had priority use of the ergs yesterday evening, but people had other commitments so I was the only one who could make it. Our coach had said that she would come along to give me some pointers, but that didn't happen, so I did my own thing for 20 minutes. I just worked on my technique and trying to get a feel for the sequencing. I felt like I made some good progress.

It was fairly quiet at the club. There were 3 or 4 other people on the ergs at the same time as me, and the mens squad was using the weights for their strength and conditioning class.

Strength and Conditioning

When I was finished erging, I did some stretching on mats and I was in two minds about whether I should call it a day, or do one last set piece on the erg. Luckily I had an offer I couldn't refuse. The mens squad came over to the mat to finish off their session with some core work. They needed even numbers to do some of the exercises, but they were missing a body, so their coach asked if I wanted to join in and make up the numbers. Always one to embrace the punishing regime it takes to become a competitive rower, I said yes. The coach paired me up with his son, who was really encouraging and helpful throughout the session.

Train Like a Man

When I've seen the men training before, they make it look so easy. I thought us girls worked hard in our circuit training class... I stand corrected! Those guys work hard! It looks easy because they've worked for it! I felt like I'd been in a fight when I woke up this morning! I'm not aching, but I feel bruised! My ribs, and my lower back had a work-out like non other!

We did some exercises that I don't know the names of, but they were tough!

Don't Be a Push-over!

We did a variation of straight-leg leg-raises, were you lie on your back with your arms extended behind you so you can hold onto the ankles of your partner as they stand behind your head. You raise your legs straight up so your body and legs are at a right-angle, and your partner then shoves them back down (with force) but you mustn't let your legs hit the ground. They push your legs away either straight ahead, to the left or to the right, so you get to twist and strengthen your core at the same time. It was brutal! You do 20 reps, and only two sets (which I suspect was more for my benefit than the norm). You swap over between sets so you can stand for a bit whilst you recover, and you get to do the shoving.

The Crunch

Another exercise we did was crunches. Your partner holds your feet and you do crunches whilst holding a weight behind your head. I couldn't even do one of those, so that's one for me to practice! I held the weight on my chest instead.

These Are a Few of My Favourite Things... said no one ever!

We did some of the usual suspects, like lunges, lots of planks, some Russian twists with weights.

There was another exercise that the guys made look easy, but it was serious! You kneel down and keep your body upright from your knees. Your partner holds your feet in place, and you must gradually lean forward (keeping everything in line) as slowly and with as much control as possible before you fall completely forward into a push-up position. You must then launch your body back up in a single push-up motion, and lean forward again. Repeating the whole process. That worked out my legs, back and abs and shoulders like nothing else!

At one point, the coach took me away from the group to one of the pull-up bars. First, it was too high up for me to reach so I had to jump up and grab on! And then, he wanted me to pull my knees up and do a type of reverse crunch, but suspended in mid air. I did not think I could do it, but I managed a few. There was no limit on how many of those I had to do. I stopped when I was losing my grip on the bar.

One Plank Too Many... No Such Thing!

The class was punctuated with planks, and we ended the session with a plank. One of the guys next to me was chatting to me as we planked, but that was a punishable offence, so he had to do crab planks whilst the rest of us finished off. Brutal! I felt bad, but it's good for him.

The coach and the guys in the squad were very kind to me and very patient. It was a great session, and I shall certainly join in again if I am invited. The exercises are so effective, and I'm sure they get great results very quickly if you put the time in.

For the Love of Rowing

There are some things a competitive rower does for the love of the sport. Erging comes quite high up on most people's list. As do the early starts when it's cold and unpleasant outside. Another thing that features on that list will be circuit training.

Circuit Training

It is like passing through the seven rings of hell (if that's even a thing). Each hellish exercise is designed to make you stronger and fitter, and ultimately a better rower.

I get absolutely no satisfaction from circuit training. There are all sorts of things that the coaches find new and horrible uses for, such as Swiss balls, medicine balls, kettle bells, dumb bells, steps, benches, and ropes. The ropes are for skipping not for hanging yourself with, although it is very tempting!

This evening's session was no different. An hour of pure torture! We did each exercise for 1 minute, followed by 1 minute of skipping, and then the next exercise, more skipping, etc. for 1 hour.

Did I enjoy it at the time? No. Am I happy I did it? Hell yeah!

After the hour of fun, we did some resistance and core work on the mats, followed by stretching.

The gym at the rowing club was pretty much packed tonight. There were three squads using the ergs and the weights, and my squad doing circuits. We're all in it together!

And Beyond

The river is still quite high, so I don't hold out much hope of getting onto the water at the weekend, but I'm sure the coaches will find lots of stuff to keep me busy!

I've got a one-to-one erg session with my coach tomorrow so we can work on my technique. And then Friday is our day off. I have visions of Katsu curry with sticky rice and a crappy movie...

Anyway! I had a nice hot bath to soothe my muscles when I got home this evening, and I'm feeling good as new. How I feel in the morning will be another thing entirely...

Goodnight! :)