Slalom Paddling!

Two weekends ago my sister and I were invited to Nottingham to stay with a very good friend known to many as Aggressor and to also train with the Fast Track girls we left at the end of August.

I my self was very apprehensive about it although I knew it was an opportunity we couldn't miss as it would show where we are compared to the girls still on the programme.

After seeing the word time trial on the duel carriage way on the drive up and automatically finding myself driving as fast as I could to win of course, I realised that I was in a good, focused mind frame and if I got a speeding ticket I would never be able to borrow my mums car ever again! (don't panic mum nothing has come through yet!)

Saturday morning we got up early and walked to Holm Pierrepont and met the girls, they were so pleased to see us both it was quite overwhelming. It felt very strange, like a day in the life of the Summer but so much has happened since then. We met Mark our old coach, got out our previous boats we initially learnt in and pushed off the landing stage. Our racing boats we now own are far more unstable than the boats we started in so it felt good to know our stability has improved.

We were doing 500 metre sprints and just the feeling to be back training with a bunch of people who are so focused and driven was exhilarating (like being in a committed rowing crew) and to get that intense coaching made me really miss what we had in the Summer. Antonia and I weren't last out of the four who still remain which in my mind is a big achievement. However we have a lot of work to do by the sprint season which starts in April but now knowing where we stand and have a good set up at home our only limitations are our selves.

It is a lot harder doing it with out the kind of structure and input they have, but we have to remind ourselves that we also have a lot of support and must focus on what we do have not what we don't. If you can get through the hardship and stick at it, you will come out on the other side a far stronger person with far more motive to keep going especially after you have invested so much in it.

After some kayak erg work with one to one coaching we then hit the water again for the last session. We boated on one of the smaller lakes beside the main racing lake and paddled onto the river Trent to do a steady state piece. On our way back onto the lake I was in a slight trance, feeling quite tired. The next thing I know the water is actually pulling me into the lake and thought for a split second 'oh my gosh they have turned the rapids on' Nope I was heading for the Slalom lake and even with frantic back paddling it was too late and was swallowed into the first rapid. I capsized and had to get myself out of my spray deck under water which I have never done in flat water let alone in a waterfall type situation. My boat and my paddle went flying out the other end and I came up spluttering and choking to find a group of worried kids paddling towards me. I manged to grab hold of the side when the instructor taking the Children's slalom lesson pulled me out. I thought straight away how will I live this down! The slalom kids paddled over with my boat (in one piece thank god!) and my paddle. Antonia came running over the bridge after seeing the whole thing from a safe distance to see thankfully, I was OK. Mark my coach had disappeared which he later told me was so embarrassed at what I had done pretended to disown me!

Antonia asked how I missed the big sign above the bridge saying SLALOM CANOE COURSE, HELMETS AND LIFE JACKETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES! Yes I still don't know how I didn't see that either, again so focused I was oblivious to anything around me!!

That night we went to the classy stores of Asda to get things for dinner and one of the Canoe guys who I didn't know happened to be working in the Pharmacy and said "are you the girl who took a sprint kayak down the slalom course?" word gets around fast.

A lot learnt and much banter had, I just hope we get invited back after making such a lasting impression??

Choose Your Attitude!

I’m sorry Petumbukan Frangipani (what a lovely unusual name you have!) that I haven’t written for a while but I didn’t want to write again until I had something positive to talk about and today I feel like I have climbed a foot hill of a mountain which feels like an amazing accomplishment.

Last week Antonia and I decided to go for an especially long paddle on the Huntspil, it was a lovely fresh Autumn day with the sun high and the sky was blue as ever. We set off to kayak the whole stretch of the Huntspil and back. On the way we greeted by a friendly fisherman who told us to ‘get off the river’ so we kind of just ignored him and paddled on. The Huntspil is very straight and as it was such a clear day we could see the end from miles away. After 2 days had gone past we finally got there . . . ok 1.5 hours. We turned our boats around reasonably easily in the 2pmh winds so we were now in a head wind which is easier to paddle in. I felt quite confident and said to Ant ‘we will fly back now it feels so stable’ then a few well spirited strokes later and I fell in. It was FREEZING, another friendly fisherman packed up his stuff and moved a few metres down as I clearly must had disturbed the fish (sorry Mr fisherman, don’t you mind me, I only could die of hypothermia!)

I quickly climbed on my boat and paddled to the side but the banks were so high I couldn’t get out so ended up paddling (lying on the boat) for quite away then spent a good 20 mins getting back into the boat. By this time the sun was going down, we quickly paddled on but I was getting cold and colder so we stopped and Antonia gave me her dry top (see mum we do love each other!). We paddled further but with the sun down I didn’t last long until I felt so stiff with coldness I couldn’t paddle any further. That sounds very weak of me but I’m not one for giving up and I just thought if I fall in now, we are still so far away from the car I might just die on the river bank (a bit dramatic but that’s how I felt at the time) so we both got out our boats in a random field.

It was now very dimpsy dark and as soon as a got out I felt dizzy (I think I had a major sugar low) so Ant said we had to run and leave our boats. So we did, through fields, over hedges, dodging an evil looking bull then crossing the M5 in our lycra in the dark. We eventually got back to the car got changed and drove to the nearest garage to get vital food supplies - food always comes first something we both feel strongly about so no arguments there! Then of course we had to find the boats which meant taking Granny’s car for a little off road adventure (sorry Granny). We couldn’t find the boats – I had visions of a cow fancying a quick paddle (still delirious from the cold) Antonia thought they had rolled in the water! No we were just looking in the wrong place but as it was pitch black and we only had the light from my glowing heart rate monitor so it was very hard to see. They were still in one piece so we loaded them up and went home.

My next outing in the K1 I actually felt slightly more stable which is the first signs of a considerable improvement I have had ever since we got them. Then this morning we had a usual early morning session in the gym and my weights went up. So finally all the ground work we have been putting in since we left Nottingham is finally paying off.

I just read the most inspirational book by Debra Searle which has really helped me: The Journey, How to achieve against the odds. One thing that especially stood out was when you wake up in the morning you have to make a decision. What attitude am I going to choose. You can either choose to battle through the day and feel sorry for your self or you can choose to be positive and optimistic, what ever the day has in store for you, this makes you far more in control of the situation/training session, choosing to fight it instead of it fighting you if you know what I mean. So quote of the day ‘choose your attitude’.

p.s. Sorry Uncle David I didn’t get to the hedges in time and Mum got the hedge trimmer out and cut through the lead! No more hedge trimmer, I better get the old secateurs out!

Huntspil River

The best river I have paddled on and it's only 30 mins from home. This has meant Ant and I have been able to go paddling every day to make sure we are staying upright well and truly before winter sets in. I think this river is also a rowers dream. Maybe City of Bristol should have a training day here! No ferries, no barges, no speed boats, only 1 or 2 swans, the odd leaf, the odd fisherman. All that is there is flat wide river - fantastic!

These are photos taken yesterday where we had our longest session in our K1's yet.

A swans nest saved my life! (kind of)

Training as everyone knows has it’s up’s and downs. A couple of weeks ago was a particular low point for me, with the trees shedding leaves like they are in a hurry for winter to come and constantly getting caught on the stern of my boat and an obvious drop in temperature, falling out of our K1’s has become even more unpleasant than it was before.

We were doing a sprint session and for the first four efforts my boat had been picking up leaves like it was designed for it, producing a sluggish pace rather than a flat out one minute sprint, and to top it off Antonia’s boat didn’t appear to be collecting half as much debris. By the fifth effort this was more than testing my patience and a few too many aggressive strokes in my unforgiving Nelo, landed me in the cold water, gasping.

We were on a more flat scenic part of the river rather than the busy docs and there wasn’t anywhere obvious to get out. Luckily I spotted a swans nest and swam over to it. The angry swan to whom we had the delight of meeting earlier was no where to be seen but even so Antonia was on vicious Swan watch while I hauled myself onto the bed of grass. As you might be able to imagine it’s quite hard to boat from a nest and it took 2 attempts to finely leave the unusual landing stage. That was the end of that session even though we had quite a while to paddle home I couldn’t get warm which infuriated me even more as I hate cutting any training session short but made up for it in a weights session later. At the time I was not amused, Antonia was trying to have her concerned voice on but actually thought it was hilarious.

Swans will always be a pain to paddlers because of their territorial nature but for just that session I was extremely grateful.

Endeavour's Canoe Challenge

This weekend Antonia and I competed in our first k2 race in the Endeavour's Canoe Challenge. It’s a grueling 50 mile relay-style competition from Market Drayton to Great Haywood in Shropshire. Twelve teams of consisting of 6-10 people entered the event.

The Canoe Challenge is a fund-raising event, aiming to raise valuable funds for Endeavour's youth development projects throughout the
country.

Teams of all levels of experience take part in this unique team-building event. Each section of the canal is taken in turns by team members to paddle as hard as they can, usually until a portage is reached then have to jump out, run with the boat and hand over to the next canoeists in the team. A vital support crew follow in a mini bus driving as fast as the speed limits allows to ensure they meet the paddlers racing at the decided point and swap team members as quickly as possible.

Not only did Bristol come away with first prize but all the teams together also raised over £13,000 to support Endeavour's work with young people.

First Class Gym/Cider Cellar

Here is a sample of some of our weights!

Chins

Bench Pull

High Pulls
Bench Press

A Woman is not finished when she’s deflated; she’s finished when she quits

If ever there was a true test so see if you can push your self on your own for me that is now. In the beautiful surrounds of Somerset which use to be associated with a place of relaxation and eating lots it’s now a training zone.

Coming back from Nottingham without a boat, paddle, gym, a coach and more importantly an accessible river close by, the decision to carry on Kayaking and training to eventually compete at such a high level was quite a challenge to say the least. But with such good people in the world we now have all of the above and we couldn’t have got this far without:

Andy Maycock: New coach (previously competed at the Worlds, loads of experience, drive and actually trains with us instead of shouting from a car through a megaphone) He also found us our wonderful speedy racing boats.

Granny: For letting us turn her Cider Cellar into a 1^st class gym (my sister has had to get over her spider phobia, as they come back as fast as we get rid of them!)

Dad: For having a rugby pitch right opposite our house to do circuit training on but has yet to join us for a session (Dad, just because you scored a fluke try last week doesn’t mean that training is obviously not needed, we know you just don’t want to be 5 laps behind your two daughters!)

Mum: For reminding us to stretch all the time, cooking and doing 4 loads of washing a day! (Mum I will cut the hedges very soon I promise!)

Simon: For building us a chin up bar in the Garden.

Last but not least thank you very much to Jihan, Sarah, Alisdair, Neil, Diego, Dee, Gidas and Lauren for your letting us stay over in Bristol so we can get all the water sessions we can on one tank of petrol. Jimmy, Christi and others who I have not approached yet can we stay at yours at some point?

So training has taken a turn but for the better, we can run and cycle in one of the most beautiful parts of England, actually meet other canoeists instead of being refined to Holm Pirrepont and Antonia can work for Dad at the Farm, one of her dreams come true . . . not quite, but it has it’s pluses - free Chicken, wuhoo.

Kayaking World Championships Video by Naomi, Viki and Julia

Minor set back!

OK so testing took a turn of events.

The lunch before the dreaded 4k run test, the girls and I reveled to each other we all had been having dodgy stomachs all weekend and it wasn't just nerves! With none of us wanting to have excuses for the coach to why we maybe shouldn't do the run we just got on with it. I took 67 seconds off my last time which I was thrilled with. Straight after word had got to the coach that we had all been a bit ill so we were told if we had been to the toilet more than 5 times that day, we had to go on gut rest and was only aloud fizzy drinks! This seemed a pretty harsh way to celebrate after the run but a speedy recovery was of the essence so orders must be carried out! So then testing had to be put on hold for everyone, slowly normal training resumed and the only other test to be carried out was water on the Friday morning of reviews!

My best 500m time improved by 16 seconds from the last lot of testing and I felt I paddled as well as my technique allowed me to at this stage.

Reviews were . . . disappointing to put mildly. Both my sister and I aren't being offered the funding we hoped for. Apparently we aren't as technically advanced as the others despite all going at a similar speed! If I had written on here on Friday night it might have gone something like 'the BCU (British Canoe Union) can go to hell' but I love kayaking now and greatful for being introduced to it.

After such an amazing experience I'm not ready to give up that easily. I have been shown the goal in life I want to ac hive and believe I have the will power to take me there (technical issues can be iron out - I have only been paddling for 8 weeks!) Now I am better off because I am surrounded by a supportive family and the best friends in the world. Plus I have twice as much incentive to beat the girls who have stayed on the programme! (girls if you read this I mean that in a healthy competitive way!) One of the girls who has stayed on (who would kill me if I mentioned her name) has particularly inspired me with her positivity and you can achieve anything you want attitude. If you can't push your self on your own then you wont make 2012 anyway.

I know it will be hard but that's all part of the challenge and I have to give it a shot.

You’ve banked all your savings now make sure you spend every last penny!

Tomorrow is the start of a whole week of testing:
Monday: 4k run (where I am expected to take off 1 whole minute from the last test)
Tuesday: Weights test (more improvement)
Wednesday : Lab testing on a kayak erg with lats being taken every few minutes
Thursday: Timed pieces on the water
Friday: Judgement day (reviews)

I have decided not to let one negative thought into my brain so at the moment I am feeling confident I will improve on everything.

I am now feeling slightly sick I have written down what I have to do but nerves are healthy and make you go faster so it’s all good . . . remain calm . . . today is rest day so all I need to focus on is relaxation and the precise order of music I will play on my MP3 player tomorrow during the run. My best track to get into the zone (where I picture myself on a start line in a race) is Evanescence, Bring me to life.

There are now 6 of us left and all of us want this as much as each other but only after this week we will see who the panel of judges think have the potential to make it to London 2012.

Hopefully catch up with people at Bristol Regatta and Somerset the weekend coming x x

Regattabahn Duisburg: Sprint Kayaking World Championships Germany

After travelling for ten hours on a small bus with 6 big girls to arrive at a forest/campsite in the pouring rain and have to pitch a tent wasn’t the best start to a ‘holiday’, but never the less we got on with it. It rained all night and all day and after having heard about the heat wave in Europe none of us had packed water proofs or warm clothes so we all had to acquire them from random people/coaches feeling sorry for us.

The first 2 days were heats, then on Saturday and Sunday were finals where the weather improved 100% and racing had become very exciting. We had each been given a category and we had to observe them and talk about them every night in turn. Mine was the women’s K2, Hungry and Germany dominated every race and Germany won most over all.

Tim Brabance GB, won the men’s K1 1000m and came 2nd in the 500m. When he was being presented his medal and the national anthem was playing I think we all felt how much we wanted his place as well as being immensely proud, in fact when we watched all the the GB squad competing, now we know them and kind of feel part of the squad although we aren’t quite on it yet the thought of competing, representing Great Britain and most importantly winning seems more in our reach in the short time span we have. Seeing the racing made me really want to train as hard as possible to really put Great Britain up there with the Germans and the Hungarians.

It was an amazing experience although communal cold showers and horrid loos wasn’t oh and I got my first international win in a cycling competition on a turbo bike! (It was in one of the clothing stands and I won a cycling top).

Back in Nottingham for some more intensive training which is being taken up a notch and then more trials and dreaded lab testing in Loughborough all next week! If we get through that then we will sort out about moving here permanently. I feel ok about it now but we have got some tough days ahead of us. So if I don’t write it means I am too exhausted to as I intend as always to give 10000%

Thanks for your comments guys they mean a lot. I’m sorry I haven’t got back to you all, having a time limit on internet is such a pain.

GOOD LUCK AT OXFORD BRISTOL! X X

I MADE IT!!!!

Just a quick note to say I made it through to the last stage of the conformation period. I actually convinced myself I was going home yesterday, to the point I even packed all my stuff up ready.

Yesterday was extremely tense, the testing was over and everyone was talking about the following days evictions! And yes it feels like Big Brother! Then just when everyone didn't feel like socialising we were all invited to the coach of the GB senior women's house for a BBQ to meet all the girls on the squad we eventually aim to join. I think everyone was feeling as if this might be the only time we get to see them so the atmosphere was hardly lively! (not to mention the absence of alcohol!)

Reviews started at 9am this morning and it was bad news for the first 2 girls. Everyone became highly emotional at the thought of loosing friends we have shared so much with in this short space of time. It was Antonia's turn next so she was bricking it! She came back to the room where we were all waiting for the latest outcome, she had got through but still on edge as I was next and we both know how hard it would be if only one of us got through but it was good news again. Thank the Lord! It is really great having each other here, the extra moral support is priceless.

So next week we are off to Germany to watch the World Cup Sprint Kayaking Championships as well as some serious cross training!

Words can not explain how happy and relieved I feel right now.

Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Yesterday we were tested on our 4k run where I took 16 seconds off then another Dyno test and weights test - bench pull and bench press. Where there was NO improvement what so ever?? I don't think I should be writing on here write now but this blog site would be quite boring if I always write how great everything is!

Today we had 3 x 500m on the water. 1st one and 2nd one I was concentrating way too much on technique and made me too slow so the last one I thought sod the technique I'm just going balls out where I actually came in at the same time as the other two in my race.

Tomorrow we have reviews to find out who they are cutting, I could be in Australia sooner than I intended! Oh well apparently the surf life saving team out there are really great fun so I think I will take that up next.

I will let you know tomorrow.

Bye for now.

btw I always prepare well!

Persistence prevails when all else fails

With with more testing is sight the pressure is on to make more improvements in the short space of time since the last testing. We had an individual goal setting review and we have been told we have to reach certain targets to stay on this boot camp. At the time I found it very positive and something to aim for but training with fatigue can soon make you feel like the target is a out of sight. I found you have to quickly dismiss these negative thoughts and remember that no matter how tired you are you still have to make sure you give 100% and get as much out of the session as possible. With people around you, all potential competitors for 2012 selection there is no time to take it easy on anything!

We did some more hill sprints this week but as it was raining . . . AGAIN so for health and safety reasons we couldn’t run down the hills so our coach told us to roll down them. Yes getting on the floor and rolling down in the mud and goose s**t that seams to b everywhere. As some people know I get car sick very easily and hate all fair ground rides for the simple reason; they make me very sick! By the last hill sprint I was crawling back up the hill instead of running and Antonia was following shortly behind.

Later on that day we had our first race in K4's where we were put into random crew boats with experienced kayakers and had to race 10k! Most of us had only paddled 6k at the most in one water session and that was with countless stops, wobbles and fallings out. So the challenge was on to not just complete the race without our arms failing us but also to beat the crews with the other talent ID girls in. We all got though it, my crew didn't come last, and arms could just about reach mouth to have dinner so it was all good. Made me realise how much stronger we have to be.

Today we had a proper rest day and all went to a very posh leisure centre where they did us a special deal for being 'Women’s British Fast Track Kayaking Squad' little did they know we have only been on it four weeks! Jihan joined us for the day too and had no problem flashing her guns along with the rest of us to prove we were part of the squad.

Back Holme (yes I used it again!)

I think the novelty of being here has slightly worn off, training has upped a pace and everyone knows they have to up their game to get through the next 2 weeks. Rest has never been more important, so tomorrow we are having a sleeping workshop (no we aren’t aloud to sleep in it!) Our coach doesn’t think we are resting enough and making it compulsory we all sleep for an hour in the day!

The next two weeks are a real test if we can sustain the training and give every session 100% even if we are tired. I am finding the paddle sessions the hardest because we still aren’t entirely stable and it’s so frustrating trying to apply technique when you are still trying to balance the thing. Extra sessions on the kayak Erg seem to help and also being reminded if you have a bad session just make sure the next session is the best one you have done yet. Positive thinking and some visualization gets you everywhere!

This really is FAST TRACK

I haven't written for a few days mainly because we were moved to a hotel while some French rowers took over Holme Pirrepont and also because our new GB boats are so unstable that our coach took away our time off and replaced them with extra water sessions - a few of the girls weren't happy but we got on with it!

Yesterday we had lots of testing one being another 4k run where I took 50 seconds off, another part of it was some timed pieces in our twitchy boats but it was more who can stay in there boat for the whole 500 meters. It was quite funny as a few of us would line up on the start, the coach would say 'go' then as we paddled down the course you would hear a huge splash and you knew there was a woman down. At one point one of the girls fell out on the start line, the safety launch sped over with urgency, knocking 2 others over with the wash, so there was now no one on the start line to actually compete. The girl in question threw some abuse at the man on the safety launch and said she didn't need any help and if it wasn't for him she wouldn't be in the water in the first place. I managed to do two of the timed pieces, but fell in on the way up to the start line by getting caught in masses of weed.

Back in lovely Somerset now for some much needed rest . . . but that didn't last too long as I just had to go for a run.

Resting HR has gone down by 10 beats in just two weeks, this really is fast track!

Tired but happy

Apparently cakes are ok if you share them I was told by the nutritionist today, so I got a slice of lemon cake and a slice of fruit cake and shared them both . . . aren't I good!!!! It was actually very interesting, carbs and protein are in a lot more food than I initially thought, no need to eat extra protein to get bigger muscles because if you eat too much meat it's just plain fattening.

Everyone seems to be having a slightly off day, we all went out in K4's this morning for two hours, the rowers of the group not surprisingly stay in time with stroke without even thinking about it, the others were caught out on timing quite often. I can't disclose our exact training plan we do for various reasons you can probably guess . . . wouldn't want the Hungarian women getting any inside information (big rivals we need to be as fast as or pref ably faster than by 2012) but I think fatigue is setting in and the honey mood period is coming to an end, we just about know each other well enough now to let our inner thoughts somehow escape when cross. But it's all part of the experience. We have swapped rooms as well which is good I think as groups were starting to form, mainly because we tended to stick with the people we knew better.

Very, very tired in every way. Going to bed at 9pm tonight and I can't wait!!!!

Big girls are beautiful!

This morning we had a heavy weights session where I discovered a new pain thresh hold which is always good. Every time I think I have pushed my self to the limit I soon find new levels I didn't think existed.

We are seeing the nutritionist tomorrow, but my food diary from a week I did when I was in my working and rowing life is completely different to now. I eat three times as much and a lot healthier but a lot more cakes, muffins, brownies and hot chocolate, I think the food at Holme Peirre Pont is amazing! Oh and on the unhealthy stuff there are signs saying 'stop and think' well that just makes me stop and think how much I want it! With lots of heavy weights sessions and eating so much I am going to be massive in no time NICE!!! I'm just hoping my neck will take longer to develop!

Quotation of the week

If you don't train hard today someone else will!

FRIDAY

We have to fill out a form every morning about how we feel, mood, fatigue, motivation, how much sleep etc it's out of 10 (10 being great) so muscle soreness 4, motivation 10!

Went for a 35 mile cycle ride and it was awesome and best of all I managed to keep up with the triathletes although I only lead for about 2 miles of it though. Very hard work and I thought I was going to be sick at the top of one of the hills as my quads were hurting to much! With 4 miles to go we did stop for a cream tea, which we well and truly deserved. Had a massive lunch then slept, yes I have finally learnt to sleep in the day.

I am loving this life, don't want it to end . . .

Day Three

Hi Guys, thanks for all your comments it's great to hear from you all, good luck at Llandaff, I really wish I was there to swim another lap at midnight, can someone please keep up that tradition I started! Thanks for the running advice Christi!!! I knew I could count on you for advice no matter what it was.

Weights was at 9.30am and we did our 3 rep max on the arm pull, the bench press and the bench pull. Most of us were at the same amount of weights apart from the ex light weight GB rowers could lift that bit more! My goal is to have them! We then did a short circuits session of 5 mins of press ups, seated single arm row, Belgium single arm pulls, and dreaded chin ups. Everyone was put into groups of 3 apart from my group had 2 people. Who ever got the most reps out at the end of the 5 mins of each won. So our mission was to try and beat a group with three people in. 5 mins is along time, we were aloud to assist each other on the chins but we ended up practically lifting each other up which was quite funny as my partners arms went and her arse landed on my face as I was lifting her from her feet. Ha ha But we came 3rd out of 4 so mission accomplished and now not only my quads kill but EVERYTHING else too! If I sit still for too long I can’t move.

After lunch we did some technical work on the kayak erg. Then this afternoon we kayaked 4k to the end of the 2k lake and back, our coach Mark was cycling along the side and shouting technique stuff to us. After I went in K4 and it was awesome, I just loved being in a crew boat.

Tomorrow going for a 2 hour cycle ride at 8.30am with some very experienced cyclists, I just hope Antonia and I are at the same level at this or I will be last, I don’t think my cycling to work is going to match the triathletes is the group!

Buy the Sunday Telegraph, I had a chat to a journalist yesterday about it all and plugged COB a thousand times!

Day Two

Woke up at 6.30, Had to do a hard 4k which was to the end of the 2k lake and back, the other girls are all fantastic runners, I came 8th out of 11!! not impressed although I was dead and my sister beat me!!!! then had breakfast then had a weights session, just going through them mainly but my quads killed! Then lunch, then core stability and a yoga session with Jihan our physio, who is also half Egyptian like my Jihan. It was really good - bristol rowing girls I have sooo many new exercises for you! Then had a water session which was really good again, managed to pick up some speed and didn't fall in. Mark said I had a good session but need to see the beast he saw in the trials on the water, so tomorrow I intend to shop him just that, even if it means falling in!

Just had another huge meal and going to bed very soon as we have a weights test tomorrow morning!

Bye for now, sorry about spelling grammar etc I have run out of Internet time!!!! x x x

In Nottingham at Last

For people who are interested, I have only 2 hours of Internet time a week, so instead of writing e-mails I'm writing here, which is what it is for anyway.

Arrived yesterday in time for lunch at Holm Pirre Pont, afterwards we were allocated rooms, I am sharing with one of the girls called Fern who is also a rower. For people who haven't stayed here it's like student halls.

First had a chat with the psychologist which seemed ok although I felt like I had to justify everything I said in case it was wrong. Then had a chat about the training plan with the sports science coach, then unpacked and had our first water outing. It was actually great fun as people were falling in left, right and centre. I fell in right at the end of the session when my new coach Mark told me to make sure I enter the water with a straight arm!

Had dinner and I have found a group of girls that actually out eat myself and Antonia, felt right at home! Oh we got given our own brand new paddle which we wrote our names on then were told we will be given our own boats each in GB colours on Friday - can't wait!!!

I DIDN'T FALL IN THE DOCKS!!!!

Went Kayaking at 6.30am this morning in a K1 opposed to the very buoyant Surf Ski and didn't fall in!!!!! But was a nervous wreck for the whole hour. I hope this gets easier soon, this sport is no good for my stress levels!

Yeay my very own Blog spot now I don't have to rely on COB for gossip because I can post my own right here!! wuhoo!!