Life of a Rower Part 2

So, Life of a Rower is my most read post, probably because to most people rowing is weird (actually it is a bit weird to me too). It's not like football or rugby and is on TV every day, it's a distant sport which is little known about in the 'normal world'. 

For me personally I literally cannot remember a life without rowing and what it felt like NOT to be a rower or to be known as 'the rower'. But I definitely would not have it any other way. Rowing is who I am and is what I do, without it I would definitely be the most boring person ever (I'd also be so fat because I love food too much).

We like to eat 

Now I am coming to the end of my school rowing career I'm so sad. The past two years of rowing especially have been the best years of my life so far. I've met the best people, made friends with people I'd never even meet (Amy) if it wasn't for the power of the internet and the rowing community and I've learnt more about myself every day (wow that was a bit deep sorry!). Don't get me wrong, university is going to be amazing (hopefully) and I'm going to meet even more new people and my rowing will be able to improve so much because I'll be training more and more. But I'm so content in this little bubble of school rowing with the best coaches and crew members that I'm really not ready for this bubble to pop yet.

Admittedly, we're not quite at the end of the season yet, Women's Henley is yet to come as well as other regattas and (hopefully) Home Countries. But with the speed this year has flown by I'm certain the next few weeks will pass by instantly and it makes me so sad.

This season has been a mix of emotions, I won my first single race in September as well as another win in a pair with one of my best friends. Hampton Head was amazing and so surprising to come out with a win in our coxed four which we also won in at Monmouth Winter Head. .Then came Seville Training Camp in April which was amazing and so much fun but again time flew by. Not long after Seville I had a boat names after me. That's right.....AN ENTIRE BOAT. It was a huge honour and complete surprise to have a boat named after me and I'm so thankful for that. But there were also times, such as doing 6x500m on the ergo when my legs were burning, I was close to puking and blacking out when I wondered if it was all worth it. Or when we'd have bad outings in the 8 I'd wonder if some people wanted to win as badly as I did and do (emphasis on wonder, I know everyone was committed!) 

An actual boat named after me!!!

With my (not so)  baby brother

But then came National Schools. The event we'd been training for since September, the 6am wake up calls, blisters, burning legs, exhaustion and fatigue filled days all for two days of racing. I was entered into two events, Championship Girls 8s on Saturday and Championship Girls Coxless fours on Sunday. The time trial and semi final for the 8 both went well but in the final we just didn't deliver, the other boats moved ahead and we didn't go with them which meant we came in 5th. We'd placed 3rd in time trials, third in the semis but when it came to the final we just didn't perform but it did fuel me more for Sunday. My coach often says 'You're only as good as your last race and there was no way I was going to end on that race.

At least the weather was nice....

The next day our time trial didn't go brilliantly and I wasn't filled with a lot of confidence, we were messy and didn't get into the best rhythm but we still qualified and were even given a good lane for our semi final (we must've done something right as we placed 4th!). This then gave us much more confidence and we raced the semi well to get a good lane for the final. This was where the real fight began. We didn't get off to the best start but we stayed calm and didn't panic. This time we did get into a good rhythm and soon we were catching the other crews. For the middle 1km we were in third place and it felt good until the last 500m. The crew next to us pulled back and it was a race to the finish line and unfortunately it was not meant to be. We came 4th by 0.56 seconds. I can hardly put into words how disappointed and distraught we were. I cried and cried and cried (and I definitely should have worn waterproof mascara). The coaches were proud of us, and in hindsight I am too, but in that moment, with other crews cheering around us and showing off their medals the last thing I felt was proud. 

Racing in our time trial, we actually look better than it felt

As we carried the boat back to the trailer we got a lot of strange looks from parents and spectators as I continued to bawl my eyes out in public over what..... a rowing race (come on Charlotte get a grip). But I guess they just did not understand how much rowing means to me/us. When you put so much work into training, missing social events, being constantly tired, pushing yourself to such limits to not get anything to show for it is so unbelievably hard. 

I think this picture sums up my feelings at the finish line 

As we all began to calm down we looked back on the race and our training and in hindsight (oh what a wonderful thing it is) we had done pretty well. Firstly, until that day we'd never raced coxless before which is a big adjustment because coxed and coxless boats are actually very different (coxless boats are very sensitive to every movement you make). We'd also had very few outings coxless as we'd had so many in the 8, we hadn't even been in the four in Seville. To be placed fourth in the country really isn't too shabby. After refuelling with lots of pasta and cake we had some crew pictures and it struck me just how much love and appreciation I have for my crew members. I know each one gave 110% in that final race and I know how upset we all were because we worked so hard but felt we had nothing to show for it. 

The best crew out there

That final race has taught me a lot about myself, how far my body can go when I want something enough, how much rowing means to me, how much harder I'm willing to work to win, how much I love my friends and how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many amazing and lovely people. Racing experience is invaluable in itself and I've learnt a hell of a lot from the past weekend (including wearing sun cream even when it's not that sunny because my body seems to burn ridiculously easy and burnt lips are not what anyone needs in their life). 

I hope by September I am ready to head off to the big wide world of university rowing but until then I'm going to savour every single minute at the boathouse with my favourite people in the world (minus Harry Styles because unfortunately he will not be there).

I hope you enjoyed this post, if you have any questions about rowing please ask me and I'll answer as best as I can!

Thank you so much for reading!

Charlotte 

XO

A little quote from Hannah Maggs' and Stef Michalak's vlog which I really believe in

Dear Thirty Year Old Me

Dear thirty year old me, 

Well, 17 year old me isn't really sure where to begin....

I feel like I should start from where I am heading soon...university. I don't feel old enough to be going to university, it feels like only last week I was starting secondary school. Anyway, I hope university, wherever you ended up, was amazing. I hope you made the most of it, making new friends, rowing (of course) and gained so much experience from it. Knowing you it took you a while to settle in and feel comfortable in new surroundings with strangers but I'm sure you took it all in your stride. I'm sure there are moments that you'd rather forget ever happened but I know there are hundreds that you'd love to relive.

I don't know what you did after uni, whether you decided to continue studying or you got a job but I hope you enjoyed it. Right now I have no idea what to do after university. I am fully aware of what I enjoy (and what I don't) but I have no clue about exactly what it is that I want to do. Don't worry though, I'm not panicking just yet! I really hope that you are happy in what ever you are doing now, a psychologist,  a rowing coach, a stay-at-home mum, anything. 

I guess I hope you've settled down by now. I know for many people a family isn't a priority but for me it always has been. I really really hope he treats you well whoever he is, I hope he treats you how you deserve and spoils you. Perhaps you even have children by now? I know you'll be a good mum. If you don't, there's no need to worry, everything happens when it is meant to.

One thing I do hope is that you haven't stopped is rowing, Lets be honest, we were never really that good at sport! But finding rowing was possibly the best thing that has happened to us so far, it is one of the things that keeps me going, when school is stressful I'll just sweat it out. I don't blame you if you've reduced the intensity of training but I'm sure you're still keeping active, even if it is because it allows you to eat all the chocolate (you have ALWAYS had a sweet tooth!). 

On the topic of rowing, you must have stayed in contact with some of the rowers at least? They are a second family to me and (so far) they are probably some of the best people I have met. You mustn't have forgotten some of your school friends though, they've been with you through thick and thin. I realise you will have many new friends, but please keep in touch with the old ones! If you haven't do it now. Message them on Facebook, or whatever new social network there is! It is always good to reminisce. 

To say that I love One Direction right now is probably an understatement and as much as I really hope that they're still together, who knows what happens in 13 years? If they are I'm sure you still love them and I'm sure you'll still be getting teased about it to this day! But who cares right? I can only wonder what Harry's hair looks like, or how many new tattoos they all have and what their new music is like! 

I guess the main point of this letter, thirty year old me, is that I hope you're happy. A lot of people have told you to stand up for yourself more because you just accept what people have to say too often. Don't let people get the better of you because YOU are the most important person. If you're not happy I know there are people who surround you, friends and family, who love you dearly. Including me. 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

*This is a very different post and it took a very long time to write. Please give me some feedback in the comments because I'd love to know what you all think! 

Keeping it Brief / 3

I really enjoy writing these simple little posts so I'm going to make them a regular thing. I'll post one every Wednesday! Enjoy! 

• Making A mess
• Cooking Cereal (if you can call that cooking) I don't have time or patience for anything else
• Drinking Tea and hot chocolate in abundance. It's winter I'm allowed ok!
• Reading Picking up the Pieces by Paul Britton. For anyone interested in criminology or forensic psychology I highly recommend it!
• Wanting To be noticed 
• Looking For Christmas presents
• Playing Chris Malinchak- Happiness ft MNEK. Possibly the most beautiful song I've heard in a long time
• Deciding Which bit of grueling homework I'm going to tackle first
• Wishing I wasn't so broke so that I could buy everyone the best Christmas presents
• Enjoying Training 
• Waiting For my birthday
• Liking My new red lipstick
• Wondering If Harry Styles is real
• Loving Cosying up in my oversized knit sweater watching Netflix
• Pondering On whether or not I've made the right university choices
• Considering Tidying my room
• Watching Gossip Girl... still 
• Hoping To have a happy Christmas
• Marvelling Over how you can get attached to someone you barely know (still)
• Needing More money
• Smelling Black Opium by YSL. The most heavenly scent ever
• Wearing Oversized jumpers and leggings 
• Following Lily Pebbles life in her vlogmas. My favourite Vlogmas this year!
• Noticing The cold weather is really drying out my skin
• Knowing It's never going to happen
• Thinking Too deeply
• Feeling Empty
• Admiring Beautiful, kind people
• Sorting My school work so I can revise. Lucky me!
• Buying Nothing, I'm out of money!
• Getting More confident
• Bookmarking Pages in my textbooks (again so I can revise)
• Disliking how lonely I feel
• Opening Christmas cards from distant family and friends
• Giggling Watching Fresh Meat

That's it for this week! What have you been loving, hating, watching, eating? 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

Rowing Update!

Hi everyone! Thought I'd fill you in with a little rowing update! As I mentioned in my 'Life of a Rower' post I trialled for Wales in April and I've got a seat in the Women's junior coxed four and the eight for Home International Regatta this weekend! The four is my old J16 four and it feels so good to be back together! We've been training so hard and had a few wobbles and disappointing sessions but we're all so happy with how the boat is moving now. 

The eight, however, is a completely different crew comprised of girls from Kings School, Chester. Two weeks ago I went to Chester to meet them and bond with them and to try and gel as a crew. Being the only new girl in the boat was quite daunting when I arrived but thankfully a cox from my club accompanied me which made me feel a little less awkward! I was put at three but as the boat is tandem rigged I was on stroke side, opposite to my usual bow side! For the first session I was fine, we did eyes closed/eyes open and some high rate exercises e.g. half slide for 10 strokes then keep the rate up and go to full slide for 10. The next day we did more of the same, gelling as a crew and enjoying being back in an 8. However, my hands began to not enjoy the outing as much as I was and soon enough I had a large blood blister (the most unattractive thing I've ever seen) on my right hand. As I'm accustomed to bow side, altering my hands was challenging, instead of using the outside (left) hand to pull the blade in I was using my inside hand as on bow side that is my outside hand. The result of this was numerous open, painful blisters that made squaring/feathering rather difficult. 

With copious amounts of electrical tape I contiued to train with the girls. We managed to fit in some sightseeing (Chester is such a pretty place) and a lovely picnic by the river on the last day. Our last outing was going to be 500m pieces to practice the 2k. However an invisible log in the water had other ideas and decided to remove our fin before we had finished our warm up. This meant a 30 minute spin bike, 3mins @ steady state followed by 1min @ a higher gear and faster pace. It was a dramatic way to end the trip!

Now with four days to go until race day it's safe to say I'm getting nervous. We have no idea how good the competition are going to be and how we compare. I think we can be sure that we'll have a fight on our hands. I'm fed up of not getting a medal despite training so hard so fingers crossed this additional hard work will pay off! 

Thank you for reading this week's post. I'll update you on how we get on sometime next week after a day or two of continuous sleep as I know i'm going to be shattered! 

Much Love

Charlotte

xo

Hello! Bonjour! Guten Tag! Aloha! Shalom! Namaste! Hola!

Hello! Firstly, let me introduce myself my name is Charlotte, I'm 17 years old, 6ft1 tall and currently studying for my A-levels at an all girls school. In one sense I'm a typical girly girl. I LOVE shopping, clothes, makeup, beauty, boys *harry styles* and spending time with my best friends. I have a major weakness for One Direction, I've seen them live twice and I'm seeing them at Wembley on the 7th June with one of my best friends!  However, I'm also obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED with rowing. Last year I won a silver medal at the National Schools Regatta in the championship girls 8. Since experiencing the exhilarating feeling of success I have been motivated to better myself in every aspect of life. That summer I also went on a month long World Challenge trip to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Hands down one of the most valuable experiences of my life (I may write a whole blog post on this in the future).  

On World Challege

Additionally to rowing, I'm really starting to enjoy running. I've got my first 5km run in August. I am also taking part in the Press Up Challenge (created by Olympic gold medalist Pete Reed). For each day of the year I have to do that amount of press-ups, today is day 153!  Recently I have started the Squat Challenge and Ab Challenge to add on to my core workout I do every night. Living at home it is quite difficult to eat as healthily and clean as I would like but with summer on it's way I'm hoping to get cooking more! 

Now onto the blog. I've wanted to start this for a while but I've never known what to say.... I still don't really! However, I've been inspired by the likes of Zoella, Louise (sprinkleofglitter), Tanya Burr and Pete Reed and I thought I would give it a go! I'm planning on posting fitness, lifestyle, photography, fashion and beauty (the little I know) and life in general. There will be ramblings of my time with some of the best people in the world and of my journey to university, advancing in rowing and the continual strive for happiness! 

As inspired by http://www.essena.com.au/  I am going to do a 'Currently':

Currently:
Saying cute. It is probably my most spoken word....so typically girly!
Eating houmous, carrots, breadsticks and HALLOUMI! so in love with that squeaky cheese!
Listening to One Direction 'Midnight Memories' album but also 5 Seconds of Summer... I like my boybands!
Watching Made in Chelsea and Hollyoaks are my go to shows but I watch more youtube videos... I love Alfie (pointlessblog), Zoella, Louise, Louis Cole (Fun for Louis), Marcus, Jim Chapman, Joe Sugg, Troye Sivan  and many others!  
Reading The Fault in Our Stars- John Green....the best book I've EVER read, preparing myself for the movie now!


 I hope you all enjoy! Feel free to follow my tumblr or my twitter! 
Suggestions for future post would be much appreciated! Please let me know in the comments below what you think of this post, I'll be eternally grateful!

Much love!

Charlotte

p.s. if you got this far THANK YOU.