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

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

Keeping It Brief

Being back at school has left me with little time for much else without depriving myself of sleep so this post is just a brief one to keep all my lovely readers interested! Enjoy! 

• Making: progress
• Cooking: healthier
• Drinking: lots of water
• Reading: textbooks
• Wanting: money and peace
• Looking: for a job and someone
• Playing: Fireproof- One Direction
• Deciding: on university choices
• Wishing: people didn't fight
• Enjoying: rowing and being with my friends
• Waiting: for autumn and Christmas!
• Liking: being back with all my friends
• Wondering: too many things
• Loving: my friends
• Pondering: over life and all its options
• Considering: gap year vs uni
• Watching: youtubers!
• Hoping: to do well this year
• Marvelling: Over the beauty of some lyrics 
• Needing: more clothes and make up
• Smelling: Black Opium by YSL 
• Wearing: Training kit and school uniform
• Following: the path ahead
• Noticing: I don't need to care what people think of me
• Knowing: I can do it 
• Thinking: about a lot
• Feeling: pretty darn happy 
• Admiring: beauty 
• Sorting: my life out
• Buying: nothing due to lack of money
• Getting: excited for what lies ahead
• Bookmarking: peoples blogs and furniture 
• Disliking: rude people and boasters 
• Opening: the most recent Rowing&Regatta magazine
• Giggling: with my friends
• Feeling:  excited but nervous for the future! 

Hope this wasn't too boring for you all! I'm loving blogging and i feel so guilty if I don't write anything for a long time! I have got a very exciting post planned which I hope to write this weekend! 

Thanks for reading!

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

May Favourites!

Hello everybody! As we are now into June and supposedly summer (although the weather outside says differently) I thought I would share with you what my favourite things have been throughout the month of May!

Firstly, makeup favourites. I have been loving the RealTechniques Core Collection brushes. Obviously I'm quite late to the bandwagon on this but I adore the pointed foundation brush and the buffing brush. My previous foundation brush always left the foundation feeling thick and heavy on my skin but now with the RealTechniques brush application is a lot lighter.

 For my eyes I decided to try out Rimmel London Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves mascara. I've been in love with the standard Scandaleyes since it came out so I was excited to try the new version. The Rockin' Curves brush is different to the Scandaleyes brush as it is curved (as it's name suggests.....genius) and application is less clumpy and leaves my lashes long and defined with just the right amount of volume. It also works a treat on my bottom lashes, making them appear longer and thicker. I love the thinness of the wand at the tip too as it makes reaching the smaller lashes in the corner of my eyes so much easier without getting mascara all around! I think for my lashes the standard Scandaleyes provides more volume but the Rockin' Curves gives less clumps and considerably longer lashes. 

Rockin' Curves wand

Scandaleyes wand

My favourite nail colour at the moment is from the Barry M Gelly Shine collection in 'Green Berry'. When applied it comes out as a minty/turquoisey green. It is perfect for summer and makes me look slightly more tanned (anything that makes me seem less pale is always a favourite of mine!). Generally I use two coats to get even coverage but once on it really does shine, it is such a pretty, vibrant colour and is definitely my go-to shade for summer! 

Now onto my favourite part....food! I've been really trying to be healthy recently and so I've cut back on chocolate, cookies etc and turned to Jordans Frusli bars. My favourite is currently the apples & sultanas with a hint of cinnamon (I'm a sucker for anything with cinnamon) but I also love the Juicy Red Berries too! They're just the right size to leave me satisfied but with less guilt than a chocolate bar! 

I've eaten out multiple times at Pizza Express last month and each time I had the Pomodoro Pesto with added chicken. To start with I adore pizza but add pesto, chicken and additional Parmesan and it tastes like heaven in my mouth (I'm not even joking!). The Mozzarella and Tomato salad (with pesto) is also so so delicious, I highly recommend it.

 I also had a meal out for the Rowers Ball where I had Goats Cheese crostini which was delightful and followed that with a huge filo basket with beans and vegetables and a gorgeous salad. To finish was lemon cheesecake but it was a little too much and I couldn't finish it! 

The glorious crostini

Cheesecake!

Even though I said I was cutting back on unhealthy foods I did make my heavenly (if I do say so myself) white chocolate and raspberry brownies. They're always popular when I take them to rowing events so naturally I made them (four tins to be exact) for National Schools and they went down a treat. I may do a blog  post on how to make them (if I'm feeling kind and want to share my secrets). 

Don't they look delightful!

Music wise I recently discovered Fred V & Graphics- Major Happy and it has been my go-to song if I've been feeling down as it instantly lifts my mood (hence the name) and it's also perfect for when I workout. Another favourite of mine this month has been Take Me Home by Cash Cash ft Bebe Rexha, like Major Happy it really cheers me up and I have a feeling it will feature heavily on my summer playlist! I'm being 100% serious when I say I had it on repeat for three days solid. THREE DAYS. 

Sam Smith has been one of my favourite artists for a while now and I have fallen in love with 'Make It To Me'. His voice resembles what I can only imagine an heaven might sound like. And of course One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer have been in my top plays this month, not only because I love them both dearly but because I'm going to the Where We Are tour on Saturday (a blog post will definitely follow). 

Due to exams and revision I haven't had a chance to watch a great deal of TV but of course I've been watching Made in Chelsea on catch-up when I've had time. Tyger-Drew Honey's new series about teenage life has been so interesting as it's nice to see things from a male perspective. Often I feel I get wrapped up in how difficult it is being a teenage girl in today's society but I realise it is also challenging to be a boy too (although I think girls still have it harder... No bias there I promise!).

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I loved during May, I'd love to know what you've been loving this past month so let me know in the comments and feel follow me, would be much appreciated and I'll definitely follow back!

Much Love

Charlotte

xo