An Afternoon Adventure 2.0

Another free trip to London.... do you really think I'd say no to that? 

On a rather summery but windy day about 2 weeks ago I ventured down to London again, is time to explore Tower Bridge and the surrounding area as, despite it being a tourist hotspot, I've never really explored it. 

I took the Metropolitan line to Baker Street where I then changed to the Jubilee line and got off at Waterloo for what I was told would be a quick walk before reaching the Thames. It might have been shorter had I not started walking in the opposite direction to start with but the walk ended up taking me around half an hour through some rather dodgy streets! Eventually I found London Bridge, completely missing Borough Market, a place I've wanted to visit for so long, and wandered down through Southwark to Tower Bridge. 

One of the main reasons I wanted to visit this area was to visit one of the Team GB fanzones. The day I visited was one of the bigger rowing days of the Olympics and I thought it would be nice to watch some of the rowing on the bank of the Thames with a big group of people. So after walking as fast as I could and working up quite a sweat (nice) I got to the fanzone to find the screen wasn't working. Disappointed, I ventured to Leon and ordered none other than the halloumi wrap of course, took it to a bench on the side of the river and watched the rowing on my phone. It was a struggle not to get really excited when I watched Katherine Grainger and Vicky Thornley bring home a silver medal in the women's double. A few races later and a lot of iced tea later and I needed the loo (TMI? sorry). Now usually I'd have thought this issue was easy to resolve, hundreds of coffee shops and restaurants in London there must be a toilet in one of them? Well you'd be wrong. A 2-3 mile walk and 20 coffee shops later, I found a Costa near St Pauls Cathedral which had a toilet. By this point me feet were starting to really hurt and I was so dehydrated I was thankful to find a coffee shop anyway!

Feeling relieved and refreshed I walked back over London Bridge and smelt the most incredible food smells and realised I was near Borough Market so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. There is little I love more in the world than food so subsequently there's little more I'd love to stumble across than a food market as extravagant as Borough Market. Some of the food I saw (and smelt) made me want to buy the entire stall. But I knew I was going for a meal soon and not wanting to ruin my meal I decided just to stick to tasters, including a venison burger which was delicious. What I enjoyed more was that this burger stall was directly next to a vegan stall, the irony. 

Unfortunately my time in Borough Market was cut short and I could almost definitely have spent an entire day there trying everything from every stall but I was on to my next adventure. I walked (yes more walking) back to Tower Bridge and bought tickets to go up to the glass viewing point. Because I'm quite an active person and perhaps slightly crazy (and extremely impatient) I decided we would walk up the stairs to the top instead of waiting for the lift, something I would not recommend after a heavy week of training. At the point I thought was half way up I could feel my legs burning, at the actual half way point I wondered why I didn't have more patience but at the top I realised the view was worth it. From one side I could see all the way down to Greenwich where the O2 arena was sticking up above Canary Wharf. On the other side, the London Eye, St Pauls and HMS Belfast. Both sides have a glass floor which allow you to see down to the river and the road below, when tall boats come under it is the prime view to see the bridge open and close, something we were lucky enough to see. 

Just a selfie above the Thames

By this time we were hungry so made our way to Shad Thames to scope out the options. In the end we chose Ask Italian, mainly because we had a discount code, we're not cheap at all! An Aperol Spritz and mozzarella sticks later I actually felt like I was in a foreign country it was such a beautiful evening! The food was delicious and the evening sky was turning a beautiful shade of purple/pink so we wandered down the river bank slowly. 

Back at the fanzone the screen was finally working and a review of the day's Olympic competitions was on. Of course when the rowing was on I was completely engrossed and totally oblivious to the changing evening sky, the increasing wind and the loud music coming from the bar area. By this time it was around 10pm and definitely time to leave as we had a long drive home but it was another one of those moments which made me fall deeper in love with this magical city. 

I'm so excited to be moving closer this year (YES I GOT INTO UNI PEOPLE, more on that if people are interested to hear about it) AND I'm going to make sure I visit even more and I'll keep you updated on my afternoon adventures!

Thanks for Reading

Charlotte

XO

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

Questions, Questions, Questions!!

I really enjoy answering these questions so I thought I'd do some more that I found on Twitter. I don't know what it is about these posts that I like so much, perhaps it makes me think a bit more about myself? 

Selfie

From just before Christmas, my teeth look so white! 

Full name

Charlotte Rhianne Gill

Age

17 (less than a week till I'm 18 though!)

Birthday

23rd January 1997

Idols

Helen Glover, Malala Yousafzai, Beyonce, Katherine Grainger

Favourite movie

Grown Ups is my favourite comedy movie and (not being original in any way) The Notebook is possibly favourite rom-com. But overall my top top favourite is Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Favourite TV Show

24 Hours in A&E, Celebrity Juice, Silent Witness or Russell Howard's Good News

Something you hate about yourself

My massive forehead and my voice

Something you love about yourself

My hair (when it cooperates) and I think I'm a kind, caring person

Best friend

I have close friends too but my best friends are probably Emma, Greenie and Sophie 

Someone you hate

I don't know if I actually hate anyone because hate is quite a strong word but I just really don't like rude people, whether I know them or not, I can't stand rudeness

Favourite song

Jubel by Klingande and Stockholm Syndrome & Little Things by One Direction 

Favourite band

I think it's obvious but One Direction

Say sexy you think of:

Confidence, muscles and a nice, friendly smile (height is quite important too!)

Relationship status

I couldn't be more single if I tried

Ever had bf/gf

Nope (cries whilst consuming copious amounts of chocolate)

My idea of a perfect date

Something simple like a nice dinner and then a movie or just chill out at their house! 

Where I want to be right now

Somewhere warm and sunny with blue sky and blue sea like Florida or the Caribbean

Girl crush

Kendall Jenner

I mean just look at her, it's not fair

Boy crush

Harry Styles and Nick Bateman

Need I say more?

Embarassing memory

There are so many I can't remember. I've probably suppressed them in the back of my memory!

Talents

I guess rowing, I'm a good listener and I hope I'm good at writing? 

Someone I miss

The girls from the Welsh team! 

Someone I love

My friends for always being there

Future goals

Row for GB (who knows if that's actually achievable?!) and to be successful

A confession

This is really tricky! Urm.... I really don't know. I don't really have a lot of secrets/confessions and the ones that I do have are VERY secret and will not be exposed any time soon!   

Something I'm addicted to

Music, it is the one thing (apart from human essentials e.g. Water, oxygen and food) that I can't live without

Fave animal

Dolphins and horses (I can't choose between the two!) 

Favourite TV couple

I had to think really hard about TV shows for this one! I think maybe Miranda and Gary from 'Miranda' because they are so well suited and they are together eventually even though they encounter some major hiccups! Also, Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl, partly for the same reasons but also because their final relationship is so perfect and he treats her like a princess! 

Ships

Janya (Jim Chapman and Tanya Burr) They literally have my relationship goals!

Favourite quote

I'm a sucker for quotes but some of my favourites are 'You never know what's impossible until you try' or 'Winners never quit, quitters never win' or 'The body achieves what the mind believes' 

Lucky number 

I don't believe in lucky numbers so I don't have one!

Biggest wish

To be happy, loved and successful

Bad habits

Nail biting and procrastinating

Food you hate

MUSHROOMS. I think it's partly their awful squishy texture but they also taste so gross. 

Hair colour

Blonde

Eye colour

Blue

Favourite kind of ice cream

Pretty much anything from Ben and Jerry's or a simple Mint Choc Chip!

Any question you'd like: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Hopefully either still studying for a masters or working, hopefully in London!

I hope you enjoyed these questions! Feel free to do them yourself, let me know if you do! 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

50 Facts About ME!

So I'm tired and I want to write another post but I can't think of much. So I've decided to be completely unoriginal and do the 50 facts about me tag. I haven't planned this and I may really struggle to think of 50 facts but less give this a try.....

1. I was born with a collapsed lung and pneumonia
2. I'm around 6ft 2 tall
3. I lived in London for the first 7 years of my life



One of my favourite pictures of us

4. I used to have a Welsh Cob called Daedalus and I LOVED him so much 
5. I HATE mushrooms, the texture makes me squirm
6. I'm in my last year at school and I want to study psychology at university
7. Rowing kind of controls my life (not that I mind of course)
8. Twitter and Tumblr are my favourite social networks (go follow me please!)
9. Chocolate is my weakness
10. I have a weakness for boybands (One Direction and 5SOS specifically)
11. I'm the worst procrastinator ever (or best depending on how you look at it)
12. I want to travel the world
13. Noisy eaters annoy me
14. Slow walkers also annoy me
15. Rude people annoy me too
16. I've been to 3 One Direction concerts (one on every tour) but that's not enough
17. I'm tone deaf but I wish I could sing 



I mean just look at him 

18. Harry Styles makes me weak, he's seriously beautiful
19. I have a younger brother who is the complete opposite to me
20. I can listen to the same song on repeat for a week and not get bored of it
21. I can't make decisions, I'm so indecisive 
22. 98% of the time I'm wearing kit, pyjamas or school uniform
23. Dolphins are my favourite animals
24. I'm scared of heights (despite being 6ft2)
25. I wear glasses and they're the bane of my life
26. I want my belly button pierced 
27. I'm desperate to get tattoos
28. I can't wait to have a family of my own
29. I love reading I just barely have enough time
30. Despite the cold I love winter because of Christmas and my birthday
31. Spring is my favourite season though!
32. The brain fascinates me so much
33. I once got off a see-saw and it fell on my brother's head (he never lets me forget it)
34. I love the sea but I hate swimming in it because I can't stand seaweed
35. I hate beaches because I don't like seaweed
36. I can't not exercise everyday
37. It irritates me how few shops accommodate for tall people 
38. I get sad at the smallest things
39. I cry too much in films 
40. I'd love to row for GB
41. I want to live in London
42. I have my driving license 
43. Unusually I actually love school because I crave learning new things
44. Rude, disrespectful people frustrate me so much
45. I'm a feminist
46. I can't do my eyebrows properly or evenly
47. I get attached to people too easily 
48. I love children and babies
49. I watch way too much youtube
50. I LOVE MY BLOG

YAAAY I made it! It was quite difficult and I don't know how many actually count as proper facts but it was quite fun to think of facts about myself. 

What's one fact about you that makes you different? 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

Friends are the family you choose...

I love this quote simply because I believe it's so true. You don't have to be friends with anyone. No one is going to make you be friends with them. You aren't forced to spend hours and hours with the same people if you don't want to. You simply choose to. 

You know you're friends with someone when you send them a Snapchat of yourself with no makeup and 3 extra chins, or when you know exactly what they're thinking with just one look or (as I've found out more recently) when you say or need the exact same thing as them at the same time (ehem Emma). There is nothing quite like having a private joke where you can just look at your friend(s) and say one thing and you all burst into fits of laughter with that one memory. 

Friends are there for everything, the good times and the bad, with advice, help and a big hug to make you feel better. Recently I've been so grateful for my friends. I realise that I'm not the easiest person to be friends with, especially when I'm anxious or in a really bad mood (or if I'm extremely tired and hungry!). But despite this my friends stick by me and I'm so grateful for that (thanks gals). 

I think when you are growing up who you are friends with, and who you aren't, helps to shape who you are and make you the person you become. You realise your likes and dislikes, your pet hates and your favourite things, what makes you laugh, what makes you cry. Friends are there when you aren't sure if an outfit suits you or to help you do your hair or make up. To let you copy their homework if you've forgotten to do it and to back you up in an argument.  To go to One Direction concerts with you and dance until your feet hurt, to go to festivals and listen to music until your ears hurt and to go shopping with until your purse is empty. Ultimately they are there to make the memories that shape your life. 

One Direction!!

One of my oldest friends and I 

I personally think that friends are essential in helping you grow and develop, supporting you through challenges you may not have believed possible to succeed in. I have doubted myself so many times, and I still do, but I've always had someone pushing me to do it and believing in me. This is probably most prominent within the rowing club where everyone helps and supports each other. I've had so many deep conversations with some of the rowers and always walked away feeling supported, it's just so nice knowing people care.

The rowers aka best people ever 

I recently had a self-esteem talk in school and we ended up writing our name on a blank piece of paper which we then passed around the room and people wrote anonymous messages about what they thought of you (all positive of course). I'd done this before but it was within my form group which meant we were all quite close. Doing it in a larger group with people you don't know a lot about seemed to have more of an impact on me. I received lovely messages, most of which I didn't know who they were from which made it special. There were people in the room I'd literally only exchanged a few sentences with in the past year yet they still had lovely things to say about me, and me about them. We all left the class with huge Cheshire cat smiles spreading across our face.

I think what I'm trying to say is don't take your friends for granted because they don't have to be your friend, they want to. Don't be someones friend to use them, be their friend because you want to, because it'll make you happier. I think friends are one of the world's greatest things. 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

One of my favourite photos ever

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

Summer Ball

Hello everyone! 

For many of you prom/ball season is now over and for me it is too. Last Saturday (28th June) was my first ever ball. I didn't really know what to expect. I was excited but also very nervous. I'd had a spray tan the day before and in general it looked okay if not a little too orange (live and learn!). By midday I had my friends come over to get ready and I was still unsure of hairstyle, makeup and nail colour! The only certainty was my dress! 

Eventually I found a wrap around plait look with curls and I loved it (even if, due to my ridiculously heavy hair, the curls were more like waves by the time I actually got to the ball!). For my makeup I chose to keep it simple with a brown smoky eye as heavy black makeup just doesn't suit me. However, I did use black eyeliner and I decided to try the Maybelline New York 'Master Precise' liquid eyeliner. It hugged my lash line perfectly and created a lovely wing which didn't cause me too much hassle! For my lips I used the Kate Moss for Rimmel London Lasting Finish lipstick in 05 (mentioned in my previous post). It stayed on for a decent amount of time, through multiple glasses of wine, Pimms, Prosecco and dinner! 

As my dress was blue and silver I decided on white nails using the Rimmel London 60 Seconds 'White Hot Love' from the new Rita Ora collection. I was surprised that I only needed to apply two coats to get an even coverage. With the addition of the quick drying I highly recommend this nail polish! 

I'm not really a huge jewellery fan so I kept it simple with silver earrings and  rings (two of which I think I lost during the dancing). Due to a special occasion at school the ball was masquerade and while I had dreamt of having a gorgeous silver Venetian Filigree mask it didn't arrive in time. So thanks to my mum and an urgent dash to the nearest dress shop she managed to find a silver one. In the end I wore it for about 3 minutes before realising very few people had theirs on and promptly took it off! 

Before leaving the house my mum bought some Prosecco and despite already consuming (rather strong) Pimms we had pre-drinks and pictures. It turned into a complete photo shoot with numerous poses and locations around my house and garden. Then we set off to school where a marquee had been set up. 

The ball itself consisted of a formal sit-down meal which was delicious but it turns out eating chicken and some peas is extremely difficult if you're not sober! This meal was followed by short speeches and then DANCING. We had a live band play and they were amazing. I was a little hesitant before as I've experienced small live bands before and truthfully they were pretty awful! But this band played really current songs (but also some classics thankfully) and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. The dancing went far too quickly and before we knew it we were being told to leave. 

However, the night didn't stop there. We decided to go back to a friend's house for a while before heading home. Unfortunately this friend lives at the top of a hill and walking up a hill with sore feet and being intoxicated is extremely difficult. I vaguely remember falling onto a wall numerous times and one of my closest friends walking up the middle of the road wearing shoes 7 sizes too big. Eventually we made it there alive and spent a while chatting and having fun before it was time to head home. 

Now I remember coming home and getting into bed yet I have no recollection of getting undressed, taking off my makeup or taking out my contact lenses (a tricky job even when 100% sober) and neither do my friends. It is highly likely I exposed too much when getting changed as my dress was backless so I went bra-less! I was also unable to undo my dress by myself so someone must have helped me?! 

I can safely say it was the best night I've had in a very long time. It was the perfect way to round of a generally good school year. I've only got one week left of year 12 and then I'm in my final year! I don't feel old enough yet to be going to university or thinking about my future! I've already attended 3 open days and i have enjoyed them all so my decision is going to be extremely difficult! 

A few photos from the night.......

Thank you for reading this week's post. I'll see you soon! 

Much Love

Charlotte

xo

Life of a Rower

Hello lovely internet people! I hope you enjoyed my first post , I was so happy to see that people were actually reading it. I thought I would post it but no one would read it so if you did read it THANK YOU! Also, huge thank you to the lovely Charlotte (not me I promise) who helped my come up with the blog name and URL and is simply one of THE kindest people I know. 

For today's post I thought I would discuss rowing as it is such a big part of who I am. It all began when the rowing coach at school saw the length of my legs (or levers as they have since been called numerous times) and demanded I join the rowing club in year 9 (aged 13). Now, I've never been naturally good at sports. I had to try lacrosse, netball, hockey and athletics during school games lessons but I was always one of the worst. Instead I was more at home in the saddle, having ridden since I was 5 years old. 

My beautiful Daedalus

The first time I sat in a boat was extremely nerve-racking but I knew I just had to continue, there was something propelling me to learn more. What I didn't know was how challenging it was going to be. I was quite unfit and was always the slowest runner but I didn't give up. For our first race I was in the A quad and while we didn't win it was a memorable experience (perhaps not for racing but for one of my friends throwing up on the bus....delightful).  After that we continued to train and race at national events frequently. It felt nice to finally be good at something and to also meet some people who are now some of my closest friends.  

As I entered year 10 a problem occurred. My quadriceps had grown too quickly for my knees and I had developed Osgood Schlatter  (the name still makes me laugh, even now). Training on ergos (rowing machines) became increasingly painful along with squats and other activities. To this day I still get pain but I've learnt to overcome it now (almost). But my training was put on hold and as I watched teammates achieve a seat in the top 8 and I was left in a quad (four people, two blades). While I was happy to be in a boat it is extremely difficult watching people who were on par with you overtake you. But I didn't let this hold me back. I put everything into my training and at National Schools Regatta we reached the final of the J15 coxed quads. I had also wanted to be in the J15 four (four people, one blade) but due to an ICT GCSE I was unavailable. When I discovered this I started to cry and at first I couldn't understand why, surely it's just a race, right? Wrong. A sudden realisation hit me about how much rowing meant to me. It's difficult to put into words....not great if I'm trying to write a blog about it.....nice one Charlotte.

Anyway, I came back in year 11 with rested knees and my training improved. By November I had a seat in the top 8. We trained hard, gaining in confidence and came second at Schools Head of the River in Championship girls 8s. Motivated by this we trained solidly, mornings (getting up at 5:40) and evenings plus Saturday mornings. When it came to the day of National Schools the nerves were certainly making themselves noticed by giving me HUGE butterflies the whole morning (struggling to stomach breakfast is not good on race day). We qualified for the final and in the final we came second again but with a small margin between us and first. Our training had paid off. The feeling of seeing our name on the scoreboard is one I'll keep with me for the rest of my life, I think my face says it quite well......

After National Schools we went to Women's Henley and while it didn't go as well it was an experience I have definitely learnt from. 

Now to this year. We have a new coach and I've stepped up my training even more. During winter I managed to get personal bests on numerous ergos which provided me with a huge confidence boost (which was much needed as my self-confidence is very small). We tried to do the 8 again but something just didn't work. Instead, after seat trials in Seville (another blog post is needed for this I feel) and numerous ergo tests I was put into the top four. We raced at Wallingford Regatta (held at Eton Dorney, the location for the 2012 London Olympic s) and came 2nd. Then at National Schools we won the semi-final only to come 5th in the final. After that race I can safely say I don't think I've ever felt so disheartened. I felt that I had let so many people down but my coach told me this: 'The way you come back from this will define who you are as an athlete'. Those were exactly the words I needed to hear. I want to be the strongest athlete I can be so I refuse to let one race ruin my chances of that. 

Glorious Sevilla

Women's Henley is fast approaching and with all focus on that our training is as rigorous as ever. There is something about rowing that is difficult to explain unless you've experienced. If you asked me if I enjoyed rowing my response would be along the lines of 'urm....well.....yeah I guess....but...'. The pain that comes with rowing is tough, the burning in your lungs, legs and glutes feeling like they are on fire 100m into a 2km race. But yet something in you tells you to keep going and I'm yet to pinpoint exactly what it is that is telling me 'NO, DON'T STOP NOW. YOU'VE GOT THIS. YOU CAN DO THIS'. It could be my strive for success, my fear of failure, my desire to please, fear of letting people down and of embarrassment or it could be my competitive streak and the fact that I HATE being beaten! If I find out I'll let you know. I do, quite often, dislike rowing, but I love it one thousand times more. The feeling after a 50minute ergo, 2km test or a piece on the water when you know you couldn't have given anymore is incredibly pleasing. Watching yourself and your teammates improve and progress is so rewarding and knowing there are always people who know almost exactly how you are feeling is something I will be forever grateful for. We frequently stay away for events and nights can end up looking a lot like this....

9 in the bed...

So, where now? Well I've trialled for Wales and should (fingers crossed) be hearing if I've got in or not within the next few days. Obviously my big dream is to get into GB but I know I have a humongous amount of work to do before I am anywhere near close! Something else my coach told me (he's full of good advice) is: 

      'You never know what's impossible until you try'

I can safely say I'm not done trying yet.

I feel a little photo montage is necessary.....

But first..let me take a selfie

Who doesn't love a coxless quad!

One of the many trips out

Going to collect our medals!

Happy girls!

Yes that is my coach who is full of inspirational quotes....that's also me getting my 'Club Member of the Year Award' at the recent Rowers Ball....extremely surprised and thankful for it!

I apologise for such a long post (I told you I was obsessed!) I hope that you enjoyed it and if you'd care to comment below please feel free. On my tumblr  I frequently post lovely rowing pictures. Also the wonderful Amy has a delightful rowing blog so go and check her out if you have a chance! I hope this post may have inspired you to give something new a try, whether it be rowing, another sport or a new hobby. Try it, you never know how much you might enjoy it. 

               

Much love

Charlotte 

xo