The first symptoms appreared as I lay in bed last night, wide awake and twitching. My mind was racing, my heart was thumping and every few minutes my stomach lurched. Thump-lurch, thump-lurch, thump-lurch. I could feel the adrenalin coursing around my body. Exactly a week before my first regatta of the season, I had my…
Read MoreIt all started, as these things do, with some idle Twitter chat with Matthew Pinsent about masters rowing categories. “Went rowing with duffers this morning”, announced Pinsent. “Define duffers,” demanded Girl on the River (extra coxing duties this week having brought out my bossy side). “Ah”, said the Great Man. “C is seasoned, D duffer,…
Read MoreIt’s been a while since I’ve recommended any rowing blogs, but there’s a new kid on the block that I simply can’t ignore. Rowing Journal, the brain child of photographer Iain Weir, aka Shutteritch, is a truly democratic rowing blog, set up “to give you a platform to voice your opinions, experiences, observations or simply…
Read MoreIt’s M.E. Awareness Week and I don’t want to let it go by without at least a nod in its direction. As Girl on the River fans will know, I fell prey to this tricky and pernicious condition around the turn of the millennium and it wiped out a good deal of my thirties; it…
Read MoreSo Dwain Chambers and David Millar could be competing for Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics, despite being banned for doping offences. The Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) has decided that a lifetime ban by the British Olympic Association does not comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency code and is therefore unenforceable. This has…
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So, at last – after two long years of disappointment and frustration – I finally had my first win. Anyone who’s been following Girl on the River will know what a big deal this is for me, for it’s been a long time in coming. It was, in fact, the first race of any sort…
Read MoreAfter several long and frustrating months away from rowing, I finally got back on my beloved river this weekend. During my time away I’ve learned to love running (something I never thought would happen), have gained in fitness (I’ve also learned to rest) and have admired the river from the banks. But nothing – really,…
Read MoreI’ve been a bit quiet on the blogging front just lately, but don’t despair. You haven’t heard the last of Girl on the River. Quick update: my shoulder injury (rotator cuff, if you’re interested in these things) has meant that I probably won’t be rowing again in 2011 (sob). In the meantime, I’ve been doing…
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“Imagine what life would be like without rowing”, said Son on the Run a few weeks ago. At the time I couldn’t think of anything other than vast expanses of empty, meaningless time. It was a parallel universe I couldn’t even begin to contemplate. Now, as it turns out, I’ve been forced (by a series…
Read MoreI didn’t see it coming, even though all the signs were there. I guess I just wasn’t listening – or at least was only hearing the bits I wanted to. Anyway, here it is. Son on the River has given up rowing. I can, now I’ve thought about it, entirely see why. Like me, he’s…
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