The off at Lechlade - is that enthusiasm or naiveity?
Well here we all are, the 9 of us - rowers, runners, coxes, drivers and wags, enconsed very happily in the Broad Face brasserie at the end of a very long and nettle-stung full first day.
How can I (Garnetta) sum up the first day? Exhilarating, exciting, exhausting probably just about does it.
41 miles of hard rowing and challenging river bank running, started with high spirits, bright sunshine, a photo with old father thames - respect to the big lad - and legs full of last nights lasagne, and ended with a huge sigh of relief, the wrong oars, a very dodgy knee, a world record number of nettle stings and a lot fewer jaffa cakes than we started with.
Special mention for the legendary Mr and Mrs W who were up at 3 this morning to reach us in Lechlade on time, and then spent the rest of the day playing 'lock chasing' and traffic jam dodging, as well as being awesome supporters, food and drink purveyors, end of day taxi drivers, and the bookers of the most fabulous restaurant for this evening - Mr and Mrs W - we salute you - thank you so much.
Another special mention for those lovely riverside donators in the form of other boatsmen and a lovely lock keeper - thank you! For the fabulous rendition of 'Rowing 9 to 5' (sorry Dolly) - Matt and Si, I thank you - it was unforgettable - sadly. The lowlights? The last but one row and run being longer than the 4.6 miles we had hoped - and alot more painful. Abd Ben's injured knee - ouch...
So, whats next? A big pasta based supper, and a long sleep - although the arrival of a screaming hen do (with strippers girls - not Qin we hasten to add!) at the lovely Kingfisher Barns means we're anticipating slightly less sleep than we'd planned - no doubt more on that in the morning.
One last challenge before we get to Putney, rewriting and singing the words to Love Is All Around - we go off to a good start today - "I feel it in my fingers (as in pain), I feel it in my bum (sore), the river's all around us, my arse is feeling numb...." Any suggestions for the rest well received, get on it, popstars.
Well, time to wrap for now, wish us all the best for a good sleep and a sunny start tomorrow. And don't forget to leave us a message/huge cheque.
Laters dudes...
Friday, 13 June 2008
Day 1 - Mindless optimism dashed on the rocks of reality
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2 comments:
An excellent first day, I think we all knew it would be hard but this was a baptisim of fire and we were all creaking by the afternoon, unfortunately my knee creaked a bit too much and has left me gutted that I might not be able to run any more. Will rest it tomorrow morning hoping to be fighting fit again by lunchtime. Ben
What the hell are we doing... i'm still trying to work that out but I'm proud of what we're trying to achieve. The pain hasn't quite set in yet only the aching of tired muscles but you know its only a matter of time before that or simon's singing starts wearing me down. But its gotten be done... so bring it on. PS - Thanks to Hatty for copy checking this.
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