Mental and Physical Training

An introduction to Lizanne – Rolling with the waves

An introduction to Lizanne – Rolling with the waves

Imagine you’re throwing a dinner party. You don’t know when your guests are arriving, you’re not sure what they like to eat, and you’ve never even cooked before. That is roughly my current situation as I wait for the girls to arrive in Hawaii…

Hi everyone, I’m Lizanne, and I’m a chocoholic

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I am South African, grew up in the UK and am currently living in Cape Town. Izzy will pass the baton onto me in Hawaii and I will row with the girls across to Samoa, where Meg will take over from me and row to Cairns.

I got involved in the row last year and was held as a reserve if ever they needed one…. So I got this call a couple of months ago; “Liz, you still up for it?!”
I have never rowed before – “Yeah sure!”

I have now had 3 months to prepare for a 60+ day stint on an ocean rowing boat; 2 hours on, 2 hours off, 24/7. 3 months to learn everything I can about the sea, organize my practice (which I bought 9 months ago) for my departure, I got myself a no exam life insurance plan even though I don’t usually believe in life insurance (jokes…. sort of) and pick up at least 10-12kg of muscle and fat. It has been a fascinating experience already and I’m not even on the boat yet!

I have started going into the men’s section of the gym and stare at myself in the mirror with an angry face. I have started saying stuff like “I worked my triceps too hard and now I can’t wash my hair”.

I have brownies for breakfast without feeling guilty, I realised I can never have too many eggs and I add butter to everything.

The aspect of the row I’m very intrigued and fascinated by is the mental prep. No doubt it will be a physical challenge, but what will get us all through to the other side is the mental capacity to believe that you can do anything you set your mind to.

Currently there is only one other person who knows what I’m going through- Meg Dyos. She will be taking over from me in Samoa. Look out for her intro blog as she is one of the funniest people I have ever met! She is quickly becoming a soul sister….

We’re both currently just rolling with the waves as we try to prepare ourselves as best we can for something we have never done before. So far it’s been a great ride, and I’m so excited for what is still in store for us

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Day 2 in San Francisco

Day 2 in San Francisco

Yesterday started with an hours yoga and core workout in the local park in the sunshine along with the dog walkers, dancers and other exercisers.

After some work back at the apartment we headed out to do the shopping for our snack packs with the amazing Anna from Svendsens Boat Yard. After experiencing the nightmare Friday afternoon traffic in San Fran we finally made it to the massive Costco and loaded up 3 large trolleys with dried fruit, nuts and chocolate. We made it to the checkout and were mortified when none of our UK cards were accepted by the Costco system (note to anyone shopping in the US!) To our embarrassment we had to accept Anna’s offer to use her card and then pay her back. Now we just have to pack them up into 220 individual day packs and then fit it all onto Doris.

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We also heard from the customs brokers over here in San Francisco today and it seems like there’s going to be a little bit of a delay getting hold of Doris. Her container has been selected for inspection by customs but we hope to have her at Alameda Marina on Tuesday. We’ll keep you posted if this is likely to affect our departure day.

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An eventful last day in the UK and Day 1 in San Francisco

Our last day in the UK was a whirlwind.

An early 6am wake up and we found ourselves no longer Coxless as we chatted to Sara Cox during the Radio 2 breakfast show!

Sara Cox

We headed to GSK Human Performance Lab for a day of testing: Dexa Scans (to check our bone density), final measurements of skin folds, weight gained and a V02 max test (to measure if our bodies burn fat or carbohydrate during varying levels of exercise).

V02 max

We then rushed to the One Show and spent the evening showing the viewers around a boat that is similar to Doris and meeting Alex Jones, Matt Baker and the very entertaining Sir Bruce Forsyth!!

One Show

After 24 hours of travel, we arrived into San Francisco at 2am.

We’re staying in an amazing apartment that is also a children’s day care and art & craft centre during the day and have been very kindly hosted here by the amazing Jules whose energy and creativity is firmly imprinted in the space.

We woke up this morning at 7am to begin doing our recce of the areas we will be spending time in and to put faces to the names of the contacts that we have made over the last few months.
It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, we all fell in love San Fran and the last preparations for our journey have begun!!

We headed to Alemeda Marina to meet Anna, Hart, Tim and Brock who have all been unbelievably generous with their time and offering us free berth and services for a few days. Doris will be arriving out of customs on Monday the 13th (if all goes according to plan), and Svendsens Boat Yard will be taking her out of her container and placing her into the water for us.

San Fran Day 1

We then need to begin packing her up before our sea trials. That’s going to be an interesting exercise!! Getting everything we need to be self sufficient for 2 months into a very small space. We’ll keep you posted…

We then made our way to Pier 39 to meet Sheila, Marta, Charlotte and Alyssa. We couldn’t have had a warmer welcome! We had our first proper glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and checked out the sea lions and the area that we will be heading to prior to launch on the 18th.
As it’s very difficult to row with the wind and tide against us our actual launch time is looking like it will be at midnight when the conditions are more favourable.

Pier 39

Pier 39 Sea Lions

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A week of training

The last week has been full of training for our team. On Monday Izzy and I caught up with Alex Wolf, head strength and conditioning coach at the English Institute of Sport who has been writing our training program to get us big and strong. It was good to know that significant progress has been made in both the big and strong departments!

Bisham

Tuesday was time for a trip down to Southampton for a day of medical training with Medical Support Offshore who will provide our medical cover whilst we are out on the Pacific. We spent a full day brushing up on our first aid skills with a focus on situations which are more likely to occur on the boat and how and when to use the different medications which we have in our med kits. It was amazing to have such a bespoke training course which has increased all of our confidence with medical situations and how to keep things simple and not allow minor issues to develop into bigger problems. It is also great to know that the MSOS team will be on the end of the phone or email whenever we need them for advice or a second opinion.

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We stayed down South on Tuesday night and even managed to have a pub dinner with a well-deserved glass of wine with almost no row chat.

Wednesday was a different type of training as we headed over to Raymarine to do some training with Alan on our E7 chart plotter and Evo autopilot. Although we have used this equipment during our training rows it was really useful to get some in depth knowledge about how it all works and how to set it up personally for each of us. The Raymarine kit will play an important part in our everyday rowing and it is fabulous to have the confidence in how to use it. We also managed to catch up with the rest of the Raymarine team who are hugely supportive of our project and it was great to see them all before we leave.

Raymarine

All in all a great week and we are feeling more prepared every day for our imminent departure. Exciting times!

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Busy bees!

As we head into the final couple of weeks before we leave the UK for San Francisco and the start of our row, it is full steam ahead on all fronts. Our friends and family witness us rushing around like headless chickens day in day out. But what is it that we are actually doing? Well, I thought I’d shed some light on it all by listing just a few of the things that we are getting on with every day.

  • Media – we want to raise as much awareness for our charities as possible, so we are busy sending out press releases and arranging and attending radio and TV interviews. We were on BBC London the week before last. If you missed it, you can see it here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OzpmXB9pH1Y
  • Presentations – we are speaking at conferences, schools and corporates to share the story behind our row and hopefully inspire others to follow our progress on the water, fundraise for us, or to take on their own challenges.
  • Logistics and equipment – sourcing last minute bits of equipment, arranging for the boat to be wrapped with our sponsors’ logos, applying the graphics for our Buy A Mile inspiration wall in our cabin, arranging shipment of food out to Hawaii and Samoa….There is a lot going on!!
  • Accounting, legal and project management – a project of this scale needs to be run properly and the fantastic teams at Accord Accountants and Redd solicitors are very generously offering us invaluable accountancy and legal support. We have been working with Andrew Duncan from New Level Results to ensure that we are setting clear goals, running our project efficiently and making 2015 our Best Year Yet.
  • Support team plan – the outstanding Tony Humphreys will be providing us with 24-7 shore support during our row. We are meeting with Tony in the run-up to launch to finalise our communications and operations plan. We are also working with our team of supporters in the UK to make sure that our website, Facebook and Twitter will be regularly updated with the messages that we send back from the Pacific so that people will be able to follow our progress.
  • Psych preparation – we are continuing to work with the amazing performance psychologist Keith Goddard to make sure that individually and as a team we are in the best possible mental shape when we are on the start line in April.
  • Training – over the course of this week and next week we are doing medical training with MSOS, training on our navigation equipment with the fantastic team at Raymarine and training on our ocean safety equipment with the amazing Crewsaver. We will also be running over our ‘what if’ scenarios one more time to make sure that we are prepared as we can be for the different scenarios that we might face while at sea.
  • Physiological testing – we have just had health checks with Cardiac Risk in the Young and just before we depart will be returning to GSK Human Performance Lab, who are helping us to prepare as best we can for the physical challenges we will face.
  • Physical training – we’re fitting in a heavy program of weights prescribed by Alex Wolf from the English Institute of Sport, pilates with support from Josie at Urban Cave and, of course, a little bit of time on the rowing machine.
  • Eating ­– we’re likely to be calorie deficient when we are out on the water, so we are busy piling on the pounds!
  • Sponsorship – we have some incredible sponsors supporting us and we need to keep them updated with how preparations are going. We are also still looking for additional corporate sponsorship, so we spend lots of time researching, emailing and meeting with potential sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring our row, please get in touch.
  • Farewell drinks – we’re making the arrangements for the drinks reception that we are hosting on Thursday 26th March at 7pm at London Rowing Club to say a big thank you and farewell to our friends, family, supporters and sponsors. We would love to see as many people there as possible! Email info@coxlesscrew.com if you want to join us.
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Capsize drills, team psych session and deploying the para anchor

This weekend was a busy one for the team. It really all started on Friday when we had a super exciting meeting with a super exciting new supporter of the Coxless Crew. Stay posted to find out what that was all about!

Early doors on Saturday morning we arrived at Rossiters in Christchurch to face one of our fears for the row – the capsize! We got into the cabins, Nats and myself in the stern cabin and Laura in the bow cabin and strapped ourselves in. The Rossiters team used the crane to tip us over manually. Inside the cabin it felt like a slow tipping sideways and she sat for quite a while at 90 degrees before needing an extra tip to get her to go over. This was actually quite comforting as we now know that she can be thrown around in the waves a lot before capsizing. The roll from 90 degrees back up to upright was surprisingly quick and smooth and before we even had time to think about it we were back the right way up. The exercise was really useful as we can now have total faith that Doris definitely does self-right and we can also reflect on the experience to help us imagine how it will feel when it happens for real in the middle of the Pacific.

Aft Cabin Capsize

Fore Cabin Capsize

The rest of Saturday was spent in a team session with our performance psychologist Keith. We thought about how to recognise our warning signs that stress is getting to us before, during and after an event and shared this around the table to help us to recognise the signs in others in order to be able to support the other members of the team as much as possible. We also completed a separate questionnaire which highlighted to us the importance of keeping social and task related activities separate when we are on the boat as well as making sure that we make time to socialise with each other in a non-row related way before we leave (easier said than done).

Our day ended in what is now becoming a bit of a habit – food and wine in front of The Voice which has replaced the X Factor as the Coxless Crew Saturday night entertainment of choice.

Sunday started windy and cold and after a good breakfast we headed off to visit Doris again. Top of the list for the day was practising deployment of the para anchor. After carefully reviewing the instructions (men take note this actually works) and our notes and photos from a previous session with Tony we had a go ourselves. As it was so windy we just deployed it where we were moored up. Seemed easy enough but our opinions might change in 40ft waves and high winds!

Para Anchor

The afternoon we spent running through our ‘what if’ scenarios. This is a really important part of preparation ensuring that we have thought through all the possible problems and situations and know what to do. As well as the obvious safety requirements of knowing what to do if one of us falls overboard or our water maker stops working it also brought home to us all how real this all is and got us thinking about what life will be like for us aboard the boat. A useful exercise and the start of some interesting psych homework!

Next weekend we start packing Doris ready for shipping! So exciting! Stay posted to see how you fit 6 months of kit into a 29ft boat!

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Training with Cambridge University Women’s Team

On Sunday 23rd November the Coxless Crew spent the day with Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club (CUWBC). Rob Baker, CUWBC’s head coach, had kindly invited us up to meet the girls and watch them training and to get some expert advice on rowing technique and boat set up.

We arrived in at 7.15am in a very miserable and wet Ely to see the girls getting the boats out onto the water just after first light. The squad were rowing in 2 eights, 5 pairs and a single for the first outing of the day, which was a 24km row. The Coxless Crew team jumped onto the coaching launches with Rob and the other coaches Paddy and Nick and accompanied the girls down the river, observing them in action and getting tips on technique from the coaches. After the outing we had the chance to chat to the girls and gave them a short talk to introduce them to our row. We then left them heading back out onto the water for a second outing.

For Cambridge row blog

Emma and Izzy both rowed with CUWBC during their time in Cambridge and Emma rowed in the Cambridge v Oxford boat race in 2005, so it was great fun for them to reminisce and be back with CUWBC for the day. Watching the squad train and listening to the coaching team in action was a great opportunity for the whole crew to improve our understanding of how best to move a rowing boat. We were also truly inspired by the squad’s commitment and enthusiasm for their training and focus on the task in hand. We wish them enormous luck for the rest of the season and for their boat race against Oxford in April, which will be the first time that the women’s boat race takes place in London over the same course as the men’s race. We’ll be following their progress and supporting them from Doris out on the Pacific on boat race day!

After leaving Ely we headed to Goldie gym in central Cambridge where the girls do their strength and conditioning work and train on the rowing machines or ‘ergs’. We were joined by Dean from Time Code Pro who had kindly given up his Sunday to come along to film us. We did some training and then were joined by Rob, who gave us each some one on one coaching on the ergs. We will be doing a lot of our training in the run up to the row on the ergs so it is important that our technique is rock solid.

 

The Team Erging

 

At the end of the afternoon we had a really helpful brainstorming session with Rob about boat set up. It is absolutely critical that we make sure that our rowing positions on Doris are set up correctly. Rigger position, blade length, seat heat, position of the foot stretchers etc. all have to be finely tuned to ensure that we are moving the boat as efficiently as we can and that we are in strong rowing positions to help us stay comfortable and avoid injury.

Big thanks to Rob, Paddy, Nick, the CUWBC squad and Dean Alexander (photo credit above) for another great training day.

 

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Psych Blog 1

When people find out about the row, the common response is ‘are you crazy?!’. Now ask a crazy person if they think they’re crazy and I’m sure they’ll say no. So naturally of course, we would give it that same response, however, it was pretty apparent from the start, that this row was 90% about controlling the level of ‘crazy’ you become next to the 10% that’s physical strength.

 

The second question is usually then, ‘how’s the training?’ and the expected response is how much volume we’re doing on the ergo (rowing machine), what’s our weights programme, what cross training do we do etc.’
It is definitely more commonly accepted for someone to go to the gym and physically train for an hour a day & that to be part of a healthy well being lifestyle, no injury or illness necessary and it’s socially accepted. However, if you were to say you were heading off to see your psychologist for an hour a day – there is an immediate sense that it’s a taboo subject, people find it difficult to talk about and there is a preconceived idea, that you have an extreme mental health issue that needs attention.

 

What is interesting, is that generally people don’t tend to accept, that WE ALL experience mental health problems throughout our lives, but it doesn’t have to be extreme depression or Schizophrenia for it to be labelled as that, or highlighted that it’s not a ‘normal’ part of life.

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Think of it as a sliding scale, for instance, for physical illness, it’s like having a common cold at one end to terminal cancer the other. We wouldn’t wish that extreme illness on anyone, but we know it unfortunately exists and there is medical support out there to help, compared to the cold which we all now know how to minimise the risk with preventative measures such as vitamin C/ echinacea/ first defense/ adequate rest etc. & the effects (depending on if your male or female ;)!), you can cope with as you know it’ll be over with within a couple of days or a week.

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Mental health is no different, the one end of the scale that everyone associates with mental health or psychology, is being sectioned and whisked off to the Priory, however the common cold end is a day or two or week, of low mood, feeling stressed, being emotionally delicate etc. Now everyone experiences it, but there are very few that actively go out to seek how to cope with those situations/ understand them/ prevent them in a better way & this is where a psychologist can come in.

Keith Goddard is our team psychologist. He works with us on a 1:1 as well as helping us to optimise our team dynamic & understanding of each other as a team. Keith to us, is our rock! He is fundamental to the success of this row (no pressure Keith ;)!). Keith helps us to challenge our thoughts, to recognise that the inner script/ chitter chatter you have with yourself, is exactly that – just a thought. He has taught us how to differentiate between what’s rational or irrational thoughts, to tap into our feelings and emotional responses & recognise how they influence our thought process. He’s shown us how to recognise an emotional response will present itself in each of us; for example, if I’m upset about something, I used to keep it to myself and not want to share it because I wouldn’t want to be an emotional burden, but that emotion has to go somewhere – it’s like energy needing to expand and get out. So in me, I would feel it in my chest becoming tight, my shoulders elevating and feeling stiff & generally my posture would just become more tense. Naturally, you would possibly then go for a massage or see a Physio for acupuncture or ‘posture’ correction – but fundamentally, all that money is wasted unless you address the thought that’s driving that emotional response. The saying and feeling of ‘a weight being lifted off your shoulders’, is exactly that & a heck of a lot cheaper than seeing one of us Physio’s/Osteo’s/ chiropracters for regular treatment and the issue still coming back.

If you take anything away from reading this blog, the main thing is to tap into your mental health and awareness of your thoughts and feelings. There are times when you get an overwhelming feeling that day to day life becomes too much but you continue to try and be a superwoman (or man) and take it all on yourself, well there’s no stronger way than to seek a bit of advice which can be the nugget of information you needed to make life that little bit easier.

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48 hour row out of Falmouth

Last Thursday we headed off for our first 48 hour stint aboard Doris. The original plan had been to row out across the channel but the weather was against us and with 50mph winds predicted we took the advice of Tony who will be our land support when we are out on the Pacific, and changed the plan to stay in more sheltered waters. Although we will deal with tougher conditions out in the Pacific we wouldn’t be able to get far enough away from the coast to be safe out there this week.

Doris meets the BBC cameras

We were up early and headed down to Falmouth Haven to pack up Doris with our supplies for the two days. After a final interview with BBC Spotlight we rowed away from the marina with the legendary Guy in a RIB acting as our support boat. We had decided to head out to Pendennis Point to get a taste of some rough water and it was my first experience of rowing Doris in some proper waves. It was great fun battling the elements although very tough to keep her facing into the waves. It was slightly less fun once we swapped over on the oars and Izzy and I ended up in the cabin experiencing some seasickness symptoms. Stay posted for the BBC footage of us out on the water. After a few hours we headed back to the shelter of Falmouth and bid goodbye to Guy ready to spend the following 42 hours bouncing up and down (and up and down) the River Fal. We now know every twist, turn, mudbank and boat on that stretch of water!

Laura and Nat happy on the oars

Laura and Nat happy on the oars

We rowed 2 hours on, 2 hours off for the full 48 hours meaning that each of us was on the oars for 24 hours, never getting more than about an hour’s sleep at a time. However, we all seemed to manage it pretty well and in the most part it was really enjoyable. A noticeable exception to this was the 3.30am to 5.30am shift which was definitely the toughest. Especially on the first night where Izzy and I ended up battling against the tide for 2 hours, managing to move nowhere and sitting next to a green buoy for the entire shift. Being the intelligent individuals that we are we decided to keep ourselves awake by playing ‘I spy’. In the dark. Whilst not moving!

Izzy enjoying some sunshine

During the 48 hours we experienced, rain, wind, sunshine, lightning and fog, all of which we dealt with in good spirits, staying dry and warm in our Crewsaver outerwear. We also experienced the challenges of changing in and out of many layers of clothes in a very small cabin, cooking in the footwell, sleep deprivation and use of the bucket! Insight was gained into how careful we are going to have to be when trying to fit all of our kit onto our small boat and how important it is for everything to have a place. However the most important thing that we learnt was how well we have bonded as a team. We looked after each other, entertained each other, sang to each other and laughed a lot. So excited for our next adventure!

Nats getting a bit wet on the oars

Huge thanks need to go to Shaun Pascoe, Falmouth Haven, Guy and all of the other supporters who joined us in Falmouth or came over to say hello on the water. The Cornish welcome was a huge morale booster and I’m sure we’ll be back!

Some well earned pasties from Laura's Aunt Marie to celebrate a successful 48hrs training

Some well earned pasties from Laura’s Aunt Marie to celebrate a successful 48hrs training

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