Girl on the River

Ep 9. The more I talk to elite rowers and coxes, the more I understand the importance that sport psychology plays in creating the best performances both on and off the river. That's why I was so delighted when expert in sport psychology, Chris Shambrook, agreed to come on the podcast. We had a fascinating chat, covering:

• Chris's path into sport psychology
• His experiences of working with the GB Rowing Squad
• Whether rowers have unique psychological needs compared with other sports
• How to deal with a personality clash between athletes or between coach and athlete
• The psychology of the Olympic cycle
• Developing a challenge mindset instead of a threat mindset
• Learning to observe your thoughts and emotions
• Chris's work with Planet K2 

Chris went on to answer listeners' questions about the following:

• Mind over body on the erg
• Coping with the fear of the erg test - the gold-silver-bronze approach
• Not finishing an erg test
• The connection with mindful meditation and using your fear of failure
• Imposter syndrome and perfectionism
• Helping adult learn-to-rowers
• Dealing with the ageing process as an athlete
• Supporting young rowers with varying growth rates
• What resources are available if you don't have a sports psychologist to hand
• How to cope with the uncertainties of the pandemic as an athlete

The books Chris refers to in the interview are as follows:
Chris's own book, The Mental Game Plan, which can be found here.

The Positive Power of Negative Thinking by Julie Norem

Learnings from Five Olympic Games by Frances Houghton

Mind Games by Annie Vernon

The Long Win by Cath Bishop

The blog posts on the Adidas site Chris talks about are here:
https://www.gameplan-a.com/2020/09/how-to-stay-on-track-when-the-finish-line-is-out-of-sight/

https://www.gameplan-a.com/2020/04/when-goalposts-shift-adapting-to-the-changing-world-around-us/

https://www.gameplan-a.com/2021/01/2021-an-unmissable-opportunity-to-live-the-new/

Other resources referred to by Chris :

The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences

British Psychological Society

Performance Room  including covid self-care resources https://www.theperformanceroom.co.uk/category/cov

Believe Perform

Chris's business, Planet 2K

This week I released a fun, behind the scenes video to Patreon subscribers. To get perks like this plus early access to episode, click on "support the show"!

Ep 8. Most of us have done a little bit of charity fundraising at some point in our lives - we've maybe run a 5K or given up alcohol for a few weeks or completed an erg challenge. Most of us haven't raised £42 million for charity. My guest this week, the amazing Bernie Hollywood OBE, has done just that alongside an incredibly demanding career as a banker.  This extraordinarily driven man has run 150 marathons, trekked to both Poles, crossed deserts, and is now planning to row the Atlantic on his own.

Equally importantly, he's just taken up the position of Foundation Manager of Love Rowing - British Rowing's new charitable foundation aimed at increasing diversity and inclusivity in rowing. I was so delighted when Bernie agreed to come on the show as his values align so much with those of Girl on the River, and I was keen to quiz him about exactly what Love Rowing is all about.

In this episode we discuss:

• What motivates Bernie to be such a prolific fundraiser and how it all began
• Why he always refers to his charity challenges as "adventures"
• Bernie's ethos
• Love Rowing - its aims and objectives and how it will work
• How rowing makes a difference in young people's lives
• Bernie's next adventure - the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic challenge 
• The innovations Bernie is introducing to his Atlantic row
• Bernie's ambitions to raise £1 million for Love Rowing and the Samaritans

You can find out all about Love Rowing on its website, here, and on Twitter at @LoveRowing_BRCF. All enquiries about Love Rowing and Bernie's fundraising should be directed to [email protected].

Bernie's website is here.

The British Rowing Inclusive Club Guide that Bernie refers to can be downloaded here.

The artist who is designing the artwork covering Bernie's boat for the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge is Justin Eagleton.

The number for the Samaritans is 116 123 (it's free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year). They also have a self-help app where you can keep track of how you're feeling, and get recommendations for things you can do to help yourself cope, feel better and stay safe in a crisis.

Ep 7. I wanted to start the year with a really special guest, and my goodness, that's what I've got for you! Frances Houghton MBE has represented GB in rowing at five Olympic Games. She has won three Olympic silver medals, four World Championship gold medals and one European title. She's also an incredibly thoughtful person who's collected an amazing amount of wisdom over the years and has distilled it into a brilliant book called Learnings from Five Olympic Games, which you can buy here.

Frances was an absolutely brilliant guest and, in common with other Olympians I've interviewed, incredibly and not remotely starry. We talk about:

•  Her life in Cornwall - walking, sea swimming, gig rowing and surfing
• Whether she has any unfinished business, looking back at her rowing career
• The change in mindset she adopted after Beijing and how it enabled her to return to rowing
• Togetherness and the Rio 8+ (plus the challenges they went through when the crew was dismantled and seat-raced)
• Honesty and cohesion in crews
• The Olympic training regime
• Periods and hormones
• Whether she was able to retain the joy of rowing despite the tough regime
• Frances' relationship with the ergo and her tips for erg tests
• Whether you ever actually enjoy a race
• What it feels like on the start (and the weird thing about vinegar)
• Olympic Village life and the differences between the five Games
• The post-Olympic crash
• Learning not to be the expert in the crew
• Sports psychology
• Cooking and training as a chef and the Ballymaloe Cookery School.

If you're enjoying the podcast, I'd love it if you'd share it with just one person who might enjoy it. And if you could see your way to rating / reviewing it that would be amazing - it all helps to get the word out. If you're on Apple you can leave a review here.

Thanks again for being part of Girl on the River. I'd love to hear from you - let me know what you think of the podcast, who you'd like to see guesting on it, what you'd like me to talk about. You can find my blog at Girl on the River and do come and say hi on social media at @girlontheriver on all channels.

Ep 6. In the final episode of 2020, you're the interviewer! Girl on the River answers questions sent in by listeners, turning her mind to issues such as her best moments of 2020 (and yes, there were some!) and how she'd spent £10,000 on the sport of rowing.

The rowing kit people I mention are Queen B Athletics - my all time favourite women's kit!

The rowing furniture maker I mention is Rob Thompson - check out his incredible repurposed boats!

The Love Rowing foundation is the charitable foundation of British Rowing whose aim is to promote accessible and inclusive rowing and has started some brilliant outreach programmes.

Running a podcast is unexpectedly expensive - I rack up monthly costs on hosting, recording and editing on top of all the equipment, so if you feel able to throw a few quid in the pot to help to keep the show on the road, you'll get early access to all episodes, plus bonus content and other fun perks. Link below:

Ep 5. I promised you a special guest for the Girl on the River Christmas Special, and my goodness, I've delivered. In an exceptionally feel-good episode, four-time Olympic champion and Celebrity Masterchef finalist, Sir Matthew Pinsent, joins me to talk about:

• The ups and downs of 2020
• Pinsent family Christmas traditions
• Being defined by rowing
• Looking back on the rowing culture of the 90s/2000s
• The differences between elite rowing then and now
• His struggle with nerves as an athlete
• The challenges of umpiring and the infamous 2012 Boat Race
• How to improve inclusivity in rowing
• Broadcasting and the thrill of interviewing athletes at the Olympics
• Celebrity Masterchef
• Whether we'll ever see him on Strictly Come Dancing

At  the end, Matthew reads out some Christmas messages sent in by listeners.

If you're enjoying the podcast please do share it with your friends, and if you're on Apple, it would be amazing if you could rate and/or leave a review.

Tune in again on 30th December for my Ask Me Anything episode (qq now closed!). In the meantime, wherever you are, and whoever you're spending it with, I'd like to wish you all a very happy Christmas.

If you had to select an 8+ out of biscuits, what would they be and in what order?

This was the fiendishly difficult question put to Girl on the River when she invited questions for her Ask Me Anything episode. So huge was the topic, she decided it merited an episode all of its own.

After extensive testing, seat racing and public consultation, as well as a few, shock, last-minute substitutions she has come up with her final crew and reveals all in this very special bite-sized edition.

For those of you who have asked for the flapjack recipe mentioned in this episode, here it is:

Girl on the River's Five Seat Flapjacks

• 300g butter
• 150g sugar (brown if you like it darker, but caster is fine)
• 40g treacle
• 110g golden syrup
• 450g porridge oats

1. Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle in a pan. Do not let it boil. 
2. Mix in the oats and stir thoroughly.
3. Press into a tin (I use an IKEA roasting tin c33-23cm and I usually line the bottom with greaseproof paper)
4. Bake in the oven at 170C fan / 190C non-fan until set and golden brown around the edges.
5. Mark into portions while still warm, then leave to cool on a wire tray. 
6. Store in an airtight tin or gobble the lot in one sitting. They never last long in my house.

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Ep 4. How did you sleep last night? If you ever have a bad night's sleep, this episode is for you! James Wilson, aka The Sleep Geek, is a sleep expert and an advocate for poor sleepers, who works with everyone from governments to football teams, helping people like you and me get a better night's sleep. He firmly believes that there's loads anyone can do to improve your sleep (and as a handy by-product, improve your sporting performance).

In our fascinating chat, James talks about: 

• His own sleep history and becoming a sleep expert
• How the importance of sleep is overlooked in sport and how this affects athletes' performance
• Whether it matters if you have a bad night's sleep the night before a race
• What constitutes a good night's sleep 
• Sleep trackers and whether you need one
• Waking in the night and how to get back to sleep
• How food and drink impact our sleep
• Melatonin supplements and sleeping pills
• How to choose a mattress and pillow
• Blue light (and whether you need those funny glasses)
• How to get children to go to sleep and stay asleep
• Living with a snorer
• Weighted blankets
• Restless leg syndrome
• Snooze button syndrome
• Lightboxes and daylight alarm clocks

James can be found at The Sleep Geek and on social media at @thesleepgeek
He is a co-founder of Being Well which works with people to improve their physical and mental health.
The Finnish bed company he mentions is Unik.

If you fancy some fun, exclusive bonus content and early access to episodes (and want to help me work towards one day breaking even!) check out my patreon scheme here.

Music by Aaron Jackson of Broken Oars Podcast.

Do you lean back too far at the finish? Or overreach at the catch? Girl on the River does both! At just 5'3" she suffers from Small Rower Syndrome which makes her compensate for her height with both of these faults.
In this bite-sized mini-episode Girl on the River discusses some top tips and tricks to stop her from doing both of these things, which she learned from Paralympian Naomi Riches, and shares a surprising use for a face mask!

Ep 3. Sue Anstiss is not one of those people who spent 2020 sitting around making sourdough and eating banana bread (though I'm guessing she'd approve of leaping around doing PE with Joe). Instead, she's been busy working towards a world where women's sports are treated equally and girls and women throw themselves into exercise and sport with enthusiasm.
In this third episode of the podcast, Girl on the River chats to Sue (who has an MBE for services to women's sport) about:

• her early influences and sporting role models, and how she finally achieved a GB vest in her 40s
• open water swimming (in all seasons) and how it's good for the soul
• Sue's foray into indoor rowing
• Her gradual realisation that there were inequalities between men and women in sport, especially in team sports
• How the way we treat girls in society generally will affect how they feel about sport
• The reasons why women's team sports have been underfunded and what can be done to improve this
• Women in coaching
• The work of the Women's Sport Trust and the Unlocked programme
• The importance of racial equality in promoting women's sport
• Welfare and safeguarding in sport and funding criteria
• Fearless Women, Sue's podcast, The Game Changers and her forthcoming book, Game On - the Unstoppable Rise of Women's Sport

You can buy Eat, Sweat, Play by Anna Kessel here (I'm going to be reading it myself!)
You can find details of the Women's Sport Trust here.
Sue's award winning podcast is The Game Changers.
Her organisation is Fearless Women.
Her forthcoming book is Game On - the Unstoppable Rise of Women's Sport - you can preorder it or make a pledge towards it.

With thanks to Aaron Jackson of Broken Oars Podcast for the beautiful music (and by the way, check out his podcast - it's excellent).

In a bite-sized mini episode, in advance of the British Rowing Indoor Championships, Girl on the River talks about:

• Where to watch the BRIC
• Entering the League if you haven't signed up for BRIC
• Warming up with Jess Eddie
• Making a race plan (including some wisdom from Sir Matthew Pinsent)

BRIC is being streamed live on the British Rowing website here and you can find all about the league here.

You can sign up for Zoom Ergos here - no need to be a rower or to be a member of a rowing club or of British Rowing! All you need is a rowing machine.

Good luck to everyone who has entered and don't forget to let GOTR know how you got on!