17/02/17
Today is a challenging day.

It’s my day off from work but there’s no rest for the wicked.
I’m sitting at the dining room table and committing my whole weekend to raising the funds for my Great British Rowing Challenge. (£21,000!)

I knew it would be tough, but I didn’t think it would be this tough. It is relentless!  I’d imagine this is the stage where most people throw in the towel and give up because raising the funds is so hard.
Apart from when I am at work, my entire day is focused around my 2 rowing challenges.
Like I’ve said in a previous post, some consider the amount of time I spend focused on these challenges unhealthy, but to me, if I am not committed then it might as well all stay a dream.

I am determined.
I thrive on working hard and having a target.
I am not scared of social media, in fact I love it.
But this is crazy! Writing email after email after email. “Hi, I am Laura.” “I am training to row 1,800 miles around the coast of Great Britain this summer.” “This is what I can offer you….” Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Each and every email I write is unique and personal to the company and takes me hours.

I wonder if the fundraising part of the challenge is more difficult than the actual challenge itself? At least with the actual thing I will be in the fresh air, moving and not sitting at this table with aching hips and blood shot eyes (that are now welling up with tears).

I needed to put my feelings down somewhere as today is a tough day. Today is the first day where I wonder if I can actually do it.

One day I know it will have all been worth it but right now, I will continue not having a social life, not doing as much training as I’d like and continue making my bum go numb on this seat.

All the successful bloggers, vloggers and adventurers I follow on social media must work so hard to have got to where they are and now I have an even bigger appreciation for what they do. With so many people doing bigger and greater challenges, I am a very little fish in a very very very very very large ocean. An ocean that I will soon be crossing in a very small boat.

The challenge is stretching me, putting me outside of my comfort zone and I know one day I will benefit from this experience.

As I wait for this document to be spell checked by a friend, I have been messaging a man who is rowing solo across the Atlantic ocean this year asking how his sponsorship is going. He agrees it’s not easy but gave me a little gem: “You only need to strike gold once.”

I suppose I best keep digging.