Imagine if we had known a year ago that in March 2021 we would still be in lockdown, would you want to know? I know I wouldn’t.

Having goals, writing lists, keeping up with my rowing training, staying optimistic and keeping active throughout this lockdown, has not only kept me going, but has helped keep me motivated, and has broken up my days, which allowed me to improve in different sports and still remain fit.

The biggest change for me has definitely been the change in environment. Rowing requires training 10 times a week, as well as balancing my Biomedical engineering course, which has 20 hours of lectures a week with an immense amount of content. Going home meant training by myself every day, with races getting cancelled on a weekly basis. It was difficult to retain motivation and to have a purpose for training.

As a boat club, we set up a challenge for the whole squad to complete – the distance it would take to travel once around the world as quickly as possible. This involved themed days and even a weekly bake-off. The photo attached was the Easter week theme, this was a fun activity that many people got involved with and were different from everyday tasks.

As the weather got better things got lots more positive and eventually things started easing. Beach days became possible and taking Holly (the dog) on trips was really enjoyable and a new thing for us as we had only got her a year before.

I also enjoyed training in many other sports including cycling, swimming and running which has now inspired me to give triathlon a go in future. Seeing an improvement in these sports has really helped me keep training hard for the hopefully upcoming rowing season.

After summer, going back to training definitely made everyone a lot more positive. Even though restrictions were still in place and things were different, lots of progress was made.

When another lockdown was introduced things were very tough, however, I tried to stay in a routine and kept getting on the rowing machine daily. I even managed to pull a personal best in my 5k and 2k which made all the previous training worth it. Summer racing was again uncertain but hearing recently about possible racing has helped me train towards a goal.

Having targets and aims have got me through three lockdowns, I feel that as a generation we can now handle whatever life throws at us.

(Photos attached all part of the camera roll from the year to give you a snapshot of my life 2020-2021)

Want to take part and share your experiences of the last year? You can! Find out more about One year on and how to get involved.