Three days to go...

So, in 44 days I am going to be 40 years old.

I intend to row 1,000m flat out at a pace I could barely have achieved 20 years ago every day for forty days. 1 minute 40 seconds for each 500m means 3 minutes 20 seconds, or 10 seconds slower than my best ever time - which was set six months ago. I hope to finish on the day before my birthday and have a long, long bath. Actually I anticipate lots of baths!

This will be a challenge. I have never rowed every day for forty days! I have knackered my knee in a timely manner and not so long ago gave blood. Rowing 1,000m hard hurts a lot. I think that this should be possible physically as long as I warm up and down sensibly. The challenge will be to find the time to do that each day - I forsee some early mornings.

I have hardly rowed in the last two weeks. I am out of condition. Hopefully this new regime will sort me out. In my dreams I will find the last 1,000m row a doddle and set a new personal best but I suspect that I will stumble over the line. My nature is that if I find it easy I will just raise the stakes and make a new rule like "no row can count if it is slower than a previous row".

Currently the rules are:

1) Row 1,000m in 3 minutes 20 seconds or better;
2) No days off without some "rows in the bank".

I will try and do two on the first day with about half an hour in-between. If I can manage that I will be delighted.