Countdown to the Olympics with rower Ben Board

I do sometimes struggle to get out of bed to go rowing. I have a fantastic new race rowing boat that I have started using and I am in the early stages of testing and configuring it to my needs.

The boat is made out of a composite of wood, laminated with Kevlar, made by a fantastic British boat builder, Carl Douglas. The seat is made from a mould of my bottom, so it is very comfortable, even while doing 18k sessions.

I have been working hard in the gym and on the rowing machine and recently got a personal best for a 30-minute test.

As a lightweight rower, I am beginning to lose weight. I was 75kg over Christmas and I need to make weight for the Great Britain trials coming up.

I will need to be 72kg for that. It’s surprisingly easy to lose a kilogram in a week or two just by having slight changes in your diet.

I have stopped eating chocolate and been drinking water whenever I feel peckish, so I save myself for the main meals. I still have a 22-page nutrition guide to read.

With the Olympics coming up, I am constantly being asked if I am going to the Olympics. It seems daily I get asked this but I will only know after all the trials have been done and the squad is selected.

I will be doing something for the Olympics but that will be confirmed in March and then I will be allowed to let everyone know.

Training at Leander, I am hoping to see more and more Olympians around the club as the big event draws nearer.

There are already quite a few of the current GB squad training at Leander as the lake they normally train on gets iced over.

For the time being, I will continue to train hard and get new PBs.