Let’s put things in perspective. We are a team of commercial finance brokers who sit at desks for a large part of our day. Getting fit is not going to be easy.
We often order food deliveries to the office and when we eat out, the biggest laugh comes when our waiter asks “Do you want salad with that?” Suffice to say, our get fit journey will be like an uphill slog towing a truck.
21 Miles of Commercial Finance Broker’s Pain – Day 1
We arrived at the canoe centre nearly an hour late because the fitness fanatics among us decided we shouldn’t canoe without a hearty, cooked breakfast.
The first stage of our adventure saw us launch from Ross-on-Wye and arrive for a five-mile first stage. The weather was warm and the sweat flowed like a biblical flood. When we reached our lunch stop at The Inn on the Wye near Kerne Bridge, we were thirsty enough to drink river water. Thankfully, the Coors was ice-cold.
An hour later, we were fed and watered (lagered doesn’t sound right), and back on the water for another eight miles to Symonds Yat West. Strangely, we all found the further second stage much easier than the first, but we were as equally keen for refreshments at the end of the stage as we were at lunch.
The Result Day 1
13 Miles, two large meals and nobody was counting the pints. This was before our evening meal which was largely steaks, with chips. So far, so good. We were getting fitter, but were definitely not shedding pounds.
Eight Miles of Suffering the Pain of Late Nights
The next morning, we were anything but energised. Some of us suffered from sleep deprivation because of outrageous snoring while others were feeling the effects of steak lubricant. After another large breakfast, we were back on the water with another eight miles of fun-filled paddling.
We managed to navigate the rapids with zero capsizes, but it wasn’t long before a few boats had toppled and the chase was on to get Steve and I swimming. I weight just shy of eighteen stones and Steven is four (and a bit) stones heavier. Our canoe sat low in the water and getting anywhere quickly was hard work. Nevertheless, we dodged and paddled away from the rest of the guys with the gusto of a big dog at bath time. Despite the odds stacked against us, we made it to Redbrook done dry and ahead of the chasing flotilla by a nautical mile.
If we are honest, we ate and drank far to many calories to call this a victory for for our health advisers, but Steven and I are now working out before getting to the office. The life of a commercial finance broker is sedentary, but our new-found enthusiasm for life has meant we will hopefully provide invoice factoring facilities for many years to come.