Tough Girl - Elin Haf Davies - Ocean Rower & Sailor!

Elin Haf Davies got into sports later on in life. When she moved to London, she started with rugby, and for 9 years her life was all work and rugby, until she got dropped by the rugby team and divorced. All of this happened at the same time and massively impacted on her confidence and took her to a dark place. 

She decided she had to move on and change her life and this is when her love of challenges and adventures started.

During this podcast we discuss:

Her Inspiration - “Rowing it Alone” by Deborah Veal
Rowing across the Atlantic in a pair
Raising funds for Metabolic Research
How she approached the preparation for the Atlantic row
Not getting on at school but going back to academia to get her degree, masters and PHD. 
Learnings from the Marathon Des Sables where she failed to finish
Rowing across the Indian Ocean in the first female crew
What life was like rowing every day - sleep deprivation, rowing in shifts, the drive and motivation
Why you row naked!
Mental preparation before and during the race. - “Were the mind goes, the body follows”
How to deal with negative thoughts and turn them to your advantage - “Don’t let other people kill your dreams.”
The challenges she faced rowing the Indian Ocean 
Why she decided to sail the Pacific instead of rowing across
How she first started in sailing at 32
Tips for working in a male dominated environment
Advice for getting into sailing 
Becoming a 2 handed sailor
Women and getting sponsorship 
Role models for women

If you’ve enjoyed this episode then please send Elin a tweet @ElinHafDavies. I’m also on twitter @_TOUGH_GIRL. 

Thanks so much for listening! New episodes are coming out every Tuesday at 7 am - #ToughGirlTuesday. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review!