WHEN you next roll over in bed and whack your clock into snooze mode, spare a thought for Alison Knowles.

When many are probably still snug under their duvets, the oarswoman is tucking into her first breakfast.

And as people the length and breadth of the country clock in for work, Knowles is refuelling again after some hard graft on the rowing lake.

While plenty of her compatriots would happily swap the rat race for a boat race, it is not all glamour during the gruelling regime of this London 2012 hopeful.

Speaking to the Daily Echo at the Team GB Rowing training base near Reading, Bournemouth-born Knowles explained: “I have breakfast at home at about 6.30am before heading out to start the day.

“Generally for us, on a typical day when we are in the country, we are here at 7.30am.

“We go out and do an hour-and-a-half to two hours on the water and then have probably an hour-and-a-half break and a second breakfast.

“Then there will be a session, quite possibly on the rowing machines, which might be something like another hour-and-a-quarter.

“There is another break before we go to do weights in the afternoon. If it is a three-session day, it will be like that.

“Then, you have physio appointments to fix yourself after you have broken yourself for the umpteenth time, as well as anything else you have to get sorted like psychology and support.

“It is a full day. I tend to leave the house at 7am and get home at about 6pm. But there is a fair bit of resting during that time.”

There is also a fair bit of eating – as the former West Moors Middle School pupil has to quickly replenish her stocks after burning almost 4,000 calories every day.

She said: “Eating actually gets a bit tiresome. But it is a nice position to be in.

“The general public are often quite jealous that we can eat an entire box of chocolate biscuits and not be overweight after it!”

Envious eyes will also be on Knowles as she gets to represent the host nation this summer.

She staked her claim by helping Monica Relph secure fifth position in the pairs event at last weekend’s senior trials. The result put Knowles within the top-eight contenders for a place in the women’s eight crew ahead of selection.

By May or June, she will know if all the long hours have paid off.