"It's such a sensual sport… you are utilizing every sense you have to power your shell through the water. I can close my eyes and feel the center of my body and whether it's off balance or not, whether I'm rushing the slide, I can hear the depth of my oars in the water and can gauge how relaxed I am." -- Cindy Bishop
I hope today was just one of the many off-form days I've had in rowing the k2. Water training started at 7am again today, carried out the boats and all the equipment. Did our usual stretching+ 20 push ups to warm up, after which we picked up our stuff and went down to row. Somehow although the water seemed so calm and surreal, I just felt very insecure and inbalanced. It was as though the entire boat was shivering and jerking with every stroke that we took, furthermore, my right tilt got quite bad there seemed to be no way to correct it :/ First 2km: I felt really uncomfortable rowing the boat, it was as if I was rowing it for the first time. So unsure of myself, the feeling was rather foreign after training so long in this super imba boat.... I knew it was horrible right tilt that was causing all this, I knew I had this problem and I had to solve it, somehow. Second 2km: Things got a little better, but we were lagging quite far behind the other k2 boats. Furthermore, it was quite frustrating seeing all the senior guys' boats cruising next to us and eventually overtaking our "marching" boat :(
500m time trial. I was really determined to much better than the previous 1km time trial we had last training, but things didn't feel right. "Paddles Up! Starting in 10seconds. GO!" Starting burst went pretty well I can say (well at least I managed to burst on my left side) Burst for a few boays and from then on, everything just started going downhill. At first I thought we could just continue maintaining our speed, however, the instability of the boat totally rid me of any ability to row properly. I couldn't help but keep bracing and as a result, the 500m dash was "broken down" into short sprints. My ruddering was bad and the backwash from the other k2 boats just made us more inbalanced. At that point in time, I was ready to give up. Nothing was going well, at all. When we crossed the finishing boay, I was just overwhelmed with disappointment. Jiaolian was definitely disappointed at us (no doubt about that) but there was frustration and I guess, weariness from constantly fighting the wind and the backwash. Miserable feeling.
I've come to realize that canoeing is not all about strength and technique. Mental strength is of paramount importance. Only if you have the right attitude in facing any obstacle and the willpower to overcome that and not allow it to become a stumbling block for yourself, then would you succeed.
To hannah choi: We can't say that anything went well for us for today's training, but we'll strive to do BETTER next time round. NJCC is just round the corner and we really can't afford to make anymore mistakes. But for now, all the best in mugging for your common tests. I'll be praying and rooting for you (: go k2 partner!
TOOT: yes, I know you felt really shitty today. In your words, today's training was "screwed up" I empathize with you. Let's not brood over today's training, instead learn from our mistakes and make sure we do not commit the same ones next training alright? You were perfectly stable during the 2km I rowed with you! Do not doubt your abilities, you're an excellent rower. Think happy thoughts (: love you <3>
"Without Struggle, we would never be forced to exceed our limits, to stretch ourselves, to achieve our potential. We would never be forced to search for the best within ourselves-and find it. Without Struggle, we would never become the kind of people who can make our wishes come true." -- from The Magic Lamp
