passion

this is rather belated but i spose it's just to wrap up my thoughts prior to our hardcore june trgs before the final Nationals.

so yup approx 6 weeks left and i guess everyone's pretty much concluded that we're not ready to give the other schools a run for their money. we have politics now of all times too, so yeah i guess things are a bit screwed up..

on my part, i spose i ought to clarify what i said on wed. it's still true that i, unlike most of the other girls, dont exactly look forward to trainings all the time, or even do extra sets/gym/run on my own. i guess it does imply tt im not as passionate or hardcore as them. i suppose it's partly cos 1. im lazy and i hate running. 2. i've honestly never had to work very hard to get results(not in my studies tho haha. D:). i've always been rather physically fit. plus getting into the snr team last year, and getting all those extra water time, i still didnt appreciate what i had. 3. i figured that on my non-trg days, i might as well not tire myself out cos i already do tt on trg days= too shagged to study. and god knows how much i need to.

so when the girls mentioned about putting in the extra effort and all that, it made me qn my passion for canoeing. and how dedicated i am to the team and this sport. having mentioned this to bim, she said tt she does see me put in effort during trgs(at least) and i spose that's true. im not giving excuses for myself, but yes as an afterthought, i do test my limits and push myself every trg, even if it's not for my 'love' for canoeing, than at least for the single-boaters, whom i row with every trg and die together after every set. im most fortunate to be able to row rather fast and am honoured to have the other singles pace me. and im thankful for them pushing me forward(cos i dont want them to beat me). and it's this very special relationship that i have with them that keeps me going in canoeing.

every 500m row, i'd allign with the girls and then we'd do maintainance in a line, and everyone yelling encouragement to each other once in awhile. and then as we approach the last 4buoys, i'd yell, "3-2-1-burst" and haha i love the adrenanaline building up to that point and the flurry of paddles and splashing of water as we burst.. honestly, i have seen the girls improve so much from when we started rowing together at the start of the year.

so here's to the single babes, whose plight really cannot be understood by other ppl. we've grown really close this year, having spent most of our trg time together, that it pains me tt we have to compete against one another for limited spaces. and esp the fact that not every one of us will row. so sigh, no matter what happens, i just want you guys to know that i have utmost respect for every single one of you. and the amount of sweat and tears you've put into this sport have not gone unnnoticed. you dont need medals to be a winner.

k1
Cheryl: please dont cry or be disheartened bout trgs cos you've improved So much eventhough you're so new. so yes, really just continue fighting okay?
Jiaqi: you're improving bloody fast. im so proud of you really really. work on your bursts and you'd be bloody imba, seriously.
Bimqi: k1 babe ah? i wont talk bout your rowing (cos you're really good already. i still rmb tt one time you rowed after being away for so long and you beat me for 2k timing. ack imba.) but yeah, injuries are a pain. (literally) but yeah i've had back injuries, and all sorts of stupid injuries as well, and i know how it hurts to have to pon trgs and let your teammates down. and esp when everytime you hafta tell them about it, it sounds less real everytime. and you feel like you're just faking it even. But yeah you know what's best for yourself. and i really admire your passion for canoeing, so just keep it burning kays..
Selene: longest lasting k1 babe eh? you've improved quite some since last year so jiayou and improve summore, for the team, for jiaolian and for yourself. hmm i know it's been difficult for you this past month/few weeks with your injury, esp since you've hardly missed any trgs since last year, best attendance eh lol.. so yeah now that you're back, i bet you're way stronger than before so wooh all the way aight?
Meera: what's there to say manz, you're the bluetack and pro-rower. so do your thing and pwnz aights?

t1 bitches
which reminds me, another reason as to why i dont look forward to trgs is that it's really difficult to when you're rowing a t1. you're always moving so slowly and all the other boats just sail past. and it's so painful and demoralizing. we have this theory tt jiaolian picked us for t1 partly cos we're optimistic ppl to begin with, and this is oh-so-impt to keep us going. thus t1 humour etc. ohyeah and partly cos of our built, Bah.
Prav: you are fast. and improving really fast too. to be honest, im really scared of you and everytime i see you and your white boat from the corner of my eye during our 2k timings, i'd just do my hard 10s just to keep a distance from you. so Yes you're my motivator and pacer and i love you to bits. your dertermination to row inspires me as well and i look forward to rowing with you at nats. =) (oh and im sorry for missing trgs lately. i know how disgustingly painful it is to row t1 alone. bah.)
Priya: okay it took me awhile to come up with what to say and i guess i have nothing. noone can understand exactly how you're feeling right now so yeah i cant say much. you've always been so strong, physically and mentally, and i hate to see you so sad nowadays. rowing-wise, i have seen the power in you and i know you can row really fast if you put your mind to it. i guess the injuries dont help very much, but i just hope you'd stay strong and know that the t1 bitches are here for you always. so yeah just keep the passion burning no matter what happens kay? i look forward to doing dragon-boating and k2-ing with you next year.. ><

so 6 weeks to row my ass off and i guess there really isnt much to lose in putting in the extra effort(other than my grades of course) but yeah i aim to get t1 500 gold. now that i've said it, i will do what it takes to get it. it wont be easy, i know. so when i do get it, it will be all the sweeter. im rowing for the single boaters and yeah i love all of them very much. so yeah to hell bout what jiaolian says or how we row in the end. let's just end off our season with no regrets.

RAFFLES ROW FTW! (hell yeah)

olivejuice//