well, did 2 x 2k today. the second one was really slow 11.08, must push harder.

the first 2k was interesting. had to start in lane 4 and dodge all the oncoming boats, but guess what 10.28 (:

technical exercise is tiring but it's good (:

women's open dates changed from 11-12 jul to 25-26 jul. there's c1 200m race! i'm definitely going to race k1 200, the rest depends.

school's starting soon (: 6 more weeks. haven't figured out if i want to stay hall, will come to a conclusion this weekend. got the students' union pack on orientation camps, haha, i shall not go for any of them. must keep things in perspective yea

speaking about that, my life works around my training schedule, and more often than not i find myself having to prioritise. not really prioritise though, cos i know i must do what i must do. but yea...

can't wait for training tmr (:

What if you believe?

this is starting to make sense (:

wheeee

post ncc

training today was fun (:

total 20k of technical exercise

feels good

NCC is over, was a good learning experience. Took part in 6 events. Yes i know it's crazy, but that's the plan. For once i could really test whether my warmup routine was good (it was) and how well the post-race recovery plan was (could be better)

the standings are not quite accurate cos most of the better paddlers were in team boats only. Still i know i've improved compared to 48 weeks ago, but there's still much to work on

in short:

saturday:
k1 10k 4th. 200m away from a medal. overall race was decent, wasn't pushing hard, just practising strokes actually.

k1 1k: heats 2nd. semis 2nd. finals 5th. heats and semis was quite easy row, didn't know i was so tired. finals was not good, too tired.

k4 1k: our third time rowing together and we got a medal! 3rd! can't complain cos we didn't train

k1 200: heats 1st. last race of the day and the easiest. probably rowing at 80% only.

sunday:
k1 500: heats 2nd. semis 4th. this event needs to be worked on. was aiming for straight finals in the heats but got beaten. not fast enough during semis.

k4 200: 4th. not a good race. but again can't complain cos we didn't train

k1 200: 5th. disappointing. must find a way to be able to do my 100% whenever i want to.

overall it was an enjoyable experience. Thanks to all my competitors. so now i've got a couple of weeks to work on technique. and it will be okay for women's open (:

All it takes is all you've got

this weekend marks the 46th week

national canoeing championships 2009

i'm racing in k1 200, 500, 1000 and 10,000

and k4 200, 1000

going to be a packed schedule, and i know it's going to be fun (:

ahhh was just typing about my canoeing experience (since the first time i picked up a paddle in P5), but decided to keep the long story for another day.

What is your deepest fear? Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. -Marianne Williamson

For the past 46 weeks, I have given my best effort to become a better canoeist by training to what i perceive to be my physical and mental limits, yet be mindful of rest and recovery, and without sickness or injury. Still I know i have much to learn (easily 7000 hours more) and must go faster than i think i can. Tomorrow is a chance for me to test myself, to see how fast i can go. I may not be the fastest, and I will fight till the last buoy. So may the best boat win.

What if you believe?

timetrial today. one of the senior women did an amazing 2.01. some of the juniors were faster than me, but it was a decent row (like heats kind of timing). came in 2/5 in my heat; btw the other 2 stronger competitors were in the other heats.

2.17 (:

What if you believe?

k4 in the morning (: interesting i think i got back my team boat stroke

another 2k today, slightly better than saturday and sunday's but still far from what i know i can do. not easy, but that's the point yea

watching happy szegad video (:

today was a disgusting day at training

i also don't know what went wrong, well, actually i have my theories

so i did the usual routine, opened the sheds, got my boat, walked briskly to the scf shed and reached at 7am. program was 3 x 2k so i thought we were going to start early before anyone else came. Coach prefers us to do warmup, so i did, turned the engine on. Then waited

and warmed up

and waited.

and warmed up

and waited

7.30am still waiting. finally at 7.40am we started paddling. Coach assigned the pairs, and it meant more waiting. The row wasn't good, to say the least. 11.13. then waited 15mins, plus even more, before starting the next set. then some boat capped, had to go save. needless to say, the last set involved even more waiting. By the time we finished, it was already 9.15am. 11.08 and 11.28 i think.

i think i'm a stickler for time. speed, punctuality, sense of urgency, they all go together yea? i need to find a new plan. been double training for the past 5 days, immediately after today's training rushed home to rest. think i shall go earlier to row. btw friday evening's do-anything-you-want program was nice. it was quiet, few boats around, no wind, and good space for me to focus on my strokes.

yes, and on thursday, wanted to go back to sch to join the odacians for some pool session with the playboats. 10.30am. i waited. by 10.52am, it was enough, decided to leave. packed my table... and finally left raffles junior college. though some part of me will always be there. brought home the lego set (: wheeeee, its in pieces now, but maybe whoever might come over to my place next time can see it (:

just when i was feeling not so good today, decided to pack my stuff. chanced upon this "Do not judge the day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you sow". Right now i might not see it, but i guess all these will fit perfectly in the grand scheme of things. So what to do now? Believe. keep training, don't lose heart.

ahhh and during the 8 x 500 that day, i was lagging behind the last boat by at least a buoy and easily 2.5 buoys behind the first person. then for the 7th set, i didn't know what happened, but when i recovered (it feels like suddenly awakening to the surroundings), i was perhaps 1 feet away from the first boat, and more than 1 buoy ahead of everyone.

Coach says that's how it is. and yea, that's what i want to believe in. I can run 11k in 1:06, do 23 pullups and during weights that day, 150 x 50%, 100 x 60%, 50 x 70 %, bench pressed 70 x 45kg, 50 x 55, 20 x 65, and 10 x 75kg on another day, making my estimated 1 RM 93.5kg. (and i weight <55kg). so RAWR, i can do this, i just need my own time, own target and i will find that.

live to fight another day

today marks the first day of proper double training (: wheee

need to find something better than tights, bike shorts? too much abrasion.

will go down to adidas this week. was suppose to go on sunday, but did a 2h k4 session. which well, after 2 years of paddling in a k1 only, suddenly did k2 and k4 within a short span of 2 weeks. was feeling unstable, yea, so thanks for putting up with me. will do my best

ok, my mind is still on getting new shorts.