A day of '1st's

“STARTS IN 10 SEC…………GO!!!!!!”
kick twist pull, kick twist pull, kick twist pull……...
as each big wave hit Seth front the back, causing her to rise up,
and to plunge bow first into the previous wave,
I was on top of the world…
this was the first set of triangle we did for training today,
and I was in my maiden partnership with Seth (our recently purchased new Hybrid kayak)…
what I felt, can only be described as poetry in motion,
with me and Seth co-playing the main character.
upon giving the “Go” command,
sub-consciously, my legs, hips, back and arms kicked in in a synchronized sequence of fluid motion,
and Seth and I were one,
riding each back wave,
cutting cleanly through the water ahead,
conquering the opening triangle of our training...=]
the feeling in Seth is indescribable.
from the start, after 10 or 20 strokes,
I was literally in awe, and was shocked by the feeling I was experiencing.
to my left, and right, all I could see is open water….
“where were the K2s??” I was asking myself ...(shouldn’t the K2s be leading the K1s??)
“where’s Jeremy, or Bose??”….
and then,
that initial surprise quickly metamorphosized into the all so familiar adrenaline rush,
fueling me to push on.
I wanted to stay ahead,
I wanted to pull away…..
and for the first 800m of that set, I was…
I had entered into the blissful world of solitude,
where Seth and I were the only 2 existing entities,
where all I could hear was…
the silent ‘plish’ of my Braca blade spearing the water,
catching hungrily as much forward catch as possible:
the subsequent ‘spish’ as it J-ed out,
holding on and hanging on to as much of the water as possible,
throwing up uniform arcs of water behind Seth….
and all I could feel is Seth surging as each pull started,
and her gliding as each pull ended.
with the salting wind in my face,
and the cooling water caressing my hand at each stroke,
it was paradise.
feelings that I had long thought was lost with the passing tides of Kallang came rushing back immediately.
feelings that I had yearn and long for each time I came down to row.
feelings that I had only experienced a few times in my 6 years of paddling.
I was beyond being only happy……=]

it wasn’t until I made the turn at the suspension bridge
was I shaken back into reality by the sound of the K2s close in pursuit behind.
and so, it was back to work.
I dropped back to a 65% long hard pull, and allowed the to catch up,
and finally, riding their back wash,
Seth obediently paced the K2 with me,
responding ever so loyally to each movement I made,
gliding past the finishing line,
ending the best set of triangle I’ve ever done.=]

today was a day of many ‘first’s and many ‘first-in-a-long-time’s
prepared my first ever neat Chemistry notes (Mass Spectrometry) for the night lesson in the morning;
had my first instant noodle of the month for lunch;
fell for my first ever stooooopid prank call for the past 4 years (James…….I’ll get you for that…haha!!!);
rowed for my first time in Seth;
and finally, one which I wouldn’t have mind not to have gone through,
stood in a Mr. See scolded the team ever so badly for the first time this year………sigh!!!

I knew they were pushing Mr. See to his limits,
and he was almost over the edge,
but I did not expect him to make his last desperate grab at safety before going over the edge today….
Mr. See was seriously seriously pissed off and disappointed today.
how serious,
well, serious enough for him to have use the F-word which I’ve only heard him dish out once before.
he was really really extremely disappointed with the T performance today.
some of his exacted words were:
“I’m sick of ACS boys….and coming from an ex-ACS boy, that’s how serious the situation is now!!!!!”;
“it’s like throwing pearls and pigs (i.e. those numbskull Ts), and see them trample all over it!!!!!”;
“……..so you can come down and f**k around is sit??”;
“…you spit on it (all the advice he gave), stepped on it, shit on it, and throw it back at me!!!!”.
haiz!!! must if have to come to this for them to wake up??
must they be so bloody freaking stubborn??
is it really that difficult to take an advice, remember it, and correct their technical mistakes??
it just causes me to boil inside seeing how they’re replying Mr. See’s dedication with utter disobedience, and complete defiance….
and it’s really dis-heartening to have to hear Mr. See being forced to threaten them to quit coaching all because of their attitude….
after knowing Mr. See for 6 years, to have me to say that,
it really hurts, though I know not as much as how much he’s hurting too…..
why in the name of heaven and hell must they resist all his efforts to help,
and to finally land their team in such a state…
can’t they see how fortunate they are to have a coach who shows such immeasurable commitment and dedication even to those who are unworthy of it….
please people…. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
haiz!!!
hope Mr. See is alright…