Saturday, October 11, 2008
8:11:00 pm
DAY 1 IVP SWIMMING 2008
I woke up at 7.10am, and reached tpy pool at 8am! Great to stay so near huh haha. Yesterday, I decided to don't care abt my results, and to ask Prof Ho if I could leave earlier from NIE band. Funny thing was, I met up while going up the lift at NIE. So I asked him on the spot. BUT later, when I left, he had to announce to the whole band where I was going! He said something like "she's representing ntu for swimming competition tmr" and I just wanted to faint and die!
So, dad picked me up at 9.30pm from NIE and I drove all the way back, speeding at up to 110km/hr again. I think I'm getting better at navigating those turns haha. Speeded such that dad was saying why am I speeding like kor. (Bytheway I think that's a compliment haha) So I reached home at 10! Besides that, a miracle happened. Was worried I won't be able to sleep. But I prayed to God, and I really can't remember much what happened after. I couldn't even remember finishing the prayer when the next thing I knew, my alarm was ringing real loud.
ANYWAY. 8am there were already a TON of ppl warming up! NTU was smart n took the side instead of the stands where it wasn't so hot since the sun rises on tt side of tpy comp pool. I only swam like 300m? Before we had to get out for 1500m to start.
SO, it felt normal, swimming in the pool which I swam in for 2hrs everYDAY. And not having been in there, for uh 8 years. Apparently polo pool was used for polo training, and the public pool was out of bounds unless u pay. Like how dots. So in the end, we walked one big round to the main entrance to ask the lifeguard if can go through. After saying cannot cannot cannot but I'll let u go. Like dots. And we saw some ppl climbing through PA's room window to get to the other side haha!
Did some warmup before going back. I was in lane 1. So I did a 3.21! :) And I got a 5th! Amazingly, I wasn't THAT tired such that I couldn't do a pull and kick at the turns. I was scared I would DQ since I did a little fly kick when pushing off the last one. LATER, everyone told me I COULD'VE GOTTEN THIRD! cuz 3rd n 4th was 3.19 something. And apparently, at the last turn, I touched before them. ARGH! If I knew it was this close I would've die die gone all out. But I think I can't sprint lorh serious. The faster I try to sprint, the slower I am. So weird. But still quite happy larh. 2s IS quite alot. And the first person from the first heat got 3.21. something which is like slower than me. So phew I just scraped by a 5th anyway :) Also, I swam faster than JINA WOO! (wahhaha!) AND, I don't feel THAT bad cuz Roderick got 5th for 200IM n he also missed 3rd n 4th by 2s! So.... I'm not the ONLY one..... Legs felt like I really choinged after I came up. It felt used! :)
They at last decided to let us use the other public pool and open the gate for us to swim haha. Had a long wait subsequently where I ate 2 pieces of chocolate chip bread and a banana! I do feel honoured tt Roderick bought CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD altho my wonderful first suggestion of chocolate bread brought looks of '???!!!'. oops haha. Altho I think actually it's cuz there was nothing else. But u must agree tt the bread was yummmmyy! See, I've good taste!
Warmed up a little again before it was all over again, 100m breast. This time round, I did an all out. And I got 6th I think, with a timing of 1.31! Happy with my timing! :) So not bad not bad :)
Hardly warmed down before it was time for 4x100m relay. Peishan's mom came to find me. I was pretty surprised. And she was the one who pointed out tt our 4x100m team is a PAYSC team haha! Sis, me, priscilla n hannah! But all of us not sprinters n long time nv swim! SO, somebody's wonderful idea for me to go last. Like hello, I canNOT sprint! :( But it was fun to be on the same team as sis who swam first. Apparently we were in the 3rd position, but left last swimmer as me pitted against all the fastest swimmers including jeanne, not surprising, everybody zoomed by me! ayeeeeeeeeee. haha. but it's like HUH HOW TO SWIM 100M FREE! like totally UNprepared. And was super achy after that 100 swim!
BUT NTU DID NOT BAD NOT BAD! Currently, we're 114 points, 3rd place, 1 point behind NYP! Hope tmr we'll do better! Left 50m breast, and relay 50m free (sigh not again...) But on a happier note, sis had to leave early cuz of her sportswoman award thingy, SO I GOT TO TAKE HER 2ND PLACE MEDAL FOR HER! so funnyyy! but yay I had the chance to go up there wahahha.
Afterwards we all went to fork n spoon to eat lunch!
Even as I stood up there, n the familiar take ur marks, I didn't feel the same queasiness and dread as it would've been had I been at the track doing a run instead. It's not the same. And I'll miss the pool, badly. Only one more year with internship ARGH.
But even so, it kinda confirmed again, how this is all so individualistic. How I can miss some of my team mates events cuz I was warming up or down. How when I stand up there ready to plunge, it's me, all on my own. No one can help me swim this but me. But it was nice, to know everyone was cheering for me, cuz I almost got THIRD. (AHHHH!) But come to think of it, I only really started training breastroke like for only 1 month plus! GIVE ME MORE TIME! I wanna do it again.
SWIMMING is love :)
