brought my pink dolphin back to where it came from last sunday, together with my shortie raptor and me, we completed 29km. what we used to call kallang river is now known as marina reservoir, the police coast guard is gone, but the s'pore flyer is up, together with the floating platform and constructions for the IR all around it. and the duck tours are still quacking up and down, and i could have been sandwiched by 2 of them, one coming from the front and one from the back at the same time and would have been a perfect sandwich had i not paddled as hard as i could for dear life and the boats did steer a bit so as to avoid me. phew... never liked the duck tours especially when you're one of the tourist attractions, feels like an animal in the zoo haha.
ok, back to the race.. my longest canoe race, my first time attempting portage, and probably the last time i get to row at kallang again. and i was quite prepared for the journey: cap, sunglasses, lots of sunblock, changed to a low seat and most importantly my little cushion for the seat which was so useful in protecting my delicate butt. haha. and if you're wondering what's my greatest fear for this race, it's none other than kallang water, and that's why i chose to take k1 in the end, to overcome the phobia. as i look at the namelist for senior women k1, i made a conclusion. they are either the really zai ones, or the insane ones, of course i belong to the latter.
the water conditions weren't too bad, though at some parts i felt as if i was going to be blown away by sudden gushes of wind and backwash was inevitable, especially at the start. gosh, that was probably the worst it could get. portage was quite an experience and i did try to run for every portage, and it sure wasn't easy carrying a boat, paddle and running on sand. and i think i've a blueblack on my shoulder now..
but overall, i quite enjoyed the race, and that's enough. no longer hungry for medals, no longer wanting to see competitors as enemies, afterall, it's just a race.. knowing that there is no need to fear the choppy water, and that the wind could not blow me down, it was a race against myself, my own fears, and me -- my worst enemy. and i won. no regrets
now i'm just one step closer to retirement, next up is MR500, then SDBF and maybe NCC.. just want to make my canoeing life as complete as possible by trying every event, every boat