02 April 2001

2001 SEA Games TRIALS It's finally over!! That was all I thought of after I crossed the finish line in the 3rd and last race yesterday. So many things were going thru' my head...and yet I was fatigued to the point that I was just mentally numb. I came in 3rd in all 3 races today and that is phenomenal for my standards. For the first 2 races, I was behind the top 2 guys, Andrew & Meng and I was happy to be there. It will take Meng some serious mistakes for me to be able to come in 2nd, as I did in 2 other races. But he was careful yesterday and I made relatively more mistakes than him. It's not just a milestone for me, it's almost historic enough to be in my version of the Guinness Records. It's really not about my pumping, my tactics, my diet or preparation. It's really about Jesus in me, the Christ who enabled and empowered me beyond my human abilities. During the entire afternoon, only one thing was going through my mind...that was a song we sang in the church service early this morning. The lyrics "In every victory, let it be said of me, My source of strength, my source of hope, Is Christ alone." were just ringing all over and over again..."I'm living for this cause, I lay down my life to you alone, I'm living for the truth, the hope of the world..." At the beach while we were waiting for the races to begin, I was feeling drowsy and sleepy from a lack of sleep the night before. I was feeling grouchy, tired and physically drained. I wasn't the most enthusiastic monkey on the water...till the thrill of the race drove up my adrenalin! I remembered what my friend, Julie said to me, to look unto Jesus, not unto myself...and I reminded myself of that all the time. I had the most upwind starts in all 3 races, though not necessary having the best speed at first, but was able to catch up when sailors start to fade away as the waves can crash you down very easily unless you make effort to crash thru'. The first race, for the most experienced sailor, would be most favourable because amateurs usually take one race to understand the wind/current conditions etc...but I was kinda honed better from the last 3 weeks of racing. So my game plan was already set and I followed it...it happened to be the same route that Andrew & Meng took as well, which explained why we won. The winds were shifty and especially large angles on the extreme tacks of the course. So it was especially beneficial to sail on the inside of the course and making many tacks in shifts. Sailors who take extreme tacks never recovered and I always wonder why they continue to do so in the subsequent laps & races. The current was enormously strong over the weekends and it was logically better to stay near shore than outside. However, the gains will certainly be a lot more when the sailor takes advantage of both shifts and currents at the same time. On the reaches and downwind, it is just muscles (pumping) and riding waves. Yesterday's conditions were beautiful for riding waves and if not for that, I would never have held off the boys... During the first upwind leg in the first race, I was second to Andrew when I was caught up by 3 other guys by the time I finished my reach. Disaster! I was really feeling physically weak, the toll of the last 3 weeks' racing was taking effect then. I decided to catch back my position on the second upwind...so I did...I played with the shifts, cashed in on the guys' mistakes and way before I reached the upwind mark, I was 3rd and leading the next guy by quite some distance. Meng wasn't making mistakes already so I just had to maintain my position and not make mistakes myself. By then, I was pulling a distance of about a leg from the guy behind me and comfortably sailing past the finish line 3rd. 2nd race was a little more exciting. First we had 'star' treatment...the Straits Times photographer, May-E, was clicking away on the boat and I was both pumping hard and smiling wide for her.What a deal! So many things to focus on...amazing isn't it? My hair, my smile, my stance, suck in my tummy if there was any, and then there were the race elements, the wind shifts, the currents etc...Andrew was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of tasks during the foto-shoot that he fell in once during the reach. I laughed, evil me. :) The best part was when ONE HUGE MOVING ship started to sail towards our upwind buoy. Suddenly, there were shouts all over...Meng warned me about the moving ship as I saw him tack away...I was heading towards it...and at the same time, warning other guys. I asked Meng 'HOW??' Then I saw Andrew courageously pumping his way into the bow of the ship and attempting to make the buoy. I suddenly imagined him getting run over by the ship. :( I reminded myself not to get distracted as it would be darn easy to. As expected, about 3 guys got distracted and lost lotsa ground. I staked my claim on 3rd position and maintained it till the end. Lots of things can happen in a race and it's no excuse to be distracted by them. For a tennis player or soccer player, the crowd would be the biggest distraction. They can boo, cheer, throw flowers or beer cans...the athletes' performance must never be tagged to external factors for then, it would have been proved the greatest futility for the amount of training effort put in. Would you want to lose your Grand Slam title because of some rowdy spectator in the stands? No!! Neither should windsurfers lose the win due to moving ships, rude fishermen or bikini-clad babes in distress. Sometimes, windsurfers can have the greatest excuses from a broken batten, anchor line, rope tears, forearm cramps to collisions with sailors. Reasons are as valid as the reality of the sun, but whether we let these affect our performance SUBSEQUENTLY is totally our decision. In the 3rd race, I was pooped by then...tired and no groove for pumping. I had one of the best starts but can't quite deliver...I rounded the first round's upwind mark no. 6 or so. It was quite a disaster. I didn't pump hard in the reach so I can think better in the next upwind. I fought back in the second upwind... Thank God the wind picked up and I was comfortably planing in good speed. I climbed back to 3rd spot by then and never looked back. However, Coach Tan mentioned that I should have made sure my angle was good when I could do so, but I didn't. Otherwise, he was sure I would have caught up with Meng. I figured he was totally right. What followed was comfortably wave-riding except when I was chasing another guy to the finish line. And it was 'The End' when I heard the whistle. Phew!!! So, after 16 races over 3 months, I was finally ranked 4th (out of 11) in the Overall position & 1ST in Ladies in the National Team. I led the next lady sailor by a whopping 20 points, exceedingly more than I had imagined!! I was sorry that she was not sailing well but I just had to do my best in every race regardless of whether I was already the Ladies Champion. I was sore about the Singapore Open & Tudor results as they had pulled down my overall points disgustingly. If not for these, I would have been 3rd overall! Nonetheless, I am contented and happy. I cannot help the fact that I couldn't train much or quit my job prior to Singapore Open. But I'm glad that God, my Defender always stands strong on my behalf. The verses which really pulled me through these weeks are: 2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." 2 Chronicles 20:17 "You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD IS WITH YOU." How can I fail when the Almighty God is with me and ONE with me...HE is IN me and I in Him...It was HIM through me...I did it through Him. Praise God!!!