Hey to you all.
Todays the day... time to make it count!
Its been a long week, Im feeling pretty exhausted but im up for the final race. Realistically I hope for a top 6, but inside I am thinking of nothing other than a medal. I guess as with anything in life as soon as you achieve a goal the posts shift and you are on to the next mission. I would have been devastated to not make the final, it was more a relief than anything. I havnt had a chance to sit back and realise what it means just to have got this far, all I feel is the jobs only half done. Theres plenty of time coming up for thinking about it all when I get home!
Yesterday flashed by, before we knew it it was time to warm up and the 4 of us took a moment to realise the significance of what we have achieved. Everything felt great as we went through our well practised routine. Everything is so familiar out there, as natural to us as walking. theres such a good rhythm in our boat, always has been since that first time we got together 3 years ago at Nagle Dam. Back in the boat house we didnt have too much to say, guess we were all a bit nervous, but i enjoy the time with the K4, its not so lonely as the k1. So much easier going out there with the team than on your own. it was hard to realise it was our last time in the boat together after all this time. think it still hasnt sunk in. But once in the starting blocks we had 100 % focus. the start was good. we had a great race. we improved from our 12 placed ranking from last year to 7th, so close behind the Japanese who we'd beaten in the heats. We actually paddled technically a lot better than in the heats, working with our legs and using our rotation to drive the boat home. The travelling speed was good and at the end we posted a new PB 1:36.724 the first time we'v gone under 1:37. I think we can be stoked with what we achieved this year. I think we are the proof that the sport takes years and if you want to make it at an olympic level you need to dedicate the 4 years it takes to get there. We had so much against us, so few back home and within our own federation believed we would make it. Only the 4 of us new just how good the boat felt when we got it right. We were labelled as the boat to miss out on the finals, well we proved that wrong! Over and over nandor asked me to step out the boat to let Bridget paddle in my place. he said it would detract too much from the K1. But i believed in the girls, we'd come so far together. Making it straight to the finals on Monday and racing to such a competitve 7th is one of the proudest moments of my life. It means as much as anything iv done in my K1.
Ok but on to today. Everyone is asking if im really nervous, well not yet! I think what youve all missed out on is the last 2 years of my racing overseas. we are so isolated from world sport at home. theres no coverage of what we do while competing overseas. but this is my life. Iv raced in huge competitions with all the stakes of qualification hanging over it. Today is a bit different as its the last race of a long 4 years. But its all so familiar. Theres a level of nervousness thats so good, it gets you up ready for the start, but more than that and youl never achieve good results. Its a race, the harder youv trained the better youl do. Its about controlling each stroke, breaking it right down to each moment of the race. At the end you are stoked if it felt great and disappointed if it wasnt there. The last 2 k1 races were ok, but i havnt been feeling the water as well as i have in the past. todays the last chance to get it back, i feel like im ready. If I cross the line knowing I had nothing more to give then wherever Iv come will be good enough. Iv just got to take hold of the moment and make it happen.
Well easy to talk. Id better get out of here and go put my feet up for an hour. then its off to lunch and the course. Ill see Jacques for a bit while i wait for the time to disappear, then its warm up time and race time.
Shot for all the mails and all the support. Glad you can all get to see what it is that iv been going on about for the last few years! From tommorrow I can start living it up and taking chances again! Going to be hard to rewire the brain, to realise hey if I go swimming in the sea ALL day its ok cause i dont have to be up for training monday! and hey first dangerous mission is to go sledding down the great wall on monday!!! going to be so scared!!! Kate, you can ask me about all those river trips and sea rafting trips and jolling times now!!! YES im there!
Kay dont know if youl hear from me till i get back home wednesday, but whatever happens today just celebrate with me, i know tomorrow when i wake up ill be stoked to know I made 2 olympic finals!
Bye then, Jen