What a tremendous year.
Papillon began the season with an enjoyable family row - where our loved ones got to experience what we subject ourselves to every Saturday morning, namely:
Testing our resolve to wake up ultra early in the morning, trudging our way to a not-very-extremely convenient part of Singapore, embossing our palms with intricate tarmac prints while doing push ups, sniffing lovely scents emanating from the life vests, and finally, getting onto a boat ride where *horrors of horrors* we have to row the damn thing ourselves?!?
Yes, that is what we do. For several months too. March through to July.
But in the end, it all paid off. We achieved what we always knew we are capable of. Amid the oodles of fun doing it.
Make no mistake, there were bouts of uncertainty and of tentativeness, as Papillon faced a myriad of changes:
How Papillon got through all these - I don't know. But we did. It did prompt a little 'wake up email' from Captain Jon midway - after which we rallied admirably to get our act together. I guess it was a timely trigger - for us to dig deep into ourselves and rediscover our movitation for why we were doing this ('this' = refer to blue section in the beginning of post).
The timely moment of reflection took away all the distortions from the changes and uncertainties, and refocused our goal for this year, that is:
To fulfill our potential.
(Which, by the way, would logically result in medals - judging by the quality of our team.)
And that was about 1 month before our first competition - the 800m SDBF race. So our drive was now aligned - GOOD.
But still, there were kinks. For example, our start pattern. 10hard-20fast was proving to be ineffective for our new piston stroke - despite the rapid strokes, we just weren't seeing the speed. Plus, by the end of it, our breaths were literally taken away... and we still had two-thirds way to go?!?
And here's where Coach Patrick came in, again. He just kept tuning. And finetuning. It was always going to be a challenge to introduce a new stroke and have us bloom in time for the races. But Patrick never wavered - he threw in all the tricks - bailers, tyre, Trivium paddle, GPS, his coaching brain - it was as if he had a Doraemon* pouch.
* Doraemon is a Japanese cartoon character with a magical pouch that can give you anything fantastical that you can ever imagine.
In the end, we formulated our ideal start pattern in time - The 30hard. Of course, it took a heck lot of testing both starts, before we concluded without a doubt (nor strength left) that the latter was more suited for Papillon. That, was the week before the 800m race - talk about "Just in Time"...
In that 800m, we did well to beat away many teams - including all-men ones - to land a semi-final slot, in which we finished a commendable third place.
Sounds like a good start to the race campaign.
The CCG was another kettle of fish (shorter fish - only *nervous laugh* 250m niah). Although we bettered last year's result by capturing Silver, a tinge of 'wasted'ness* lingered as the finish was so warrau-eh-close... there was a feeling that Papillon could have taken the gold, if we had that something.
* Wasted - a very Singlish word with no real English equivalent. Chinese equivalent would be '惋惜', which translates as 'to feel sorry over something that should have happened'.
So, what was 'that something'? Papillon spent the next two trainings finding out. Again, the "Just in Time" team shone through - we hunted down that renegade Aggressiveness in Seletar reservoir, wrestled it into submission and shoved the damn thing into our Psyche (then moved it into the Stomach - where it could run amok and - just as well - kill all the nervous butterflies before J.I.).
After that - boy, were we ready to rock and row. Even when we learnt that Patrick wouldn't be able to cox for us - no matter. He had said before that we have already matured as a team - so yes, Papillon would take to the battle, strategy all mapped out and all that's left to do is the flawless execution. Sounds easy huh.
Not so easy.
Post-photo-reviews (accidentally captured by our EM photographer) showed that we were all over the place towards the end of our heat race - kinda looked like a reenactment of the 1000-armed Guanyin (seriously, not kidding). No wonder we didn't feel any surge at all as we charged to the finish (1:22:45). That was why, in spite of the runaway lead, Capt Jon seriously said that we can do better.
Which we did.
Indeed, the semi-final was better (1:21:11). But all that wouldn't matter, if we didn't fly in the Final. So the Papillon boat was remarkably focused as we lined up at the starting buoy for the Final. The Police were in as well, and so was SRC (whom we had to give the gold to last year - compensation for crashing into their vehicle) - but that didn't matter too - for the greatest enemy was ourselves.
It was THE amazing race. By the end of our 30hard, we were flying. Maintenance was a cruise, before we let fly with a ROARING charge to the finish (1:20:38). Blown away - that's what our opponents were. The second placed boat was three-quarter boat's length behind us! And we were in the correct lane - so, no dispute there, sorry, uh-uh, nah, no way we gonna let you have the gold.
ExxonMobil was jubilant. Papillon was jubilant. And each of us was delirious - from both the win, and atomizing every molecule of our energy in the race.
We did it; You did it.
Whatever difficulties and initial tentativenss there were, Papillon pulled through, with shining results.
* Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement.
Be proud of yourselves, you deserve it!
= Chief Editor signing off =
This year, we landed our first-ever gold medal,
An awesome race that saw us banish the ghost of 2007 J.I.
From words to reality - our goals came to life.
Heats 1:22:45
Semis 1:21:11
Final 1:20:38
Mixed Category Champion:
Papillon
Today was at Kallang as usual. But unusually, we were in our battle gear. Ahhh - it's for the camera. (Everyone now - look cool and row properly - die-die must synchronize ah! Now SMILE and wave!)
Coach Patrick decided to try a new charge called the PRESSURE charge. After a few attempts, we abandoned it. Simply because the phase was too long - we lao4 hong1* in the midst of our charge to the finishing. So we reverted back to the good old 'hard-10, kiyah' charge. With the distinct preparation and execution phases, it showed better results.
* lao4 hong1 = punctured.
With Pierre cameoing as our coxswain of the day, steering was done with great precision - afterall he is the most expensive imported coxswain in Singapore (for the day la). Estimation and instructions were excellent - most importantly, we didn't notice his presence much - which is good! (Like referees, the good ones are those who stay unnoticed while facilitating a smooth flow - ie. no zigzagging, no crashing, etc.)
Cosy Bay was not so cosy today with the tremendous atmospheric noise from nearby construction work. Our lip-reading and God-of-Gamblers-style 'ear-twitching' skills were put to the test as we strained hard to hear Patrick. (Guess it's good practice for our ears to listen out for charge calls next Saturday!)
Our favourite sparring partner - Vets! - then floated alongside to bask in the noise and challenge us in three pace sets. (Excellent neck to neck stuff! - Well done to both teams.) In our desire to win, everyone pulled out all the stops - but Ah Ben wins hands down for maximum effort - he collapsed in the back seat with a little toe cramp.
During this time, we found ourselves in a unfamiliar area towards the Aljunied/Geylang side - it was quite a peaceful scene except for the occasional dragonboat scurrying by in the canal.
All in all, there was good pace and progress, though something seemed to be missing. Nevermind... we'll look for it tomorrow. Sunday at Lower Seletar Reservoir - preparation at the actual battle ground!
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20 July, Sunday, Lower Seletar Reservoir
Today, we turned out in our finest too - but there was no camera crew. (What the..!?) To think Christy went to set her hair and we all secretly did 500 push ups in the morning to improve muscle definition just for the camera.
The place was much better than yesterday - it was an idyllic sight with sprinklers creating dancing mists at the golf course in the distance, and bright orange slimy algae on the pontoon and boat hull - which Dawn gleefully scraped off amidst exclamations of "grossss..."
We rowed towards the starting buoys, rehearsing what to expect next Saturday for the Jurong Island race. We counted the buoys, marked out where the alert zone for charging was, and did many MANY starts and race sets. Searching for that 'something missing' from yesterday - aha - it's the aggression during charging. Strangely, with each set we did, it seemed to pick up. By the final few sets, Papillon was roaring with each charge we did. "YES! - that's what I want to see." - Patrick.
Friendly Vets were again out in full force today. So we paced with them, with good result. Could have something to do with imagery - we imagined them as our No.1 opponent - the Police, with very muscular and intelligent* ladies.
* High forehead = intelligent... (Note: This is extremely disguised humour for the select few who get it.)
Finally achieving what we had set out to do, and finishing strong, Patrick decided to release us. Papillon whoosh and paddles/life vests/bum pads all packed into Ken's car (Thanks Ken!) - we were finally off for the weekend!
__________________________
Paps - remember - although Patrick might not be in time to steer us for the first 2 races, it doesn't matter - we are ready.
In fact, we have already done everything that we could have done - build up of race experience in the weeks before, gym, water training, final recce and practice at the race site - we cannot be any more prepared.
So, have great faith in yourself, in us - that Papillon is ready for the big one.
Rest well and recover by Friday. And most importantly, let's be mentally strong. I know you will be feeling a tingle inside you from now until race day - but fear not. For that is not nervousness - that's Excitement.
Make it happen.
= Chief Editor signing off =
We were in good time to catch our guy teams in action during their semi-finals, doing well to secure 3 of out 6 slots in the Final and eventually emerging proud winners of the Silver and Bronze medals. Congrats all around!
With the Men's category done and dusted, it was now Show Time! for the Mixed cat. The opening ceremony was made more lively by some Rather Boisterous Spirits amongst the teams, and it was with good cheer we dispersed to get ready for our events.
Last but not least - a Special Mention to: Eddie Tan! who gamely took up the highly dangerous position of Papillon drummer, quietly stood by us throughout the races, and did a swell job each time without falling into the water.
* Bang4 zai3 zai3 = 'BE STEADY' in hokkien.
Right - quick summary.
Basically we did a good long warm up row, then went in search of the Vets to do pacing. It was a difficult rendevous, because whenever we rowed towards them, they rowed in the opposite direction. BUT but, finally finally, all our EM boats gathered and it was a nice heartwarming scene which would have been even better if we had sung "I lub choo, you lub meee, we are happy familyyyy..." But no, we replaced that with an "Are you ready. Attention... GO!"
Let's maintain that strong, unwavering determination that has brought us thus far - in the next two races it will lift us to greater heights.
Finally, Paps: Gym this week to be no later than Wednesday. Leave Thurs-Fri for recovery and we'll be in good shape to swipe some serious water this Saturday at CCG.
= Chief Editor signing off =
Paps,
Today was the first time we appeared in the 800m semi-finals. Let me say this - we rowed like we were regulars in this competition. Against all-men teams, we showed what we're capable of - that we're not a 'bao1 jia4'* team. Yep - whoever wants to proceed to the Final, has to get past us first okayyy.
* 'bao1 jia4' = 'guaranteed to eat' = easy meat
This weekend was an awesome start to our race campaign! So let's keep the momentum going and push hard for a few more weeks. Our spirits are high, knowing that coming races will provide the stage for us to shine.
But make no mistake - Papillon will not be complacent. For CCG and JI, we will respect our opponents - that none of them are bao1 jia4s - and we will train well to win by being the better - no, make that BEST - team.
Papillons... are ready. ATTENTION now...
= Chief Editor signing off =
Paps,
As we enter the Race period of this season, thought it'd be apt to recap our exciting exploits last year as a reminder of what we are capable of. (Good timing too - I've always wanted to post up my earlier summary masterpieces but Blogger.com doesn't support backdating.)
We were good last year - this year, we will be GREAT.
= Chief Editor signing off =
There wasn't any summary for this eventful day due to Chief Editor's memory crash. However, let me share some of the afterthoughts by then-V.Capt-now-Capt Jonathan and Coach Patrick (typos and all retained for original flavour - heck, it's the content that counts!)
_____________________________
(Email from then-Vice Capt Jon)
Dear Team,
As I reflect on the race that was over a couple of hours ago, how we would have gotten the long awaited Gold Medal and the Champion Cup for Mixed category, something popped into my mind which I will like to take a moment of your time to share with.
For many of us, today's loss was unbearable. It was an exact replica of disappointment and low morale that surfaced during our defeat in JI '06. As the saying goes "so close yet so far" . This statement is only half right.
If we ask ourselves truely, what drives us? What's our source of motivation? The answer to the questions cannot be found in medal chasing. The answer lies in our beliefs in one another, in that Papillon can surface as a true medal contender and win races. To prove ourselves! This driving force had fuelled us to continously challenge our limits and to scale greater heights.
Papillon had always been the underdog in races. For the whole of 2006, we were medal -less, only there to make up numbers. The wake up call was in JI'06 when we lost what could have been ours. We trained hard consistently over the next 12 months and achieve what we had thus far: Bronze medal in CCG and Silver medal just 2 weeks back.
In retrospect, Medals are only a token and a form of official recognition. Ask ourselves, had we not already attained that? The timings had shown it all. The photo finish had proved it all. We had fellow rowers telling us that we are the rightful champion in their heart. What else do we need to convince ourselves we had beat the rest? Are we going to dwell into not getting another piece of token?
Objectively , we had met what we set out as a team to achieve. Over the past few races, we had proved ourselves continously. We had came in 3rd position in CCG, 2nd Position in Charity Race and 1st position in JI race. 3 wins in 3 weeks. This is the testament of our achievements. In fact, we had obtained the recognition from our peers in the dragonboat community. In a short span of one year, we have became one of the top teams in the inter-corporate mixed category, a team not to be reckon with. For this, I am proud to be part of.
Here, I will like to thank Patrick for his time and effort in bringing out Papillon's true potential. (with our consent to the suffering of course). Papillon Unite, let's get over this episode and look forward to our nextrace.
Papillon ReadY~ Kiyak!
Your Humble Vice Captain,
Jonathan Yeo
_______________________________________
(Email from Coach Patrick)
Dear Pappillon,
We went thru a really pressing time last weekend, the scene of us being DQ at the finish line kept flashing thru my mind. I kept asking myself "Why did it happen?"
The whole course of the race seems to keep replaying like a tape in auto replay mode, then i started to collect myself n see things in a positive n constuctive manner. Yes i made a mistake by overlooking the lane marking n caused the team to be DQ. Such a small detail n it caused us the trophy we really wanted i kept brooding n blamed myself, but i realised i'm just stuck at the same point n not moving forward. The race can'nt replay again, what i can do is jus make sure of the lane marking before the start of any race set. This kind of mistake did'nt occur to me in my years of rowing before, i paid my dues n will learn from this painful experience. On hindsight, i'm glad it did'nt happen on a bigger stage like regatta or jun race where the loss would be more unbearable.
Overall the team is really showing depth n heading in the right direction we have proven to the rest we came in 1st the timing can'nt lie, the same cannot be said if we came in at the bottom n argued for bragging rights to be the top team. The faith n belief we have in Papillon is what really comforts me, where everybody stick thru highs n lows together always encouraging. Like always this experience makes me wiser n spur me to bring Pappilon to the next level for more success in the challenging races ahead. A very successful entreprenuer once said :'' It's ok to make mistakes it's how fast u learn from it n pick urself up that is of outmost importance."
Rdgs,
Coach Patrick.
_______________________________________
= Chief Editor signing off =
Papillons were once again very active on a Sunday morning. This time, the stage was set in the classy CBD, with Singapore River and the majestic Fullerton Hotel as our backdrop. The atmosphere was carnival-like with tents and milo goodie bags and people all around.
Papillons, by nature, can be categorized into two basic groups: one – the Punctuals; two – the Delayeds. On this day, the early arrivals blinked and yawned, struggling to not fall asleep. However, nothing beats a good, loud, totally unexpected last-call from the organizers to fall in: “… EXXONMOBIL, please gather at __ and get ready for heat (7?)” In a flash, everyone was wide-awake – AARH??? SO EARLY??!
The bunch of frantic Papillons scrambled for their life vests and paddles. Summoned by a phonecall, Ah Ben teleported from the nearby McDonald’s and was thrown straight into battle, ignoring his body’s calls to poo first then row. Due to the limited supply of EM beings around, we enlisted the help of Yew Thong to be our drummer – which the good fella gamely agreed to.
More drama was to follow – just as Papillon was about to push off, our Vincent Teo, Minister-of-Defence-Teo’s-possible-seventh-cousin-twenty-times-removed, appeared! A personnel overhaul ensued – Jessica swapped to be drummer just as Yew Thong managed to squeeze into the impossibly tiny life vest; while Vincent took Jessica’s position on the left.
With all stars in place, the troop of Jon, Desmond, Christy, Dawn, Freddy, Marilyn, Vincent, Ben, Ken, Patrick, Jessica drummer and Jackson coxswain set off for the starting line. Having switched on our Race-mode, the bump boats and tourists faded into the background. “ARE YOU READY. Attention…BORRRH” later, Papillon shot off to a pulsating good start. Seat by seat, we gradually pulled in front of our nearest competitor, finishing strong with half a boat length lead to book a place in the final.
Papillons disembarked feeling a little “high” and woozy after the overdose of adrenaline attributable to the chaotic pre-race happenings and the race itself. Shaking and stretching off the lactic acid and any residual shock, we were joined by a gleeful Dennis who exclaimed that the race was super exciting man!!!
After settling down, hunger pangs awoke and we heard random orders of “tau huay chooi” (soya bean milk), duck rice, “char siew rice” and “chwee kuey” to no one in particular – we -must- be woozy from that energy-sapping race.
The Sun then decided to take urgent leave without notice and went MIA as dark clouds rapidly descended upon us. The subsequent downpour created a very despondent sight indeed – a bunch of cold, hungry and pooped-out Papillons huddled on the floor.
Eons passed. We stared blankly at each other. Some chit chat. A giant can of Milo danced. …and finally, time for the finals, yipee! As usual, a couple of us dashed to the toilet. It was then, that Ah Biow appeared. I couldn’t quite remember what transpired; all I knew was - we all started chanting “Ah Biow, AH BIOW, AH BIOW AH BIOW…”, then Vincent stripped, Pierre swapped his top, Christy transferred to the right, and Papillon was all ready for the showdown against Tanker Pacific. As we rowed off to the starting point, in the distance, we saw that our Captain Su Li had arrived right on time and was on the river bank waving and cheering us on.
Perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer presence of such a large audience along the Singapore River, our coxswain attempted tricky maneuvers just to get our boat oriented correctly.
With all teams in place, the air-horn went again. Flanked by Stanchart and Tanker Pac, the pressure was on for Papillon. Nevertheless, we never wavered; we kept our cool and fought all the way to a photo-finish, capturing the second place! Pats on backs for yet another super performance, Papillons were jubilant as we achieved another significant milestone in the short span of two weeks. It was also a great experience having Coach Patrick row with us instead of coxing, as well as the cameo by good ole Vincent, and last but not least – great effort by Ken and Dennis!
Despite the long wait to get our medals, Papillons cheered wildly when Derk went on stage to accept a token for ExxonMobil’s sponsorship of the event, and went delirious when Jon claimed our medals. “Go GO GO! ExxonMobil GO!”
Couple of photos-with-medals later, we trudged to Han’s in search of our delayed lunch. The famished gang went on an ordering spree of steaks and salmon fillets, chicken chops and pastas; then wiped out the food almost as soon as they landed on the table.
Pierre then negated all the efforts of our gut-busting, fats-zapping 1min44sec and 1min32sec rows respectively by introducing sinful cakes and ice cream. Strangely, the desserts seemed to gravitate towards Dawn and Co’s table as many plates of cakes suddenly materialized from nowhere.
With the hearty lunch as a superb way to end off the day’s events, the team dispersed; no doubt with each and every Papillon harbouring a deep-seated conviction and determination to complete the three-week-trilogy with a Gold medal in the J.I. race the following Saturday.
= Chief Editor signing off =
It was a glorious Sunday morning. At 11am, most Papillons were fluttering around in the ExxonMobil tent at Bedok Reservoir. Something(s), however, felt amiss. AH – we were missing parts of our head and tail. Ah Jon (head) was still turning the refinery around and Ah Ben (tail) was simply MIA. Not to worry, we boast of a squad with depth – Freddy-ever-Ready would take us through the first race. (And fortunately, a flurry of phonecalls later, Ben-the-Man appeared from nowhere.)
After eternity, it was time to warm up! Led astray – sorry, away – from the hustle and bustle of the tents, the troop flipped-flopped-jogged along a lovely track that showcased intricate wooden architecture among the trees.The steps, burrows and whatnots suspended by ropes reminded one of some kind of SOC (standard obstacle course) – only, for monkeys.
Some side shuffles, back paddles, touch-the-ground-without-kissing-SuLi’s-ass-s and leaps later, we did a solid 2-minute drill of simulated rowing. With stinging palms as evidence of our superb coordination – never missing a slap - we were ready to rock.
And rock, we did. The boat was very rocky indeed when we boarded for our heat, threatening to spill a few Papillons into the water. With Jon appearing in time to cheer us on, the team was raring to kick some ass. Bearing in mind what Coach Patrick said earlier when educating us on the finer points of not losing out in a race, Marilyn was trying hard not to fall into the water as she reached for some imaginary buoy.
Holding our breath in anticipation of the air-horn after the call of “ARE YOU READY. Attention...,” we almost died of asphyxiation because the air-horn never came. Luckily our common sense kicked in and we rowed away on hearing “GO!!!” half-a-retard-second later.
Hard 10, fast 20… maintenance… “Hard 10 ready”, “READY!”, “GO NOW” – “one, two…nine, ten. Ki yah, KI YAH, KI YAH, KI YAH…!!!”
… with that, Papillon glided into the semi-finals with half-a-boat-length lead over the second-placed team. One down, two to go.
Feeling all confident and good, Papillons gathered under the trees, stretching and shaking the lactic acid off. In particular, one newbie was observed trying to fling her arms off. Anyway, Coach Patrick did a post-mortem and concluded we could do an even better job in the subsequent race – to which we agreed. The team then topped up themselves with some high-octane Redbull and H2O and bananas that appeared from nowhere - courtesy of the mysterious reservoir elf (Freddy!)
After forever, we reassembled again for warm up as semi-finals approached. After more stretches and smacking each others’ palms, we did deep-breathing exercises to calm ourselves down. It was obviously something we badly needed – seeing how most of us piew-ed to the toilet every 5 seconds.
With Jon and Freddy swapping the roles of “fervent supporter” and “superpacer”, Papillon did not miss a beat and confidently headed out towards the starting point. This time, the eagle-eyed officials spotted our drummer Marilyn without her white buoy, and we gostan-ed the boat a little to hand it to her.
“ARE YOU READY. Attention…” “BORRRRRHHH” – the air-horn went. Papillon did a good start set and finished off equally strong – way ahead of the rest. And hence a place in the finals was booked.
With each race, the tiredness started creeping in… fortunately, with our morale bolstered by the two good performances, Papillon oozed sufficient adrenaline to overcome any signs of fatigue.
More Redbull and bananas later, it was Showtime!!!
Papillon cruised to the starting point with William and Dawn frantically bailing to relieve the boat of any unnecessary weight. The officials’ eyesight was getting better with each race, so we did not try anything funny.
… for a final time that day, the air-horn went and Papillon rowed like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Police and OCBC rowed like there was no today, so they clinched the first and second placing respectively. Third place was secured by a relatively dark horse, which had never tasted medal before. It could only be… the one and only Papillon!!!
Slaps on the back for a good job done, we brought much cheer to the ExxonMobil tent with our star-shaped medals. Then it was off to Pierre’s palace for a joyous celebration!
The swanky place rocked to the beat of Queen’s – to which Christy delightedly grooved along. Pierre eventually decided to fast-forward a few tracks to get to the one he –really- wanted to hear. “Weeee are the champions, my frie-ends... and weeee… go on fighting till the end… We are the champions, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS; no time for losers, cos we are the championssss… of the world…”
Dinner was a feast of 2 delicious deep-fried sambal-chilli fish, 2 grilled frozen pizzas, and approximately 4 CEUs (chicken-equivalent-units), accompanied by beer, Pokka green tea and/or Sprite. Yes – we were HUNGRY. Meal time entertainment consisted of the interrogation of Coach Patrick and it was certainly a quick and efficient way to learn about our coach. Newbie Dawn was then showered with the same rapt attention as the whole team-minus-Dawn suddenly resembled a grand panel of matchmakers.
All in all, it was a fantabulous full-day affair which, I would think, totally made everyone’s weekend (and month… and 3Q07 YTD!) Well done Ah Ben, Desmond, Freddy, Jon, Su Li, Jessica, Christy, William, Yen Nee, Ah Biow, Dawn, Marilyn and Patrick! And not forgetting our trusty video-grapher Ken! And Samuel who was there with us in spirit! And Dennis too!
Papillon has come some way and we’ve entered a new era of title-chasing hopes and ambition. Seat by seat, race by race, medal by medal… we’ll get there. Let’s strive for a GOLDen era ahead!!
Next up – J.I. race – BRING IT ON.
= Chief Editor signing off =
What can I say - it took us some time to get it. But when it arrived, it was SWEET. After weeks and weeks of tweaking and finetuning, we have finally discovered our very own Papillon... pace!
The day began with our usual warm up and the familiar sight of a frantic Joe bursting into the scene. Somehow, he always manages not to miss the boat - talk about uncanny timing. With Joe, we had a perfect 10 lineup for today's training in preparation for next week's 800m race.
Apparently, there were 战书s* issued among Paps, Vets and Lilies, to do pacing. There was some miscomm. about timing, so Paps set off to find and update the Vets. But, they were nowhere to be found. Conspiracy theorists speculated that it was a ploy to tire us out with an extended warm-up row. (Not true - they were just secretly practising in Cosy Bay - fair enough.)
*战书 = noun. 'written challenge to war', or, 'letter to challenge'
Just as well - in the distance covered to find the Vets, we practised our special-30 start introduced by Coach Patrick just the previous session - looking good. But the test of the mettle came during the 800m pace with Vets and Lilies...
Conclusion: It's good. We made our best timing and were way way ahead in the finish. (To be fair, our boat was at full strength while our worthy opponents were missing a few.) MOST importantly, we didn't collapse and die at the end of it.
Ever the thorough coach, Patrick wanted to double-confirm the 30-start's effectiveness, so made us do two 300m race sets with different starts, to compare. Again, 30-start showed an advantage. So... I guess - this is it! We have found our groove. Well, at least for the coming 800m race.
In such a long race, we need to stay fresh - the 30-start gives a steady and powerful start and allows us to breathe and recover well during maintenance in order to charge again near the end. Also, unlike with fast-short strokes, the chance of incoordination is lower.
The key lies in maintaining focus and keeping to our own pace with long, strong pulls, even if other boats press ahead at the start. We will definitely catch up - seat by seat, stroke by stroke - that's for sure. So Paps, just be cool, stick to our game plan - and things will pan out fine.
It's going to be one hard race... but when we hear that 'ARE YOU READY' next week - you can betcha we are.
= Chief Editor signing off =
... the mice still train! - Strange, but true. Papillons hauled themselves outta bed early Saturday morning as usual for water training.
Nevertheless, some chaos was to be expected when the cat is away getting married. The situation was made worse by an influx of primary school children in the compound, which made it difficult to find a patch of ground for warm up. So we jumped right into the boat for a warm up row instead.
Our cameo coxswain-of-the-day - Freddy! (whom we stealthily koped* from Veterans for the day) - decided to put a twist in the concept of 'warm up row' (and maybe our muscles too) by introducing a couple of hard-10s while we rowed towards the Sheares bridge. Not to worry - our muscles did not spas up, even as Christy lamented the lack of push ups and land-based warm up.
*Koped = poached
From there we headed to our favourite destination - the mysterious supposedly '300metres away' yellow buoys. Our boat was feeling alittle groovy, so it 1, 2 stepped to the left, then 1, 2 stepped to the right. (Of course, it was unintentional laaa.. Alright, next time I'll cox.)
So anyway, we reached the buoys, then decided to let freshie Ben Chua try his hand at coxing. The boat did the 1, 2 steps left and right too, but not a bad attempt - we didn't crash, did we?
This was followed by an attempted boat chase - we wanted to qie4 / 切 / overtake a nearby boat which, in Jon's humble opinion, was moving very slowly (yes - we're suckers for cheap thrills). So off we went! BUT, just as we engaged 4th gear... the other boat stopped rowing. What a downer - cheh.
I think I have yet to mention any break - let me assure you that we did pepper our training with sufficient breaks and boat stretches. In fact, we found some time to do ambassadorial work for Singapore Tourism Board by waving enthusiastically to the tourists (or locals?) onboard the Duck tour boats that passed us. (Tour guide to tourists: "To your left - you can see dragonboat rowing along the Kallang river. *Spies Papillon waving excitedly* Look! - Singaporeans are such friendly folks.")
A few start sets (10 hard - 20 fast - 3, 2, 1 - 10 maintenance - easy) and pair rowing thrown in, we then took a well-deserved break during which we observed hilarious antics by kiddos learning to row dragonboat. Paddles literally up overhead, at various angles, lovely wavelike incoordination and plenty of splashes amidst friendly paddle fights - what great fun they had! *Brimming with cheap thrill ideas again* - How nice it would be if all our J.I. race competitors rowed like that!
Snap back to reality - we returned earlier to the pontoon to wash up and make our way to our favourite cat's ROM lunch.
喜喜 Congratulations to Patrick on your marriage! 喜喜
喜喜 Wish you and Geraldine happiness forever after. 喜喜
Papillons - good effort at today's training. I don't think we let up on the intensity even as Coach was not around. (*Conscience-stricken* Okaaay... maybe there was no tyre. Alright, alright - I confess we skipped the push ups too...)
Anyway - let's keep it going! With gym and all - build it up!
= Chief Editor signing off =
This Saturday, Papillon's 'people-to-boat' ratio was unusually lower as we missed a number of folks mainly due to trips - business trip / honeymoon trip / plant trip.
With 8 instead of the usual full load of 11 (sometimes 12!), Coach Patrick thoughtfully decided to spare us from the tyre - the boat itself providing enough resistance for 7 rowers.
Our plan for the session was simple enough: Technique.
With plenty of seats available, Coach was able to move around to observe closely and correct our strokes as we rowed individually. In particular, Dawn's movements have been looking unnaturally awkward and finally Coach couldn't tahan* anymore and came to the front to adjust her arms (much like twisting the limbs of an action toy figurine) - Ah, much better!
* 'Couldn't tahan' in this context = 'couldn't take it'
After the individual tuning, we rowed towards imaginary buoys in the distance. Due to the heat, Pap____s were inflicted with the same hearing problem:
So we cheong-ed* all the way to the yellow buoy (near the dam construction) and listened eagerly for the 'Easy' (while still rowing). But when instead we heard 'Now little bit more to the Sheares bridge' - we all collapsed and died.
* 'cheong'-ed = forged forward with great effort
Later resurrected by a break, we made it to the bridge, and then headed back to shore. The curse of bad ears struck again as we neared the pontoon - not hearing the 'Easy' and 'Hold', our boat executed a smooth drift-like manoeuvre which was breathtaking if not for the final bang onto the boat in front. We were duly reprimanded by the guy-in-charge - so much for 'Initial-P'.
(Folks, for Safety - next time do make sure the commands are passed down well and quickly. On our part, let's also exercise common sense to hold the boat if we realise it is going too fast when berthing or nearing other objects/structures.)
Hope everyone gained something from this Technique session - let's keep it with us for next training, the one after, and forever more.
Keep plugging away, Paps!
= Chief Editor signing off =
Thought it'd be good to note this down and track our progress thereafter...
During the pacing session with Vets et al the previous week, it was observed that our surge was not as powerful as it could be, mainly because we were pulling at half-blade. The coordination was perfect though.
On hindsight - as 'right pacer of the day' for that training - I think it was because we were going too fast, mainly during maintenance. When that happens - either coordination gives, or power gives (ie. row at half-blade in order to keep up with the pace). So that's why we were 'punctured' by the latter half of the race.
Nonetheless, a silver lining in this - I am glad we are all aligned that Coordination is of foremost importance.
If there ain't coordination - there ain't nothing.
So! No worries - we'll find our pace as a team. Steadily and surely - it will come. In the meantime, let's keep them blades fully in the water!
= Chief Editor signing off =
This Saturday, we started off with a fitting session to try on our war armour for this season. Singlets, shorts and polo tees were pulled on and stripped off with much efficiency. No doubt, let's make those clothes look good again this year!
On to a quick warm-up - jumping jacks, a quick stretch and 50 push ups later, Papillons were boarding the boat when they heard a splash! We turned and saw our Joe suspended thigh-deep in the water, holding up his crocs - for a moment, I was amazed by this unreal gravity-defying act, until my dull brain registered that the tide was very shallow - chey... Fortunately Joe was okay, except for some skin-nourishing mud and algae smears on his shorts and feet.
So off we went, in seek of the Tyre again. Heaven tried, in vain, to help us by running the boat aground under the Nicoll Highway bridge, in waters much resembling the river Styx (black, foul smelling and leading to 'hell') - alas, a feeble attempt it was, and we still kena* the tyre after doing a detour.
* Kena (in this context) = got 'bestowed' with
Coach Patrick brought a couple of new toys for us this week - we took turns to 'play' with the pro-looking black Trivium paddles. For some reason - could be the hyper-extended shaft or more likely because we aren't used to it - it feels to require more effort for each stroke. So after everyone had a stint and realised 'eee-urhh... not nice to play one!', the toys were duly abandoned.
The girls in front also found time to play 'mini musical chairs' amidst the warm up row, 50 strokes pair rowing and some race sets. Too bad Dennis... who ask you sit so back. <- PG note: bad English (but good Singlish).
Papillon then engaged in a friendly pace with our Vet boat, and a mystery other boat. We fared not too bad! - But Coach rightly pointed out not to rush and burn ourselves out prematurely, especially during maintenance. OK Coach, noted.
After that, it was back to the pontoon! Stretches, 70 wobbly push ups and a Papillon whoosh later, we were dismissed.
Key follow up items are to:
Yet another muscle-screaming session... well done! Rest well folks and have a good week.
= Chief Editor signing off =
Yes - It's back. Just as Papillons were happy to note the single bailer this Saturday, the original instrument of torture - whose name strikes terror into the heart of anyone who has ever experienced it - has returned.
Soon as we hopped into the boat, Coach Patrick steered us away from the usual direction of row. We crossed under Nicoll Highway and rowed along Kallang Riverside Park. As it became apparent that Coach was going to beach the boat, there were flashbacks not unlike those that happen to people who have near-death experiences - only, it was merely the mind zipping through the possibilities of:
... and that was when we saw It. Which-Must-Not-Be-Named.
The boat (and our hearts too) sank as Coach unearthed the Tyre from among the parked boats and hooked it up. Patrick has managed to outwit us once again! - We solemnly surrender.
With the draggy tyre, our muscles were made to work harder. We still needed Coach's reminders on the piston action, where our outer shoulder should be rotating in a circular motion. (When you look at your rowing shoulder, should be rotating anti-clockwise for right rowers, and clockwise for left rowers.)
After a masterful display of negotiation (10 Papillons vs 1 Coach), we did 5 sets of rowing with the tyre, and then 5 sets without. It was so poopifying that I can't remember the details, only bits and bobs:
The next thing I remember, was us rowing back to the same place to return the tyre, and then back to the pontoon. We then finished the session with 40 push ups, and of course, our customary Papillon whoosh!
Needless to say - it was a tough training, and we were given a heads up by Coach to expect more of the same as we build up to the races. Now, though we may moan and groan, I know that inside each Papillon - we know what we're capable of achieving, and along with that, is a strong desire to win back what is ours.
So let's channel that unshakable determination into training - make every training count. Ki-yah!
= Chief Editor signing off =
This Saturday morning, we showed a little more initiative in warming up before Coach Patrick arrived. Nevertheless, our attempt to hoodwink him was exposed when Coach took one glance at our arms, saw the total lack of perspiration and muscle definition, and concluded that we hadn't done any push ups. Such sharpness!
Today, we welcome a fresh face - Ben Chua - to a first session with Papillon!
The boats were so flooded by the flash showers early this morning, an electronic pump was used for a massive de-ballast exercise. For that same reason, Papillon was armed with 2 bailers. On hindsight, we should have thrown them far far away after scooping out the water - only because Coach, in all his ingeniousness, had grand plans for them as replacement for The Tyre (which he now cannot fit into his compact coupe). Dang.
Rowing in the strangely 'teh si'-like ('milk tea'-like) waters with 'tea leaves' floating about, we were treated to pair-rowing of 100 strokes to fine-tune the new piston-stroke!
We then rowed toward an imaginary 50m mark (that was really more like 1km) in the direction of the under-construction dam. Coach might seriously want to consider Lasik or something to correct his abysmal judgment of distance.
It was a long, long row... made more challenging by the 2 bailers dragging behind. "You are not tired, you are fresh!" - Coach's words echoed in our ears. Though not exactly sashimi-fresh, we didn't let up either, and kept going. Good job, Paps!
Then, heading to the 300m race mark, we were greeted by the cheery 'Vet-Rookie' boat and decided to pace with them. Though we finished ahead by a distance, Coach observed that we were all over the place - in particular, during the pace transition in our start set. Quick to rectify that, we paced again, and was much improved this time around. Remember: 10 hard, 20 fast, 3-2-1-stretch out...
Finally it was time to head back, and Coach slyly slotted in one more start set along the way. But hehhey - it was not bad! (Always - most motivation when it's the last stretch back.)
During de-brief - good news! - seems like we're getting the hang of the new stroke. Coach commented that it was much better than the previous training. Maybe the draggy bailers helped - to prevent us from going too fast and losing focus on technique. Well done, Paps!
Now we just have to make sure we stick to the piston-style, work on coordination and practise our race sets, build up strength at the gym... and we will be on course for a smashing season!
Special mention to William, who has stepped up to the plate to become our new right pacer. It's not easy, so let's give him our greatest support as he grows into the role. Go William - we're behind you! (Literally, too.)
And kudos to Ben Chua - it seems we've got a natural rower! Hope you had fun today and we certainly look forward to you joining us for future trainings.
Finally - just want to commend our guys on their dedication to gym sessions! Good organization by Jon and Ben to make it happen. Keep it up, guys. But take care not to burn yourselves out - suggest the 1st session be the punishing one (ramp up the weights and cardio), and 2nd session more for recovery (run off the lactic acid, and lighter weights if you want). Keep some strength for the 30 push ups on Sats!
Another good session today - rest those muscles and see y'all next Sat!
= Chief Editor signing off =
This Saturday, the Sun was great, no "pissing down" from the heavens above (much to our dismay...)
Attendance was good as we welcomed back Christy and Desmond from a long-missed absence.
During the recent lull, Papillons have not been idle - in fact they dispersed temporarily to form various teams that took part in the annual ESRC Dragonboat Carnival, bombarding others with their boundless energy.
Someone made an enlightened observation that most of the folks in our boat today actually won some medal in the carnival! (Or well, at least appeared on the stage - HOR, Jon?)
On that point, i BET all of us are happy to be swiping water with our pro-paddles again - what heavy stubby pieces of wood we used during the carnival! Bum pads are a boon too - yes, we are a pampered lot.
Warm up was a lethal cocktail of jumping jacks and push ups. Fwah - 30 push ups was never more difficult when it's on a "team count".... especially after a 3-week break.
The agenda for today was simple enough - we focused on technique again, to get the new stroke right before we try adventurous patterns that might break our arms.
So we simply rowed, and rowed... and rowed somemore, while Coach Patrick observed and corrected us.
With Pierre on vacation, "backpacks of the week" were Ken and Ben. However, all the 'Ken, Ben', 'Ben, can?', 'Ken, bend', etc. were confusing the hell out of our backpacks and everyone else - we should never put them together again.
There was a period during training where everyone was mesmerised by a peculiar sound that reverberated from the stern of the boat. That was actually Coach demonstrating the new stroke, and we witnessed the power that it can generate, as long as we master the correct technique.
It was a Piston-like action - throw your weight forward, controlled punch of the paddle into the water, keep shaft straight as you pull back to mid-thigh, torso restored to upright posture... (and repeat) throw weight forward, controlled punch...
Not easy. But hey - we made good progress and will definitely get better as our muscle memories get recalibrated. Remember - practice makes perfect!
Learnings:
1. With a higher stroke rate, consistency becomes more crucial in order to be effective as a team - this demands fitness - Hint: cardio training.
2. For now, the shorter strokes makes it harder to feel difference in power (think: hard 10) vs a longer pull. Perhaps the difference will become obvious when we build up strength, giving us more control over how much power to exert - Hint: weights training.
Conclusion: Time to hit the gym!
Rest up everyone - and welcome back to the serious stuff. Are you ready, for the new season?
Let's rock and row!
= Chief Editor signing off =
After many days of showers, the sunny island of Singapore was finally blessed with agreeable weather on this Saturday morning. How nice!
Everyone reached on time today, and after a quick warm-up, it was time for Papillon to hit the water!
(Folks - in future please arrive earlier at 7:45am to do our own warm-up so that once Coach arrives we can jump right into the action. Need to maximize the use of precious water time, yea?)
The boat was noticeably lighter with the absence of a few key members - Ben, Pierre, Christy, Desmond and Yen Nee. (Un)Fortunately, THE key person was back - yes, PATRICK RETURNS.
During the warm-up row, eagle-eyed Coach constantly checked if we were executing the new stroke correctly. Apparently not - so we were brought to Cosy Bay for pair-by-pair rowing where he could sit closer with a cane and 'soot' us if our arms were slightly out. Nah, just kidding. It was in fact a very effective session for us to finetune the newly-learnt technique.
Just to recap the stroke:
With arms positioned 'one-fist' distance out from the gunwale, throw your weight forward aiming for the front seat, dip the blade straight down (perpendicular to the water surface) and pull your torso back into upright position, bringing the blade along (maintain perpendicular) until mid thigh - blade out and pause - then repeat (throw weight forward... ...)
A few choice quotes of the day:
1. Coach: "Tired must practise until not tired."
2. Coach: “容易的东西都是不好的。”
Literal translation: "Easy things are all not good."
Polished translation: "Good things don't come easy."
3. Coach: "You need to control your weight." - Too brutal...
4. Dennis wisecracks: "Haha, eh - stop throwing your weight around ah."
- So punny it's funny.
After all pairs enjoyed a dose of personal attention from Coach, Papillon once again loaded up and rowed away from the 'billions of blistering barnacles'-infested steps of Cosy Bay.
We moved towards Sheares bridge, then back towards the pontoon - doesn't sound like much, but the difficulty rating was up a few notches as Coach called for an increase in stroke rate after every couple of minutes. By the end of the session, we were totally pooped-de-pooped.
In conclusion:
Much work to be done on fitness to keep up with the high stroke rate.
The new stroke is actually more energy-efficient once correct technique is mastered.
Need to consciously pay attention to own stroke to make sure you don't lapse into the ingrained old style - in other words, keep finetuning!
Have a good weekend everyone - and stretch those muscles! (Will teach y'all how to stretch your backs properly the next training.)
= Chief Editor signing off =
