For another assignment in English, we were asked to face an issue head on and evaluate what was learned during the process.
A few weeks ago I faced one of the biggest demons a rower can come across in their career. An erg. The erg is the land machine that rowers train on when they are unable to row on the water or are just training on land as a supplement. As a junior rower, there is a competition at the end of January called Erg Sprints. It is where rowers erg for 2000 meters as hard as they can in a room full of screaming teammates, coaches, and family members. It is a competition that involves the preparation of the body but also the mind. My team and I had been training for quite a few weeks before the day arrived. My training schedule had been right on track. Physically, I was ready, but mentally I was so unprepared. During a hard workout like one on the erg, my mind wanders ALL over the place. I think about all of the things that could go wrong and the things that are going wrong ("my legs hurt", "I can't breathe", etc...). When the day of the Erg Sprints arrived, I was extremely nervous. I knew in my heart that I could hit my goal when I sat down to compete but I was still wishing I was anywhere else but on that erg. I ended up hitting my goal that day.
Looking back now, I realize I had worked myself up for way more than I needed to have. I was ready and I just needed to remember that. When it got really hard during the Sprints and I wanted to quit, I just kept going. I pushed through and it had a fulfilling result. That feeling after I finished was one of the best feelings in the world. I had set my mind to something and I reached it successfully. I had proven to others, but mostly myself, that I can do anything I want if I work hard at it and never give up.
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