November and December were busy months for me in terms of swimming; I missed a week of school in November to participate in the South East Asian Age Group Championships in Brunei, Singapore National Short Course was in December, and we had our annual trip to Bangkok Patana right before December break. Not only was I under a lot of pressure to perform, I also had to keep up with my school work, which has increased a lot since the beginning of the year.
The SEAAG trip took place from the 7th to 13th of November. I went with the Singapore team to swim the 50 and 100 breaststroke, and placed 7th and 6th respectively. This trip was something I was very worried about, as I’ve never interacted with anyone on the team, and I knew I would have to make new friends throughout the week, which is something I’m not very confident doing. I did eventually make friends, however I found it very difficult as everyone already knew each other, and they weren’t particularly accepting of newcomers. My swimming performance was also subpar, which was disappointing as it was quite an important meet for me.
National Short Course were in the beginning of December. I swam 50, 100, and 200 breaststroke, and was very happy with my performance in all 3. This meet was probably one of the best meets I’ve done in the past few years, and I think that points to how my training has changed – I’ve become more committed, not in terms of training volume, but in terms of effort, which I think has really made a difference to my performance.
Feeding Frenzy takes place every year in Bangkok Patana, and it’s known to be one of the most fun yet most tiring meets of the year. Over 2 days, I swam in 6 relays and 10 individual events. Within our team, the meet is notorious for being “slow,” however I was pretty impressed with the way my breaststroke events were. Again, I think this can be traced back to the difference in my training recently, but also to the support of my teammates.
Now that we’re in the new year, I have a few more meets to look forward to and train for. SEASAC and SNAGS are in March, Dragons Den in April, and National Long Course in June, all of which I plan to participate in. Hopefully my training mindset stays and my work doesn’t get any more hectic.
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