Life Isn't Meant to be Easy

I have always been told that life wasn't meant to be easy! This past week has certainly proved that.

We have come up against our first stumbling block on our quest for inclusion in the Australian team for the World Rowing Championships. But throughout my life I have come up against a number of obstacles in my path and at the time they seem to be impenetrable, but there are always a way of getting past those obstacles if you really want to. Maybe that is the optimist in me but I never say never.

We, the crew, all received an email on Tuesday asking us if we would be available for a teleconference on Thursday. The only thing it said was that "there were to be some changes to the selection regatta that needed to be discussed directly with us". No hint as to what they were, but to me this didn't sound good...I should always trust my instincts.

Thursday 6pm came very slowly I must say. I don't think 48 hours have ever passed so slowly. It was also ergo testing week, which takes a lot out of me so I think by the time the teleconference started my mind and body where just about at their all time fatigue levels. Then within a few sentences I felt like I had been hit with a 2 ton slab of concrete. Our invitation to selection trials was being "retracted". I didn't think I had heard this right, but unfortuntately I had.

My other crew members were obviously just as shell shocked as I was and couldn't really say anything, so of course I did! There were four points that were put to us, of which I questioned all of them and their accuracy. I'll be honest, I was pissed off! I had just spent the last 6 months working my butt off to get to these selection trials and for this to be happening felt like a kick in the gut.

But the decision was made, we were not going and this wasn't going to change. So obviously our first stepping stone, the World Cup in May was out as well. To the selectors credit they did have a plan in place with a specialised training program, a couple of camps and depending on how those went, an invite to selection trials in August.

After the teleconference I did speak with each crew member separately to get their take on everything that had been said and yes they were all pretty upset. But I told them we all had to do well on the final ergo test the following morning and that we all had to try and attain personal bests. Everyone agreed with that. I left it at that so they could have time to understand where they were and where they each individually wanted to be come August.

I think that was the hardest part, getting myself ready for the last ergo test the following morning! Not very good timing to give bad news like this. But hey I figured that bad things can happen before a race and you still have to race so this was no different. Just wish I could have gotten my brain to understand that as I only got about an hours sleep that night due to the fact that my brain wouldn't stop! I kept going over the points they had put forward to us and coming up with other things I would have liked to have say to them. So when I got to the VIS the next morning I was a tad bit tired, but very determined to do the best I could. And I did! A personal best and finally breaking through the 3:40 barrier for 1000m! Mind you it was only by 0.1, but it was still under it! I kept thinking, what would I have done if I had been properly rested? Oh well I will find out during the next ergo testing week!

I am lucky in that I have some amazing people at the VIS who support me and after speaking to them after the test, it put some things in perspective for me. We as a crew have to be proactive and not reactive to what was said to us. We all know that we have it in us to be part of the Australian team and I am sure that we will prove this over the coming months. We have to use this obstacle as a stepping stone toward our goals.

One of life's certainties is that nothing stays the same. We all have to create a mindset that looks for opportunites rather than obstacles. So I like to think that we are being given an opportunity with the plan they have come up with to be even better than we have in the past.

After all, I think we all want the same thing:

To make the boat go fast!