Irsyad's Sports Day

21st April 2011. Inter-House Sports Day.

The above statement says it all. The long-awaited event of the year. Coupled with the fact that it is my last year in Irsyad, it just made this day all the more memorable. To add to that, it was my first time taking part in ANY athletics track event.

The day began with the sun welcoming everyone with its radiant shine. Bishan Stadium was the setting, and its seats were filled with hundreds of students, all clad in their own House shirt; Water, Wind, Fire and Earth. For the first half of the day, Irsyad held the Inter-House games for the primary level.

Bishan Stadium ^^.

It was only morning and my heart was already beating fast. I was running for two events; the 100m solo and the 4x100m relay. Ignoring my weak limbs, I dashed to the field and began to take pictures.

The hours passed and bit by bit, the continuous sweating slowly sapped my energy. Fully exposed to the sun's glare, it was impossible not to feel tired and weary. I was hoping with all my heart that the primary level events would end soon. Sure enough, at about 12:30pm, the games were ended and the prizes were given. Water House won 1st place for the primary level^^.

That spurred me on.

After a mass Zuhr prayer at An-Nahdhah Mosque, the secondary girls events began. Us boys were locked out, with good reason. Seeing as we had about 2 to 3 hours of free time, Danish and I rested at the mosque. It was a moment of peace, away from the cheering and the shouting. Then, I had a quick shower, just to freshen up. True enough, the shower did wonders.

Both me and Danish walked back to the stadium, myself feeling very weak. I didn't have much to eat. As soon as we got back to the stadium, it was announced that the secondary boys' runs were about to start. I was almost shaking with fear. I went for my bag and took out my can of Red Bull, something I bought the previous day. Just something which I thought might help.

As soon as I got to the tracks, I was escorted to my racing team. The nerves began to work its way through my body. There weren't just butterflies in my stomach. I think a whole ecosystem of bugs and insects were crawling everywhere inside of me. I started coughing. What a time to get sick, huh?

"The 100m singles event..", went the commentator. I was on the verge of exploding. Gosh. We all lined up at our respective places. I was on Lane no. 1, the farthest away from the spectators. Hah. Not that it mattered anyway!

BANG! The gunshot was fired. I was shocked and for a moment, I couldn't move. Then, my instincts kicked in and I began to put one leg in front of the other. Hanafiah, who was running beside me, literally fell. That was another reason for my state of shock. I was like, "Ugh, run, you fool! Run!". I started off bad and in the end, I got 7th place. I was very demoralised. But nonetheless, people cheered me up, saying it was okay.

My second event was the 4x100m relay. This one, I thought, I had to give it my best. Again, I stepped up to my lane. I was the first runner, by the way. So, in the few moments I had to relax, I just threw away all thoughts of pain. BANG! Gunshot; 4 runners moving off.

I pushed as hard as I could. My left thigh began hurting again, but I just kept on pushing. Until about a few seconds, I made it to the second runner, Syafiq. Gosh, after releasing the baton, all the tension was gone. I ran back to the starting line to accept Danish in my arms when he crossed the finishing line. Well, we got 2nd place! Good enough ;D

Too tired to pose? :3

At the end day, the only thing I felt was comfort. I felt comfortable and also happy that I participated. And even though I didn't win any gold medals, I was glad to know that people still supported me even after the results.

Irsyad family moments <3