Ski racing in Rhinelander, WI, at the Hodag Challenge!
With my skiing buddy, and one of my best friends, Lily Kraft on New Years
This was a very important event for me this winter: Saving Auto (Pronounced Otto), the
Barred Owl. He had a horrible accident with a car, and is getting better at Raptor Rehab!
Racing at 2011 State Championships in Wausau, Wisconsin.
My incredible parents with me after a race - so much love!
The Tutu Trio: Ski Teammates Jessica Timmerman, Hailey Thompson, and Lily Kraft, all decked out for our last race of the season, the 25 kilometer Lakeland Loppet.
To say I've been remiss about my posts would be an understatement. I have been absolutely pathetic. But I have been pretty busy with other things - let me tell you about my winter!
Well, after Worlds (man, that was ages ago!) the Fall came, and hit me with the full force of Wisconsin's natural beauty. With the golden leaves and crisp mornings came my junior year of highschool, the advent of a whole slew of new classes and friends, ACT and SAT tests (my absolute favorites!), the beginning of college searches, dry-land training (essentially, running up lots of big hills) for my upcoming ski season, and weight training for this upcoming paddling season.
Winter took it's own sweet time arriving. For a person who lives to ski in this season, it was infuriating. But by the time soft snows started falling in December, I was absolutely thrilled to hit the trails. My ski team is rather like my family - after school, just about every day of the week, my team mates and I would head out to the ski lodge, and lay down between 8 and 20 kilometers. The beauty of nordic skiing is that not only does it make winter bearable, it makes winter lovable. I can't even tell you how much I cringe when I hear complaints about snowy precipitation.
Then, on weekends, we skiers and our incredibly supportive parents would make the trek to all corners of the Northwoods, to attend races with names like "The Hinder Binder" or "The Hodag Challenge" or "The Snekkevik" or "The Lakeland Loppet"...definitely a predominantly Scandinavian sport, hahaha.
Skiing has infected my family - both of my parents have taken to hopping on a set of skis in the evenings, and wandering around the woods that surround our house. My dad has even figured out a way to groom our own set of trails (His real name is MacGyver). My mom loves nothing more than to go out to Iola (our local ski area) and spend hours skate skiing. It's phenomenal to have a family passion that keeps us in shape and in love with the snow.
My Competitive Ski season wasn't too bad either - I made it onto Varsity this season, which was pretty exciting, and our Girls Varsity took 4th at state! I'm hoping to get some better individual rankings next season - but that is for the future to determine.
Speaking of the future! Canoecopia is this upcoming weekend! YAHOO! Canoecopia not only means attending an awesome expo put on by Rutabaga the Paddlesport Shop, listening to some incredible speakers, and getting to hang out with a host of cool paddlers - it means that the paddling season is about to begin!
This season is looking exciting already! The U.S. Open, National Team Trials, and an International Canoe Federation Camp in July in France are on the schedule for the season, and depending on whether or not I make the National Team this Year, I may or may not be adding World Championships in Slovakia to that list...holy guacamole!
So, if you get a chance, swing by Canoecopia this year. It's in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Alliant Energy Center from March 11 to 13. I'll be giving a talk at 11:30 on Saturday at the expo, so stop by if you have the time and want to visit (although I give no assurances of the speech itself...public speaking, the fear of all teenagers!), but I'd love to meet you, and see where paddling and the outdoors has taken you in your life.
Peace,
Hailey
Well, after Worlds (man, that was ages ago!) the Fall came, and hit me with the full force of Wisconsin's natural beauty. With the golden leaves and crisp mornings came my junior year of highschool, the advent of a whole slew of new classes and friends, ACT and SAT tests (my absolute favorites!), the beginning of college searches, dry-land training (essentially, running up lots of big hills) for my upcoming ski season, and weight training for this upcoming paddling season.
Winter took it's own sweet time arriving. For a person who lives to ski in this season, it was infuriating. But by the time soft snows started falling in December, I was absolutely thrilled to hit the trails. My ski team is rather like my family - after school, just about every day of the week, my team mates and I would head out to the ski lodge, and lay down between 8 and 20 kilometers. The beauty of nordic skiing is that not only does it make winter bearable, it makes winter lovable. I can't even tell you how much I cringe when I hear complaints about snowy precipitation.
Then, on weekends, we skiers and our incredibly supportive parents would make the trek to all corners of the Northwoods, to attend races with names like "The Hinder Binder" or "The Hodag Challenge" or "The Snekkevik" or "The Lakeland Loppet"...definitely a predominantly Scandinavian sport, hahaha.
Skiing has infected my family - both of my parents have taken to hopping on a set of skis in the evenings, and wandering around the woods that surround our house. My dad has even figured out a way to groom our own set of trails (His real name is MacGyver). My mom loves nothing more than to go out to Iola (our local ski area) and spend hours skate skiing. It's phenomenal to have a family passion that keeps us in shape and in love with the snow.
My Competitive Ski season wasn't too bad either - I made it onto Varsity this season, which was pretty exciting, and our Girls Varsity took 4th at state! I'm hoping to get some better individual rankings next season - but that is for the future to determine.
Speaking of the future! Canoecopia is this upcoming weekend! YAHOO! Canoecopia not only means attending an awesome expo put on by Rutabaga the Paddlesport Shop, listening to some incredible speakers, and getting to hang out with a host of cool paddlers - it means that the paddling season is about to begin!
This season is looking exciting already! The U.S. Open, National Team Trials, and an International Canoe Federation Camp in July in France are on the schedule for the season, and depending on whether or not I make the National Team this Year, I may or may not be adding World Championships in Slovakia to that list...holy guacamole!
So, if you get a chance, swing by Canoecopia this year. It's in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Alliant Energy Center from March 11 to 13. I'll be giving a talk at 11:30 on Saturday at the expo, so stop by if you have the time and want to visit (although I give no assurances of the speech itself...public speaking, the fear of all teenagers!), but I'd love to meet you, and see where paddling and the outdoors has taken you in your life.
Peace,
Hailey
As I type this, I find myself in the Ljubljana Airport, waiting to get on a plane, and consequentially, other planes, that will bring me home, to Wisconsin. Before passing through security, I was able to spend an hour or so talking with two fascinating guys over mugs of Slovenian Hot Cocoa - one of them was Slovenian/Australian, and one Norwegian…it seemed to be a reminder of all of the amazing, multi-cultured people I’ve had an opportunity to meet while being here. That said, I have to admit, I am really, really excited to get back and see my parents, my dog, and my friends. These past two weeks in Slovenia have been truly incredible. I came alone, to Europe, for the first time, which was an adventure in itself, but also found myself in some truly interesting situations leading up to the competition. Tuesday evening, I had wrapped up my last training session. I returned to the police academy with Nuria Vilarrubla (Spain) and Reka Forizs (Hungary), to put on our team uniforms for the Opening Ceremony Parade…I was really excited, because Opening Ceremonies are always a fun show, and a great opportunity to meet foreign friends. Nuria, Reka, and I were joined by Jane and Ella (New Zealand and Cook Islands), and we began walking to where the bus would take us to the ceremony. Barely 5 minutes away, I tripped on a metal stub, and came crashing onto the sidewalk with a hefty cut on my knee…not too smooth on my part. A kind Slovenian lady helped us, and gave us a ride to the meeting area. The French coaches, Pierrick, Medhi, and Jonathan met us, looked at my knee, and told me I was headed to the hospital…so, I missed out on Opening Ceremonies, but I did get to experience first-hand, a Slovenian operating room, and a couple of stitches. I was pretty bummed about the stitches, but even more concerned about how I was going to kneel in a canoe the next day to race. The course set was complicated, with lots of energetic bursts of speed required. I had studied video, and walked the course, and with the exception of the stitches (which kept me out of my boat for time periods of more than 3 minutes, so no good warm-up) I was feeling prepared. It was a cold, rainy day, but the sun came out through the rain just before my run…it was almost as good a getting a hug for luck before starting. Once I began paddling, I barely felt my knee; I was focused on the race. I laid down a clean, if not remarkably speedy run, which planted me firmly in 10th place. I wasn’t sure if I should take a second run, because I was top 20, and progressing to Semifinals anyways, but I’m not one to watch other people paddle…so two hours later, I got back in my boat, and took a second run. It was going to be flawless, but at the 14th gate, I hit a wave wrong, and was pushed down beneath two gates – sustaining two 50-second penalties. After everyone had raced, I was still in 12th from my first time, so I made it to semis. The next day, racing was cancelled. The previous day’s rain had swollen the river into a massive, roaring torrent which poured out of the side walls and onto the sidewalks. I spent the day at the riverside, wishing I could hop in a boat and play in the mammoth waves. The following two days were qualifying runs for men, and finals for women kayaks…I love cheering for my friends, but I am also much more of a competitor than a spectator, so Sunday, and Semifinals couldn’t come fast enough. The water was back to normal levels, and the course was unchanged, so I reviewed it carefully, and prepared for my run. My knee was a lot less painful after three days of rest, so I hopped in the boat early for a proper warm-up. Feeling good, I awaited my run in the start gate. The timer clicked away beside me, and I was conscious of the mass of humanity on the river bank – Slalom is pretty popular here, and there were a lot of very happy spectators. Finally, the last three seconds beeped away beside me, and I took off. My run had the right pieces, but it wasn’t as fast as I had hoped. I leapt out of my boat, and ran to the scoreboard. I ranked 3rd, initially, but there were 12 highly skilled ladies left to go. Anxiously, I watched each competitor charge down the course, hoping I could cling to top ten, and make it to Finals. Finally, the last girl made it down the course – and I rested in 10th place! I was stoked! This was my first time in the Finals of a Senior World event…and I couldn’t be happier. The next several hours before my run were tough. I vacillated between total disbelief, minor panic moments, and pure, care-free anticipation. Finally, the time for me to get in my boat rolled around. Things blurred, and then I was doing my final run. I lost a lot of time when I flipped beneath the big upper drop, but regained some of it at the bottom of the course. When I finished, I was in 1st place briefly. I was bumped to 3rd, and remained there for quite some time, but ended up finishing in 6th. I couldn’t be happier about this finish either – it’s my best result to date, when competing with women of all ages.
