World Champion... at last.
Last weekend was nothing short of exhausting, both mentally and physically. Right off the bat I had to roll Taylor Duffy, and Abby Hoeshler. I hadn't rolled against Taylor in five years, and Abby has a habit of beating me on a regular basis. Needless to say I was super nervous. Luckily both matches had a great outcome. In semi finals, I had to roll Jenny Atkinson, last year's world champion. She smoked me the weekend before in La Crosse, so I wasn't expecting much. I ended up taking the match three falls straight! Then, I had to wait two days before finals. Next up: boom running. This particular boom run was not one of my favorites. If you even looked at these lathe-turned logs funny, they would spin you off into the water. Thus I fell in for both time trials and didn't make it to the finals for the ILRA boom. I was a bit sad at first, but it was nothing a pint of Ben and Jerry's couldn't make feel better. Plus, I still had the log rolling finals, and the STIHL Timbersports boom run to compete in.
Saturday the only event I had to compete in was one boom run against Tanya Fischer for the Quarter Finals of the STIHL Timbersports boom run. It was a VERY close race, but I pulled it off without falling in. That night us “party animals” (aka. people too young to drink, and people to old to want to drink) went over to Jamie's and played with the the puppies. They also tried unsuccessfully (again!) to teach me poker. It was a really fun night with great friends.
Sunday morning Jamie and I warmed up at his house. It was a little less stressful than being at the arena. After several other exciting finals matches, I was finally up against Lizzie. She exhausted me to the point where I thought I wouldn't finish the match, but luckily I was able to win three falls straight. After this emotional roller coaster, I kind of started to cry. I got flashbacks of going to Hayward with my mom and dad, watching the professional rollers hoping to one day become a world champion. Up until this year, I seriously doubted it was possible. Then I cried because I knew my mom wanted this for me so much, but couldn't be there to see it. I will show her the video when I get it, but it still won't be the same. Quite the moment, let me tell you.
Later that day we ran the semi finals and finals for the STIHL Timbersports boom run. Needless to say Mandy smoked me in semis (I fell in AGAIN). I ran against Jenny for third and fourth, and luckily for me SHE fell in. So I took my time, had a clean run, and went home with third place. I was pretty pumped, because I had NO expectations for this boom run.
All in all it was a GREAT weekend, just very exhausting. I'm still trying to recover! But before I get the chance to recover, it's off to Hayward tomorrow afternoon. Woof!
I need to thank some incredible people: Olivia (for being the greatest training partner and fellow Madison log roller ever), Ken (for being such a supportive boyfriend and coach), John Hallett and Kent Kallsen (for getting me started in this stuff), and of course, my parents, for taking me to all of the tournaments, and emphasizing that FUN should be the key in this sport, not winning. My amazing parents are my inspiration for everything.
Last weekend was nothing short of exhausting, both mentally and physically. Right off the bat I had to roll Taylor Duffy, and Abby Hoeshler. I hadn't rolled against Taylor in five years, and Abby has a habit of beating me on a regular basis. Needless to say I was super nervous. Luckily both matches had a great outcome. In semi finals, I had to roll Jenny Atkinson, last year's world champion. She smoked me the weekend before in La Crosse, so I wasn't expecting much. I ended up taking the match three falls straight! Then, I had to wait two days before finals. Next up: boom running. This particular boom run was not one of my favorites. If you even looked at these lathe-turned logs funny, they would spin you off into the water. Thus I fell in for both time trials and didn't make it to the finals for the ILRA boom. I was a bit sad at first, but it was nothing a pint of Ben and Jerry's couldn't make feel better. Plus, I still had the log rolling finals, and the STIHL Timbersports boom run to compete in.
Saturday the only event I had to compete in was one boom run against Tanya Fischer for the Quarter Finals of the STIHL Timbersports boom run. It was a VERY close race, but I pulled it off without falling in. That night us “party animals” (aka. people too young to drink, and people to old to want to drink) went over to Jamie's and played with the the puppies. They also tried unsuccessfully (again!) to teach me poker. It was a really fun night with great friends.
Sunday morning Jamie and I warmed up at his house. It was a little less stressful than being at the arena. After several other exciting finals matches, I was finally up against Lizzie. She exhausted me to the point where I thought I wouldn't finish the match, but luckily I was able to win three falls straight. After this emotional roller coaster, I kind of started to cry. I got flashbacks of going to Hayward with my mom and dad, watching the professional rollers hoping to one day become a world champion. Up until this year, I seriously doubted it was possible. Then I cried because I knew my mom wanted this for me so much, but couldn't be there to see it. I will show her the video when I get it, but it still won't be the same. Quite the moment, let me tell you.
Later that day we ran the semi finals and finals for the STIHL Timbersports boom run. Needless to say Mandy smoked me in semis (I fell in AGAIN). I ran against Jenny for third and fourth, and luckily for me SHE fell in. So I took my time, had a clean run, and went home with third place. I was pretty pumped, because I had NO expectations for this boom run.
All in all it was a GREAT weekend, just very exhausting. I'm still trying to recover! But before I get the chance to recover, it's off to Hayward tomorrow afternoon. Woof!
I need to thank some incredible people: Olivia (for being the greatest training partner and fellow Madison log roller ever), Ken (for being such a supportive boyfriend and coach), John Hallett and Kent Kallsen (for getting me started in this stuff), and of course, my parents, for taking me to all of the tournaments, and emphasizing that FUN should be the key in this sport, not winning. My amazing parents are my inspiration for everything.
