Junior National Team!

Happy belated New Year everyone! I imagine most people have already pried themselves off the couch and are starting to get moving again. Track and field has always been one of my main motivators to stay active and not veg out too much in the springtime. Unfortunately, this year I wasn’t able to run track. It was a bit of a let down to not be on a sports team for the final term of my high school campaign, especially after the teacher’s union strike that stomped out all the winter sports. I had full intentions of running track until I realised there were going to be some outright conflicts with qualifier meets and training camps for skiing. So instead of drinking away my sorrows (that was a joke) I’ve spent my time out on the trails, running and riding my mountain bike with my parents. Last weekend I did a 10k road race with my mum for Mother’s Day, and I think there is a Rotary 10k next week as well. I think 10k is a good event for me now, even last year I was an outlier for track in the 3000m and steeple chase. Being about 4″ taller, 40lbs heavier and capable of bench pressing the other girls weight equivalent isn’t much good in a 5 minute leg race. And so I retired from track and field.

Small talk kills me, but I can’t help but comment on the weather we’ve been had here lately. Normally the snow in southern Ontario is long gone before April even starts, not this year though. The snow was barely melting off the trails in time for the mountain bike race opener at Hardwood a couple weeks ago and there are still snow mounds on the banks of the parking lot! I’m not normally one to complain about snow, but after I come home from Nationals I’m pretty done with it. Especially when the conditions are marginal and I just want to get out for a bike ride. On the topic of snow, we got a snow day in the middle of April! It was pretty uncalled for and caused more trouble than good for the most part since it was on the same day as the grade ten literacy test. Ah well, been there done that – no complaints here! Alright, my last weather comment is on the crazy rain/wind storm that came through the other day. I’ll put up a couple pictures I took the morning of the rain storm later. The pictures don’t quite capture how heavily it was raining, but I can attest that walking to the bus that morning felt like taking a shower full dressed – just a lot colder and with more wind.

Now, what else has happened… – right! So I got some pretty big news last month over the phone telling me that I’d been named to the 2013-2014 Junior National Ski Team as well as the National Development Centre in Thunder Bay! I’m super excited about being named to the Junior team, there was some pretty stiff competition this year so to come out as one of the top6 in the country was, well, an eyeopener. I’m looking forward to being able to train with the other girls on the Junior team as well as my NDC teammates. I’ll be heading up to Thunder Bay at the end of the month to do some training and get some planning in for this coming season. Then it’s back home for a few weeks before exams and then back up north for good.

Yikes! Only one more month until exams! holy mackerel, time flies when you’re rarely at school! I’ve actually been pretty good this semester though, other than Nationals, I don’t think I’ve missed a day – and believe me, I’m feeling it. I am not cut out for this ‘going to school every day’ stuff. I think most of the grade twelves are feeling the same way. A big wave of acceptance letters went out after our midterm marks were assigned, which was a huge relief for the majority of people. I got my acceptances in January and kind of put it in neutral after that – which probably wasn’t the best thing to do… but it’s so hard to keep your foot on the pedal when the only requirement to keep my acceptance and entrance scholarships was to not let my average drop more than 23%… Anyways, there has been a marked decline in the number of grade twelves studying in the library since acceptance letters went out as well as a significant increase in “winging it” on all academic accounts. I guess you could say we’re on the way out..

In other news, there is a dodgeball tournament at school tomorrow. That is partly why I’m writing this post today… Eastview dodgeball tournaments can get pretty intense, tempers flare, rivalries mount, all that good stuff. … I guess what I’m getting at is that there is a slight chance I might die tomorrow or be seriously injured (not even kidding). There are few things scarier than squaring off against the teacher’s team, or the gym-junkies who train all year for this, and have no qualms about beaming you one right in the windpipe. The teachers probably see the dodgeball tournament as their one fair opportunity to be out for the blood of their students. I guess it goes both ways, there are definitely some students who have a bone to pick with some teachers who will not be named. At least it should be interesting. I’m trying to decide on what I should deck myself out in tomorrow; I’m caught between wearing a ski helmet, goggles and my track singlet, and my spandex race suit. It’s a tough call, the ski helmet will reduce the likelihood of concussion but also makes for a bigger target. … I think I’ll sleep on this one.

So I have a decent post shaping up that I’ll probably put up this weekend. It doesn’t have anything to do with what I’ve been up to recently, it’s more of an informative post for skiers/athletes in general. If I don’t get it up this weekend it’s probably because I’ve been rendered incapable of blogging because of the dodgeball tournament. In the meantime, here are the pictures of the morning of the rain storm and some other randoms..