Oh man.
Yesterday was a tough day. We lost our final round robin game (which started at 8 AM, which meant we had to be at the club at 7:15, which means we started driving at 6:20, which means I got up at 5:00) and were in a 4-way tie. The top two teams were also tied, but that just put them both in the semifinal. We were in the 4-way tie for the next two semifinal slots.
So we went to lunch at a place just down the street, and I had a salmon salad which was delicious and which contained vegetables (the night before we had eaten pizza and wings). Then we waited for the last round robin games to play out. Sooooo grateful that we had a 4-way tie instead of a 3-way tie. A three-way tie would have meant TWO tie-breaker games. Our game against team Hampton started at 5:30 PM and went until about 8 PM, when we conceded after 9 ends. We had already lost our round robin game to team Hampton, and they are very good.
Then they bought us drinks and we hung out and talked and laughed for an hour or so and had a good time. They are very nice people (most curlers are, I’ve found) and I enjoyed it.
I’m happy I did not have to set an alarm for 6 AM today, but sad we didn’t make it to the next round. HOWEVER, I am fired up to work hard and practice and get better at curling and work with my team to sometime make it back to the national championship. Because this has been an amazing experience. And I have already improved over the course of the week. I think my takeout shots have gotten more accurate on average. I think my draw shots have become a little more consistent. And I have swept HARD and kept going ALL THE WAY and PUSHED and HURRIED and I am grateful for my work with my trainer developing the stamina and the reserves that I needed to draw on (Thanks, Nicole!)
And it’s been interesting to experience the northern Minnesota weather. Today I woke up to 11°F and there is a brisk wind. Yesterday when we left the club it was in the teens and also very windy, and still snowing. The day we arrived it was beautiful and in the 40’s. I went for a nice walk on Sunday and didn’t need my coat. The first morning we woke up to snow on the ground, we saw a fox out the windows! So neat! But then it kept getting colder, and it snowed again, and I had to be very careful driving us back to the cabin last night because at these temps salt does not work and there were a few patches of black ice on the roads. So yeah, interesting weather. The low temp tomorrow is supposed to be -1°F at our cabin.
We leave Sunday, and everyone flying out is on a 9 PM flight out of Minneapolis-St.Paul, so we don’t have to rush. I’ll be staying in a hotel by the airport until Tuesday morning when I get an early flight to Houston to work at the National Science Teachers’ Association conference. I’m hoping to find a place I can get a massage and a mani-pedi Monday morning – if any salon or spa is open on a Monday. I worked my body hard and my fingernails are a wreck of brittleness from the dry cold.
Thank you to all of you who supported us. I hope to be able to ask for your support again at this level of competition!
TeaWithBuzz 