After 2019, I took an unplanned hiatus from the Highland Games. Truth be told, I was tired. The year was a brutal competition schedule that aimed for World Championships in two different challenging strength sports; a fairly drastic weight cut; and lots of car hours back and forth to Minnesota at least every other weekend for months on end until my newly graduated “baby” flew off to serve in the Military. His BCT graduation was sandwiched between winning a gold medal at weightlifting Masters World Championships and quickly pivoting to Highland Games Masters World Championships in just over 8 weeks.
Add in an unfortunate event at the one Highland Games I did just days after I lifted in Montreal where the judge decided to talk lies about me when I wasn’t around which ended a friendship that was incredibly meaningful to me and I really didn’t want anything to do with Highland Games for a while. SIDEBAR: A Highland Games should NEVER have a judge for a group who is also a competitor. I understand, we’re a fringe sport but throwing in Illinois always had a slightly negative feel when the judge/competitor either didn’t like me personally (AS IF!) or just didn’t like the fact that I won so often. Despite the fact that Matt & I were on the field at this particular Games for an hour and a half after throwing so if anything truly happened that the judge wanted to question, we all could have sat down together and ironed it out, she later seized the opportunity to lie; the AD refused to give me a chance to retort; friendships gone, and my joy in participating in the Games took a hit.
When so many of the Games shut down and many have still struggled to come back, I just couldn’t get my head and heart around throwing. I could have thrown at our home Games in Milwaukee in 2022 but we got a chance to have our Granddaughter for the week and that takes all priority around here. No time to throw, we’ve got toddler stuff to do! Truth be told, the world kind of stops around here when a grandbaby shows up. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
I’ve written ad nauseam of the turn of events prior to weightlifting world championships last December and the time it’s taken to get my physical self back. The meniscus tear didn’t help. Throwing is hell on knees. Highland Games throwing, even worse. You don’t control the throwing trig or it’s condition and rotating on a knee you can barely walk on some days is terrifying. It took me until July and a quick trip to Minnesota to throw with Brian Hare and his Minn-Kota throwers to finally be brave enough to try it. Brian has also come back from a meniscus tear and I’ve appreciated his sharing what worked for him as he came back.
That one practice really changed what I thought about the throwing community. It reminded me that there are really good people out there who want to have fun (fun being subjective when we threw weights for nearly an hour); learn; and get to know each other. I grabbed the other two ladies, Leslie (the caber dragon. Seriously, she just steps up, picks a beast of a caber and effortlessly turns the thing, and then calmly comes back and sits down like she just put her laundry away) and Casey (who got off a plane from Iceland, jumped in the car, and came directly to the Ren Faire and threw the height events. You could make a case that Highland Games athletes really are a bit nuts but we’re a lovable nuts;) I will forever be grateful to these two for reminding me of the beauty the Games community really is.
After that practice and knowing my knee wasn’t going to spontaneously combust, I decided to get a little serious about practicing and looking for a few Games. Yes, I said I was going to take the year off of competition. I lied. Well, I most likely didn’t lie but I was fooling myself. I wanted to dip my toes back in the Highland Games and see how things went. To be completely honest, things went swimmingly.
I signed up for a Games in northern Minnesota, God’s country. Well, God’s and some of my adoptive ancestors. My Grandma’s family settled just miles away from the throwing field when they came over from Sweden. It made the 9 hour drive well worth it. Up north Minnesota will always be one of my favorite places on earth and now it will represent the place I fell back in love with the Highland Games.
Lawds, these ladies are an amazing mix of everything wonderfully female. Competitive; hilarious; lovely; supportive; determined; with a solid foundation of knowing who they are. I have so much admiration for these qualities. I have learned (the hard way) to NEVER trust someone who has a low opinion of themselves. They will ALWAYS throw you under the bus for brief moments of self satisfaction. But not these girls. We had an absolute blast and ya know what? I actually threw pretty good! I PR’d my sheaf at 24′ and came sooooo close to it sneaking over 25!
My stones were decent even though I hadn’t practiced those at all so literally the last time I tossed a stone was November, 2019. I’ll start to care more about stones. They’re a pretty decent event for me and if I can figure out how to move without jamming my left knee into the ground, I think I have some room to move the numbers on stones. COOL! Even hammers were decent. Nothing groundbreaking but they felt smooth with, again, room to move. WOB was a bit disappointing but I won’t pout. I’m out of my groove in WOB. I’m strong and still have a bit of explosiveness left in me so I’ll take practicing next year more seriously. I always have to remember that as I age, so do others. Heh.
Then there’s the weights. Weights, in general, are a Jules event. I remember; however; back in 2019 when I started practicing with just weeks to go until Tuscon that my weights were not where they usually were and I was going to leave myself vulnerable if I didn’t figure it out. I was able to walk away with wins in both heavy and light weights for distance at the World Championships but my numbers were not where they usually were. Why? I had no idea. I was tired after it all and hadn’t touched weights again until July of 2023. Unsurprising enough, a 4 year break didn’t help my weights. A torn meniscus on my drive leg REALLY didn’t help. A healthy fear that I’d blow out my knee completely and be writhing in pain, alone, on the practice field REALLY REALLY didn’t help. I made progress but there’s work to do. Lucky for me, I love to work. I made a little progress at yesterday’s Games and I’ll take it. I see what I was doing wrong from the video the HotHunkyHubs took and I’ll go back to the drawing board. That I made a few feet progress throwing 8 days after my first Games back is a win. I’ll McGregor strut my way to the practice field and be happy my 56 year old ass can still make progress.
Lastly, the caber toss. Now, I’ve never really been a spectacular caber turner. I can usually pick one all day long but turning them is another story. At my “up north” Games, OHHHH that caber was beastly. Thick, heavy, tall BUT it’s straight so you’re not fighting a curve on top which is nice. After my 1st pick, I had a heart to heart with myself that went something like this, “knock it off Jules. You’re acting like you’re not strong. Turn this damn thing.” And I almost did. But I still had one more shot. At that point, I channeled a dear friend who hasn’t met a caber he’s never turned and flipped that beast of a caber! I had a huge pull that felt absolutely amazing and I was absolutely stoked! Stoked enough that I texted a friend and told her about it.
The reply I got, “Did you win?” Nope, nope I didn’t but I had an amazing day. I PRd an event; I didn’t break my knee; I figured out how to keep myself going all day for the first time in four years (ahhh gals, 52 to 56 is kinda different. Hit me up when you get here and you can tell me about it); AND I was the only one who turned the BEAST! Her reply? “Bummer.” Honestly, I could have cried. What a fucking sucker punch to the heart. There was actually zero “bummer” to my day. I met amazing women; I returned to the field and did pretty damn good; and I walked (albeit with a limp) off the field. By the way, never treat women you perceive as strong as if they don’t have feelings. They do. They’re not robots, they are human beings. If you can’t be a decent friend that just keep your mouth shut.
As I drove the few hours back down to the cities, I realized that maybe people expect me to appear on the field and be THE best without understanding that the goal for the day was to be MY best. See, I know what it takes to be THE best and as I work my way back to getting a shot to be THE best, I’m going to accept small victories of being MY best. I’m comfortable with that but you can be damn sure I’ll be more selective in who I share my victories with. Heh.
I had another Games, yesterday, to be MY best. And I was. No, I wasn’t THE best but I sure cheered her on! There is, I believe, about a 15 year age difference between us and I’ve been around long enough to know that she and I are not the same. Never have been to be honest but sharing a day on the field with another group of amazing ladies; with the HHH; new friends; and a massively supportive crowd was absolutely THE best!
I’m so very grateful for the Minn-Kota throwers; their tireless efforts to keep Highland Games strong in the region; their unselfish giving of time and resources; their light and laughter; and some damn good scotch being passed around.
Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. Og Mandino