Team USA Profiles: Hillary Saeger

Here is another US Team profile. This time we present to you Hillary Saeger, who has run WOC for the USA the last 3 years.

1) What's your name?

Hillary Saeger

2) What's your hometown?

Originally from Dedham, MA, but now live in Watertown, MA with two other roommates.

3) Marital status/kids/pets

Who really has time…

4) What's your club?

NEOC (New England Orienteering Club)

5) What's your birthday?

09/25/84

6) What do you do when not orienteering?

I mostly just row in the morning and evenings, work, eat (if I have time), and sleep. Sometimes on the weekends I go crazy and relax… or Orienteer and run with the sister (US WOC Team member Samantha Saeger).

7) How did you start orienteering?

Started by being dragged to meets when I was really young by my parents and be forced to Orienteer when all I really wanted to do was play with my friends and hang out in the mud J… this was all before my competitiveness came out to play. I think once my sister started to Orienteer more, so did I … younger sister syndrome I guess.

8) What are your biggest orienteering successes so far?

Well, I basically consider it a success when I don’t get lost in the woods and have a clean run. In the long run, I don’t consider wins and losses as successes and failures, and I don’t actually keep track of what I won in the past. If I feel I have made some sort of improvement over the last year then that is a huge success for me.

9) What are your goals for 2009? What are your more long-term orienteering goals?

Right now my goal for Orienteering for 2009 is to make it to as many races as I can without conflict. Physically I feel I am pretty fit, technically I am not… Long-term goal is to become stronger technically. Rather then focusing on goals in terms of where I want to place at certain events, if I can improve technically, then I feel like other things will fall into place.

10) What is your favorite place to orienteer?

Well, any place that emphasizes my strengths is a favorite. So give me open areas, with lots of hills and I am golden J. Wyoming has always been a favorite (except for the whole not being able to breathe thing), but new places are always very exciting. I like to mix things up every now and again.

11) What are your favorite orienteering disciplines?

Well, since I am strongest at running and hills, I consider those to be my favorite, but I really think that I should branch out eventually. Still working on that one.

12) What would be your ideal training session?

I really like sprints because they are fast and usually less technical. Give me couple of those in a day would be a great workout. Oh, and have snacks and games in between too J.

13) Can you describe a typical training week?

Well, every month my rowing coach sends out my training for the next month. This week looks like on Monday- Friday I wake up at 5:05am, go to the Riverside Boathouse, and either row or erg anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. Then I head off to work and in the evening I go back to the Boathouse to either row or erg or possibly run. Then on Saturday I get up at the same time to do a hard erg workout, rest for about an hour, then go row for an hour, and then later in the day I would probably go for a run. Usually by Sunday my body is kinda whooped.

14) You had some awesome results during the World Cup round in Sälen, Sweden last summer, including a 20th place. How do you explain that success? Is it something specific about the terrain there or did you happen to just be in great shape then?

Well, as I had mentioned before, my strengths are hills and running. That is more or less what it was like at the World cup. Rowing keeps me in constant shape, especially for hills, it is a full body workout. Prior to the World Cup and WOC that year, I was training with my rowing club, Orienteering with my sister, and working at a moving company. I built up a lot of strength endurance.

15) If you didn't have to worry about money or jobs, where would you live? Why?

Truthfully, I think I would stay just where I am. Right now, I don’t “worry” about money or my job. I have my friends here, my family, rowing, good running and Orienteering. Always things going on in Boston and the weather will keep you on your toes, which allow xc skiing in the winter and lots of running and rowing in the summer. I was never very good at grammar (hence being a math major) so I think learning a new language in another country is pretty much out of the question. But if I could pick up all my favorite things that are in Boston and move them to Colorado, then that would be awesome.

16) What would you take with you to a deserted island?

Probably a boat to get off, I gotta keep moving and if I am on an island, I will eventually run out of places to go…

17) Do you have any favorite orienteering moment or memory you can share with us?

Favorite moment… not really. Collectively the whole Orienteering experiences have created most of my favorite memories. Mostly I have Orienteering feelings I remember, like finishing a hard race and knowing I did well, relaxing after a race on a nice evening just hanging out with friends. That is what I feel are my favorite moments of Orienteering. But do I have stories to tell ;)

18) In addition to training for orienteering, you are an elite-level rower. What are your goals in rowing? What aspects of rowing do you enjoy most?

Right now I am part of the lightweight rowers in a group at Riverside called the High Performance Group. My goals for this season in rowing are similar to that in Orienteering, to improve technically. I can post the fastest times on an erg among all the lightweights in the club, but put me on the water and I am a little wobbley to say the least. I will be going to a couple of races soon. I have one in the middle of April and then in May we get ready to compete in the National Team Selection races. Kind of scary, but I am getting used to facing down tough races. Things that I love about rowing is the atmosphere. I really like the rowing group that I am in, all of the girls are close to my age and we all train together.

19) What kind of music makes you feel invincible against wicked course setters and Canadians?

Well, my music changes a lot, but on my playlist right now I have music by Panic! At the Disco, Anberlin, Carolina Liar, The Fray, Fall Out Boy, The Afters, and 3 Doors Down. All that fun stuff.