Thursday, December 12, 2013

World Cup 2 and 3

The Murphy gang was reunited on Thursday lunch time after 7 months apart! The Parental unit arrived after 2 days traveling and were there to help me with the heap of development gear from the IBU for Biathlon New Zealand, which I desperately needed! Mum and Dad to the rescue :)

The next day was the 7.5km sprint. It was great to arrive on the range and have my dad there all ready with the scope to zero me for the race (along with Ginge from the GBR team!), and my mum in the start area, guarding my rifle and even giving my leggies a little rub before the start! It was so funny. It was snowing in Hochfilzen for the women's race, with a little wind, but nothing crazy. I missed 1 in prone and 2 in standing, finishing 3 mins 40 seconds behind and 15.7%. For me to re qualify for the World Cup, I need to get 15% - behind, so I missed the qualification by 7 seconds- Dang! It was also great to have an Italian friend, Ilario, to help me test my skis, and Brikko Maplus for waxing my skis for the race! THANKS GUYS!

On Saturday night, we attended the IBU awards night and 20 year reunion dinner with the British team. It was great to meet up with all the coaches and team leaders, and the food was great. To end the evening off, Dad had the great idea to do a conga out of the VIP tent, so keep your eyes open for 3 crazy Murphy's doing the conga line out!

On Sunday at 5 am, the Murphy's found themselves in the rented car, packed to the rafters with gear, and heading to Seefeld, Austria for me to race a 5km skate FIS race. We arrived one hour before the start, so it was perfect timing to warm up, get my bib, and chat with the Hungarian team who THANKFULLY waxed my skis for me! THANKS HUNGARY- The skis were rockets! I finished the race in 49th out of 116 women, 1 min 27 seconds behind, and 124 FIS points. Considering the lack of sleep, no breakfast, and no ski testing, I was very happy with the race, and it felt good to be moving and grooving again! After a coffee on the deck of a cafe while watching the women's Pursuit race, we jumped in the car drove to Brescia, Italy where we spent the night and explored castles in the morning! Very cool, and nice to be running in the streets of Italy with my mum.

After a hilarious drive through Italy with dad as driver and mum as navigator, we found our way to the Mont Blanche tunnel, through Annecy, and to Le Grand Bornand, France. We have a wonderful apartment, which is located 300m from the stadium and trails, and fell right into the wonderful french lifestyle- The first morning I saw 3 men with baguettes...just saying :)

This week has been filled with training with dad on the range, skiing with mum around the loop, exploring new towns, and a $50 coffee in the Hotel Angleterre in Geneva.

Today the Canadian women placed 4th in the relay, which was very exciting, being half Canadian- CONGRATULATIONS! The next race for me is on Saturday at 10:30am, which is the sprint race. It is so beautiful here that I think everyone is so happy no matter what happens with the results!!!

After these races, I have no idea what I am doing! I am not sure if I am going to Canada for Christmas, or staying in Europe. I think I will make the decision after the weekend :)

Take care, have fun and smile!

Sarah





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