Canmore IBU race number 1!

Jp and I in the Canmore parade!

Canmore has been the most amazing place this last week.  Beautiful blue sky days, perfect ski tracks, and an amazing atmosphere. It has been the perfect rev-up for the IBU cup races happening right now! BIG news on the Team New Zealand front- we have JP Lilburne here from NZ racing in the mens category! Thats right- we have 2 people on our team now- We have doubled!

My preparation for these races has been...lets say different to others. Working three days a week as a ski patroller at Lake Louise Ski Field is amazing and I am enjoying it immensely. It is really satisfying helping someone with an injury down the mountain in the toboggan, giving someone tips on where to go, and the few turns we get in ourselves isn't too shabby either ;) 

Training has been great as well, and through January I was feeling really strong. And then last Saturday came about and I fell sick. Ah Murphy's law! Right before the 1st real races of the season! So, I have been recovering since Saturday, drinking garlic, ginger, lemon and honey concoctions (better than it sounds!) and resting up. I think it is working- but I am still sounding like a bull frog.

So today I decided to race the 7.5km sprint- the first race of the IBU races here in Canmore! I was really excited to be racing again. I ended up missing 2 in prone and 3 in standing. What a disaster on such a perfect day! But, I have decided to look at this race as though it was a warmup race and hopefully things will improve from here. There is another sprint tomorrow so here's hoping....

Jp also raced, and did great. He missed 5 as well and thoroughly enjoyed himself out on those trails.

Thank you everyone who came up to the races and cheered us all on! Also, thank you to everyone not there for the telepathic love :)

Smile!!!!

Sarah

Have a gander at this article :)

http://www.rmoutlook.com/article/20120112/RMO1101/301129978/-1/rmo/kiwi-biathlete-back-in-a-big-way

New year, New Job, New experiences!

Well, Happy New Year everyone! A bit late I know but I thought I should just put it out there! I hope everyone is loving 2012 as much as I am.

Training has been going great. The weather has been very, very warm (until today...-24!) so it was easy to go out and do nice long workouts and shooting sessions. Christmas was great in the Murphy household, and New Years was fabulous with a trip with old and new friends to Revelstoke, BC for some great skiing. I felt very lucky!

The races I did last weekend (last update) were great, and it was so nice to be back into the racing scene. Today was also my first day at my new job- ski patrol at Lake Louise Ski Field. I will be working 3 days a week there, and training 4 days a week. I am really excited to be using my Pre-Hospital Emergency Care certification which I received in New Zealand. It is really exciting to be doing new things, as well as making some money to fund my biathlon!

I also found out today that I will be racing in the Arctic Circle Race in Greenland in March! I am very excited to be going and to be given this amazing opportunity. Check out the race= http://www.acr.gl/

Take care everyone and go out and live life!!!

:) Sarah

1st Races of the season!

Well, the first races of the season just passed and it was so great to be back into racing again!

The races this weekend were Calforex Cup races in Canmore, Canada. On Saturday was the 15km Individual, and Sunday was the 7.5km Sprint.

The race on Saturday was very interesting. The skiing felt great- I felt quite strong and my technique felt good. My shooting, on the other hand, let me down slightly. I missed 2 in my first prone, and then 3 in my first standing- Ah, not a good start! I came in for my next prone and hit all 5- yippee! Coming in for my last standing I was feeling strong- but missed 2. Ah, 7 misses- 13/20. That means 7 minutes was added to my time. At least I didn't have to ski penalty loops! I places 2nd this day, 8 seconds behind Kat from the Academy team.

I have been experimenting with foods and race preps, so that night my father and I had pancakes and bacon for dinner. I'm not sure if it worked or not, but it was delicious!

The next day was the sprint race and I was the last starter in the Womens category. The conditions were good, but tricky skiing with hard ice covered in a dusting of sugar snow. I hit all my targets in the prone shooting, and it felt very nice to ski right past that penalty loop. I was concerned about the standing, so I took it easy coming into the range. I hit my first 4 (9 out of 10- Ya!) and then on the last target my mind got to me and I missed it- Ah, almost clean! All well, I am still very happy about 9/10. I placed 1st in this race, 18 seconds in front of Karen Messenger, who shot 10/10! Good on ya, Karen!

Thank you very very much to the amazing people who came and cheered me on! I really appreciate it! Also, well done to Biathlon Alberta and the Rocky Mountain Racers for great organizing!

Take care, have fun and smile!!

:) Sarah

Season plan....but they can always change ;)

Hi Everyone,

I have now been back in Canmore for almost a month, which is crazy! I have just been training and visiting with family in that time, and trying to figure out a plan for this coming season. I currently do not have a coach, due to the fact that I cannot afford one. So I am creating  a training plan for myself.

This season, the plan right now is to stay in Canmore and train. The plan is to compete in the Canmore IBU cup races and then go to Germany for the World Championships. From here to then I will compete in local cross-country and biathlon races.

Not as exciting as other years, but I think it will be nice to stay in one spot for a bit!

Take care, have fun, and smile :)

Sarah

THANKS LIFEWORKS!

Lifeworks has come on board to help keep me strong! You Rock!

Mount Aspiring!

Now this was a very special trip!

Mount Aspiring

 We did not decide to do the trip until 10am that day. After calling up the helicopter company we found out there we just 2 spots left in the chopper, which was perfect for us as it means it is also cheaper! So we frantically threw all our stuff together and drove to Raspberry Hut parking lot, about an hour from Wanaka. From there we flew up to the only Department of Conservation allowed landing spot and skied across the Bonar glacier to Colin Todd Hut.

Driving up the valley

Our helicopter

Up to the hut

 That afternoon we went for a little walk just to get into the groove of things. It was a very clear night, with a beautiful sunset.

Mount Aspiring with Hut

There were 4 Italians, an man from Israel, a man from Belgium, and a kiwi guide. It was cozy. We woke up at 4:30am the next day and set off on our adventure at 5:30am. I was very excited! We climbed while the sun was rising. We were very lucky to have a clear, blue sky day and not a breathe of wind.

Ready to go!

Mr Hasler, the brains and skills

Climbing my headlamp

Here comes the sunshine!

We are getting there!

Gorgeous.

 The route we took went up whats called the 'Kangaroo'patch' and then up the normal NW ridge route. We made it to the summit at 9am, and had lunch....which seems strange as it was 9am. It did not feel that early though. It was so beautiful! After a nice relaxing 20mins on top, we headed back down via the ramp. We only had to do one small rappel and then we were homeward bound.

Bruce on the summit

Team extreme!

Yahoo! Me on the summit

An amazing day!

Now back down the ramp

Up the glacier

 Once we got back to the hut we had a real lunch of soup and lollies, packed up, and headed back out enroute to French Ridge hut. We ski toured up the Bonar glacier with an ominous cloud following us. Luckily is seemed to stop just at Colin Todd hut and we had a clear tour up the glacier. The crevasses were amazing, and it was the most amazing experience just being in the middle of nowhere, using your own strength to get around, as well as having had a successful climb. I was very happy. We skied up to the 1/4 deck and from there had the most amazing ski down to French Ridge hut. It was the best snow I can remember ever skiing. It made for an amazing end to the day.

The ominous clouds!

It was amazing

Fortunately they just stayed there

Aspiring in the background

French Ridge Hut

It was so nice to get here, which was at about 6pm! The first thing we did was make a cuppa and jump in our sleeping bags for a nap. Our faces were very red and our bodies were quite tired, but it was a very satisfied exhaustion. That night we just cooked (pesto and pasta!) and went to bed. Party!

The next morning we headed down the ridge. And what a ridge it is! Hiking down in plastic mountaineering boots with your skis on your very heavy backpack is ridiculous! The ridge is more like a beaten path, and with the skis on your back both tips get stuck on either the trees above or the rocks under you. This then pitches you forward to your death. I down climbed a lot of it facing the hill because it was so difficult. This was the hardest part of the trip! Let me tell you, getting to the river at the bottom was a very good feeling! Too bad there was still more than 3 hours to go.

Down the ridge

Fun times

Beautiful though

Finally the river!

I was happy to get to the bottom,

 We then set off and hiked for another 3 hours along the valley. It was very beautiful, although it felt as though my feet were going to fall off. Luckily they didn't. Making it to the end was very exciting, and I felt very privileged to have been given this opportunity to experience such an amazing New Zealand gem. Thanks to Bruce for the most amazing guide and friend in the world, and for getting me home safely. And thank you to Outside Sports in Queenstown for the skis- Without them I would have been walking! You ROCK!

Mueller Hut and Annette Plateau- The windy wonderland!

Adventure galore have been happening here in New Zealand, with two amazing glacier trips lately: one up to Mueller Glacier in Mount Cook national park, and the other was climbing Mount Aspiring in Mount Aspiring national park.

 The Mueller trip was forecasted to be beautiful. Murphy's law it wasn't. The winds were so strong (60 - 80km/h) that camping in the wind scoop on the top of Annette Plateau blew my socks off, and us almost off the mountain! Cooking dinner was a mission in itself, not to mention the 6 hour ski tour to the plateau.

Sleeping in the single-skin summit tent, it felt as though the sides of the tent were going to be torn apart. Actually, it was probably a large possibility. It was a fun game though, trying to read the wind and then press yourself against the side of the tent to give it a bit more stability. Needless to say, it was a sleepless, shaky night, and in the morning it was a treat to find the cooking pots and stove frozen solid and covered in snow. We made the decision to pack up as fast as possible (it was 7am) and make our way back to Mueller hut (without breakfast or tea!) to get some shelter from the wind.

I may look a bit special, but this is me trying to tackle the wind. I lost :(

 

Upon our arrival to Mueller hut, we made copious amounts of tea and oatmeal, crawled into our sleeping bags, and chatted with a random man named Ingor. It was very peaceful, oh, apart from the wind outside which sounded (and felt) as though it was going to blow the windows apart. At 4:00pm we decided to head down, even though we had planned another day up there. The weather was not looking good for the next day either. We skied as far down as we could, resulting in becoming to far left of the trail, and requiring a little bit of vigorous bush wacking and a bit of down climbing with ice axes. It was magical!

 But we made it down safely! All in all it was a great experience and fantastic trip!