Wednesday, January 11, 2012

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

Monday, January 9, 2012

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

NORMA ammunition