World Championships and XC World Cup

One of the great perks of being an athlete it being able to travel to new countries and meet new people. I had never been to the Czech Republic before and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The stadium in Nove Mesto was absolutely magnificent- it was HUGE! Here's a aerial of it:

It was such an amazing atmosphere in the stadium, but I could also feel how much more tense all the athletes and coaches were. Me? I think I was less tense! I was very lucky to have Richard Boruta with me for these races, so I had less work and less worries than usual. It was such a treat.

The first race was the 10km sprint and I was a little stressed. I think this came through in my skiing as I had a very slow last lap. I hit all 5 targets in prone, but missed 2 in standing, leaving me with 8/10 and not a very happy athlete at the end. The course here was very tough. Up, up, up and then a lot of down. If you didn't ski smart, you would totally blow you

r legs up (not literally- that would be messy and I think humanly impossible).

In between races was great as I was living at the same hotel as my old Canadian teammates (not in the age sense, although I did have a birthday and am now on the dark side of my twenties). We would eat together and when some of us did not qualify for the pursuit, we were able to enjoy some glasses of apple juice and play charades- just like back in the day when there was no internet. It was lovely.

Thanks Glen Crawford for the amazing photo!

The next race for the women was the 15km individual. I really was not looking forward to this race as I have not been feeling strong on my skis. But I went out, starter number 18, and really tried to ski smart and controlled. First prone I missed one, as well as in my first standing. Half way through the race and I was feeling...actually quite alright. I was enjoying my time on the trails and just focused on the task at hand. And then came 2nd prone- the wind was so strong that I clicked a total of 6 to the left....3 misses! Ah crap. (After the race my coach would inform me I should have clicked 8 or 9 to the left!). For my last standing I went into lane 24 (as this was my last race as a 24 year old) and missed 2- 24 sucked anyways (not really- written sarcasm doesn't always come through properly). So...7 misses, 7 minutes added on...not a good shooting race. But the skiing...well, for me...felt great. I thoroughly enjoyed this race.

Right before the race...This is what a focused Murphy looks like. Thanks Glen Crawford for the amazing photos!

The next day I was off at 7 am...back to the Russian embassy in Prague. But no worries, all I had to do was pick up my passport and be on my way with my new Russian visa. Successful and organized- who am I? After a short flight from Prague to Milano and a long train ride, I made it back to little S-chanf, Switzerland! Two sleeps later I found myself in Davos, Switzerland preparing for my first ever cross-country world cup race- 10 km skate.

I found the cross-country atmosphere very different to biathlon. It was not as organized as biathlon, but I will say the staff and coaches cheered a lot more for every athlete, not just their own. It was a really nice experience. Thank you very much to the Canadians for waxing my skis- they were super! And the race? Well, it was hard. I found it a lot harder than any biathlon race I have done this season. I think it is very beneficial for me to now do some xc races, not just for my speed, but also mentally to have to keep pushing through the whole race. I was last. Yep....at the very end. And far behind. But someone just told me it can only get better from there...so that is a positive :)


Thank you again to everyone for the amazing support! Even though I was last, I am still feeling the love from everyone :) xxxxx Here's to things getting better and better and 25 more years of fun and excitement:) 

Writing from Nove Mesto, Czech republic where tomorrow is the men’s and women’s sprint competitions!

But first: After making it back to Switzerland after such an extreme two weeks before, I was able to train and enjoy some relaxing time in the Swiss Alps. The weather was gorgeous, if at times a wee bit chilly, and I was even able to check out some polo being played on the frozen St. Moritz lake.

On the last day of January I packed up and drove to Martello, Italy for the next IBU cup. Only 1 hour away! It was such a treat to get to a race after just 1-hour travel. Luca Bormollini, an ex-biathlete from Italy, was so kind to come to the races as coach and support. It was a lot of fun to have someone there, and he was such a help testing my skis and going to the always-exciting coaches meetings for me.

 

It was exciting to back in Martell after 6 years away. The last time I was racing there I was 17 years old, it was my first ever-international race, and I was staring for Canada! I think it will always hold a special part in my heart J

The first race was a sprint race and I was starter number 7. It is so nice to be able to start in the first start group, but because of the forecasted fresh snow I was nervous I would have the slowest conditions. After a very tough first loop (man I don’t remember it being that hard!) I came in for prone and hit 4/5. One loop around and back out to the loop. After telling myself to relax about 47 times during the next loop, I came in for standing shooting. 5 hits! Oh thanks goodness- no penalty loops. Off around for the last 2.5km, and then the wind started. It was crazy and I was so happy to almost be finished the race.

I was very happy with the race and in the end I finished in 23^rd, 2 minutes behind.

The next day was the pursuit, and I was, of course, starter number 23, starting 2 minutes behind! 5 x 2km. After the first prone and hitting all 5 targets I had moved up to 12^th position, but then I missed 1 and then 2 and then 3! Ah no! 6 misses out of 20 shots and I had dropped to 30^th position. But, you know what, I am still very happy with the result and excited to have had a good weekend.

Opening Ceremonies- Team New Zealand! (Me and coach, Richard Boruta)

Now, the big question, how to get to the Czech Republic for World Championships!! I knew many were headed this way, but most were going to Orsblie (where, by the way, the roof of the range collapsed forcing the delay of the women’s race). In the end, the lovely, amazing, generous Polish team once again came to my rescue and I was able to get a ride to World Championships with the wax truck. 11 hours later, we arrived in Nove Mesto!

The Commonwealth solving the worlds problems ;)

The course is…tricky. Long uphills and difficult downhills. Today is official training and then tomorrow- race day!!! You can watch it live at www.biathlonworld.com!!

Have fun and smile!!! Yippee!