(Liam and Tom Zidek)
Week 1 is finito!
Today we are travelling from Oestersund, Sweden to Hochfilzen, Austria. Before jumping on the bus to the airport, Megan and I did a quick shopping spree…I needed a few items to complete an outfit and well why not seize another opportunity to shop when in such a great shopping center as Oestersund! Our travel day did not start without some excitement the night before. Robin, the oldest veteran of the team, realized his passport was not in his possession. He had in fact, packed it with his bag and computer and sent it in the van driven by wax techs Rich and Tom, which had departed after the relays Sunday for the long drive to Austria. It must be noted that this was not a first occurrence for our well-travelled veteran. Ah… the idiosyncrasies of us all. And how much fun it is to viciously tease each other!
Last week we began the World Cup circuit with a 15km Individual competition. It did not end majestically for me but instead provided a stepping stone of encouragement for the future competitions. I had an excellent last lap time; however I started so slowly my coaches wondered if I had stopped for an afternoon tea break! I also set up camp in the shooting range and still could not hit the broad side of a barn. I ended up shooting 1,1,2,1 (Prone,Standing,P,S – 5 misses) with a final result of 56th position. This was not the image I had envisioned! However, my teammate JP, had an fantastic race the following day, shooting 2 misses and finishing 10th.
Saturday, my 27th birthday, was the sprint competition. I set out on the course after having heard a “Happy Birthday song” over the loudspeakers, with a committed aggressive attitude, finishing slightly better than Thursday in 34th place with 1,1. However, I am deeply unsatisfied and am determined to continue to fight for better finishes. Nevertheless, it being my birthday, I couldn’t help but smile at the end of the day with the satisfaction that I was doing something I love to do, and enjoy the evening with my biathlon family – teammates and support staff and a big Swedish princess cake. The day before my birthday I treated myself to some retail therapy and purchased a very fun pair of boots… although I am not a practiced high heel wearer and I feel incredibly tall and unbalanced! I also received a gorgeous rose for a certain special someone. ;)
Sunday was the relay competition. To our misfortune, 2 of our women fell sick (Megan Tandy and Sandra Keith) the day before and we were unable to fill a relay team. Instead, Megan Imrie and I trained, and then quickly fled to the Christmas market embracing Swedish culture and the lure of shopping for a few small Christmas gifts.
Besides, the blissful moments of cruising the Christmas decorated main street and Christmas market, we were continually entertained by our baby teammate, Liam, Anna Carin and Tom Zidek’s 1.5 year old son. His cheering and cute Swedish toque definitely helped mama to the podium in the Individual! We tried to teach him some bad tricks during the week, but instead, his favorite fixation was cheering his sippy cup with us at every meal.
Week 2 begins… in Hochfilzen, Austria this Friday. Do a snow dance… it’s looking very thin and sparse out the window!
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