It seems all of a sudden that we are nearing the end of the first set of World Cup competitions. Slowly, we are letting this Wednesday afternoon pass as we prepare for our last 3 competitions in Poklujka, Slovenia. Tomorrow is the 15km Individual, Saturday the 7.5km Sprint and Sunday the 10km Pursuit.
Last week I had a fairly successful World Cup #2 in Hochfilzen, Austria. Friday in the Sprint, I finished 18th with 1 penalty. There is ALWAYS something that an athlete is dissatisfied with or at least acknowledges the requirement for continued improvement. After my race, I was satisfied with many aspects of the race, and yet deeply frustrated that I had missed my very last shot! If only…
In the Pursuit, I did not have as much success. I shot 1,2,0,2 and finished 21st. However, on the positive side, I did ski very well. Eventually, I believe the shooting and skiing will coincide!
Sunday was the relay competition and thankfully this week we were able to fill a team. The order was Megan Imrie, myself, Sandra Keith and anchor Megan Tandy. It was not terrible, but it was not a superb day either. We used an excruciatingly large number of spares, living way too close on the edge of having to do the loop of shame. Phew… none of us did. And we finish 13th. Focus focus focus, for our next chance in Ruhpolding.
Besides our biathlon buzz, we socialized during our long multiple courses of dinner, ordered delicious cappuccinos and macchiatos, finished novels (I was reading The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields), did yoga directed by our MT Tracey, and spent long periods of time on skype… or at least I did! My wonderful parents, along with some fellow Kocher fans from Germany came to this World Cup and definitely helped me cruise up the final hill to the finish with their loud cheering!
Back to my next book… Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat. (perspective… a bad race really is not a big deal!)
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