My spring was a wonderful whirlwind of events!

After a not so great World Cup racing season, I flew to Charlo, New Brunswick for National Championships to finish the year off. I had an excellent end to the year, winning all 4 events (Individual, Sprint, Pursuit and Mixed Relay). The last time we had Nationals in Charlo, I recall very warm weather and freezing rain…. This year it was proving all over the country that April was going to be a cold month, and Charlo was no exception. It was between -10*C to – 15*C all week, but it really wasn’t all that bad because it meant hard packed great ski conditions! Highlights of Nationals included: a bunch of us senior women and local volunteers hosting a Biathlon Fast & Female event for the local young female skiers, a sugar shack evening (lots of fresh maple syrup gorging), and a final banquet with a very special guest – Romeo Dallaire. Of course, in his best form he truly presented an excellent motivational and inspiring speech.

With that finished, I thought I was headed straight to vacation…. Alas I was not! Myself and a teammate, Scott Perras, had an invitation to attend a fun Biathlon competition in Russia. I was home for just under 2 weeks, then flew to Munich to hop on a charter flight with other athletes/support staff for Kamchatka, Russia… well let me tell you that was a exhausting never ending over 35 hour travel day(s). (Trust me, if I’d had the choice, I would have flown through Alaska or China!!!)

I had heard Kamchatka was beautiful… well we arrived to heavy rainstorms causing rivers in the city streets. It was a muddy mess. Thankfully near the end of the  week the weather cleared and we were able to see the beautiful snow capped volcanoes that surround the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. I had a decent sprint finishing 10th (out of 35) but a bad pursuit finishing 17th. However, REALLY, it only matters if you win the Pursuit… because this meant winning a Mercedes. Sweet deal! The last 2 days were definitely the highlight as were spoiled with a huge banquet with live music… first up London Beat. Before the banquet I had to have my Romanian roommate, Eva, sing to me because I was like who are there??? Right so I was 6 when their single, “I’ve been thinking about you,” came out. There was also a famous Russian rock star named Dimitri… he definitely looked like he just stepped in from the ’80s… no joke. And even Boney M was there! Of course he performed Daddy Cool and Rasputin! On the last day before leaving, we had an “excursion day.” We left the city and drove on terrible roads for over 2 hrs to arrive farther into the wilderness. We had the privilege of going to a family’s house in the forest and meeting their 40 different dog sledding, and ski-jouring dogs, including a famous world champion ski-jouring dog! We then went for a dog sled ride and learnt how to ride/steer the sled ourselves. We ate fresh smoked salmon, learnt about how the natives live traditionally, snuggled with a Kamchatka bear hide, and just thoroughly enjoyed the peacefulness of the forest. After a few hours there we hopped on the bus again, and drove “forever” over rough roads again, to randomly arrive at some natural hot springs in the middle of nowhere. We finished off the day soaking in various small ponds watching the sunset against the volcanoes… Truly a great finish to the week!

Following my exotic week in Kamchatka, it was time for vacation and rest. I flew to Athens, meeting my boyfriend at a hostel under the Acropolis. A few amazing days in Athens exploring the ruins, then off to a romantic few days in Santorini (as beautiful and incredible as people say, and pictures emulate), then 6 days rock climbing on the island of Kalymnos (wicked). 2 weeks of absolute bliss!

And then it was time for reality once again…