MUNGO EATS Latin America

Sara and I were in Canmore today, so that Sara could participate in a ski race.  It wasn’t just any old ski race, it was the nationals.  REAL skiers were there…skiers like Chandra Crawford, people who have been to the Olympics to represent our country. 

Now before you get all excited, let me tell you why Sara was there.  The nationals were being held in Canmore this year.  Every year they are somewhere different.  Because the races were nearby this year, Sara’s coach thought it would be a good idea if some of the kids tried a race.  Her intention was to have 3 or 4 girls race in the same race together just for the experience of skiing in a “big time” race.  It was expected that they would finish at the end of the pack, especially because they don’t even have their age category at the nationals.  Normally Sara skis against 12 and 13 year old girls.  At the nationals, she would have to ski up a level, meaning she would compete against 14 and 15 year old girls.  Also, when the idea of skiing a race in the nationals first came up, the intention was for the 3 or 4 girls to ski together on the weekend.  Well, somehow things did not go as planned.  Instead of skiing on the weekend, Sara skied on a school day and instead of 3 or 4 of her teammates skiing in the same race, Sara ended up signed up on her own.  So here was the situation, she skipped school and went to Canmore to ski in a race against 13, 14 and 15 year olds girls, and her coach was not able to be there.  Not really what she was expecting.

In any case, she was a bundle of nerves before the race, which manifested itself as a grumpy girl.  Luckily, we did not have to wait long for the race to start.  It is hard to tell during the race how any individual person is doing.  Racers start every 15 seconds.  More or less, as long as not too many people pass you, you are doing okay.  You are doing even better if you pass someone ahead of you.  Sara was passed by 3 people and she did not pass anyone.  We waited for the results. 

Her goal for the race was to not be last.  We knew and she knew that she would be close to last, so being “not last” was a pretty good goal.  Well, she was not last, she was third last, finishing 78th out of 80 racers.  Was she happy with this…you bet!  She was even more pleased that the two racers that she beat were 14 and 15 years old.  So there you go folks, first show in the nationals and she finishes “not last”…hopefully it will only get better from here!!

I’m proud of you Sara, and love you lots!