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Published: March 10th 2008
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Hello to all! There's been a lot going on in the last couple months- sorry for the delay in updating my blog, but life is busy!
In the beginning of February, Wanaka was host to an awesome music festival called
Rippon which took place at the Rippon Winery and Vineyard. It turned out to be a gorgeous, sunny, and hot day. I met up with a couple of my friends and we got out our blankets and found our spot for the day. There were numerous clothing, food, beverage stands around, people playing volleyball, etc. Very good vibe in the crowd. We saw a bunch of artists including
Tiki,
Shapeshifter,
Kora, and
Shihad. It was a great day to listen to some Kiwi music, surrounded by the best scenery!
The week before my triathlon turned a little cold, and we even got some snow on the mountains, so I was very worried for the swim portion (especially at 8am and without a wetsuit). I decided to just suck it up and got really pumped for the swim, but when race day came, as we were picking up our packets, we learned that the swim was cancelled due to low
lake levels on the course (no more glacier run-off). So, the triathlon turned into a duathlon, run-bike-run, which I was sad about. I had trained hard for the swim since I feel it is my weakest leg, so I think I didn't focus as much on running. So now I had to run twice (and running was at that point my weakest leg). The morning turned out to be a perfect temperature, and I had a lot of fun on the road bike! It was a great experience considering I hadn't raced in a couple years, and I look forward to the next one! (no idea when that will be) Sorry no pics of that-- it was just me racing!
Last weekend I went up to
Nelson for the
Flat Out on the Beach Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. I first went to Christchurch to meet up with some friends from Richmond (Tim, Brad, and Rob for those who know them) and then we drove up the next day. The tournament was great! There were about 100 people there- 10 teams of 10 from all over NZ, US, Canada, Europe, etc. It was a hat tournament so you sign up and
mt cook
on the way to christchurch the director makes even teams based on the skill level you provide. The first day was really rainy, cold, and windy, but we persevered and played anyways. It was on the beach so it wasn't slippery, but it was still wet and tough. The rain was in our eyes, and the sand stuck completely to everything we were wearing and on our skin. It was fun to layout though cause the sand was soft! Everyone looked drenched-- the worst was being on the sidelines shivering wanting to go in to get warm! But it was actually a really fun day overall and my team (yellow, The Galleons) won 2, lost 3, and tied 1. The theme of the tournament was Pirates, so in true ultimate frisbee style, there was a themed party that night! We all did our best to dress as pirates (some better than others), and my friends even went over the top and created
Piratron, a massive cardboard robot dressed as a pirate. The party was good fun--bbq, beer, dancing, etc, and at the end of the night we ceremoniously burned Piratron in the back. The next day was gorgeous perfect weather (a little wind here and
day 1
nelson tourney- rain! there, but nothing to complain about!). My team won 3 and tied 2, leaving us in 7th place overall! We were very proud. 😊 It was a fun, relaxed tournament which made me reminisce in my college years of playing ultimate (i know i know, it was only 2 yrs ago). Back to Christchurch we went. I spent the day there and headed back to Wanaka the next day. It was a much needed 6 day break (considering I had worked 8 days in a row so I could go) and I can't wait to go back up to that area and see/spend more time there.
It's been the busy season for work lately. We've been sponsors for a few events, gotten new winter stock in, etc. Recently was the
Icebreaker Motatapu Race which took over 2000 mountain bikers and over 500 runners into backcountry. At the store, we had to do gear checks, meaning, we had to make sure they had proper skin, thermal, and rain layers, personal first aid kit, survival blanket, and whistle. The race was pretty remote and they could go for hours without seeing anyone. The terrain is pretty wild too-- river crossings, unpredictable
weather, etc. On the same weekend was the
Upper Clutha A&P Show (Agriculture and Pastoral) where Racers Edge had our own stall. We sold old and discontinued Icebreaker at discounted prices. People went nuts and we were super busy all day long. Not to mention it was a hot day! There were hundreds of other stalls as well-- crafts, farm animals, food. The owner of Racers Edge, Shaker, even sheared a sheep for a contest. The person who guessed the closest time it would take him won $400 worth of Icebreaker- good deal! The funniest event of the day was the Jack Russell race. About 50 Jack Russells or so were let go to chase a horse dragging a dead rabbit (gross, I know). Some dogs followed and some dogs just played with the other dogs. It was mayhem! And extremely entertaining, as it is the most popular event of the show.
Yesterday I went up Roys Peak, a mountain close to town. It took about 6 hours total. It's a pretty steep climb but with some gorgeous views at the top that makes it all worth it. I met a nice Canadian/American couple at the top who I
had lunch with. I'm a bit sore today (I also had to ride my bike out to the trailhead and back into town, adding on an extra 1/2hr of exercise each way).
Fall seems to be creeping in slowly. We had some cold weather last week, but now it's back to gorgeous sunny weather (although with a slight chill in the air). I think fall will be here within a few weeks.
That's all for now!
Books read:
A Short History of Nearly Everything,
The Barefoot Investor,
The Art of Happiness
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Emily
non-member comment
Wow
jeez sara it sounds like your having a blast and im so jealous of it....I sign on your blog very often to see when ur next entry will be...I cant wait for the day i can go out and do what your doing...I hope the rest of your trip remains this good