“I try to shoot just a couple of arrows if I can, but I’m also learning to be very gracious with myself,” she said.
“If I’m really tired, I’ll know my body just needs the rest right now. So I’ve really dedicated myself to the four days a week where I’m not working to really taking those days seriously, training long hours and getting my arrow count in.”
A monumental effort is required for Ruiz on and off the shooting line, but so far, the intensity of nursing hasn’t affected her results.
In 2024, she claimed bronze at the The Vegas Shoot and a hat-trick of golds in the individual, mixed team and women’s team events at the Pan American Championships.
This past indoor season, Ruiz won the Rushmore Rumble, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the USA circuit.
The only hindrance her work schedule has had, however, is on her winter calendar. Aside from the Rumble and annual Vegas Shoot this year, where she came 20th, she had to skip the rest of the indoor season due to work commitments, a crowded summer calendar and a bout of illness that also kept her out of a USA national event.
Still, she believes her absence hasn’t been a bad thing.
“Just a mental break sometimes is what I need, because archery and nursing are just so mentally draining. Sometimes having a break from one or the other and just focusing on one of them, I feel like is a really good break that I need.”
