Sara Studebakerova

Hello from Czech! We’re currently in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, site of the 2013 World Championships, for World Cup 5. The post-Christmas World Cups can so far be summed up in one word: windy. Oberhof, Germany (site of World Cup 4) is known for it’s wind, and while the women’s sprint was relatively calm, our stay there saw all kinds of weather. So far, Nove Mesto is proving to be the same. Everyday we’ve come to the range to find the same wind from the left side, often with big gusts. Yesterday, during the women’s sprint, the weather added lots of snow to the mix in the middle of the race. It seems anything can happen here…but that’s biathlon, right?

We've all been getting used to our Czech names (which consist of the announcer adding -ova to the end of all the women's names) and it will be strange to be Sara Studebaker again next week when we head to Antholz. I'm looking forward to it...we're hoping for some sun!

And now, some pictures of 2012 so far:

It was a little bit windy in Oberhof...and Nove Mesto for that matter!

Various long car ride activities...

Stretching is important post-race.

We found this beautiful church in the town we're staying in here in Czech. The walls form a star pattern and inside is a cemetery. It was a little wind-swept on top, but the views were great!

Jet Lag and God Jul and Jet Lag

Beautiful, snowy Hochfilzen!

How crazy the past few weeks have been! And when I say crazy, I mean that in the best possible way. From Hochfilzen home to Idaho for Christmas, then back to Germany 13 days later. While there was no snow in Boise, I was able to get some good training in up in Ketchum/Sun Valley area. It was great skiing with my brother and Zach, and spending quality time with my family. We had our usual Christmas Eve party with lots of good friends, food and cheer; it was nice not to think about biathlon for a couple weeks and just enjoy being home.

Coach Armin on the range during the mixed relay. I had a great leg, tagging off just 14 seconds back from the leader. It was a great race to end December on!

While home I went to practice with the Bogus Basin Junior Nordic Team. It was great to connect with my old club and show them some new exercises...but boy did it make me sore!

Our Christmas Eve Smörgåsbord beginning to take shape...don't worry, there's much more than this!

I arrived today in Oberhof, Germany where it has, unfortunately, been raining for two days. All the snow they had is nearly gone, and the organizers are scrambling to make things ready in time for the races. Our women's group is down to three since this week is also the second round of World Cup trials in Forni Avoltri, Italy. This means we won't have a relay team on Wednesday, but hopefully we can qualify one or two for the first mass start of the year on Sunday! We'll see what the conditions bring, but whatever happens, I'm excited to be back on the circuit and looking forward to racing on Friday!

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2012! ~Sara

Ok...

Christmas comes to Östersund - but we found winter in Austria!

The first week of World Cup competition is completed, and we're already getting things underway here in Hochfilzen for World Cup #2. It's amazing how quickly the season starts to go by once the racing begins! Fortunately, Hochfilzen has had a nice snow storm to make the skiing good and the view wintry. Unfortunately, France cannot say the same. Instead of heading to Annecy-Le Grand Bornand next weekend, we'll be staying put for another week in Hochfilzen. We were all looking forward to skiing a new venue and seeing some new places along the way, but mother nature just didn't want to cooperate this year. Annecy hopes to host in December of 2013 instead.

My racing so far has not been exactly what I hoped for. While I was able to shoot well and move up into the points in the pursuit in Östersund, my skiing just hasn't been there. I tend to do better as the season goes on, and indeed last year my best races were in February. However, it's still hard feeling like you're not skiing where you feel you can. My coaches are confident the times will come, and already they see improvement from Östersund to Hochfilzen. I'm trying to be patient and confident too...though that's sometimes a tall order for an athlete!

Shooting has been solid; now we just wait for the skiing to follow. (photo: Jonne Kähkönen)

With 2 penalties, I just made it into the pursuit here tomorrow so I'm looking forward to shooting a little better and hopefully moving up. Every rung on the ladder must be touched before I can get where I want to be, so tomorrow I'm hoping to take another step up!

And it Begins...

The stadium in Östersund, pre-snow storm.

The men have kicked off another World Cup Biathlon season with the Östersund Individual today, and the US men have set the bar for themselves and the team nicely! Lowell Bailey had a great race with only 2 penalties, putting him in 9th. Jay Hakkinen also put together a great race, finishing 18th with the same shooting. Two men in the top-20 is a great start for us, and the rest of the men looked strong and I'm sure are psyched to get the season going.

Some of our teammates raced on Sunday in the IBU Cup...in the middle of the first snow storm of the year!

The first race is always tough because you have no idea what your shape really is against all the other teams. It can be nerve-wracking and exciting all at once. Often times, you'll see athletes struggle in the first races, but when you can overcome that exhilarating feeling of kicking things off, then great races can happen. Tomorrow, I'll be aiming to put nerves behind me and kick off the season on the right foot. I already feel worlds ahead of last year, when parasites in the water knocked me down for the first weekend of World Cup racing. So no matter what, this is a much more positive start for me!

Skiing out on the extra 3km loop...before...

And during the storm! Much better...

The weather has been decidedly eastern here lately: with snow, rain, thunder and wind often all in one day. The snow has set up nicely, though, and the conditions should be fair and good for the race tomorrow. Wind may be a factor, but I plan on just going with what's dealt.

Racing starts at 5:15pm CET (+6hrs to EST) tomorrow. You can watch live feed and live results at www.biathlonworld.com. I'll be bib #29...and ready to get things going!

Östersund sunset...about 3:00pm!

Alive!

Yes, though I may have seemed more than a little M.I.A. these last couple months, I've actually been quite busy.  It's been pretty much the usual fall schedule since I left Alaska (with my cousin's wedding thrown in): Utah camp, prep for snow, head to Sweden, begin skiing...you get the idea.  One major difference is that unlike last year's frigid weather, Sweden is this year offering very little snow, and balmy, just near freezing temperatures.  But more on that later.  For now, it's time for the here's-what-you-missed-in-photos blog post! 

Training in AK...you work with what you've got.

My brother and me at my cousin's wedding.  We clean up well!

What fun is a wedding without wheelbarrow races?!  This counts as training, right?

Rollerskiing on the loop at Soldier Hollow, Utah.  All but one day brought us amazing weather!

Annelies, Corrine and I enjoy the sunshine on a hike in Park City.

Along with several other people, we saw several Mountain Goats on Mt. Timpanogos!

Annelies and me on the way down from Timp.  Snow turned us around early, but the hike was great anyway!

Corrine shows her excitement at the dusting of snow we hiked through before I left Lake Placid for Sweden.  Ironically, there's more snow in this picture than in Ostersund!

Germany and Beyond

It seems that despite all the best laid plans, my blogging efforts have been stalled for the past few weeks. Sorry about that. Since my last post, I spent a week in Oberhof, Germany before flying back to Lake Placid for three short days and then heading off to Alaska to visit Zach. Last week, Zach and I went off into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve where we backpacked into some beautiful country looking for moose. We were unsuccessful in our moose hunt, but the trip was well worth it.

Hooked up to all kinds of fancy machines at the Salzburg University sport center. We stopped here briefly on our way from Ruhpolding to Oberhof for some shooting position analysis.

Inside the Ski Hall in Oberhof. I really enjoyed the opportunity to be on-snow, but the 1.7km loop became pretty repetitive!

We even had spectators checking us out from time to time!

While we didn't find any moose in Wrangell, we did find plenty of Caribou antlers!

Next week I head back to Lake Placid for another brief stop before our October camp in Utah begins. Yes, October. I can hardly believe how quickly August and September have flown by. I'm enjoying fall, though, and already looking forward to winter!

Time for Time Trials

Hello from Germany!

Things have finally cooled off a bit here in Germany, and though I'm not going to complain about sunny days after the winter we had here, the cool down was MUCH appreciated! Last week was a pretty big one for us, with two time trials. The first was a normal biathlon time trial with the Italian team, Slovenians, Estonians and us (as well as Andrea Henkel). It was a hot day, but things went well for me. Given that the Italians were all on fast rollerskis and I was still 4th, I was happy. Shooting felt solid and the skiing was much better than Jericho a couple weeks ago. It was nice to do a time trial with the pressure of an international field, too: we were able to see where things might stack up this winter. Our coaches were pleased and I think we're all looking forward to fine tuning things in the next couple months before the snow flies!

Annelies shows off our ice bath post-time trial.

On Saturday, we did the epic Rossfeld uphill skate time trial. It was just our team, but that did not diminish the feat. Rossfeld is a fairly steep but skiable uphill (it averages an 8.5% grade) that takes about an hour to complete. The women's start point makes the course 10km, while the men start a bit lower for a 12km total. It's definitely an exercise in mental toughness - having to stay focused for that long, plus pacing correctly so you don't bonk before the end. Despite being a foggy, rainy day, it was a solid time trial. No one was complaining about the weather, because if it had stayed hot we would have all been more than miserable. I was very happy with my effort, and extremely glad to have the workout behind me!

Me, at the start of the Rossfeld TT. (photo: Jonne Kahkonnen)

Our women's group is now complete, with yesterday's arrival of Laura Spector (thanks, Irene, for letting her out!). Today we head off to Oberhof where we'll be able to ski in the ski tunnel the next few days. On the way, we'll stop in Salzburg for some shooting tests. Only one more week left in the camp, and only a couple more day left in August. The summer is ending and things are feeling on-track for a good winter. Here's to a great fall of training!

Beautiful Salzburg! (photo: Zachary Hall)