August 22, 2007

August Camp

So, the August camp is over, and while training was incredibly productive, I have to admit I'm glad to have a rest week! The first week of the camp was my largest volume week all year. We were all pretty tired by the end, which was a good feeling. Last week, the Development Team headed over to Jericho, Vermont to take advantage of their range with rollerski loops. It was great training, especially for those of us who are newer to the sport. We got to practice range procedure and shoot a lot. Of course, sleeping in the Army barracks at the Ethan Allen training site was an experience, but definitely worth it considering the training.

Two races with the large group of junior biathletes from Minnesota, Maine and Alaska that were also training in Jericho toped off the training week. The races were another great opportunity for practice at high intensity, something we don't often get a lot of since we don't have rollerski loops at the range in Lake Placid. Overall, I was happy with my results, but I know there are still a lot of things to work on before we get on snow...which hopefully won't be too long from now!

Like I said, I'm now in the rest week phase of our cycle, and heading over to Maine to meet up with my parents and take my little brother down to college. Then I’m off to Maine for Zach's brother's wedding. And of course, after that we'll be full speed into the next camp in September here in Lake Placid. Stay tuned....


Checking my natural point of aim during practice in Jericho.


Lots of rifles...


First shooting stage. I'm the one furthest to the left.

August 5, 2007

Catching Up

I arrived at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) on June 21 after a whirlwind of graduation, meeting President Bush for NCAA Champions Day (Dartmouth Skiing won NCAAs this year, and I was lucky enough to not only have raced but to have been the women's nordic captain!), and a family vacation. Since then, we have been working in 4 week cycles: 3 hard weeks followed by an easy week. By hard week, I mean lots of hours; easy weeks thus being much less hours. It's been more training than I have ever done before, but I'm confident that my body can handle it. Without school or a job or anything to get in the way of recovery and focus, this is the best situation for me to excel in the sport of biathlon.


I recently spent a couple weeks at home in Idaho visiting my family and training in the time between camps (there's a camp with all Development Team members about once a month for 2-3 weeks. The next one starts tomorrow). My boyfriend, Zach, and I hung out with my family in Boise for a bit, and we all went backpacking in the beautiful (if a bit smoky) Sawtooth Mountains. We also spent some time at a friend's cabin in McCall, Idaho, on Payette Lake. It was a much needed and very fun break from the constant thoughts of training here in Lake Placid.

But now we are back, and into the full swing of training again. Camp starts tomorrow, but I feel like it has never really stopped. Training to get to the level I want to be at (World Cup and Olympic) is a full time job. You never stop going. You're always thinking about training and your goals. So, understandably, we all look forward to our one off day a week when we can sleep in, and lounge all day. Usually, however, it turns into the day you get all the errands and things done you didn't have time to do during the week.


This week, that errand was returning to Dartmouth for Zach and my last load of ski stuff. It was great to see the few people who are around for summer term and kick around Hanover for the evening. We drove over yesterday after an intense uphill bounding workout and did our afternoon classic ski in Hanover. After a fun, but uneventful evening (we were exhausted!) we saw the Dartmouth Ski Team off to Moosilauke for the famed Moosilauke Time Trial and packed up our ski stuff and headed back to Lake Placid. Along the way, we could not resist stopping for a while to pick berries at a pick-your-own farm in Rochester, Vermont. The berries were absolutely huge, and we almost made ourselves sick for eating so many! Well worth the stop.

So, now I'm more or less caught up. As the camp begins, there should be more training adventures to report. Stay tuned!!

August 2, 2007

Welcome!


Hello!
I hope this blog will keep my family, friends and sponsors up to date on my new life as a member of the US Biathlon Development Team. Thanks for visting, and keep checking back!