Fall, Briefly

The temperature is dropping and the leaves are changing here in Lake Placid. Despite the almost unbearable heat and humidity of the August camp, September has left us with no doubt that it is truly fall. However, on Sunday I'll be headed out west (home to Boise for a couple weeks, then off to Utah for our fall camp) until early November. As I write this (6pm mountain time), it is 83 degrees in Boise. So, it will be back to summer for a little while, which I don't mind at all. Though fall is wonderful, and there's nothing like red leaves and the crisp scent the air gets here in the east, dry western summer weather will be welcome before I'm ready to really welcome the chilly weather and snow that will soon follow.

Training has been continuing as usual, and as the weather turns, the attitude is starting to get a bit more serious. The upcoming season is creeping up on us quickly, and it is important to make these last couple of dry-land training blocks very high quality in order to get the most out of the quick transition to snow and racing. I have been making some huge strides this summer in technique and shooting, and so am very happy with where I am right now.

I've posted a couple video below from the last couple training sessions at our roller loop at the Lake Placid ski jumps. The shooting video (sorry it's so small!) was shot with our new "EyeOn Performance" video technology that shoots video from four different locations simultaneously. It's a pretty neat tool for us to have, and we have only begun to scratch the surface of what it can help us with.

Next update will be from west of the Mississippi. Enjoy the beginning of fall or the end of your summer...depending on your location!

Quick Update

We've just begun our second (and last!) camp of the summer. All the women are back together in Jericho, VT for two weeks (including two races this weekend) and then we'll be off to Bethel, Maine for a week long distance camp. For these first two weeks we are staying on the Ethan Allen National Guard base, which of course means-barracks! That's right, the women's B and Development Teams, the entire Junior National group, a small contingency from Minnesota, some athletes from both the Northern and Southern Maine MWSC groups, and the Gunstock, NH Nordic team all together in two big bays in the army barracks (men on one side, women on the other). It's quite the party! And though it may sounds crowded, it's a great opportunity for us older women to get to know the young ladies just coming up into biathlon and stay in touch with that group.

I always remember being so excited at camps to meet the older girls and get to talk to them, so it has continued to be important for me to get to know the young girls when we have a chance (which, unfortunately, is rare). This week is the perfect time. Not to mention, the young girls always seem to have the best collections of DVD's and card games to keep us busy on an otherwise isolated army base! We're soaking up the occasional chaos, because come next week, it will be just the older women and a few MWSC girls left.

So, between bonding time, races, and getting in some quality training all together, it's going to be a busy three weeks. We're already into August, and so it's getting close to crunch time for all of us. I'll be using this camp to continue with solid training and getting ready for fall. Keep checking back and I'll try and keep things updated!

(And finally, some pictures from the June camp and off time with my family!)

Post-mud run in Fort Kent (you can't see it to well, but we were MUDDY!)

The magical place in Westport, MA. A fun time in a beautiful location with my family!

They had a kitchen, which is a novelty for me, living in the dorms at the OTC! I took full advantage of it and (along with much help) made some delicious pizzas one night!

"How does this thing go together again?" Grilling at a Dartmouth-owned cabin in New Hampshire.

Women's Camp Wrap-Up

The first women's Team camp of the year is over, and, minus the weather, it was a great success. After spending a slightly rainy week in Lake Placid with heavy emphasis on hard intervals, we headed to Fort Kent, Maine for two weeks of focused combo work (skiing and shooting combination workouts). Unfortunately, the rain followed us, and we spent two weeks with only fleeting glimpses of the sun and clothing that would never dry. Despite that, though, we had a great camp: we got some real quality workouts done on the range/roller loop and some great team bonding over traditional Aroostook ploys (buckwheat pancakes) and chicken stew and Taco Tuesday on Thursday night. (BIG thanks to all the local families that cooked for us!)

In our first week in Maine, we had a time trial, which happened to fall on the one day that was full of sun and extreme heat and humidity. Dealing with the elements is just another part of the job. It was made a little better by the fact that the local sports reporter came out that day to check out what we were doing. Below is a link the video story, complete with some good rollerski footage:

http://www.wagmtv.com/newssource8/story/2009-06-29-olympic-dreams

It was a tough three-week block of training, but well worth it. I am now enjoying some well-earned relaxation at the Massachusetts coast with my family. I'll be heading up to Dartmouth's Moosilauke Ravine Lodge this weekend for the lodge's 70th birthday, and then it will be back to the grind in Lake Placid. More pictures to come once I get back to Lake Placid and get them downloaded! Check back soon!

8x4min uphill intervals in Lake Placid...plus our four-legged friends who joined us mid-way through!

Mourning One of Our Own

At this point, many of you have heard of the tragedy that recently befell the XC Skiing, Biathlon and Maine Winter Sports Communities. Willie Neal, a young, talented skier/biathlete and extraordinary young man, was killed Sunday while rollerskiing in Northern Maine. I will leave out the details, but you can find more information at fasterskier.com, in a blog from the editor and a press release.

This tragedy is a reminder to all of us that sometimes life is terribly short, and suddenly taken away for no reason at all. While there were a few factors that perhaps could have helped the situation, I am prone to believe that this was simply an unfortunate incident of a smart young man being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As you go about your life in the coming days and months, please remember the Neal family as they grieve. Also, as you head out rollerskiing or biking, please remember to be safe: stay on the correct side of the road, wear bright colors, use roads with good shoulders and avoid high traffic areas, and always wear a helmet! One tragedy for our small community is one too many.

RIP Willie. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Women's National Team Camp

The women's team camp is getting underway here in Lake Placid, and day one was a interesting one. The weather here has been nothing if not interesting, so it was no surprise that the light drizzle that started after our morning workout quickly became a downpour that continued all afternoon. That made for a wet afternoon ski, but luckily it has been warm, so no one got too cold or miserable. Hopefully things only calm down from here...

Almost all the women who will be competing for spots on the Vancouver 2010 team are here this week training together. It's a great group, and a fantastic opportunity for us all to catch up. Skiing and shooting together as a big group is a great learning experience, and helps push us all to improve.

The plan is to be in Lake Placid until Sunday and then head up to Fort Kent, Maine for two more weeks of training on their roller loop and range. I've never been to Ft. Kent in summer, so it will be a nice change of scenery. It's going to be a tough few weeks, but as usual, I'm sure it will go by in a flash.

Scat work: dry-firing with a laser so you can get instant feedback.

Shooting at the "new" range by the ski jumps...new as in last August.

Mid-workout firing pin replacement.

Skiing in the rain...we've had a lot of these already this year.

Overdue Update

Hello!

Wow, what a whirl-wind season it's been! It's already May and things are in full swing again for the coming Olympic season. Before we get rolling on that, though, let's get caught up.

Many of you know by now that my World Cup debut was very successful. I had a 38th place in the sprint race with clean shooting-scoring 3 world cup points and posting the second best US women's World Cup result of the entire year. It was a great way to start my World Cup career and has made me very excited about next year when the Olympics will be held on the same courses.

Heading to the finish in Vancouver.

From Vancouver I headed to Fort Kent, Maine for US National Championships. I definitely felt like I was coming off a high, but put together a decent race the first day. I was really looking forward to the pursuit competition on day two, but right before the race, disaster struck. I fell coming into the range for zero on an icy corner and broke my stock. I was still able to pull off an ok race with a borrowed rifle. I finished the series with a 4th place in the Mass Start, which I was happy with considering the circumstances.

Rifle in two pieces; not good.

The next week was Canadian Nationals in Valcartier, Quebec, Canada. It was a tough week for me, as I was both mentally and physically exhausted. The weather was ridiculous, with warm weather making for slushy, slow skiing conditions and three exhausting races in a row. Luckily, they were the last three of the season, and I had a nice vacation trip to look forward to at the end.

After taking a couple weeks off to travel and get some good relaxation in, I'm back at the training center getting ready for the summer. We already had a small camp here with a few of the B team women, and we'll have our first big camp starting the second week in June.

It's hard to believe that May is half over and the Olympics are just about 9 months away. It's going to be a whirlwind, but I'm ready and looking forward to it!

Heading out of the range in Fort Kent.

The men's mass start in Ft. Kent.

News

I recently learned that instead of staying in Lake Placid and training until US Nationals in two weeks in Ft. Kent, Maine, I would be traveling to compete in the World Cup in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I have never raced in a World Cup, and to have my first be at the 2010 Olympic venue makes this opportunity extra special. I am more than ready to race at this level and see what I can do. I feel like this is the perfect time and place to make something happen. I can't wait!

Hopefully my success on the same courses last year transfers to the World Cup.