Hej från Sverige!

A view of the Östersund biathlon range with the lake in the background.

It's winter here in snowy Östersund, which suits me just fine as I'm putting the final preparations in before the first World Cup, which starts exactly a week from today! Trials in Canmore are over, and the rest of the WC Team will be joining us in the next few days. Congrats to Laura Spector, Russell Currier and Lowell Bailey for making the World Cup team, and to Tracy Barnes, Annelies Cook, Zachary Hall and Bill Bowler for making the IBU Cup team. The IBU Cup Team heads to Europe in a little over a week for the second and third IBU Cup in Martell, Italy and Obertilliach, Austria.

Being here a few days early has been nice. The training has been great, as the snow here is a plentiful mix of man-made and natural. A few teams have been here for the past week, but most are just starting to arrive, making the atmosphere feel more and more like the World Cup. I've been staying in town for the past few days which has allowed me to explore Östersund a bit more. On Friday, I'll move up to the hotel at the venue, where we'll be through the races. It will be very convenient to be right at the race venue, cutting down on travel and logistics for the races.

They continue to make more snow and perfect the trails. This weekend the range will be getting buffed out and World Cup ready. Its hard to believe the races are so close after so much preparation, but my mindset is switching over to race mode. Hej World Cup!

The tracks in Östersund at 4pm-ironically the lightest time to be skiing!

The pumpkin pie I wish we were having on Thanksgiving. One thing's for sure, the Swedes will feed us potatoes!

Hello, Goodbye!

A snow gun going full-blast in Canmore trying to make up for a snow-less November.

I thought this post would be a hello from Canmore, Alberta, Canada, where USBA is currently having it's on-snow camp and December World Cup/IBU Cup trials. However, it is instead a hello from the Albany airport, where I am currently killing time waiting for a shuttle back to Lake Placid.

The quick version of the story is that, until yesterday, there was no skiing at all in Canmore. So, the National Team coaches and staff decided that those of us pre-qualified athletes should leave Canmore and head to Sweden early where there is already 5km+ of great skiing. This has meant a lot of shuffling of tickets and last minute preparation, but here I am, just 6 days after leaving, back in Albany and heading to Lake Placid for re-packing and a quick turn-around for Sweden.

I'll be off on Wednesday for Östersund, the site of the first World Cup, and am looking forward to a more relaxing lead-up to the first races. It will be nice to be there early and hopefully I'll have more time to explore the city than I did last year. It's going to be hectic couple of days back in Lake Placid, but well worth it to get good skiing in sooner. I'll keep you all posted as I continue to country hop!

Östersund here I come!

Something New

As some of you may know, my boyfriend and fellow National Team member Zach Hall is gluten intolerant. For those who don't know, gluten intolerance is, very basically, an inability to break down the protein gluten (found in rye, wheat and barley). Zach's intolerance is thankfully not celiac disease, which is the same general idea, except instead of having an upset stomach and GI issues, celiac sufferers can become violently ill when they eat gluten in any amount.

Zach has been able to manage his intolerance with only a few issues (mostly while on the road, when language barriers can present a problem), and since going gluten-free his junior year of college, he's seen a steady improvement in his results. Recently, there's been a lot of news about other sports teams going gluten or wheat-free (namely the Garmin Slipstream Cycling Team, featured recently in Men's Journal). Since Zach and I share many meals anyway, I decided to try it while at our Utah camp. What I found was that my legs felt lighter and less tired, I was recovering faster, and I lost a couple pounds (putting me at my race weight in October, something I've never been able to accomplish). So I've decided to go gluten free for the season and see how things go.

Like Zach, I expect to encounter some issues, especially while traveling. However, since it is not an allergy that keeps me from eating wheat and gluten, it will be less worry-some for me. That's not to say that I won't be trying to keep this diet 100%. Luckily one of my sponsors, PowerBar, has several wheat and gluten free products that range from recovery bars to drink mixes to snack-type bars. I've already ordered several boxes to take with me to Europe. (Note: if you have issue with oats, many of these products will not be suitable for you. Check out celiac disease and oats here.)

PowerBar stash! The drink mix label was a casualty of travel, but what's inside is the Endurance Beverage in Lemon-Lime.

I'll be keeping close tabs on how I feel and what I eat to make sure I'm getting enough of the right nutrients, but I'm confident in my decision. Hopefully it will yield the results on the ski course that I am looking for!

Circling Back

The Teton Mountains, view from Idaho.

After a good camp in Utah and a great celebration of USBA's 30th anniversary in Jackson, WY, I'm finally back in Lake Placid for a final couple of weeks of training before we get on snow in Canmore, Canada. Fall is definitely in the air, and though the last couple days have felt more like spring, we know winter is right around the corner.

Our camp in Utah was a great chance to really nail things down both on the range and skiing before the snow flies. While I've made some big gains in the last few weeks, pretty much all the work is already over. You might think that's relieving, but it's actually pretty scary to think that all the training is behind me and now I just have to see how things shake out. We'll be on snow in a little over a week, and ready to hit race mode full-on in just a month. I've put over 6 months of really good training in (plus countless number of years before that!) and we're almost to the point where I get to see the payoff.

Working on my range procedure at Soldier Hollow, Utah.

Talking to new Women's Team Head Coach Jonne Kahkonen after a tough interval session in Utah.

While our fall camp was a lot of work, that's not to say that we didn't have any fun. Utah is beautiful in October, and traveling to Jackson, WY was an added treat for us. It was a weekend full of catching up and fun events, like skeet shooting just over the Teton Mountains from Jackson. Thanks to all the USBA staff who helped organize this fantastic weekend!

Hiking in Teton National Park with Zach and some of the USBA Board of Directors members.

Learning to shoot skeet at the Lazy Triple Creek Ranch with USBA members just outside Driggs, Idaho. Thanks for a great time!

So now we're back in Lake Placid getting things turned around to head out to Canada in search of snow. I can't wait to get on snow again and leave the rollerskis behind. Winter is what skiers wait all year for, and I'm feeling more ready than ever to get this season going!

Zach and I outside Jackson, WY.

Back West

First things first-I'm back! Back not only to my blog and my western home, but also to training 100%. Recovering from an injury is never easy, but after a couple weeks of careful practice, I've been able to complete all my normal training for the past weeks, and even had a couple of really solid time trials. The athletic trainers at the OTC have told me I'm "not injured" and should train as usual. I've still be icing every once in a while to prevent soreness, but mostly things are back to normal. Just in time...

Photo-op in the foothills above Boise.

As we have done this time of year for the past several years, the US Biathlon team is now in Utah for our fall altitude camp. I always love coming west in the fall-the weather is fantastic, training is starting to become more specific as winter approaches, and I get to spend a couple days at home seeing my family and friends. This time my trip home was made extra special because I was being inducted into the Boise High School (my alma mater) Hall of Fame. Boise High has had 4 Olympians, and three of us were at the Homecoming football game to be inducted during halftime. All Boise city high schools play varsity football on the now famous blue turf of Boise State University, so it was a fun experience to be on the field that was showcased the next night on national television. I'd also like to think that the presence of three Olympic athletes helped infuse the field with a little luck that helped BSU to a win over Oregon State!

Olympic tailgate before the Boise High Homecoming Game.

Receiving my plaque for the BHS Hall of Fame out on the blue turf!

Boise High Olympians: Lisa Kosglow (BHS '92, Olympian '98 & '02), Sandra Shellworth Hildner (BHS '62, Olympian '68), Sara Studebaker (BHS '03, Olympian '10)

I arrived in Utah last night. I'll be spending the next week with the men's A and B teams until the women's B Team arrives on Saturday. It should be a great camp-the weather is shaping up to be perfect and our coaches are looking forward to lots of ski specific training and focused work before we get on snow next month. It's hard to believe the season is just around the corner, but feeling fall in the air is getting me excited to ski! It won't be long now...

Some pictures from the past couple weeks...

Black Bass, anyone?

Apple Picking in Maine near my aunt and uncle's house.

Bouldering near Saranac Lake with a few of my teammates. Coaching extends beyond biathlon-thanks Patrick!

Stationary

My new friend-The Concept 2 double pole machine.

I'm slowly recovering from my injury, but my limited range of motion and inability to do any lateral movement has made this week a pretty low one for training. While that was not in the plan, it has worked out fine for me to have a bit of down time. The one big problem is that I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. I've read one and a half books in the last week, and gotten lots of non-training things done, but not being able to go out and rollerski, run or bike has been hard. Luckily, this weekend I was cleared to do some light biking and double poling, with one caveat-all my activities have been stationary training. In order to keep my knee stable and not have any worry of re-injuring it, I must start with stationary activities, before adding outside elements into the mix. So, the stationary bike, the double pole machine, and I have been getting to know each other well. It's not the most exciting training, it is training, and has been keeping me occupied. Even so, hopefully by this time next week, I'll be back to business as usual!

Training!

Injury

It suppose it is just a matter of time in an elite athlete's career before they have some sort of big injury. Friday was my time. I was lucky, however, and in the realm of "serious" injuries, this one is not too bad. I was in Jericho, VT at our second women's team camp and NorAm rollerski races. While getting out of prone position during an easy combo workout, I dislocated my left patella (knee cap). My coach was right there, and we were luckily able to get it right back into place. My coach then drove me to the ER in Burlington. The hospital took X-Ray's and determined that there was no ligament damage, which was very good news. The doctor advised that I use a brace to immobilize my leg and keep it from dislocating again. After talking to the sports physiologists in Lake Placid, the agreed that was the best course of action until the swelling went down and they could examine me. I'm now back in Lake Placid, trying to rest and ice my leg so that tomorrow we can start figuring out where to go from here.

Creating a distraction on the range in my leg brace during practice. In good spirits despite it all!

Having never been injured before, it's a tough situation to be in. I'm having to lay low, even though I feel good (minus my knee!), and it takes me twice as long to get anywhere. But, I'm confident that if I can just relax and stay positive, I'll recover quickly and be back to training in no time. In the meantime, I'll just have to enjoy my down time.