Still just as tired, but this time more content

Ever since deciding in May to continue doing biathlon for one more year, I’ve been going full steam ahead. From the outside my lifestyle looks very much the same: practice twice a day, skiing and shooting, teetering between training hard and training too hard. But this year, I’m having a lot more fun and making discernible progress!

My new coach, Armin, is a really good fit for me, both in character and work style, which makes an enormous difference. And as a team we have upgraded our training regimen from a quotidian slog in Lake Placid to two weeks of intensive camp followed by two weeks of independent training. In this rhythm we balance periods of focussed learning with time to process, practice, and recover.

Even with the built-in recovery block, I’ve had some mental and physical breakdowns because I’m training harder during the camp weeks than I ever did previously. But Armin is receptive to my feedback so we are working out the kinks of the physical training plan. Meanwhile my shooting is definitely improving!

I’m also growing into my new role as the Chair of the IBU Athletes’ Committee. I want to do the job well so I find myself devoting hours each week to it. I’ve enjoyed getting to know my colleagues, Martin Fourcade (France), Erik Lesser (Germany), and Aita Gasparin (Switzerland). In September the IBU will convene its biennial Congress, at which delegates from the national federations will vote on a motion put forth by our Committee to create a seat on the Executive Board for the Athletes’ Committee Chair. If it passes, athletes will secure a long-overdue voice within the IBU leadership, and I will have significantly more responsibility– but I am up to the challenge!

To summarize, I’m just as physically empty as I’ve been in past summers, but more emotionally fulfilled. Here’s a photo recap of this busy spring and summer so far.

First time on a red carpet: Team USA Awards night in Washington D.C. in April.

My Olympic Ring!

My German colleague Erik Lesser and me at our first Athletes’ Committee meeting in Austria in May.

Starting from scratch with a new stock.

Upgrade from wood to carbon fiber by Bachmann Biathlon.

Not target practice. If I can shoot a standing group smaller than the target when aiming at literally nothing, how do I ever miss, you might wonder?

I thought I was done with roller-skis, but alas here I am, rolling into the new season.

Cross-training

First camp of the year in June!

This is how we do it!

Lake Placid, as seen from Whiteface Mountain

Snack time on the way to training with Susan, #Tired.

Our first women’s camp, organized by Susan to bring together national team women and other top women who share the same goals.

New Favorite Activity

New Sponsor #MALOJA! We LOVE it!

Smiles and heat exhaustion at the 2018 Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Photo by Chris Conti, http://www.spectaclehill.com.

Roller-ski racing in Jericho, VT in August. My body was tired and not performing at high capacity so I focussed on good shooting and came through with a podium finish in the mass start.

Training Camp in Craftsbury, VT, featuring a highlight trip to the Barton County Fair demo-derby.

Core workout in the idyllic scenery of Susan’s backyard

When two athletes try to fit a quick jam session into the eat-sleep-train routine…

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