Back from Europe

I have been home from our European camp for about a week now and it feels great to be back!  I had a very productive four weeks in Austria and Germany but it’s nice to be back home for my last extended stay of the year.  Besides a minor stomach sickness at the beginning for our camp, everything went very well.  We were able to put in some high quality weeks of training at some of the best venues in the World.

For the first two weeks of camp we trained in Ruhpolding, Germany.  This is not only one of the best training venues in the World but it is also where World Championships will take place this winter.  It was great for me to get a few extra weeks shooting on this range and to get a positive feeling for this venue.  Ruhpolding was also great because the Slovenians, Italians, Estonians and of course some Germans were training there as well.  It was fun to mix it up with some of these guys and it was a good reminder that we are not the only athletes working hard this summer.  I think sometimes when we train in Lake Placid all of the time with our own small group it becomes easy to forget that a lot of other athletes are out there training really hard too.  It’s always a good motivator to train around other teams that we will be competing against this winter.

Once again we finished off the Ruhpolding portion of our training camp with the Rossfeld hill climb.  This is a race that we have done for three years now and it is probably the hardest race that we do all year.  Rossfeld is a 12 Kilometer climb that averages 8.9%.  Despite the cold and rainy weather this year, all of our guys set PR’s so we hope this is good sign for the season to come!

For the last week of our camp we traveled away from the mountains to Oberhof, Germany.  Like Ruhpolding, Oberhof is definitely one of the best places in the World for summer training.  Oberhof is even home to the only ski tunnel in Central Europe.  This is over a 1 kilometer refrigerated indoor ski loop that is open for skiing all year.  We took this opportunity to log some good hours on snow and start some ski testing for next season.  For me this was also the first time that I had been on snow since my leg operations.  I was very pleased with how my legs responded to skiing and I had no problems!

Now I am back home for a month of training before heading to our last pre-season camp of the year in Utah.  It has been great to be home, especially since the US Ski Team is also training here now.  It has been a good opportunity for the both of us to work together and mix it up a little.

Here is a link to an article that the IBU did on our team.  It also has some good photos from Ruhpolding and a video from the Rossfelt hill climb.  http://biathlonworld.com/en/press_releases.html/do/detail?presse=1342

Europe time

Today is my last day at home before I take off for a one month training camp in Europe.  It has been great to be home for the past few months but I am definitely ready for a change of training scenery and some cooler temperatures!

My training over the last month went really well and I was able to put in one of my bigger four-week training blocks with no problems.  The toughest part about the last block was dealing with some seriously hot and humid days.  The heat never really use to bother me but that all changed two years ago when I got a serious case of heat exhaustion.  Ever since that day, my body seems to be ultra sensitive to exercising during intensely hot days.  I guess it’s a good thing that I only compete in the winter!

Tomorrow afternoon I will take off for Obertilliach, Austria for one week of training on my own before I meet up with the team the following week in Ruhpolding, Germany.  We will stay in Ruhpolding for two weeks and then travel to Oberhof, Germany for the final week of camp.

I’m really looking forward to this camp not just because I will be able to train at some of the best facilities in the world, but also because this will be a good chance for me to check my form against some of the best biathletes in the world.  When we are in Ruhpolding we will be doing some races with the Italians, Slovenians and some of the Germans.  This will be a great tool in evaluating where I am at right now in terms of my training.

In Oberhof we will also have the opportunity to get in some actual snow skiing.  It will be great to get back on snow, test some new equipment and most importantly test my legs on skis.

Now it’s back to some last minute packing!

100%

I think it’s safe to say that I am back to 100% health now!  The last few weeks of training have gone very well and I am back to doing all of my training with the team.   My legs are feeling great and I no longer need to ice or adjust my training because of pain.

I won’t know for sure if the surgery was a success until I ski on snow because skiing was where I had the biggest problems.  But, in all other activities such as running and roller skiing, they feel better than before.   I actually feel like my skating technique is better than before because it feels like I have more flexibility in my shins, which allows my to get in a better position.

I am looking forward to training with the team again and I am excited to head to Vermont next week for a 7 day training camp.  I will compete in a few test races there and it will be very interesting for me to see where I stand after my recovery period.  Honestly, I don’t feel like I lost very much in my time away because I was always working on something.  I guess I will find out for sure next week!

Summer!

Summer has finally arrived to the Adirondacks!  After an incredibly wet spring we have been enjoying some nice training weather for the past two weeks.  This coincided perfectly with me being able to train more now that my legs are almost back to 100%!  I am back to training 20 plus hour weeks and the legs are holding up well with little to no swelling!

If you have a minute, or a dollar, please check out the fundraiser that is going on with the USBA right now.  We need all of the support that we can get to compete with the big teams in Europe!  Thanks!

http://www.causes.com/causes/621148-support-the-us-biathlon-team?m=ffa8b0b1

Eight weeks down!

Today makes eight weeks since my surgery and everything is going great!  My rehab has progressed very fast and I am now pretty much back into my normal training routine.  I am still not able to skate ski as much as I would like, but hopefully that will turn around in the next week or two.

Over the past five weeks I have gradually increased my training everyday and I expect to be pushing 20 plus hour weeks again starting now.  At first I spent a lot of time on the bike because that seemed to irritate my legs the least, but now I am back to running and roller skiing as well.  I have also spent a lot of time ski bounding on the treadmill here at the training center. This has been a great tool for me to keep up some intensity work while avoiding the need to run downhill, which seems to be the worst stress on my legs.

I am someone who has always enjoyed training but having that taken away from me, even just for a few weeks, has made me really appreciate what I do!

From the pictures and videos below, you can see my progression from the day of the surgery to my training last week.  Thanks for checking in!