The 600 Club

Today marks a very significant day in a Nordic skier’s season: The Final Day. 

This is me grabbing the bull by the horns. It's a metaphor.
But that really happened.

Time to hit you with some knowledge:

Total Hours Trained in past 365 days: 

601

Total Kilometers (running, hiking, rollerskiing, biking, skiing, hillbounding, etc.) travelled on own power in past 365 days:

5,176 kilometers

Total Ascent in training on own power this season:

271,680 feet

Total Calories burned in training this season:

490,992 calories

So toodle pip last season. It's time to look forward to the summer months. I've been waiting to crack open some hiking books all winter.

And no, I'm not a super nerd. I have an awesome watch that calculates all these numbers for me. Follow my awesome adventures on the Recent Racing/Training tab on the right.

How A Slow Race in the Rain Ended in a Barbarous Bouffant

Well it's obvious that I haven't updated the blog since the last few races. I am in Bozeman once again, and it's time for a little reminiscing. This past week was wet. I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty certain the entire time I was in West Yellowstone it didn't stop precipitating. The city was a lake, but luckily the races were pulled off without a hitch. 

I can't say that I have ever seen a more packed tent

Saturday's Pursuit Competition was much smoother than the Sprint for me, both physically and mentally. I barely noticed the rain, and it was good to have some company in the penalty lap. It was like a merry-go-round in there. I came in second, and I am happy.

Ain't no party like a Penalty Lap party

Unfortunately for me, I made a bet that if I were to be beaten by a woman in the Sprint, I would sacrifice my head of hair to the savage junior biathletes of America. I thought it would be team-building to make a joke-y bet with my friends, but I never expected Annelies Cook, fresh off of the World Cup, to beat me and continue that team-building on to actually letting these people shear my beautiful locks. Granted I had a poor showing in the Sprint, but it was pretty dang impressive to see how close the women's and men's results were. At least they had the decency to leave a memento of my old self right down the middle of my head. My mom always said I shouldn't make bets. I guess you live and you learn.

Never make bets kids. Just don't do it.

Sunday was the Mass Start Competition, and for the first time all week the clouds decided to rain from a slightly higher altitude, giving us some relief from the soaked shooting mats and sloppy starting gates. The race was really fun for me, and apart from not realizing that the little cap gun 'pop' was the starting gun, I had a decent race. Sean Doherty (NO relation) and I duked it out for a few laps, which was exciting. In the end I took another second place, which I am happy with. It's obvious that Sean's biathlon ability was beyond my reach for this season, and I wish him the best of luck in his next two years as a Youth athlete.

The Mass Start. I got to lead for a while there

I should also mention that even with the inclement weather, these championship races were executed incredibly well. I was really impressed with the organization and enthusiasm of the officials and volunteers. It really makes us athletes feel at home and welcome. Thanks.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. 
-John Ruskin  

Grande Finale

After a couple weeks in Bozeman of class, stomach flu, and a visit to family, it was time to head to West Yellowstone for U.S. Biathlon National Championships.

Ahh West Yellowstone. You haven't changed a bit.

I've been lying low these last few weeks after World Juniors, and it felt weird to be heading out for another ski trip in the middle of March, especially with the grass turning green in Bozeman. Even with opting out of attending Junior Nationals in Soldier Hollow this year, I have raced 39 times so far this season, and I'm exhausted. I still have a good feeling about Biathlon Nationals though, and am ready for these three races.

The Yellowstone Uniform

It is springtime in West Yellowstone, and it has been POURING rain the entire time we've been here. Luckily there is a lot of snow, so even though everything is melting and wet, there will still be enough cover for these races.                                                                               


The first race was Thursday's Sprint Competition. The rain wasn't as violent but the course took a beating from all the water. I trudged the 7.5k to the finish, and while my shooting was decent, my speed on the skis, fueled by a week of easy recovery and soft snow, was not at all where it should have been. I knew when I crossed the line that this was probably my worst performance of the season. I was exhausted from the start, there is no other way of putting it. I'm not worried though. It's my spring break, so I am in complete biathlon mode with no distractions, and I know the more I ski these conditions the faster I will become.

Getting ready for the prone stage in the sprint. Hopefully as the week
goes on I can rely more and more on my performance outside the "zone of silence" 

It's great to see all my biathlon friends again. It's like an end of the season race-party. Best of luck to everyone in Saturday's Pursuit Competition. Hopefully the rain can subside and it freezes overnight.

NCAA Championships

Congratulations to my brother Andrew on his All-American status at NCAA Championships at Bohart Ranch in Bozeman. Way to show 'em who's boss.