Itasca

Merry Christmas!

For me Christmas started up at Mount Itasca, a biathlon venue which is located near Grand Rapids, Minnesota and wins the award for perennially being the coldest biathlon venue in North America. Snow fell each of the first three days we were in Grand Rapids, and while jogging through falling snow and neighborhood Christmas lights each evening, the festive spirit quickly welled up within me. That IBU Cup Trials were right around the corner was like a giant Christmas gift, too, just one brought by Vlad Cervenka in the form of fresh groomer tracks up at Mount Itasca Biathlon and not by Saint Nick in the form of fresh reindeer tracks up on the rooftop.

Mount Itasca hosted IBU Cup Trials, which served as the first round for Olympic Team selection for those of us without period 1 World Cup starts. The trials consisted of four races over five days. My goal was to finish as one of the top two athletes in the standings at the conclusion of the fourth race (the US Biathlon team will take these top two athletes to Europe to race four IBU Cup races against the bottom two US athletes from the period 1 (pre-Christmas) World Cups for the final two spots on the Olympic biathlon US roster).

The first two races, both 10km sprints, started off relatively well. In the first, Friday's race, I shot (1,1) but spent an eternity on the range (about one minute) during my standing shoot, trying to steady myself to hit my final two shots. I missed the fourth shot and luckily hit the fifth, enough to save a fourth-place finish. I executed my second race much better. My mental approach to the range was strong, and my visualization on Mt. Itasca that I'd practiced hundreds of times this fall fell into place perfectly. I shot quickly and well enough to give myself a chance at the win, again with a single miss in both prone and standing. I ended up a close third, however, thirteen seconds back of the win. I had two good races down, and I needed one great one over the final two days to make the team.

I never got that great race. For both Sunday's mass start and Tuesday's sprint I again executed my mental plan well. I simply misjudged the wind in prone on Sunday, missing 7 of 10 in prone but shooting good groups low and right, and was overpowered by the gustiness of the wind in standing on Tuesday, missing all five. Just like that I was out of contention.

At the trials I made progress and proved to myself that I can be in the mix even on the shooting range, but I also learned that I need to work to master shooting in the wind to become an all-weather biathlete. The truth of the matter is that rarely on the World Cup are conditions 100% calm and the wind flags still. The best can shoot fast and accurate in all types of weather and wind, and my goal is to do the same.

Photos from the races by Greg Haugen:

Alex, Russell, me, and Jakob coming in for the first prone shoot of the mass start. I missed three, the beginning of a long day on the range.

I skied hard in the final sprint race, but was beaten by the wind. I know that I'll need to work on shooting in these conditions, both physically and mentally.

Russell Currier and Jakob Ellingson clearly separated themselves from the rest of us over the four races and qualified to move on to the IBU Cup, where they'll race with Paul Schommer and Leif Nordgren for the final two Olympic team spots on the men's side (Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke, and Sean Doherty claimed the first three spots with their performances at last year's World Champs and this year's World Cups). I'm sure all of these guys are going to put in the work to make our Olympic team a force to be reckoned with, no matter who qualifies. I can't wait to watch them in Pyeongchang on TV in February, with the goal of racing with them at World Championships next year. For now, my goal of making the World Cup is still alive, and I'm going to continue to fight in every opportunity I have for the rest of this season.

I love Christmas because I get to be reunited with family and celebrate God's incredible gift of sending his son Jesus to be with us on earth. I wish that I could capture the time during this season spent with friends and family, ball it up and put it in a bottle to be accessed at any time during the rest of the year. Unfortunately, these times always feel like they pass by too fast. Thankfully this year has been a bit different: As a cross-country skier in years' past I was usually training hard during this time in preparation for US Nationals the first week of January. Now as a biathlete, with IBU Cup Trials completed, I've enjoyed a period of rest and relaxation between IBU Cup trials and Christmas, soaking in the peaceful Christmas vibes. I hope you got a chance to take a rest and do the same.