On Tuesday the clouds and rain moved back in so it’s been a chilly (about 50 degrees F) and wet past three days. I was training on the rollerloop at the venue twice a day until yesterday morning when I accompanied Haley on part of her overdistance run. Within the space of half an hour we passed a large group of elementary school-aged children out walking on the ski trails twice. Both times we were ushered on to a chorus of “hi-ja, hi-ja” and clapping from the children. These kids, in credit to their culture, idolize Nordic skiers and biathletes.

I’ve also been shooting twice a day. Shooting and physical training are very similar in the sense that you can get burnt out of either. It’s not easy to stay focused when you shoot twice a day and dryfire in between. But, the most helpful thing about training here is the number of athletes and coaches on the range. Instead of training by myself as I did all spring and summer, I’ve got two coaches and plenty of athletes to work with. For zeroing on Tuesday morning, our team skied range loops together and shot eight clips on paper without stopping in between. There was a small amount of pressure on each lap to shoot fast but well and stay with the group. Athletes often find that nerves shake their concentration when they train or race in front of a larger group of people than normal, so this is great practice early in the season.

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