So a new web page has been brought to my attention. It is called Global Dro and it is used to find out the status of over the counter medications and drugs. It is very easy to use and you can search products by either DIN # or Name. Much more convenient then the PDF files I have used before from anti doping agencies.
 http://www.globaldro.com/ca-en/

Stay Clean

So today we wrapped up our 6 weekish tour. We raced in IBU Cups in Italy, Austria, Germany and Czech and a WC in Slovenia. It was different for both of us as it was our first Christmas season away from home. It was good for me to experience and I think with tweaking I could make it work a little better.

Today we finished our final race before returning home and it was our best IBU Cup results of the year. With both of us shooting 2 misses I placed 13th and Mat 27th.

We have many thanks to give out on this trip, we had great support on the range from the USA and cheering to boot. We also had some great support from team Switzerland in the wax room for these last races this something that really took a load off. But mostly to our former coach Richard Boruta who now works with the Czech Biathlon team but helped to put this tour in motion and to keep it rolling. And to Biathlon Canada for giving us the sanctioning believing we could make it happen safely and successfully.

Quote from Mat Stachura sums up the last part of the tour.

“Its nice to have good results, having help from so many different nations so that they don’t think we are newbs who wasted their time.” Mat Stachura

So since my last post Mat Stachura and I have moved on to Nove Mesto, CZ for IBU Cup #5.  We are the only Canadians as the rest of our team is either at the World Cup or preparing in Canmore for IBU Cups 6 & 7.

The conditions here in Nove Mesto are pretty good, for some reason though the track really starts to break up early in the race, that being said the uphills all stayed pretty firm.  During the race and zero the wind was up and down and hard tough to read but at least it seemed consistent.

In this race I struggled on skis a bit and it was hard to tell if it was me or my skis, they felt really good in some sections but poor on others even though the weather conditions were consistent.

I have learnt a lot this season about what works for me in a race and what does not,  I feel like I made a big leap.  I am not sure why this happended now but I think it might be a product of struggling on my skis so far and I am looking for other ways to get it done, it is weird because I have struggled before and not figured it out but it is just experience building up.

Today I shot 5/5 in my first shooting bout, and I was happy with this because my first shot went off a second earlier then I wanted it too.  I was bib 24 so when I came in to the range for my first standing shoot they had announced that I was sitting in 3rd, doesn’t mean much at that point but it did catch my attention.  I quickly tried to refocus and noticed my position was off I didn’t like it at all but I was hitting targets that is until I missed two.  So I was disappoionted to make such a amateur mistake.  But I was confident I would come back in my next prone, which I quickly did with a 5/5 and was back on the course.  I came into standing and told myself to setup with a better position which I did and started shooting quickly, I hit my first 4/5 and missed the last.  So I was happy I put myself within grasp of a great race.  It was a good race but what is nice is I think I can build on this for some really great shooting to some.

But for every race, lap, senario and range there are different tactics and with enough time I maybe able to hone in on them.

Tomorrow the Sprint, which I am sure will feel short and quick.  Then to Prague.

So now we have moved on to Nove Mesto for the 5th IBU Cup of the year.  And the conditions are the best I have ever heard of from this race site.  The course for tomorrow will be 5 * 4km so it is a 20km Individual which I would not normally be very excited about but the fact that my best result of the season is from a 20km make it a little more enticing.

I am also hoping to see an improvement in my performance this week, after the challenging conditions on the range last week I am hoping the shooting will feel like a breeze.  However even though the 4km loop could be compared to the Whistler 4km loop it seems to be a good 500 meters longer.  I think with WJCH here in 2011 and WCH in 2013 I think they just want to show case all the race trails.

So this weekend marked my first international races of the New Year.  This year was my first year staying in Europe during Xmas and I wanted to use it as a test to see if it is something I will do in the future.  I have really enjoyed the learning experience and with some tweeking will be something I look to do in the future.  Because of this choice I and Mat Stachura my team mate have the opporunity to compete in two additional IBU Cup races.

This week we rented a van and drove from Jablonec, Cz to Altenberg, Ger.  The travel was short only 2.5 hours and we left the day before official training.  There are many things that needed to be taken care of upon arrival, pick up training bibs, ski course, get skis ready for testing, check in to hotel and race office.  We worked as a team and it was all pretty painless.  Thanks to team USA our ski bags arrived safe and sound.  We did not know when we sent our ski bags that we would be renting a 9 passanger diesel van other wise we probably could have taken them and a couple teams with us.  Once having all of this taken care of we needed to eat supper, clean rifles and dry fire.  It turned out to be a very long day, and my legs could feel it.  Even though I focused on maintaining hydration my legs were screaming at me all night and into the next morning when we started the process all over again.

At official training the conditions were firm with mostly good speed, it was looking to be a good race.  Some time spent on the range and I was confident.  It was the perfect training day, windy but I shot very well I think 38/40 in combo.  Ski testing was tough because of the wind but I was confident in my choice.  Next was waxing.  hmmmmm  I have spent the last x # of years training for Biathlon but not really learning how to wax at such a high level.  So we stuck to the labels after all we had very little choice.  Our choice was black/red HF, red HF, Jet Stream, Helix Spray.  It was quiet entertaining, we didn’t really know the finer point of applying flouro powders but improvised as we went along.

Ok so we get back to the hotel and it starts to snow really hard,  well our skis are already waxed and we will have to go with that.  We hear that over night 30 – 50 cm of snow is expected.  So before our afternoon run we chain up the tires, another first for me.  Even though I have been in Europe alot over the past few years I don’t think we have ever needed chains.  During our run we discover the Altenberg, World Cup Sliding track is only 1.5 km from our hotel. Now to finish up the day, eat, stretch, dry fire and wind down.  Shit my legs are still screaming at me.

In the morning we awake to approximate 30 cm of snow,  at the site they must have been grooming through the night because the trails are in decent shape, however the snow continues and through warm up the trail broke back down.  Hmm soft trails not my specialty but something I am getting better at. For zero team Can is given Lane 1,  I don’t know if this was random or they just picked us because we would not complain, with the wind that moring the flags in lane 1 were all over the place.  In the end I think lane 1 was a good lane to have for zero, even though it was risky it went well.  During some pre race observation it seemed that lane 30 was the best lane to shoot in for standing, because it was most shielded from the wind.  However it meant our range approach would need to be adapted.

So my race starts and off we go I am feeling ok and my skis seem decent.  I enter the range for prone and head directly to lane 1, it proves to be a decent lane regarless of the still swirling wind.  I have one penalty and quickly execute it before heading back on course.  It seems even though there are 130 competitors I am mostly by myself, I arrive in the range for standing after a 5 km loop.  The race was 2.5km + 5km +2.5km.  I choose lane 29 and it seems everything is ok,  it is windy but not so crazy I can not aim.  However my position is off and I notice too late,  I was either too focused on the wind or just not focused enough.  I have 3 miss and that put me in the penalty loop for close to a minute, I am disappointed but know that there are many penalties today.  Back on course I am caught my bib 75, he has shot one better then me and is skiing well.  We jostle for position through out the loop but passing is tough and pointless in this wind.  I tried to make a move on the final 100 meter which is a gental uphill, but when I go wide I am in deeper snow, he is stronger and I lose the sprint to the finish.

It was a tough race and I ended up 35, not bad but certainly not where I have worked so hard to be.  In the end I shot 6/10 on a day where you could account at least one miss to the wind.  i.e. someone who shot 9/10 would be compared to shooting 10/10 under normal race conditions.

So having few options, we wax up for the Pursuit.  Same wax and same ski, not much time for extra testing.  Need to get some recovery.  I gain some valuable info from our World Cup wax techs over night however do not have the tools or resources to put into action.  Thats ok,  I am here to test some new ideas and to see where I am at and what I need to focus on to put my season back on track.

Ok so it is the morning of the Pursuit and my legs seems to be a little better but still screaming.  I arrive at the range and change my apperature ( size of front sight) 3 times.  First bigger then smaller then bigger again. I do not like adjustable front sights so it is something I must do manually and can take a couple mintues.  I pic one I think is big enough 3.3 and zero and confirm.  Even though I started out shaky I manage to settle in before the end of zero.

Now this is where the day gets very weird.

For some reason they started me late, somewhere between 5 – 10 seconds,  I don’t know what happened I was watching the clock and I was bib 35, the guy in front of me left and it switched to bib 39 so I waited not sure what was off, that is till I look up and 34 who was starting just infront of me is gone and 36,37 are starting to put a gap on.

AWWWWWWWWWW, now I have to catch up, but that was not easy it seemed I did not have my legs in the first lap.  I came in to prone in total control only to find that I could barely see a thing,  I aimed and aimed looking at my target to make sure it was the right lane and also to see if I was hitting anything.  I left with 2 miss, not a good start.  In the penalty loop however there are many athletes.  I follow them out onto my 2nd lap where I decide to attempt shooting faster the next time in.  I arrive to the range and targets can still be made out, although the wind just switched direction, I leave with one penalty and have move up the ranking again.

Then I arrive to the whiteout they called a range for standing,  I couldn’t see a thing.  I was standing on my mat trying to see if I was again aiming at the right target.  I saw I was on lane 12 a black number sign, I look downrange to see if I can see the numbers, i can not but I have to go for it now.  So I start my aiming but when I get close the target disappears,  its just too white and dark out.  Maybe with a larger site apperature.   So I start a aiming process where I try to find the target before my sights are on it then quickly bring my gun down before I lose it again.  It was tough, I could not see if I was hitting or missing if I was on target or not.  I think I acutally hit a target beside the one I was aiming at but I really don’t know.  What I was aiming at.  Anyways I have 3 miss each time in standing but decided to chase some guys down anyway.  I wanted to see if I could get into a 5th gear it seems I have been missing all year.  I felt I was actually able to turn it up, not to my full potential yet but getting better.  I think I caught 5 guys on the final loop.

Anyways now we are back in Jablonec, Cz before leaving for Nove Mesto, Cz later on in the week.  This town has really become a home away from home.

Special thanks goes out to Vlad Cervenka and the USBA for helping us out this weekend.  For another event recall of today check out Laura Spectors blog @ http://blogs.fasterskier.com/lauraspecto…
Sorry if this doesn’t make sense I was up early this morning and had another long day, tomorrow rest!

So last night was my first ever spectating of a Cross Country WC,  and as you can tell from the title it was Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Prague. The weather was quite cold I would imagine around -3 or so, not bad for Prague and with the temperatures of the past couple days they should have been able to make a much wider track The conditions on the track looked very soupy and it looked like the lighter weight athletes were able to handle it much better.

After spending 2 seasons on the Biathlon World Cup it was interesting to see different athletes that I had really only watched on T.V. to this point.   I really wanted to see more of Northug but had to be satisfied with what I saw in the qualifier.

I thought our North American athletes looked pretty damn good and we were happy to cheer them on. Andy we thought looked effortless up to the final. And also thought that Devon, Alex, George and Ivan all looked to be moving very well.  Unfortunately we did not get there early enough to cheer on Sara.

It was a shame to see Devon break a pole in his final heat, but I was impressed with how he managed to keep close to the group then to see him explode forward again after receiving a new pole.

Jan 4 also marked my girl friends last day here in Europe and in a couple days I will be heading to Altenburg, Ger for my next races.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera and dont have any good photos to share yet.

Go Canada!

So I have found a good web site I think could be of interest to athletes and people just interested in the business side of sports.  It is a division of the famous Forbes magazine that focuses on the business of sports.  You will see how much top athletes are getting paid, how the resession has effected sponsorships ect.

http://www.forbes.com/business/sportsmoney/

Oh and I also came across a Eurosport Player, for a subcription of 5 euro a month.  I subscribed and it allows me to chose from 3 Eurosport Channels and the live streaming is very good and has 3 different qualities depending on your current bandwidth availability.  Right now I am using a wireless signal from 100 meters away and on standard quality and I get good full screen quality.  It also allows you to chose your language of commentation.

So far I have watched the Odlo World Team Challenge, Trentino Exhibition Alpine (night skiing) and today I plan on watching the start of the Tour de Ski.

*Please note:  I am in Europe right now using a Czech I.P. address so I am not completely sure if a North American I.P. address will work.  If someone lets me know either way I will be sure to post.

http://videos.eurosport.com/eurosport-player/teaser.shtml

Happy New Year

I have been thinking about this topic for a couple months, it really is meant to be nothing more then thought provoking in to each one of our own situations.

I have trained and competed at many levels and from the start there always seemed to be some level of expectation. It may have started as simple as “We expect Scott to qualify for Canada Winter Games” to ” We expect Scott to Podium at Nationals” and later on “We expect Scott to score some World Cup points this season”.

What ever the expectations are they are present. They are not meant to create pressure or a negative response but rather to be used as motivation.  I have accomplished all of the expectations above at some point in my Biathlon career and all felt pretty good when achieved.  Most expectations started out as goals, I usually drew goals up on my own with a coach or mental trainer.  When goals are designed it usually seems as though everyone included feels they are achievable and will do everything to help me or we achieve them.

I remember a couple years ago when I was training with a personal coach, it was a very small team and we worked closely together.  We had goals and I achieved many if not all of them that season.  Basically everything clicked.  However when my goals were achieved it was often said to me,  ” Congrats, your coach must really know what he is doing”  or “Congrats, what did you do differently this season”.

The truth was I did very little differently,  I had a coach with the same goals as I and we worked towards them together.  I followed the training plan that was laid out and dedicated myself to it 100% truth be told this is how I have always trained. It never mattered to me if I was training for Canada Winter Games, the World Cup or the Olympics.  I wanted to cross every t and dot every i to see what I was capable of.

When success was achieved it seemed my coach congratulated me and everyone else congratulated the coach.  This was fine with me because I was having success and achieving my goals and we both deserved recognition.  It often seems it is this way on the World Cup as well, although I have never been on a WC podium I have seen many coaches and athletes congratulate the coaches and staff of other teams when they have a podium result.  So while the athlete gets the glory it is recognized that others had a large part of the success.

Now this year I have been training in the Biathlon Canada National Team, and the support has been extensive.  We receive coaching, sport science support, ski grinding,was support, training camps and much more.

Throughout the year we train as a team on the same training philosophies.  I personally feel that each individual would be better served to have individual plans based on there personal attributes, however I have found never found a coach who agrees. Which I can understand at times, I guess if a coach feels that doing A,B & C would make the strongest, fastest athletes then it can be difficult to apply it much differently to other individuals.

This year I approached my training with the same type of dedication, maybe a little more despite what I said above it is the year of the Olympics.  I completed the workouts with focus, put 100% focus into my shooting and worked my ass off.  I attended all training camps, pushed my limits in testing.

We train as told, race when told and ski on equipment tuned by our team.   I imagine it is like this on many National teams. So when an athlete results are not desirable who should be held accountable?

To dive even deeper into this scenario, Canadian amateur athletes competing in Olympic sports have the opportunity to qualify for federal funding, it is not easy to qualify for but when receiving it can go a long way to helping an athlete achieve there goals.  I have personally witnessed many athletes from different sports receive and lose federal funding year to year, because other athletes have qualified above of them who were ranked below them the year before.  And sometimes it feels like we have little control.  I guess you could say “ski faster”, “hit more targets” or just “be better”.  But they did everything they were told, the training that was supposed to help them reach their goals.

So why is it when there is success everyone receives recognition for the time they put towards a common goal but when the result is failure the athlete is left bearing the load alone, often with less support and funding then before?

So as I posted before I am enjoying staying in Europe over the holidays, there can be many race options.  Today in Jablonec, Czech there were some XC races and Biathlon and a decent amount of fans for a smaller race.  There is also a World Loppet here on Jan 10th that I would like to race and would if I was not planning to be at the IBU Cup in Nove Mesto, CZ.

Now I was only doing today’s race for pure fun and to get some good training in, and it kind of showed. I skipped ski testing and just scraped the travel wax off my skis, this was clear on the flats but I was happy with how I felt and had fun.  It is nice  to have some US friends here with having Kevin Padzolt and Lowell Bailey also racing today.

I wished to perform a little better but overall it was fun and a good workout, I even managed to avoid a monster crash.  One Czech athlete wiped in front of me because an athlete in front of him wiped out.  He went flying into a bush and looked pretty tangled.

A big thanks goes out to Richard, for helping us out today with Race Registration and Zero.  With everything being in Czech it can be hard to understand the details of an event but everyone has been very helpful.  We now have our own wax room at the site, shooting mats and everything necessary for quality training.

Kevin Padzolt, Richard Boruta and Thomas Boruta

Me and Kevin

range entry

So today it is Christmas but it seems most festivities in Europe take place on Dec 24th however today we will head to our friends for Christmas supper.

Although Europe will never be home it is the place to stay during the race year, I find it is very relaxed and you can focus on your training and recovery easier then having to return to North America for Xmas.

First of all there is no jet lag going home or coming back,  last year when I arrived in Canmore after a very good World Cup Tour, I fell ill.  I had not been that sick in years maybe a decade.  I was coughing, achy and weak for 10 days.  It was terrible and made the last 2/3rds of my season a struggle at times.

So in future years I would recommend to others to consider staying in Europe, for those that go back to Canmore but don’t even get to see family it just makes sense to stay here.  However some people do find it easier to recharge the batteries at home base.

We are enjoying our time here in the Czech republic and I will be back at racing Jan 8th, jet lag free.