First off, I must apologize for the lack of updates over the past few weeks. My days have been filled with the bustle of preparing for my departure for Europe, and lately, training and racing.

If I remember correctly, I left off last in early December following a massive snowstorm that had hit the Northeast. A week later, I concluded my classes by taking my final examinations in Russian and German, and headed immediately to Lake Placid, New York, for a training camp with the U.S. National Team Coach Algis Shalna, and members of the "development" team.

The camp was held in extreme conditions, receiving feet of snow nearly every other day. It was difficult skiing as the grooming was not superb for our early morning workouts. In a time trial towards the end of the week-and-a-half camp, I shot 90 percent and was only five seconds off of Tim Burke, and three seconds behind Lowell Bailey.

In retrospect, the camp may have been too intense for me at the time. Had the conditions not been so painfully soft and slow, the training plan would have seemed like a good idea. At the moment, I am in some ways still recovering from the camp. Even with three consciously planned rest days, I may have not recovered completely.

On Christmas Eve, I departed from Vermont to spend some time with my family in Minnesota and then drive three hours north to qualify for the World Championship Team at a competition series in Grand Rapids. Instead of a Christmas Eve dinner with my family, my flight was delayed to the point where I was stuck in Newark, New Jersey for the night. I ate a meal of lamb and potatoes in a hotel not far from New York City alone. Another day of rest was added, making the total four days off following the camp in Lake Placid.

Finally, on Christmas Day in the early afternoon, I touched down in Minnesota. It was wonderful to see my parents. I had not seen them since May. I was rather stressed out about missing so many days of training, but realized that it was out of my control. Perhaps four days off was good, but being delayed is not a welcome thing when one is in the midst of the competition season.

While home, I was able to train to some extent, even though the snow conditions were far from the wintry seasons I remember from my Minnesota childhood. One day, I drove to Elk Creek to do an intensity session. The park now features snowmaking on a few kilometers of trails. Sadly, with the trend of global warming and extreme weather variations, this arrangement of relying on man-made snow will become more common in the years to come, especially in the Midwest.

On the weekend, I drove north to Grand Rapids, where I spent a few days living with the U.S. Junior National Team coach, Vladimir Cervenka, and his wife Petra. Even though Petra's parents were due to arrive during my stay, they opened their home to me. I had a few days of good training in Grand Rapids before competing in two of the three races that comprised the qualification races that would be used to decide the World Junior & Youth Championship Team.

A little nervous due to the fact that the races had tangible consequences, I shot 50 percent in the first race. Since my threshold for good and bad shooting stands at 80 percent this season, I was frankly quite disappointed. Additionally, my skiing felt sub-par. It felt like my technique and form were below the levels that I had felt in late November and December, before the camp held in Lake Placid.

In the second race, I managed to shoot 75 percent. Starting out at a slower pace, perhaps around lactate threshold, I gradually increased the tempo so that I would have faster times each loop. The strategy paid off. Because I had won two races, I was guaranteed a spot on the World Junior Championship Team. There would be one more race, but I decided not to compete because I would leave the next day for Europe.

Following the races in Grand Rapids, I spent one last night at my parent's home in Saint Paul. On Sunday morning, January 4, I left for Munich, Germany. My flight included an eight-hour layover in Philadelphia, which was annoying in the least, but provided me ample time to get ahead on my class work. I arrive in Munich on Monday. For the next two weeks I would be traveling with the Senior European Cup Team. I decided in November to go early to Europe in order to test myself a little before racing at World Junior Championships.

On Tuesday, the other members of the Senior European Cup Team arrived in Munich, and we immediately departed for Brusson, which is just north of Torino, Italy. Driving with Jacob Beste, Tim Burke, Lanny Barnes, and Sarah Riley, I came up with what I thought was a sizeable shortcut. On the map, it seemed like a pretty good idea, but after two hours and driving up a sizeable mountain pass, we found ourselves only moving barely an inch on the map. My geography skills may need some work.

Wednesday morning, we found ourselves in Brusson, which has hosted a few cross-country ski World Cup competitions. The weekend would be first biathlon races to be held at the venue. Nestled in an Alpine valley not far from Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn, the town was magnificent with fine views. Sunny weather made most of the days even better.

I had two solid shooting days on Thursday and Friday and was confident going into the weekend's competitions. In the sprint, the course was mainly flat, but was interrupted by a demanding climb that featured three switchbacks, where one would have to stop, turn one hundred degrees, and continue climbing. I shot five for five in prone, but missed my first two shots in standing. I was satisfied with my shooting because I had met my 80 percent threshold, but my skiing felt lethargic, especially on the climb. I placed twentieth in a competitive field - my best international race.

The following day, a 12.5-kilometer pursuit competition was held. The course did not involve the large hill, but instead was as flat as could be. I started out of contention for a podium, but was determined to move up in the standings. On the first loop, I broke a pole on an uphill, and was unable to get a new one until after the shooting range. Somewhat unsettled from breaking a pole, I missed two shots in my first stage. The next few loops I skied conservatively, knowing full-well that it would be the standing stages that would determine the final results. I skied in groups behind other skiers, moving my way up using as little energy as possible. I shot one miss in my next prone and one miss in my first standing. In my final standing, I missed two shots, leaving in nineteenth place. I passed one other athlete, but was beat to the finish line by a Swiss. I finished nineteenth. I moved up in the results and had a decent last loop split time.

The next day, we left the beauty of Brusson behind bound for Meribel, a few hours west in the French Alps. We arrived as a heavy rain started falling. The drive was long. I can deal with just about any weather, but rain in the middle of January is something difficult for any winter athlete to cope with. It would rain the next two days, flooding the course and shooting range, and delaying our races by one day. Originally, an individual competition, a sprint, and relay were planned. For some reason, not only were the races delayed one day, but also the individual was removed, instead opting for a sprint, pursuit, and relay schedule.

The day before the sprint, we started receiving massive amounts of snow. The rain had wiped out much of the base on the ski trails, but was replaced and added to by the next few days of snowstorms. The conditions were soft and rather slow. In the sprint, I missed one in prone, and by the second loop already felt pretty tired in my legs. I could not push my legs to move any faster, even though the rest of my body, including my lungs and heart, felt like they could move me twice as fast. In standing, I missed three targets. At the finish, I claimed thirty-seventh place.

The evening following the sprint competition I did everything that I knew to rest and recover my legs. I napped, went for a walk, stretched, received a massage, took ibuprofen, and did a series of warm and cold baths. There was nothing else that I could think of that I was doing wrong to cause such an accumulation of lactic acid in my legs.

The following day, January 16, the pursuit race was held, based upon the results in the sprint race. I started off confidently, trying to relax in my skiing and maintain good technique. My first lap was conservative, though I had no one to ski with. I missed my last shot in my first prone stage - I was a little too quick on the trigger. In the second stage, I missed two, and moved, I believe, into twenty-fifth place. My skiing did not feel great at all, and I was planning on simply shooting my way through the race to the finish - meaning I would try to maintain my skiing as best I could, but that I would rely on other competitors to ski behind and good shooting to move up in the race. It was not meant to be for I missed an appalling four targets in my first standing stage. I am not sure what happened, though I remember feeling light-headed. Additionally, it was snowing heavily during the competition, and the targets were very difficult to see. In the penalty loop, I decided to pull out of the race after doing my four loops. It would be the first biathlon race, as far as I can remember, that I have not finished.

In the summer, I set the goal of achieving a top-ten finish at World Junior Championships. I worked hard to improve every aspect of my performance. My shooting improved the most, but I felt as recently as early December that my ski speed had also improved dramatically. Following the two European Cups, I was very disappointed. I knew that I could ski fast, but my legs were hindering me. In training on some days, I would feel great and not have a problem with my legs feeling heavy. I decided to skip the last competition of the Meribel European Cup and take a few days off from skate skiing.

After the relay race in Meribel on Saturday, January 17, I left the Senior European Cup Team behind to join with the Junior & Youth Team that I would spend the remainder of my trip with. We drove after the race here to Lanslebourg, which is where we will stay through the duration of our preparation and competitions during World Junior & Youth Championships. It is a twenty-minute drive below the venue of Haute-Maurienne.

The last few days in Meribel, I spoke with coaches Sarah Lehto and James Upham about a training plan that I had written for myself to best prepare for the most important competitions of the season. I decided that what I needed most was to ski fast without producing lactic acid. Therefore, a workout at lactate threshold was necessary. In order to peak, though, I would need a workout in which I would go at maximum speed for short duration. My plan would be to have two days completely off, one day with just classic skiing, and then an intensity workout at lactate threshold.

Following the first two days, and a day with just a classic ski and some upperbody strength, I felt much refreshed. The lactate threshold workout also went very well. I felt like my old self, back in late November. My tempo had returned and I felt like my whole body was pushing together - no part of me was pulling the rest of me down.

Today, I took another day off. It was perhaps one of the more difficult days of the week because it was challenging to not train or do something. I have finished most of my class work, having read all of my required texts. Following the past week of training since the European Cup, I have become more confident than I was a few weeks ago. I am hoping for the best.

Peace,
Brian