After three weeks of intense training, I am enjoying an easy week of training on my own before the team meets up again Ruhpolding, Germany next week. Our training camps normally last 3 weeks, but this year we decided on a 7 week Europe camp in order to maximize one on one coaching time and to take full advantage of the World class venues over here. Knowing that 7 weeks together would be pretty tough for the team, our coaches decided to break things up a bit and allow us to train on our own for a week. I decided to stay right here in Ruhpolding, Germany in order to minimize travel time and maximize recovery time.
Before arriving in Germany, I spent two weeks training in Ostersund, Sweden. Everything went smoothly there and it was nice to be back working with my coaches Per and Armin. Once again, these guys brought a ton of energy to the camp and we got a ton of work done in 2 weeks.
On my second to last day in Sweden Per, Lowell and I drove two hours west to the Sweden/Norway border to go for a long run in the Swedish mountains. What was planned to be a 3-hour run turned into a 5.5-hour epic training session. After running 10 miles (16K) across the tundra to the base of Sweden’s second highest peak, we decided we had come too far to not make a summit attempt. In the end we had to turn around just before reaching the summit because we were out of time and we were completely unprepared with gear. Nevertheless, it was a really cool experience and I got to see a part of Sweden that I have never seen before. What I was most impressed with during our mountain run was that Per stuck with Lowell and I for the entire day. We estimated that we ran around 26 miles (42k) in really tough terrain and Per hung with us. I really thought that we would be carrying Per after 20 miles but he toughed it out. Never again will I doubt his fitness level! For a funny video of the run check out my teammates site at www.lowellbailey.com.
From Sweden we flew down to Ruhpolding, Germany for our third week of camp. Training here has been great. The competition trails here are really nice, with over 5k of paved trails for roller skiing and the nearby mountains offer endless opportunities for running and biking. It also feels really nice to be back in more summer conditions. Although we had quite a few sunny days in Sweden, it definitely felt like late fall there rather than September.
This Friday I will meet back up with the team for another week of training here in Ruhpolding. After that, we head up to Oberhof, Germany for a few more weeks of training before returning back to Lake Placid on October, 4th. Training in Oberhof should be especially exciting because we will be taking part in biathlon summer World Championships. Although we won’t be specifically preparing for these races, it will be fun to race against a full international field. The organizers of the race have announced that 30 nations will be participating, so these races will surely have a strong field. This will be a great opportunity for me to put my summer and fall training to the test. In Oberhof, we will also take a week to utilize the new indoor “ski hall”. This is the latest indoor skiing venue and it is suppose to be a step up from all of the others with a longer track and better snow conditions.
Thanks for checking in!
