After my 44th place finish in last Thursday's 15k Individual, I was optimistic about the possibility of finishing in the top-60 of Saturday's Sprint in order to qualify for the Sunday's Pursuit. That being said, I did not expect what happened next...
After resting all day Friday because of a minor sore throat, I woke up Saturday feeling better and decided to race the Sprint. I was a late starter, wearing bib 90, and enjoyed great conditions and very fast skis on course. It was a clear evening with light wind- perfect for biathlon racing. I shot clean in prone and skied a faster second loop than my first loop.
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| On course in the Sprint |
When I came in for standing, my goal was to be diligent about staying calm and taking my time to hit the targets. After hitting the first two, I nearly took a bad third shot as my mind wandered away from the task at hand and into the danger zone: "I wonder if I will hit all five??!!" Checking my focus, I remember thinking "you have all day to take a good shot." While this is not exactly true-- the fastest shooter in the race completed her standing stage in 22 seconds compared to my 38-- it was a crucial reminder not to rush. When you are shooting in a race, what feels like "all day" is actually only one or two very worthwhile seconds. Then I hit the next three targets to complete my first clean World Cup race! I am putting a check mark on my goal list!
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| Tucking and gasping for air on my way tot he finish line! |
I saw on the big screen that I was around 10th place as I left the range. Unfortunately what followed was a brutal last lap during which even my best effort left me sliding down the results. Our Team USA staff members were spread out around the course excitedly screaming at me, and the first coach I encountered yelled, "only two seconds to top 10!", the next coach "only two seconds to top 12!" and so on, until I finished in 15th. A late starter from the French team, who was the fastest skier in the race, finished a few moments after me in 8th and bumped me back to my final result of 16th.
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| Surprised look on my face as I check the results screen! |
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| Happy and tired at the finish line |
In Sunday's pursuit race, I started 16th but moved back to 46th as I missed 5 targets (1,2,1,1) and skied the 51st-ranked time. I think the first three races took a lot out of me both physically and mentally, so I did not have the same energy on course. I was also running on empty, quite literally, because I struggled to eat enough during the week due to the odd training and racing times. So my skiing was not as sharp as it can be, and I had three shots awry in prone, but I was very proud of how I overcame first-shot misses in both standing stages to hit the next four. It wasn't my best race, but I'm still satisfied with my performance.
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| Cresting a hill with three others in the very tightly-contested Pursuit |
I am still getting used to the World Cup racing schedule and learned a lot last week. Part of the challenge at this level is figuring out how to push your body and mind through four races in one week-- and then do it again the next week.
I am thrilled with the results from the Ostersund World Cup, not only because of their intrinsic value but also because I am coming off a very challenging summer training season during which I only narrowly qualified for this World Cup team. It is a great relief to have out-performed my summer self, and I now have the confidence to look forward to my upcoming competitions with high performance hopes rather than self-preservation fears. We have a few days off now before racing again on Friday in Hochfilzen, Austria. My minor cold lingers, but that is no match for the hotel's Spa and Wellness center... :-)
Your awesome !!
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