Half empty or half full?

So my races here in Fort Kent didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped. I was pretty bummed after it was over but I woke up this morning and decided to take a second look at my performance and find some good in what had me so disappointed just yesterday.

Yes, I made a stupid mistake on Saturday, skiing on the wrong pair of skis and thus getting disqualified because they were unmarked. But my performance, despite not being on the results sheet, was not all bad. My finish time was good for third, yet another podium finish to continue my streak this season. I skied fairly fast even though I had my softest skis instead of my stiffest as I had planned. I shot 0,2 (no misses in prone, two in standing) which might not seem all that amazing, but it was consistent with my best shooting races so far this year, an improvement over my shooting results from the last races in Jericho.

On Sunday I was tired and didn't ski as fast as I would have liked. After a fairly good first two loops I slowed down as I got tired and my quads got cold. I missed two shots in my first prone and one in my second after receiving a correction. Usually I don't miss more than one shot in prone. My first standing I missed two...the same that I've missed is most races this year. In my final standing stage I came in close behind the third place racer....with good shooting I could easily move up and take third place. In every other race this season where I've had any pressure to shoot well in the final shooting stage I've blown it. This time however I took an extra second settling onto the first target and finished with only one miss, moving me into third. So despite a total six misses in the race, I'm choosing to look instead at the success I had in my final stage, not succumbing to any pressure and missing three, four, or even five shots. Unlike most of my other races this season, I only missed one!

Next weekend I'll race in La Patrie, Quebec so this week I'm taking a lower training week in hopes that I'll feel better on my skis than I did this past weekend. I kicked the week off with a wonderful classic ski at Madawaska this morning. The trails were amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed my lonely romp through the woods. Tomorrow I'll take a day off before getting back to shooting on Wednesday and Thursday.

Some photos from my ski today and the races this weekend:

(Click on any photo to see them all in a slideshow format)

 

Sprint Day:

 

 

 

 

Mass Start Day:

 

 

Skiing at Four Seasons Trails in Madawaska:

  

NorAms come to The Valley...

Getting ready for the NorAms in Fort Kent:

The stadium is set up just like was for the World Cup last year....minus all the posters, signs and media equipment of course. 

Best range I've shot on all season so far....perfectly straight, perfectly flat. 

Devo kids enjoying their perfect snow conditions during an evening training session...

Night ski at 10th Mountain...

The snow here is awesome and it's continuing to add up. We got 6 inches or so earlier this week and another 5-6 inches today. The trails should be in near perfect condition for tomorrow's sprint race. 

And my latest big craft project:

A duvet cover for Seth at Christmas...

Today's new skill: using a snow blower. I got a lesson from Seth so that when he's gone next week and it snows 2 feet (it probably will just because I'm now in charge of the driveway) I'm not stranded.

Pre-race dinner tonight: Pot roast, potatoes and carrots from the crock pot. 

Tomorrow night: Cheddar potato soup....

So glad to be reunited with my crock pot. It's been far too long!

And finally, tomorrow's forecast. 

Yes, we are supposed to zero (sight in our rifles) at 9 am....no -8 is not legal racing temperature. Yes...that -17 on the right side is the "feels like" temperature. Yes, hopefully they will move zero to 10 am so that we'll get to race at 11 when it's supposed to almost be 0. 

I love winter. I really do. 

Photos from Jericho: 2012 North American Invitational

I'm finally back in Fort Kent after a long hiatus. I think I left here sometime around the 17th of November so it's been a while. This morning we skied up at 10th Mountain and it was awesome so I'm really looking forward to the NorAm Cup here this coming weekend. It should be really great!

Here are some photos from last weekend courtesy of Kal Husain....the father of one of the MWSC Development Team biathletes. Thank you Kal!

The Ethan Allen Biathlon Club had everything ready to go despite the thin snow conditions earlier in the week. The National Guard came through with snow making and lots of work in the stadium. 

Getting ready to head out in the sprint: something must not be tucked in just right...

Out of the start...

Prone in the mass start....it was really cold!

Leaving the range during the mass start...

Oh yes...the penalty loop. Skied that more than I would have liked to this weekend but shooting in the wind will do that!

Putting my poles back on as I leave the range again....

Heading for the finish...

Check back later this week for pictures and updates from Fort Kent....conditions are great up here so it should be a really good weekend!