Winter in Vermont
Welp. I did it again. I said I would write more often yet here I am months later, and we have a lot to catch up on! Don’t worry this is a short read with lots of pictures.
This winter has been patchy with the snow. Vermont will have two days of amazing snow followed by a week of rain :( Luckily, Craftsbury had snow for the IBU Cup trials in December. This was my first ever winter IBU Cup trials. I placed 4th in both the Sprint and Mass Start and can say I am pretty happy with that! Of course, there is always room for improvement, but my skiing felt strong. Unfortunately, just off the podium wasn’t good enough. I didn’t qualify for any races this year so my season is essentially over. There is no domestic race circuit for biathlon like there is for nordic racing ie the Super Tour, so you’re either racing a full season abroad or you’re doing zilch in the states.
Of course it is a huge bummer to not qualify, but when I look back at my 2023, it is kinda crazy I even got close! Life kept knocking me down but she doesn’t know how stubborn I am. In January, I finally returned from military training after a full 6 months away. In April, I had knee surgery followed by two months of rehabilitation. In July, I got wiped out with a bacteria virus. In August, the night before the summer nationals races, I accidentally ate gluten and felt like I was dyingggg. In October, I got a concussion two days before the IBU Cup team trials. Then in December, I got covid.
Now all of this is not to brag about my bad luck!
Because there was a lot of good in there too. Since I had to take 6 months off ski training, I have doubled my training hours from the year before. In February, I competed in my first Guard Champs and found myself on the podium each race. In March, I raced my first US Biathlon Nationals and got to spend quality time with family out west. In July, I went home to Alaska and had an epic fishing trip. In September, I traveled to Utah and had my strongest training block yet. In November, I spent Thanksgiving with my extended family in Maine, and in December I spent my first Christmas in Vermont.
Now, 2024 is in full swing and she is swinging! My bad luck hasn’t run out just yet (no seriously if someone is praying for my downfall, its working, please stop) I got the flu right before this years Guard Champs and was unable to attend :( BUT on the other hand, a huge accomplishment was getting promoted to the rank of Sergeant exactly a year after completing my initial military training. For context, it is hard to promote as fast as I did.
Now to be transparent, I have not shown off, announced, advertised, what have you, that I am in the military before this blog post. There is a mental block surrounding telling people because you see their faces change when you say “I am in the US Army,” especially with the conflicts happening in the world today. I feel like I have to explain myself, “oh well actually most biathletes in European countries are also in their military, it is very connected as an industry, the history of biathlon is rooted in it, ramble ramble ramble. . .” I have now been in the service for over a year, and I have really grown to like my job. Like all things in life, you get out what you put in. I am putting positivity into my workplace which is clearly paying off!
I mentioned the Super Tour above, let’s circle back. Since there isn’t much for domestic biathlon racing, I have jumped into a lot of nordic races including when the Super Tour came to Craftsbury! It was really fun to jump into a 25km nordic race and see former APU teammates and coaches. I can’t tell if it is easier to ski without the weight of a rifle or if its easier to get “breaks” in the middle of the race when you’re on the shooting mat ;)
I would say life is going pretty well despite falling short of my goals this season. I have dived head first into my work at learngrantwriting.org, I have stepped out of my shell to socialize and make new friends, I have really enjoyed helping out with the Thursday Night Biathlon race series and racing at the Wednesday Night Worlds series, myself. A big highlight of February being a group challenge on strava to see who can climb the most vertical feet on nordic and back country skis! Vermont has a very active and welcoming community I am glad to be a part of.
If you are in the ski world, you have likely heard about the fluoro wax ban. It is fully enforced this season in both FIS and IBU races, so that meant for changes that aren’t cheap. New wax, irons, brushes, ski bags, skis, even ski ties as they have fluoro particles in the foam that could transfer back to a clean ski and cause it to test positive! Lucky for me, SkinnySkis helped me out with a fresh set of pink “Ski Like a Girl” ski ties and I love them!
We are two months into 2024 and I have run out of fish! So I am really looking forward to the summer so I can fill the freezer again! The season isn’t over yet though. The snow is melting but if it holds up, we have US Nationals in Fort Kent, Maine at the end of March. I will be bringing Nuun with me as I am fortunate to be partnering with them for another year as a part of the Nuun Legacy Team.
