Life with our Team

biathlon

Feb 7

World Championships have begun here in the Czech Republic. Over the next week and a half we will compete in 6 different types of races. Starting it off is tonight’s mixed relay tonight under the lights with Annelies Cook, Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren, and myself. Stream it live at 11:30 am EST from biathlonworld.com.

Before all the craziness of racing takes over, I want to look back at the last few weeks with the team and share a little bit about what life is like when we aren’t busy training or racing. We ski a lot and we work hard, but life on the road also features a lot of down time in hotel rooms. Having interesting and fun people on the team makes a huge difference in our quality of life. I truly believe we have one of the most enjoyable and supportive team atmospheres of any country on the World Cup circuit.

This year the guys brought several remote control helicopters with them. Tim especially has logged many flying hours and is ready to study for his pilot’s license.

In Antholz we had 4 guitars, one banjo and one concertina between the staff and athletes. I can’t say it always sounded pretty (except when Lowell was playing of course), but we kept ourselves entertained.

We spent the two week break before World Championships training near Antholz, Italy. Here we are enjoying some après ski coffees and soaking up the Dolomite sunshine at Platz Weise. Talk about a rough day at the office! Tim heard from Andrea that the German team was stuck training in the Oberhof Ski Hall that same day due to rain. Photo: Sara Studebaker

During the Antholz World Cup, several of us had parents and relatives visiting who formed spirited cheering sections. It was a rare treat to hang out with my family (and other teammates’ families) in the middle of five months on the road. Photo: Lowell Bailey

In Italy, much of the day revolves around meal time. We would often spend at least an hour at lunch and 2+ hours at dinner crammed together around one long table. In the breaks between courses we had plenty of time to make (hilarious) conversation. I think I logged at least one hour every day laughing- that has got to be good for your health! We heard the same five pop songs 3 times a day (once every meal) and started composing our own words for them. Occasionally we ordered a couple bottles of wine as a treat and we learned that drinking the local La Grein turns your teeth and tongue purple.

One of many fancy courses we enjoyed in Antholz. photo: Elise Munn

While the food here in Czech isn’t bad, it isn’t quite as nice as in Italy. Since we have a lot of free time in the morning due to a late training schedule, Annelies and Hannah suggested we make our own breakfast yesterday morning. We had French toast (with Vermont maple syrup), fresh fruit and yogurt. It was awesome!