Nationals

The pursuit was a breakout performance for me. No, I didn't medal or
even move up in the standings. Still 5th place. What was breakout is I
managed the race well. I shot 1,1,4,2. Not great but I figured out a
ton of stuff. My skis were fast and I drove them well uphill and on
the flats. Downhill is where I need the most improvement. Mt. Itasca is
technical and with fast snow has demanding downhills. Uphill I was
fast and also along the flats. What really made me feel great is I
managed the range really well. Misses aside I give myself an A. The
first offhand I let the wind bug me even though it wasn't blowing too
hard. After the 4th miss in a row I stopped thinking.

What was annoying but turned out to be a hidden gem was having such
late starts. I had time to watch races and I learned a bunch. I was
amazed at how slow the elite men entered the range compared to the on
course speed. It was also interesting to watch how long they spent
getting setup prior to squeezing the trigger. They futzed with the
rifle and made sure everything was just right. I do this in practice
shoots but forget to do it during races. During prone I started
slowing down 150 meters earlier than during the sprint. I was right
behind another racer and counted seconds (nice thing about releasing
the pressure for results is I could spend time learning) from the time
I slowed to when we hit the mats. I lost 7 seconds. Multiply that by 4
and its the equivalent of one P-loop. Drop one more target and its a
wash; 2+ and it is a fantastic investment in race time.

I spent the early part of the mat time getting the rifle perfect, the
position the same as when I practice, breathing, and shot with a 2
breath rhythm I use at home. I shot well and while it felt I was on
the mat forever my actual range time (poles down to poles up) was
withing seconds of one minute which is pretty normal for me.

I also went out on course to be the relay of info person to the
athletes from the coach. Standing on the last real hill prior to the
range (maybe 1 k out) were a bunch of other coaches giving
info/encouragement/corrections. What I saw was amazing and put a few

ski pieces into place. One coach was giving out technique info. Basic
stuff. "Keep you head up. Look at the top of the hill. Hips forward.
Get those hands up. Tempo." Basic stuff I know. What was fascinating
was when the athlete listened and did these things they noticeably
sped up. During my race I told myself the same things and just flew up
the hills and also didn't feel as hammered as usual. A few of the
pieces fell into place during a race when I was tired and made a huge
difference. Not enough to catch the fast guys from Washington but it
gave me hope and demonstrated I have the potential to find speed by
not working against myself.

Had I not had the late starts I would not have had the opportunity to
observe so much. It also was nice that the athletes from the club I
was relaying info to during their races went out on course and cheered
for me. It felt a lot less lonely and I felt somewhat obligated to
perform well as I went past.

I received an email from my wife asking when I was coming back to
Minneapolis the morning of the Pursuit. She is staying with the kids
at a friends house (the friends are 20+ years of being so) but the
kids are wearing her out. Its her vacation too. I've done 51 races
this year between summer and winter and the family has been super
supportive so I headed to Minni after the race was over. I figured I
could sacrifice 45 minuted of racing for strengthening domestic
harmony and appreciation for the support Jill has given me. I also had
such a great race experience I wanted to end the season on a real
positive note. Admittedly, I am bummed about missing the race but
there is always next year.