Relationship with Time

"We often think about relationships with other people. But we never consider relationships with time." -Jesse Itzler. Joe Rogan Experience Podcast Episode #1127

I heard this quote on my long drive from New York to California. I have recently accepted a biathlon program director position for a new team on the west coast. The drive was long, boring, and admittedly; emotional. I thought a lot about the things I was leaving behind in New York. My friends and family. My connection to the NY ski racing scene. The beauty of the Adirondacks. I never felt like I was abandoning, but I definitely felt a part of me was left behind.

One of my new found hobbies to pass the time on long car rides is to listen to podcasts. considering I have my own podcast, I love listening to guests dive deep into their area of expertise and inspire the listener about topics I had never heard of before. Among my favorite conversation style podcasts is the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE). Joe's ability to converse comforts his guest into forgetting they are being recorded and you hear genuine thoughts and feelings of the guest.

Jesse Itzler, A successful entrepreneur and fan of pushing the limits to find his inner self was on this episode talking about the time he spent living with monks for 15 days in upstate NY. (He never said where but he said it was close to the Canadian border, near Lake Champlain. Probably somewhere around Plattsburgh.)

Jesse's experience with the monks lead to many hours alone with noting but his thoughts. And despite initial push back from his own conscience for days, his subconscious took over and helped Jesse understand himself in a way he had never known before.

Many valuable lessons came from the 15 days in isolation, however the one gem that stood above the rest was this concept of relationships. Not relationships of interaction with other human beings (the type that was drilling me in the heart on this long car ride.) But our relationship with time.

What an interesting concept. As someone who has literally lived a life where my self-worth and the self-worth of so many of my closest friends is determined by beating the clock, I have never considered my relationship with time. Is checking your watch on long training sessions to make sure you are submitting the appropriate investment of time a good or bad relationship? Are the choices I've made in my 23 years a good use of the limited time I have? What type of relationship do I have with time?

Jesse goes on to explain his interpenetration of relationship with time. He compares his age with the average age of an American and concludes he can segment his remaining time to assure he is spending time with the people he loves. He still goes to work and still makes time for himself, but now he is more aware of making time for those whom may not have that much time left, and he does not waste time on those who do not provide the proper return on an investment of time.

I thought a lot about my relationships with friends, family and time. For me, the most important part about my relation with time is how I choose to invest it. While this move to California definitely hurts the relationships with people, I want to make sure my relationship with time is spent doing the things I love, building the things I love, promoting the things I love and sharing the things I love with other people. The more I learn about the opportunity I have been presented here in Cali, the more I feel comfortable giving my time becasue the dreams of this club align with my dreams.

As for my relationship with people, I am not too worried. I know the way in which I invest my time will introduce me to people who hold the same values as myself. I will enjoy building these relationships and to me that is a good relationship with time.

Is this a good relationship or a bad relationship?

Looking for that Injection

Hey everybody. Sorry it’s been a while. I’ve been kind of busy this summer and I’ve neglected my blog for some time now. But as of recently I’ve been wanting to update this sucker because writing my thought down (or typing them out) helps me think about things more clearly. I almost just recorded a solo podcast episode thinking it would let my mind wonder a little bit, but I figured my blabbering wouldn’t make for quality audio listening. So I’ll blog it out. I’ll give you a quick update on the summer:

This summer I went through a painstaking property and casualty insurance licensing course and just barely passed the state exam. None-the-less I am now licensed to sell insurance in New York! I learned cold calling sucks and people hate talking about insurance. These same people are severely underinsured and are basically holding a loaded bazooka at their bank account. My best advice: no matter how good a driver you think you are, make sure your properly insured. (And not just what the state says you need. Cover yourself for what you need)

Kick Zone has entered a new era of business strategy. After not seeing much profit from sponsors of the podcast I realized my profit model was identical to the model I’ve highlighted as being ineffective in supporting Nordic athletes. I needed to find a new way. That’s when I stumbled upon Ecommerce. I decided, instead of reaching out to companies to support me (when they could be supporting athletes) what if I started an ecommerce shop where people could purchase clothing, casual sunglasses, fashion accessories, and other fun/popular stuff (yes, I mean fidget spinners). Then use the profit to grow KZM and support athletes as they pursue their Olympic dreams. Head over to www.nordiclifestyle.shop to check it out.

“But Brian, doesn’t running an online store require a lot of upfront cost in order to purchase all this stuff for your ecommerce site? And you just said KZ wasn’t making much money, yet. What are you thinking?”

Yes this is true, but through the power of drop-shipping, I can sell products on my ecommerce store and never have any inventory. Through my supplier, I can upload products and set prices. Once someone orders a product off the site, I notify the supplier and they send the product directly to the customer. Sounds great, right? Ecommerce and drop-shipping are the golden tickets of entrepreneurship!

Wrong! Ecommerce is tough. On Shopify there are tens of thousands of ecommerce shops and the chances of a customer finding your shop over others is slim. Online marketing through social media and SEO (search engine optimization) cost a lot of money and doesn’t see great numbers in terms of sales. (One poor fella spent $750 in Facebook advertising and got over 70,000 page visits to his site and not ONE person made a purchase! I read about his story on a Shopify blog and most people were like “sorry dude. That sucks”). I have spent some money on social media advertising and the results have led to me just barely making my money back from the advertising. Basically not even worth it.

Another problem with drop-shipping is unless you want to pay an extra $40, shipping usually takes 25 days. In the world of Amazon’s 2-day delivery, this is highly unacceptable. I have had customers reach out to me wondering where their product is about 2 weeks after they ordered it. And all I can really tell them is it’s on its way. I’ve also had people reach out to me and complain that the shirt they received is the wrong size (despite them clearly ordering that size in my records) but I don’t have an office or a store front so I don’t want to give out my home address to some stranger for returns. So I end up just having to send them a second shirt and tell them they can do what they want with that one. (This person was stoked and said he’d refer my shop to all his friends. Still have yet to see a sale from any of his friends).

To stand out amongst other ecommerce shops I started pushing the “why” over the “what.” Why I was selling was hopefully enticing enough that the potential buyer could find something in the catalog that they wanted. I started only marketing my ecommerce shop on Word on the Trail because it became easy for me explain the mission and how your purchase directly helped nordies in need. However, despite giving listeners exclusive discounts, sales from the podcast were minimal. And, I found myself stuck in what I like to call “the loop of hypocrisy”

The whole point of KZM is to bring money into Nordic sports and use it to promote living a healthy Nordic lifestyle, as well as support those who live the Nordic life. But if I only advertise and capitalize on people already in the industry, I’m not expanding the industry, I’m just redirecting the money that’s already here. My goal is to inject a shot of adrenaline (cash) to help grow this industry.

So I’ve modified the shop to be more consumer friendly. Hopefully this will be more enticing for the social media crowd. Before there was a lot of athletic specific products, but now I offer more generic stuff that more people can relate to. Right now I only have sunglasses on the shop, since I love sunglasses, but will be adding more soon.

Part of me wants to work 24/7 on KZM and the other part of me needs to focus on school. I’ve deliberated about this dilemma in my previous post: Pushing Boulders. I’ll be honest, when I’m at SUNY Adk I feel like I’m in purgatory. I’m in a holding pattern waiting to launch. I constantly try to apply what I’m learning in the classroom to KZM but all it does is make me wish I wasn’t there learning from a textbook, but out there actually doing. They say to be successful you need to fail, and fail a lot. I want to hurry up and fail. I want to learn from that failure and come back stronger.

Right now I’m forced to read a textbook and submit reports of what I learned. A professor will determine if what I comprehended is up to their standards and if not 100%, 75% is good enough to achieve the diploma that will land me that elusive job that I am supposedly seeking in order to live a life society deems standard. (Despite the fact all my high school friends have graduated with that diploma and they have yet to even land themselves a job that would set them on the path to that standard of living. But that’s a social issue for another post).

I want to WANT to read a textbook (or informational book written by an entrepreneur before me) and I want to learn from it as if my goals depended on what I comprehended. The free market will decide if what I comprehended is sufficient. And there is no passing or failing, there is only “works” and “doesn’t work.” I long to be in a situation where I am not valued on my regurgitation skills rather my ability to think outside the box and act in strategic method. A life where my standard of living is not the goal, rather the reward.

But for right now all I can do is hustle, and hustle hard. Prioritize what needs to get done and be efficient with time permits.

I’m sorry this post ended up being so long. When I have a lot on my mind I kind of like just being able to type. For anyone who made it this far, as a thank you for listening to me ramble on feel free to use promo code “Blog” at checkout at www.nordiclifestyle.shop to receive 20% off your next purchase. Obviously 1/3 of KZM profits go directly to nordies living the Nordic lifestyle and the other 2/3 goes to building KZM (which means more podcast, videos, blogs and more. All Nordic specific)

Thanks for reading folks!

My bike is a Cannon-dale

Pushing Boulders

When I decide to put down the rifle, making money wasn’t the only new goal I had to pursue. I knew I wouldn’t be able to function in the real world without a college degree or a real education so in reality, school became the new priority. I didn’t know what I was going to study but luckily, as you may recall in A New Trail, Yet to Be Explored, over the summer I had the idea to start Kick Zone Media. The timing was perfect because with this new found motivation to launch this business I found myself knowing nothing about business.

In only two semesters at SUNY (State University of New York) Adirondack I’ve learned many aspects of business that I previously knew nothing about. Theories of marketing, management and economics as well as the basics of accounting. There is still much more to learn, obviously, but what I have learned so far has helped me tremendously and has given me an appreciation for entrepreneurs everywhere.

While most of my classmates are fresh out of high school, experimentally dabbling in business as if to test the waters to see if it’s right for them, I am trying to start a business, while learning how to start a business. In other words: most of my classmates are learning the basics of how to push giant boulders, preparing themselves for the day they finally come across a behemoth chunk of sediment so they can take the theoretically necessary steps and actions to push the rock with enough force that it gains enough momentum to fly off the metaphorical jump and sail across the valley of failure into the land of success. I, on the other hand, am trying to push this gigantic boulder I have already found. I see the jump ahead and know the momentum it is going to take. But every stride is accompanied with a glance at the book “How to Push Giant Boulders.”

As much of an advantage as this gives me, it has made me realize there is a crucial step to starting a business that can’t be taught in school. And that’s the motivation or will to put your hands on the rock and push! When others watch from a far and doubt your ability, when they see you trying to push an immovable object to become an unstoppable one and laugh. I have realized I don’t care if others view my goal as impossible or laugh when the look at the odds stacked against me. The thing that intimidates me the most is when approaching others for help, I wondering if they will share my values, my goals and see the same path to the jump as I do.

This applies to Kick Zone because the vision I see for the website is a collaboration of people all over the continent sharing their media and their stories of living the Nordic lifestyle. Before this becomes a familiar name and a familiar site I need to push it out there and get it in front of people. This requires me to reach out to friends and competitors and family and strangers and ask them to check out Kick Zone. Ask them to give Kick Zone a chance.

Friends and family have been outstandingly supportive and I thank every one of you whole heartedly, but I knew my reach of approximately 1000 Facebook friends (most of which I probably don’t really know) and about 600 Instagram followers (who I’m certain are mostly Russian robots programed to follow millions of random pages) would only get me so far. It’s time to reach out into the unknown.

If you’re a fan of irony then you’ll appreciate this: While writing this post I needed to take a break to go to my business management class. Today’s topic was about decision making. My professor educated us about the different types of decision makers, and my situation of overcoming insecurities to progress my business fit almost too well into the matrix. I think I am too much of a Conceptual thinker and not enough of a Directive thinker. On opposite sides of the spectrum, Conceptual people have the plan, have the idea and have the vision, while Directive people initiate, activate and “do”. There are other areas such as Analytical and Behavioral but each has its down sides. And I think I’m beginning to understand the downside to being a conceptual thinker.

I’ve seen this in my biathlon training as well. I’ve studied the training routines and methods of athletes all over the world. I’ve educated myself on proper nutrition and as I mentioned in Optimization, mental prep is my guilty pleasure. But being honest, there were many times I couldn’t discipline myself to be 100% committed. And I don’t know anyone who is disciplined 100% of the time, but to be an elite athlete requires at least 80%-85% discipline, probably even more.

I’m not saying I qualified for 4 Jr. World Championships and 2 European Championships on talent alone. I worked my butt off. But there were the late night Netflix binges, the huge bowls of ice cream and a lack of dry-firing among other things that didn’t necessarily help the cause.

So I’m just going to go for it. CEO of IBM, Thomas J. Watson once said “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.” This will obviously push me out of my comfort zone. But to make my goal of running a successful business my new comfort zone, I need to step out of my current comfort zone. 

I keep telling myself it's O.K. to fail if I learn from these failures and grow. But that’s the key though: failure to learn from failure will result in what president George W. Bush once tried to say: “fool me once: Shame on you. Fool me twice: Shame on me.”

I race for fun now

Optimization

Over the past few years I have become obsessed with human optimization.  I’m not talking about click-bait life hacks, silver bullets, secret formulas or lottery tickets. I’m talking hard work, productivity and efficiency. In a general sense, pretty much all of ski training is working toward optimization. We go to the gym to optimize our muscles, we go out on 6 hour over-distances to optimize our heart and we do regular intervals to optimize our lungs. But all of these are physical optimizations. In the sport of biathlon, that’s only half the challenge.

In my early years of biathlon I was without a doubt a better skier than shooter. But I soon realized to be a complete biathlete I was going to need to figure the shooting out. After an entire summer of regular range work I became more comfortable with the rifle, but was still having some major trouble. After talking to some friends and teammates I recognized my inability to shift my focus from ‘race mode’ to ‘shooting mode.’

Biathlon shooting requires so much focus on relaxation, and I being somewhat of a ‘Head-down-all-out’ type, understood what this was doing to my shooting. All too often I found myself on the shooting mat, thinking about the trail. I began wondering what I could do to optimize my mind.

My older teammates turned me on to a book that has literally changed my life. With Winning in Mind by Lanny Bassham is an instructional book about how Lanny (an Olympic position shooter) developed tools and techniques to optimize his mental preparation for competition. Obviously his tools can relate to biathlon because position shooting and biathlon shooting are so similar. But when you seriously stop and think about the book in a much more general sense, his tools can be used to optimize any area of life: work, school, training, relationships, arts and crafts, it doesn’t matter. When you truly understand his techniques and how they work, you can change your life. Ever since first reading ‘the book,’ as my teammates and I would refer to it as, I have been obsessed with mental optimization.

In total I have read ‘the book’ 6 times cover to cover and have referred back to individual chapters countless times. But my fascination doesn’t stop there. Over the summer I began listening to optimization podcasts like Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) and recently Jocko Podcast. JRE has some interesting guests and they love to shoot-the-shit so unfortunately from a two hour episode you may only get 15 minutes of optimization talk, but it’s usually captivating and enlightening. Jocko is an ex-navy seal and fits the stereotypical military tough guy mold too well, and most of his podcasts are him reading books about war, but when he gets started on optimization, it’s pure gold.

Now that I have shifted my focus from athletics to business I began thinking of ways I could apply these optimization strategies as an entrepreneur. I was doing an ok job but didn’t know much about the business world so I began to stall. Thankfully I received a book for Christmas called The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson. This book is literally about mental optimization in terms of business.This book inspired me to get to work and “Get after it” as Jocko would say, But I was still having trouble because I wasn’t sure what steps I should be taking.

In all the optimization outlets, discipline is one of the common themes across the board. Being able to hold yourself accountable and execute the actions needed to reach your goal are essential to optimizing your life. Discipline had come up so much that it was even a subject of one of my Word onthe Trail podcast episodes which can be found here.

In basic terms, small daily actions, when repeated over time add up to create something wonderful, or destructive (depending on what the action is). For biathlon its things like training, dry firing, eating healthy, Etc. But I’m having trouble finding daily disciplines to promote Kick Zone.

At the moment I’m trying to find at least one thing I can do each day to build the website. The two most important aspects for the site are content and views. I don’t expect people to come to view the website of there is no content so I’ve decided to start searching the web for Nordic blogs to feature. If you know of a skier who has a blog about life as an athlete I would love to check it out. Once I get a few blogs featured I’ll start promoting them on the Kick Zone social media accounts. I get content, the athlete gets recognition. It’s a win-win.

I’ve already begun featuring a few athletes so head over to Kick Zone to see what blogs I’ve already featured. They’re entertaining coming-of-age experiences and thrilling accounts of races from this season.

That’s all I have for tonight. If anyone is interested in talking about human optimization I’d LOVE get a conversation going. It’s fascinating to me that the way you think can lead you down the road to success. 

A New Trail, Yet to be Explored

Hello everybody. I’m back!

I know a lot of people have missed my blog updates and wondered what I’ve been up to. It seems like I’ve just fallen off a cliff and left you here in suspense for over a year. Well a lot has changed since harvest camp last fall. And I mean A LOT! For those of you who follow me on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram (@brhalligan4) you know I’ve put the rifle down and stopped the watch on my race career… for now. If this is complete news to you then I suggest you stop where you are and go check out the ‘About Me’ tab to get a quick recap.

After deciding to put away the rifle I first realized it was time to make some money, because as you could probably guess, there is no money in biathlon. In past blogs I talked about my time at the Glens Falls Country Club and figured for a 21 year old with no formal education, this was probably my best option. So all summer I cut grass and raked bunkers. Being alone out on the course to work all day was accompanied with intense boredom. After weeks, music turned into white noise and I began to lose myself in thought.

Under the hypnosis of the mower’s hum I reflected on days traveling through Europe and found comfort in the memories of the packed stadiums, the fans asking for autographs and even the TV cameras pointed in your direction. Europe is a different place.

I began wondering why such an action packed sport such as Nordic skiing, or such an unpredictable sport like biathlon, or such a graceful sport like ski jumping was not more popular in the U.S. I felt this overwhelming sense to do something. This sport, and this lifestyle that had given me so much. I felt as if I was being called by the Nordic gods to take my love for Nordic skiing and promote the means by which I developed this love. But I am just a kid with no education and no money. What can I do?

In an attempt to break the monotony I decided to start listening to podcasts. I had never listened to them before and honestly had no idea what they were. I opened up the app on my phone and saw a podcast entitled ‘Millennial.’ Being a millennial I decided this looked like a good place to start.

 As it turns out this podcast was about a girl named Megan Tan who had this crazy idea to start a podcast. A bit of pod-ception, but the podcast was literally this girls story of how she was running the podcast I was listening to like a business. She talked about her struggles as she lost motivation and her triumphs as she nailed meetings with top NPR executives.

For weeks I listened to Megan’s entrepreneurial story, the dots started to connect. In a lot of ways being a ski racer is like being an entrepreneur. You need to be focused and push yourself to achieve the results you want. It’s not for everybody, but I knew it was for me.

So I started listening to other start-up podcasts like, well… ‘Start-Up’ and knew my calling to promote the sport I love was going to take the shape of a business. But I didn’t really know what kind, or what I’d be doing or selling or how I’d even make money.

All while this country club job was going on I began coaching a group of high school athletes. My original ski club, the HudsonUnited Race Team (HURT) actually had enough money to start offering summer coaching. I would meet with kids twice a week and share my knowledge and love of skiing. But the big headlining event of the summer was HURT Camp! 30 of the best skiers from around the area gather for a week long camp in Queensbury, New York.

One afternoon at HURT Camp I began telling a story of one of my trips to Europe to a group of 2 or 3 kids. A few kids gathered around to hear what I was saying and before I knew it, I looked up and almost 20 campers and coaches had gathered around to hear what I thought was just a boring story of how I ate lunch next to some Russians in Estonia. The circle was broken up by the dinner bell and we headed in for some grub. On the way in, one of the other coaches approached me:

“You need to start a podcast.” five weeks ago I didn’t know what a podcast was and now I’m being asked to start one.

“yeah, Right.” I replied.

“No, seriously. Did you see how captivated these kids were? Your story was a chance for them to realize their dreams of racing internationally can become a reality. Just 4 years ago you were eating lunch at that picnic table and now you’re telling stories of eating lunch with Russians in Estonia. With your knowledge of the sport, love of the sport, connections and experience… you’d provide skiers all over the country with some Nordic specific entertainment.”

And that’s when the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. My business will promote the Nordic lifestyle through podcasts. No, all types of media! I will create a website where nordies from around the country can come to get some Nordic specific entertainment.

So in the subsequent weeks I bought some podcasting equipment, reached out to a few businesses for some advertising, and launched Wordon the Trail. “The podcast that brings the Nordic lifestyle to you.” The first episode is much like this blog post as it tells the story of why I started the podcast and can be found here.

But realizing this has to be bigger than me. Bigger than just my podcast, I registered as a DBA (Doing Business As) and launched Kick Zone Media

After over a year of neglect I’ve decided to start up my blog again because I’m headed down a ski trail I’ve yet to explore. The trail of entrepreneurship. Living the Nordic lifestyle has given me so much. A chance to travel the world, loyal friends, respect for my body and the planet, Values of discipline, dedication, determination, positive philosophy, work ethic, goal setting, plan execution, communication, and the realization that when I set your mind to something, nothing can hold me back.

Now, using these values I want to give back. I want to promote this lifestyle to people far and wide so they too can learn such valuable lessons all while having fun ripping around on the snow.

I figured starting up the blog again would be fun because like biathlon I honestly don’t know where this is going to take me. But I’m sure where ever this path leads it’ll be full of adventure, hardship, triumph and life lessons. So although this is no longer a ‘biathlon blog’ it will still be chock-full of the entertaining rollercoaster-like stories that coincide life. I hope you enjoy.

“Live the Nordic Life”

-Brian

Harvest Camp

Having lived in Maine for several years now I have heard a lot about Bar Harbor, or as the locals call it: “Bah Habbah.” The quaint picturesque town on the east side of Mount Desert Island was the perfect place for Maine Winter’s Harvest camp due to its close proximity to the oldest national park in the country: Acadia National Park. The beautiful cliffs and perfectly manicured roads provided an impeccable place to throw down one of the bigger volume weeks of the year.

Knowing it was going to be a bigger week I decided to get a head start back in Fort Kent and do a little extra on Tuesday to start the week off right. Unfortunately I ended up setting myself back. During a race pace interval while tucking down a hill I stood up awkwardly and felt a debilitating tweak in my back. Luckily I was able to begin stretching and rolling it out immediately and the pain went away. But I was unable to finish the workout and was actually behind on hours by the end of the day.

Our first workout in Bar Harbor was an easy 2 hour run through the national Park. It was quite wet and stormy because apparently there was a hurricane that was making land fall at the same time. But none-the-less we completed the workout with wet shoes and high spirits because let’s be honest running in the torrential rain is kind of fun.

Rollerskiing in the park was a lot of fun because of the awesome views. Unfortunately the park had an apparently strict rule about not allowing coasting activities (rollerskiing, rollerblading, skateboarding, Etc.) in the park so we trained as close as we could in relatively unpopulated areas.

I guess technically you cant prove that's me skiing

Brendan Cyr and I

The camp was going well but I was still bothered by falling behind on the first day so I decided I was going to make up all the time in one day. The plan for the camp over-distance session was a 4.5 to 5 hour run/hike through the park. A sizable training day that I was going to add onto. In the end I had completed a 6 hour workout, the longest I have ever done. Around Hr. 5 I was not too concerned with bonking because I had been refueling and eating throughout the workout but that last half hour went by very slowly. Props to my teammate Lance McKinney who toughed out all 6 hours with me.

Mid 6 hour Run/Hike

My watch holds all the stats

What better way to end a camp than to go swimming? On the last day we went down to the ocean and played some Ultimate Frisbee on the beach which was followed by a fun round of body surfing in the ocean… in October… in 50 degree weather… among a few hundred bundled up tourists. It was quite a sight to see. And to be honest the water wasn’t too bad… once your body went numb.

This upcoming weekend is Jericho: Round II. I am excited for the opportunity to race again because racing is the best part of this sport. Thanks for stopping by, follow me on twitter: @bhbiathlon Instagram: @bhalligan4 and friend me on facebook. 

I Still Have a Blog?

I have officially been called out on social media for not posting on my blog in a while so I think it’s about time I post. To be completely honest I have been experiencing a slight lack of motivation for things like my blog, dry firing, watching races, visualizing, and focus during training. I think it is due to this “wall” I keep hitting during races. For those of you who happened to see the Jericho Rollerski race results you probably noticed it didn’t go so well for me.

 I was unable finish the first race and placed 2nd to last in the second race all thanks to the same “wall” I’ve been hitting for the past year. I have changed my training plan and tried focusing on different things but I still find myself suffering the same fatigue I experienced this winter. The best way to describe it is as a “wall” because I can start off a race fine (actually, I feel my overall speed and fitness is in good shape) but 7-10 mins into the race my chest begins to get very tight and my limbs go numb, preventing me from being able to use any power or keep good technique.

This “wall” has been pretty frustrating because no matter what I do (clean shooting, good race prep, visualize, etc.) I still will experience this “wall” and it will keep me from performing at my best. I think this is where my lack of motivation and focus is coming from. And with the lack of focus comes lack of organization and structure.

All of these factors combined has made me pretty overwhelmed and disorganized. So the other day I decided to take back control. I have been meeting with cardiologists and pulmonologists to figure out what is going on with me and I think we are on our way to figuring out how to break through this “Wall.”

In the meantime, I know fixing this one aspect of my racing will mean nothing if I’m not 100% focused, so the other day I sat down and got myself back on track. I wrote out a list of goals for me to accomplish day to day, week to week, and month to month to get me back to being a complete biathlete. So far the plan is working very well. I have developed a new love for the sport. Don't get me wrong, I have always loved Biathlon and always will, but my recent set backs have made me realize how lucky I have been up to this point and how difficult this sport really is. 

But in general my summer has been a blast. The team is quite a bit smaller this year but it’s still a great group of athletes and a great training group. The weather has been perfect training weather in Fort Kent. A mid-summer high of 70 degrees is perfect for training.

All right enough talk, it’s time for some pictures! 

Lance, Brendan and I. Photo by Cody

The start line at Jericho. 

Helping the young kids get into biathlon

From left to right: Cody, Me, Lance's butt, Brendan.
at Maine Team Camp in Southern Maine

Maine Team Camp in Fort Kent 

Shooting at Jericho, VT

With the fall approaching, I am looking for people who are going to Canmore, Alberta for early season skiing and the first two NorAms. I will be on my own this year in Canmore and getting a group together to split costs sounds a lot better than going at it alone. If you think you're interested please email me and we can make a plan (bhnordic4@gmail.com). 

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be better about updating my blog from now on but feel free to follow me on instagram (@bhalligan4) twitter (@bhbiathlon) and friend me on facebook.