Free Agent Season

Since my last post I have been working hard on resting hard. With a nice trip down to Disney World and the warm weather here in New York, the past two months have been very relaxing. Most of my time is spent working at the Glens Falls Country Club with the maintenance department but my mind is always thinking about biathlon.

Ball I found on the course

My brother Mikey playing baseball at the Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World 

At Disney World

The family trip to Disney in 2005

The family trip to Disney in 2015

I call this free agent season because this is the time of year every biathlete has to decide where and with whom they will be training and racing with next season. After taking a step back and really weighing all my options, I have come to the decision that the Maine Winter Sports Center is still the best option for me. In the past two seasons with Maine Winter I have seen great improvement in myself and look forward to another season with the team.

In the past few months I have been working to replace broken equipment, get new equipment etc. so here are a few quick shout outs to some awesome companies that have made this process a little easier:

Rossignol: I have been racing on rossi for many years now and love their skis. I have seen their skis adapt with new ski technology over the years to stay at the front of the pack. I am excited to be a Rossignol Athlete this season so if you have any questions about any of their products please don’t hesitate to message me. #AnotherBestDay

Polar: Training data is one of my favorite things to dissect and analyze. My new Polar RC3 GPS heart rate monitor provides me with so much info about my training it is an essential piece of training equipment. #ListenToYourBody

FinnSisu: Finally, special thanks to FInnSisu for the new Marwe Rollerskis. Marwes are such a smooth rollerski and FinnSisu is the place to get them in North America.

I have been doing a little bit of training this past month and I am happy to report I am feeling healthy and energized. I am heading back up to Maine on June 2^nd and am excited to get the training season underway.

Mothers Day hike

Doing a lot of riding with my new bike

Thanks for stopping by. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter (@bhbiathlon) and Instagram (@brhalligan4) 

Part 3: Plans for the Future.

A lot of people have been asking me what races I will be doing to wrap up my season. This is my last year to compete at Junior Nationals (which I have never been to). NorAm championships and Canadian Nationals are shaping up to have some competitive competition. And US biathlon nationals in Truckee California sound like a ton of fun in the sun. But my answer is none! And here is why:

All summer, fall and winter I have been battling constant fatigue and tiredness. When I start to go hard or try to ski a race effort I feel like I can only keep the pace for a maximum on 3 minutes. Then my legs begin to feel very heavy and weak. My arms then begin to tire and before you know it my body feels like it’s been racing for an hour and it’s only been 10 minutes. 

If you recall “The Warning Signs Were There” from August I talked about suffering through the Rollerski Races in Jericho. I thought it was because I didn’t have enough rest in between Jr. and Sr. races. But later on in the fall I when we went back to Jericho I suffered from the same fatigue and had poor results. I still tried to keep my head up and blame it on a large training block or something. Then there was the North Haven Lobster Roll 15K rollerski race where I thought I was going to drop out half way through. Followed by early season skiing in Canmore where I felt ok skiing but was getting passed like crazy by people whom I was competitive with the year before. 

Racing in Jericho

Racing in Canmore

The only time I did not feel like crap while going hard in the past 10 months was while racing at Mt. Itasca for IBU and Jr. World trials. But Itasca is a unique course in that it is very technical and the skiers who can ski the transitions better will do the best.

They say you win some and you learn some. And that’s what I am going to do. Learn what worked this year and what didn’t. There are many things that will have to be changed in next year’s training plan but for right now I am going to get a head start on my recovery season. 

Shooting at Mt. Itasca

Racing at Mt. Itasca

More Mt. Itasca racing.

One thing I thought showed great improvement over last year however was my mental preparation and focus towards training and racing. I have learned so much about how to be in the right mental state for success I can’t wait for everything to come together both mentally and physically in the future.

I truly love Biathlon and cross country skiing. One of my fondest memories from growing up was the J2 (U16) festival. The fact that all my friends and I could join up together as one team to represent New York against all the other New England states seemed like so much fun, And it was. I am a true believer that trips like that is where kids fall in love with the sport. So that is why I have volunteered to coach the U16 team in Fort Kent this year. The sport has given so much to me now I want to give my time back. And who knows, the next Martin Fourcade could be on this trip and fall in love with the sport the same way I did.

Now that my season is over I will be cutting back on the frequency of blog posts until the summer. I will update once or twice in the next 2 months just to let you know I am still alive but I will still be posting on Facebook, Twitter (@bhbiathlon) and Instagram (@brhalligan4) regularly. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me. This season has had a lot of ups and downs and would not have been possible without you. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for my friends and family. Thank you!

15 year old me and the New York crew on our way to J2's (now U16s)
P.S. That blonde in the middle raced on the world cup this year!

Part 2: Jr. Worlds

So today will be part two of my three part blog post.

By the time the first race rolled around in Minsk I was feeling about the same as four days prior: a light head cold with a really runny nose. The only problem was in between I was sick as a dog. I was constantly blowing my nose, felt really light headed and was having trouble sleeping. But somehow I still felt better than the individual in Estonia

The individual is a tough race. It’s the longest (15K) and the penalties are 1 min (not a penalty loop). This race usually favors the best shooters. My 2-0-3-1 shooting was way off the mark to consider having a good race. Although the skiing felt better, I was still watching people fly by me.

The range from the coaches box. That hill was completely green by the last race.

There were two huge monitors for the spectators viewing pleasure

The long down hill range approach 

Dynamo Minsk Arena. I guess the Canadians went to a game and said they were pretty bad.

Hotel Sport Time!

The Stadium and media rooms above the stands.

Another view of the range

In the sprint I told myself to quit it with the excuses and just race. Start fast, pick it up and finish strong.  On the way to the venue I was reminiscing of the days fatigue was a stranger: in Lake Placid when I could race the Bill Koch race in the morning, then spend the rest of the day doing endless intervals up and down the hill with the flags. Not because I was on some crazy training schedule, but because I loved to ski and I loved to go fast. So for the sprint I wanted to feel how I did then. The plan worked for the most part. My skiing was much faster. But it came at a price. I went in and out of tunnel vision three times during the race. And apparently I wasn’t skiing too fast because I still failed to make the pursuit. Shooting 3-0 I thought it would have been at least good enough to place in the late 50’s but no. 67^th was where I ended up.

I was not upset after the race. Long before the start I had accepted the fact I was not feeling well therefore not skiing well.* (that last sentence has an * because it is very complicated, I am still trying to put into words my feeling this past training and racing year. But that is what tomorrow’s post will be about. So tune in tomorrow to get the full low down on my thoughts surrounding the constant fatigue you have been reading about). I was just doing a lot of thinking about why I’m feeling this way and what has led up to this feeling?

Sean on the podium after the sprint.

The team cheering on Sean at the award ceremony.

Mikaela made a new friend!

Cam Christensen and I cheering on the pursuers 

The relay was more of the same: shooting I would consider acceptable and skiing that was slower than grass trying to grow in December. But it happened and that’s all I really have to say about it.

But let’s end on a high note! The sun finally came out and I will admit it did make the city look a little more inviting. We got to see the KGB headquarters (pictures were forbidden) and despite the melting snow the venue was really nice. They had three ranges and a rollerski highway. The wax cabins and team rooms were like little apartments. A training camp there in the summer could be pretty neat. The noise on the course from all the fans was incredible. The fans there treated it like a world cup race. Noise makers, yelling, screaming, chanting, picture taking and flags. But of course the best part of European racing are seeing all your friends from different countries. Every trip I try to get to know another team better. This time it was the Germans. “Servus!" They are a pretty cool team and I wish them all the best.

The view from the team room. we could spy on other teams.

A better look at the inside of our team room

Team USA junior men's team

The crazy loud crowd. it was like this all around the 3.3K loop

Sean posing with the play ground we frequented. it was perfect for some playground strength.
Notice the construction in the background.

Watching them watching us

They're not even trying to hide the fact they are watching us.

Tomorrow will be the most important and deepest blog post to date. I’ve been thinking of how to write it and I always start getting into some deep thoughts so we we'll see what happens.

Three-Part Blog Post Part 1: Ruhpolding

Sorry for not posting in a while. I just returned from Minsk, Belarus where there was very terrible internet. I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of things to talk about here so I will be launching “Past, Present and Future: Brian’s trip to Europe and the upcoming months”. Basically it will be a three part epic blog post that will be posted in three consecutive days. Today is obviously part one.

Past

Our first day in Ruhpolding, Germany was actually an off day (and actually in Inzell, Germany). So we decided to go do something touristy. Every trip to Europe is usually wrapped a race so there is usually never enough time to explore some of the cool features Europe has to offer. But with this free day and nowhere to travel we decided to visit Salzberg, Austria. Salzberg was a really neat city. It had the classic European winding roads and small alleyways. But what made Salzberg unique was the huge castle on the cliff overlooking the city. We got as close as possible but didn’t want to pay to get in.

Weird sculpture in Salzberg

Street in Salzberg with shops and resturaunts

A cool church. And one of 200 Mozart cutouts  we saw.

A selfie with the castle

The view from the base of the castle

Mozart's birth place

Inside of a huge Church. It really makes you feel small and powerless. 

Maddie Phaneuf checking out one of the shrines.

Found all the people.

There was A LOT of snow in Ruhoplding so it made for some really nice skiing. The range is protected from the wind by some huge mountains surrounding the venue. It was a drastic change from the windy range in Otepaa. We spent a week in Ruhpolding last year in preparation for Euro Champs and the course is just as tough as I remember. Lots of long steep up hills that are good for spectators but hard on the legs.

A cool thing we got to do in Ruhpolding I had never done before was shoot in an indoor shooting range. The targets were electronic so you had a monitor right next to you telling you where your shots went. We did a 30/30 test (30 prone and 30 standing. Scored. Best possible score is 600.) And despite having a very shaky standing portion I was able to get a decent score of 433. A few days later we decided to go back and do another test (because the first one was just so darn fun!) My goal for this test was to really focus on the standing stage for that is what makes or breaks the score. My prone was consistent with last test but my standing was 20 points better resulting in a 450. A new personal record! My goal for the past season has been 500 so I am slowly but surely making my way there.

My electronic target after my shooting test. cool to see the trends of my shooting.

The indoor shooting range.

a mountain overlooking the venue in Ruhpolding.

Biathlon advertising at the venue

Clare Egan making her World Cup debut got the attention of Euro Sport.
  

Germany was cool and all but it was time to get down to business. Junior worlds in Minsk, Belarus was right around the corner. My first impression of Minsk was the place looked really tired. At the venue Siena Ellingson and I were interviewed by a local news station and they asked what we thought of place. I told them I heard the venue was new, I am excited to check it out and race there but in reality I am not too impressed. When we first showed up we realized our visas had the wrong date written on it (which was our fault) but thankfully they were able to clear that up. Then there was a long process of checking rifle paperwork, and finding lost luggage. The bus ride to the venue was probably on the same bus my coach Art Stegen rode when he was there in the 70s, the buss creeked, rattled and shook the whole way. Once there, we had to check in our rifles because due to national laws all rifles must be kept in a locked vault. The city of Minsk is really grey and depressing. It probably doesn’t help that there is a layer of fog over the city but everything sort of seems stale and tired. There is a lot of construction being done but it also seems like there are a lot of buildings that could use some fixing up.

The Arena that is home to Dynamo Minsk! the Minsk hockey team in the KHL (Russian hockey league)

lots of grey and lots of construction. 

The breathtaking view out my hotel window!

There was a little bit of sickness going around the team in Germany but I was able to fend it off for the most part. The first day in Minsk however I woke up with a bit of congestion. I was not worried because I knew I had some time until my first race.

Tune in tomorrow to read about Jr. Worlds and the rest of the trip to Belarus. Plus much more pictures. 

Siena Ellingson being interviewed by a local TV station.