Adventures of an American Biathlete: A change of plans

Just a great view from inside the 10th Mountain Lodge
in Fort Kent. Not a bad place to enjoy a hot meal

It's good to be flexible, in a scheduling sense that is. I am enjoying the beautiful view out the windows of the 10th Mountain Lodge in Fort Kent, Maine as I eat my lunch and write this update. I was not expecting to have the time to do all this in my original plan for the day.

I drove the 45 or so miles North to Fort Kent early this morning, stopping at the boarder to get my rifle papers in order and to get a training session in before our schedule departure time of 11:00 am. We, the Maine Winter Sports Center Biathlon Team, are headed to Jericho, Vermont this weekend for North American Championships. Our first race is Friday, so I wanted to get one more intensity session in before the long drive and start of the weekend races. But before I could even begin my workout, I received a text from my coach telling me we are going to have a little later departure time because he hit a moose last night. Hitting a moose is never a good thing, but I was under the impression he didn't hit it head on, perhaps only clipped it since he was only delaying the start of our trip by a couple hours. Well it turns out the moose hit the windshield and caused the mini van to roll. Not good. I am only writing all this because, thankfully, my coach was fine. Even so, it is still a scary deal.

Things are looking very winter like in Fort Kent these days.
It was especially feeling that way this morning, with temperatures
staying below zero for much of the morning.

In the end this very scary event my poor coach went through, caused for a very minor shift from the original plan. This kind of thing is easy to adjust to. I am actually quite content here at the 10th Mnt. Lodge, having taken a nice, long, hot shower after my workout, eating lunch, checking on emails, paying bills, sipping hot chocolate. I have the latest New Yorker and Outside magazine that I am anxiously awaiting time to read and of course my bottomless bag of knitting projects with me, that could keep me entertained for days, or more like months. My car is packed full of ski gear, bed sheets, blankets, food, shampoo, you name it. Simply stated, I have all that I need with me and am always ready for a change of plans.

So goes for the rest of my winter "planing". Going into my racing season, I knew where I would be through Christmas. I knew where my races were and what my focus was. I was able to work out these details by the end of October, no sooner. It was right around the holidays when I was able to piece together what my schedule for January would look like; U.S. X-C Nationals in Rumford followed by North American Championships, Jericho, VT and finally North American Cup, Fort Kent, Maine. There is a chance I will race in another event or two the last weekend of the month, but that is left undecided until closer to the date, when I know what racing I have beyond January.

My month of February is mostly up in the air, besides the Birkie, which I will race towards the end of the month. And March, I don't have a clue, yet. While to some this may seem crazy, but to me, an athletes whose opportunities change with racing results and by how fresh or tired my body is feeling at any given time, it is just the way it is. I can't say this is an ideal set up, but it is the way things are, at least for now. So I will continue to pack enough clothes, equipment and additional means of keeping myself entertained every time I pack my bags, which is almost weekly.

And as long as those moose stay clear of me and all the rest of you out on the roads, I am feeling pretty lucky.

Happy and safe travels to you all,