Biathlon - Quebec style

A panoramic view of the air rifle range in Val Cartier, Quebec

Rain, wind, snow and more snow, caused a number of changes in racing plans this past weekend.  The North American Cup was to be held in La Patrie, Quebec, which is just down the road from Shearbrook, Quebec.  Rain mid-week unfortunately washed away a good amount of their snow causing the organizers to  cancel.  Shortly there after, they came back and told us it was rescheduled for Val Cartier, Quebec, but there would be no air rifle division.  This event was suppose to have categories for the younger folks shooting air rifles. Maine Winter Sports Center had planned to bring a big group from our development team to participate.  We were all bummed to hear this wasn't going to happen.
After rearranging transportation, housing and coaching because of all the changes, we finally had everything figured out by Wednesday night.  And that was when they opened the air rifle categories again. In the end everything worked out and all the kids were able to come and have a real international biathlon race experience. What I gathered from my observations is this: a. they all had fun racing, b. none of them liked the fact that most people spoke French, even though most of these kids have been in French class since second grade! c. traveling with prepubescent boys make everything more interesting.

Gannon French-Terrien starting strong in the sprint biathlon race
on Saturday. 

It was a very busy weekend for our coach Sarah Kamilwicz, who was in charge of all fourteen athletes ranging from senior athletes to novice 12 year olds.  Throw a good ol' fashioned snow storm into the mix, turning what should be a four hour drive into nearly an eight hour drive, and you have a yourself a great adventure.  The boys in the van kept themselves entertained on the way down with their Wii, which they duct taped to the ceiling of the van on the way down.  We all kept one another awake on the long, dark, drive back by playing name that tune via walkies talkies, one in each of the four vehicles.
Despite some interesting grooming techniques, course marking and the very winter like weather we endured through the weekend, the races went on without too much trouble.  Going into the weekend I was a little nervous about how I was going to get myself around the hilly course on my very tired legs.  The eight inches of mashed potato snow on Saturday was definitely not what I was looking for, but I survived.  After missing three targets on Saturday I wound up six seconds out of third place.  Sunday's pursuit race took us up a long climb for the first half of the course and mostly down  for the second half, which we completed five times around.  Tired, I still managed to throw everything I could out onto the course.  I finished third and was happy to be back on the podium.
Having made it through the weekend, my body is now demanding a little bit of rest.  A day off, followed by a long classic ski yesterday leaves me feeling a bit more recovered.  One more easy day and I think I'll be ready to put a little more marathon training time in.

Anya O'meara of New Sweden, ME, cleaned, (hit all her targets), in her first biathlon race ever!
She was also the youngest competitor there!  Hats off to Anya!

Standing on the podium with my Canadian competitors after the pursuit race on Sunday. 

The timing crew at the Presque Isle High School meet Tuesday afternoon.
 My tired body was glad that I was helping out and not racing.  Although, timing is not always easy.
 It's hard work staying warm when you aren't moving around on skis!