tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74820605543605043242024-02-06T20:34:29.407-08:00 Hannah's ARTventureAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-88141994094154793982016-03-12T05:49:00.000-08:002016-03-12T05:57:53.673-08:0025 Life Lessons that I've Learned from Biathlon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgS1_jh_fD3VuASF2fbhmXR3z83ioRE2L3P6s9S_bmOLOGIMwX-rfrAFdaiSPFIV2KJhDibcX0RlDzsNkWPlNNp4P3XR7qYIypIcFZKxWr1bYSqvTE3e3yihwfp1oGsVXwfglNitg3uOC/s1600/FullSizeRender_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgS1_jh_fD3VuASF2fbhmXR3z83ioRE2L3P6s9S_bmOLOGIMwX-rfrAFdaiSPFIV2KJhDibcX0RlDzsNkWPlNNp4P3XR7qYIypIcFZKxWr1bYSqvTE3e3yihwfp1oGsVXwfglNitg3uOC/s320/FullSizeRender_3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">1. I thrive on challenges and working towards goals. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">2. Hard work usually pays off, but not always when or in the way that I was expecting.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">3. To be truly your best at something, it has to be all-consuming. There will be little time for anything else. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">4. To be truly great at something, you not only have to be at your very best but also your best has to be great. This takes luck. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">5. Sometimes you just get lucky.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">6. Sometimes you just get unlucky.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">7. Sometimes trying harder isn't the solution. You have to try in the right way. One of the hardest things to do is to try not to try too hard. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">8. Believing in yourself is a very powerful positive force. Don't underestimate it. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkwopspd_8-0sHydUkLnFCaT8fIm89l6WGm5MOwRcqlv21ftBhfrRSmh4fPpDuzbDRt917gFdgu9D55wFo0wboN19GLd-LlM7IX6GQaZLIPyEDFyxMVHYzC1sbsrkhgr5kRntvpEZt-et/s1600/FullSizeRender_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkwopspd_8-0sHydUkLnFCaT8fIm89l6WGm5MOwRcqlv21ftBhfrRSmh4fPpDuzbDRt917gFdgu9D55wFo0wboN19GLd-LlM7IX6GQaZLIPyEDFyxMVHYzC1sbsrkhgr5kRntvpEZt-et/s320/FullSizeRender_2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">9. Be confident but not cocky. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">10. Set reasonable expectations, but don't be afraid to dream big. Both are important. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">11. Sometimes you have to do things that aren't fun in order to have even more fun later.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">11. Being serious and having fun are not mutually exclusive. In fact, in my experience life is best when they are combined. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">13. Everything is better with teammates and friends. Don't isolate yourself or take your friends for granted. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUHzhRWqaMpp4wnW1FhbyGkRITkSIo6-qzjH4FE6J-nLsuxTCCx0D_s9AEUdBjZqnZoUu8-0Fh7Wi7frbpgWbb_LUAPKC2Utmizou82Cc4RkvXXMk5MoGGGdkNYnomw5kiXcuheYxzyYy/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUHzhRWqaMpp4wnW1FhbyGkRITkSIo6-qzjH4FE6J-nLsuxTCCx0D_s9AEUdBjZqnZoUu8-0Fh7Wi7frbpgWbb_LUAPKC2Utmizou82Cc4RkvXXMk5MoGGGdkNYnomw5kiXcuheYxzyYy/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">14. Everyone is different, and that is wonderful. My teammates, like my siblings, can sometimes be annoying and weird and do things that I wouldn't...but when you know people well enough you love them anyways. Small grudges and annoyances are not worth holding onto. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">15. There is always something else that you're missing out on. But it doesn't matter. Don't think about it. Be here now. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">16. Playing the "what if" and "if only" games are not productive for either biathlon or life. There is always something that you could have done better. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">17. I am a competitive person. This can be good and bad. I will have to get better turning it off after this. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">18. I am happiest when my life is simple but busy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">19. I am happiest in beautiful places.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6bKjLzIv5v4SeVZsJNIYRfuzmM6z6_T3CjUrDjYs3bXVLOtv3WdmwLS5QhqYEVNJbQDLqmlgnFLMc_cDTBp2IayEWcYevJnsukVmmQNsSO8KD4A-A7bJqpgx0ekb68CNFNBe3I0ph2bG/s1600/FullSizeRender_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6bKjLzIv5v4SeVZsJNIYRfuzmM6z6_T3CjUrDjYs3bXVLOtv3WdmwLS5QhqYEVNJbQDLqmlgnFLMc_cDTBp2IayEWcYevJnsukVmmQNsSO8KD4A-A7bJqpgx0ekb68CNFNBe3I0ph2bG/s320/FullSizeRender_1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">20. I am also quite capable of being miserable in beautiful places, and happy in dull little hotel rooms. I have the power to make myself either miserable or happy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">21. I am not consistently happy when my life is out of balance and being consumed by only one thing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">22. If you have a great shooting position, a great hold, a perfect zero, there's no wind, and your trigger squeeze is perfect but you still miss, it might be because you weren't aiming at the center of the target. Sometimes the answer is right in plain sight. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">23. In this world, some people have higher VO2max's than yours, some people are better at focusing, some people have faster skis than you and way bigger waxing budgets, and some people get paid way more than you to do the same thing. Some of them also cheat. But in the end, all you can affect is yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">24. Almost anything can seem all-important when you take it seriously and surround yourself in it. Even a sport that combines two other random sports and is virtually unknown in much of the world. But like so many of the other silly things we take to be all-important, its only as important as you make it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3;">25. That said, biathlon is an AWESOME sport...the best in fact. It combines a physical and a mental challenge to make for an entertaining and exciting competition that is dramatic and inspirational and heartbreaking all at the same time. You can be winning a race but miss your last shot and just miss the podium. You can miss your first shot but then not give up and hit the rest and win. You might not be the fastest skier, but there is always hope for a good race if you shoot well. And you can be the fastest skier in the world but lose your cool every time on the shooting range and never win a race. I may be moving on from my own biathlon career but I will always be a biathlon fan. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And last but not least, !'m sure I will say this again, but I can't say it enough times: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me along the way in my biathlon adventures. Vielen Dank, Kiitos, Děkuji, Tack, Grazie, Merci, Благодаря, Спасибо, Ďakujem!!! This was a hard decision to make and I will miss you all. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-9019087809216038352016-02-19T18:22:00.001-08:002016-02-19T18:26:12.577-08:00Racing and painting (and having fun doing it!)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, I'm a bit late again with the update, but better late than never, right? This time I'll stick with mostly pictures. Its been a really fun last few weeks of biathlon racing. I've been sticking with my goal of getting "excited" before races instead of "nervous". So far it has been working well for both my my enjoyment and my performance. It's sort of a chicken and the egg thing though...what comes first, racing well or having fun doing it? </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgEpWy_ykBBMA4pl6J5aEwLxdE6gdWbKFlTeGUpzsaKgxOzoNqZ2uxseKpArJj8Dv87_jqtGKSgFKaUs9gPBrkMK8GSeNfMectFmSsqeKqkv-PNOeEiIwpDbXzC5yXkhIMoyRDofN2C-C/s1600/Dreissigacker07022016cm98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgEpWy_ykBBMA4pl6J5aEwLxdE6gdWbKFlTeGUpzsaKgxOzoNqZ2uxseKpArJj8Dv87_jqtGKSgFKaUs9gPBrkMK8GSeNfMectFmSsqeKqkv-PNOeEiIwpDbXzC5yXkhIMoyRDofN2C-C/s400/Dreissigacker07022016cm98.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">In Canmore I gained a lot of confidence when I got 28th in the sprint despite 2 misses. It was a windy crazy day and I got a bit lucky, but it gave me a lot of hope that I could still be good at biathlon.<br />
photo: NordicFocus</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHpKJGriVswTdwaSPJweumdbTRr1fLY_zQmKT8tpHWvruv-VzegH_ymg_IfJ6GEncFMl7Uiw-qJ4dwgFjGMe_w0-1VnzembmPw_29EvFbcJ_yR6LW8N4gNcVk-OQKHoAWHfgKHgJBZFwN/s1600/12717199_1571892753133223_6513577321432968016_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHpKJGriVswTdwaSPJweumdbTRr1fLY_zQmKT8tpHWvruv-VzegH_ymg_IfJ6GEncFMl7Uiw-qJ4dwgFjGMe_w0-1VnzembmPw_29EvFbcJ_yR6LW8N4gNcVk-OQKHoAWHfgKHgJBZFwN/s400/12717199_1571892753133223_6513577321432968016_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The mixed relay in Canmore was one of the more fun biathlon races I've ever done. Susan handed off to me in 5th place, right with Norway. I had a perfect person to ski behind! I always ski better and more efficiently behind people. I felt in control, and came into the race both times knowing that I could hit the targets. I cleaned prone and left the range in 3rd! I tagged off to Tim in 4th, right behind 3rd. Tim kept us in 4th, and Lowell came from behind to come within seconds of catching Norway, who took third. It was our best mixed relay result ever! And it was such a fun race, both skiing and cheering afterwards. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTFbOwHU0QWuFspSSkTlMzB_Jca9Y8jnYIfgbWzSGLFEYkLvlDw_52fa4oi3GhdzrjhvzOU1LSo3CMQ7mre3g7sMYpplGGsO_GaVHl4mlw44CwrBK0IATNqgmKPM4SceHJyoIKfPNZIdu/s1600/12661931_1571955316460300_4898536975460458301_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTFbOwHU0QWuFspSSkTlMzB_Jca9Y8jnYIfgbWzSGLFEYkLvlDw_52fa4oi3GhdzrjhvzOU1LSo3CMQ7mre3g7sMYpplGGsO_GaVHl4mlw44CwrBK0IATNqgmKPM4SceHJyoIKfPNZIdu/s400/12661931_1571955316460300_4898536975460458301_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Smiles and sunshine after the race!<br />
photo: Susan Dunklee </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nwtzfP9Wijo-gsNKFZTqVtWVADAlP7dBG0r-v1aVEWiTbGtdKPJGsd6G0QCCCls0uMTCsj9dAa3ma7Kr-z6oFv5VsJFawGOV5zIXvUZYvSRMwaZ8DWSeNS1oC4fLw92Tb2BC5P4YwjgI/s1600/Dreissigacker11022016cm127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nwtzfP9Wijo-gsNKFZTqVtWVADAlP7dBG0r-v1aVEWiTbGtdKPJGsd6G0QCCCls0uMTCsj9dAa3ma7Kr-z6oFv5VsJFawGOV5zIXvUZYvSRMwaZ8DWSeNS1oC4fLw92Tb2BC5P4YwjgI/s400/Dreissigacker11022016cm127.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">In Presque Isle I went into the races with more confidence than I'd had all season, and I had my two best individual results of the year, improving upon my sprint in Canmore. Biathlon is fun when you hit targets! Its also fun when you have home-crowd fans cheering for you the whole way, especially when they're your friends and family! The atmosphere reminded me of racing Dartmouth Carnival during college skiing. <br />
photo: NordicFocus</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaTRDYHkK-FyBIYofvmMwthPp_HZj9YCptVhr0Oq38d0SHpKQwvhwCJBQ3krit58sVqz44OHje-5y5gQs0Z1kbIspQUd2nv4AY06SCgtqXDtRQAtiwm52AGpblJ_l83-TnrHOhtubUXmc/s1600/presque+isle+court.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaTRDYHkK-FyBIYofvmMwthPp_HZj9YCptVhr0Oq38d0SHpKQwvhwCJBQ3krit58sVqz44OHje-5y5gQs0Z1kbIspQUd2nv4AY06SCgtqXDtRQAtiwm52AGpblJ_l83-TnrHOhtubUXmc/s400/presque+isle+court.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">My face is a bit frozen but I'm SO happy to have my best friend Courtney at the races cheering me on along with her husband Warren and her nephew and inlaws. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEUUa-nEQE8bPpPbpEvrmM4x27_tkne4oSpsgkXS2uGgd7vostT1CWKLf6kpjjLUVQIeMy01t4QlVEXrO5z2ILI8qZJxKYwesfr12oLbtjAGKz29RfMDNElFlpSkgs_rVvryTaB9X4_YF/s1600/presque+isle+m+d+car.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEUUa-nEQE8bPpPbpEvrmM4x27_tkne4oSpsgkXS2uGgd7vostT1CWKLf6kpjjLUVQIeMy01t4QlVEXrO5z2ILI8qZJxKYwesfr12oLbtjAGKz29RfMDNElFlpSkgs_rVvryTaB9X4_YF/s400/presque+isle+m+d+car.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">My parents and aunt Carlie came to cheer and watch too! </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Uh6d0xLlSWGYEpHETUpxqsUWI5TvKdqL5Gbvf5t27E7zBn6b2xaBdse_HUwyD1E9PapCmxhg0ZMczcngQ-UgkTHUIn3xdR8ivlG8lfcToHXLnGnzjqebh89nnHz7G4WfmISpca_OG7Ar/s1600/IMG_3666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Uh6d0xLlSWGYEpHETUpxqsUWI5TvKdqL5Gbvf5t27E7zBn6b2xaBdse_HUwyD1E9PapCmxhg0ZMczcngQ-UgkTHUIn3xdR8ivlG8lfcToHXLnGnzjqebh89nnHz7G4WfmISpca_OG7Ar/s400/IMG_3666.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">During these last few weeks I've been painting too! My friend Corinne (Rin) and I have started an art challenge. Each week we have a theme and we have to make a painting that fits the theme. We're calling it the RinHan Art Challenge. Its been really fun and motivating for me. For week #1 the theme was to paint a picture from last summer. This is one of the pigs that my sister raised last summer. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jsfdAotjau3vUS4xud5DM1Xg52yLKNjo0a54068ptYMxvGXZBO1SAVIvAwfN6qepEL30F4z_Guf5UwGyPFzOMD2JQt40IMvkZDgMs_Y_uy9I9yb8g_xGv96aZG3t5GwHrkKX_z8o6wR-/s1600/IMG_3699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jsfdAotjau3vUS4xud5DM1Xg52yLKNjo0a54068ptYMxvGXZBO1SAVIvAwfN6qepEL30F4z_Guf5UwGyPFzOMD2JQt40IMvkZDgMs_Y_uy9I9yb8g_xGv96aZG3t5GwHrkKX_z8o6wR-/s400/IMG_3699.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">For week #2, the theme was a self-portrait. This is a painting of the selfie that I took on top of Heaven Hill in Lake Placid. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed3qPzRGrpZgYoVJ0FKFPhy0h8Npo539JvTt5GSJPOOCMjWGgN48fsZ-sspJ-vWuu-vsKPjjnBsfNp-XWG4PdLUbQtWnxueABW0BLSHuYuOptrsZmdkP99LVOxdkJIXZogW87TtTEXa_x/s1600/IMG_3704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed3qPzRGrpZgYoVJ0FKFPhy0h8Npo539JvTt5GSJPOOCMjWGgN48fsZ-sspJ-vWuu-vsKPjjnBsfNp-XWG4PdLUbQtWnxueABW0BLSHuYuOptrsZmdkP99LVOxdkJIXZogW87TtTEXa_x/s400/IMG_3704.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">For week three the theme was to make a bright and colorful painting. I broke out my ink (since I was at home with all of my art supplies available) because ink makes for the most vibrant colors! This is the view from Craftsbury looking toward the wind farm on the Lowell Range. I swear the real sunset was this vibrant!</td></tr>
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Now I'm finishing up my week at home in Vermont and getting ready to head back across the atlantic to Norway. I officially managed to turn my season around in time to go to World Champs in Oslo, and I am ecstatic about that! We'll have a one week training camp in Sjusjoen, Norway before heading to Oslo where the real excitement will begin!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-13331698757073322852016-02-10T18:19:00.002-08:002016-02-10T18:19:24.218-08:00A Cheesy Blog about Believing in Myself<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Disclaimer: This blog post has lots of writing. I just have lots of things to write about and some of them feel a bit cheesy or dramatic, but too bad--its going to be good for me to write about them so you can always just look at the pictures if you want to. </span></div>
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Since my last blog, I've had some lows and some highs. I always like to describe biathlon as a rollercoaster ride, with great highs and crushing lows that often seem to alternate randomly. But that analogy really falls apart in one key way; on a rollercoaster, whether you're going up or down, you're having fun the whole time. In my experience it isn't the same in biathlon. When you put so much of your time and effort into a sport and then feel like its not paying off--when you know what you are capable of and then don't live up to those expectations--it can be really hard to enjoy it. Even if you know you're really lucky to be racing in beautiful places all around Europe with an excellent support staff and great teammates. This year I felt like instead of the usual biathlon ups and downs, my rollercoaster just never got going, no matter how hard I was pushing it. It was an uphill battle and I<br />
wasn't winning.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq07hEq4bIUDParndcn2YCvSsXCuR2RLgdCXEGw45Ucdwkk5R-W3A8JXQu4QfTB24b2K75-pjny7I34JIZx6DHSuE2hFbQDgubU-BL_y0YYBVLVlukyKVB1WwX-kDsYTsQ5mWJmQ_h0qzk/s1600/IMG_3575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq07hEq4bIUDParndcn2YCvSsXCuR2RLgdCXEGw45Ucdwkk5R-W3A8JXQu4QfTB24b2K75-pjny7I34JIZx6DHSuE2hFbQDgubU-BL_y0YYBVLVlukyKVB1WwX-kDsYTsQ5mWJmQ_h0qzk/s320/IMG_3575.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a small painting of a really cool old wood-fired bread oven that I found near the bed and breakfast we were staying at in Ridnaun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnEE-HLw5vseeKbVL9mILqBF9rhsPnLbeVoLpbPsYK9fL_Olffxr3KelTyLzIzcDhnbRcNyVijj_t-xENkG4tbeXV4y-8EgFfnD7rBGXZ8-brSDn2xvCtqEbQEjTR7i5DOCg0Un_GcuiX/s1600/IMG_3574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnEE-HLw5vseeKbVL9mILqBF9rhsPnLbeVoLpbPsYK9fL_Olffxr3KelTyLzIzcDhnbRcNyVijj_t-xENkG4tbeXV4y-8EgFfnD7rBGXZ8-brSDn2xvCtqEbQEjTR7i5DOCg0Un_GcuiX/s320/IMG_3574.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the barn next to our bed and breakfast in Ridnaun. Sudtirol has the most beautiful buildings in the world. (In my opinion).</td></tr>
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I wrote my last blog post when I was in Ridnaun, Italy and shortly after that I hit what felt like the emotional rock bottom of my biathlon career. I hadn't had a good race all year, and I kept trying to psych myself up for the next one, but it was getting harder and harder. I had hoped to only race one weekend on the IBU cup and then be back on the World Cup, but for two weekends in a row, I hadn't put together a single race that would give anyone a reason to move me back up, and I knew that. I was missing the World Cup in Antholz, which was where I went to my very first world cup race, and also my favorite of all the places that we go in Europe. When I found out that I definitely wasn't going to Antholz, I was also told that I was not going to the Canmore world cup and that therefore it was best to not go visit my boyfriend in Colorado for the off week before Canmore, which had been the one thing I was really looking forward to. At this point, I will be honest with you, I almost decided to quit biathlon then and there. Well, I probably would have done the IBU cup races in Arbor as my last races. But I really came very close to just throwing in the towel and giving up on all of the trying and failing. I figured that I could just fly to Colorado like I was planning on and then stay there indefinitely. (Note to my blog readers: I am planning to retire from biathlon after this season. This is something I decided last spring, and I will discuss it more in a later blog post. But since it sort of got made public last weekend, I figured I'd make it public here too). <br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxMXoJQ0zHOPcCFUu0nYQkLSLTNimcc2jRzGA4UkbJV4YXq6aagbW8LI_I81hqJOSMI55wqMiwrIAKmlCmDZJF63AyfNXXunF30iHrssIAY9CSViA71OYJOsS8FGptlth9ayWsMk41Kpt/s1600/IMG_3468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxMXoJQ0zHOPcCFUu0nYQkLSLTNimcc2jRzGA4UkbJV4YXq6aagbW8LI_I81hqJOSMI55wqMiwrIAKmlCmDZJF63AyfNXXunF30iHrssIAY9CSViA71OYJOsS8FGptlth9ayWsMk41Kpt/s400/IMG_3468.JPG" width="331" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">My sister Emily. Its not the best likeness, but working on his painting helped to distract me and keep me happier when I was really struggling. And being with Em also really helped distract me and keep me happy. <br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDor0JSdEiVplo9Jg_A6v8ffhEoF0ZWocoh9hSNa1Ag5iCUzSMswyIWbZTPtWcSo89QjQi9siAR2-BDNFVwSwGeXgKcupG63csU_bQQk_G9J-BETwyNo0wd1zq5y1Ff5ZfiqNvLX3_DUK/s1600/IMG_3568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDor0JSdEiVplo9Jg_A6v8ffhEoF0ZWocoh9hSNa1Ag5iCUzSMswyIWbZTPtWcSo89QjQi9siAR2-BDNFVwSwGeXgKcupG63csU_bQQk_G9J-BETwyNo0wd1zq5y1Ff5ZfiqNvLX3_DUK/s400/IMG_3568.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">I'm smiling but really I feel like crying, and I'm debating whether or not to quit biathlon immediately.<br /></td></tr>
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But after sleeping on it, I realized that I had to keep trying. Not for my coaches or my team or my family or my pride, but just for me. I had put way too much into this sport to just give up if there was a chance that I could turn my season around and end on a good note. But most of all I wanted to believe in myself again. I felt that I owed that to myself. <br />
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Because as coach Jean Paquet had told me, "it was clear that I just didn't believe that I could do it, and that was my only problem". It was true, I didn't believe that I was fast at skiing, and I would come in to standing shooting and just not believe that I could hit the targets. So then of course I wouldn't hit them. Confidence is a very cyclical thing in biathlon. When you do well, you have confidence. But you also need confidence to do well. So when you have a bad race--or a lot of bad races--you need to try not to lose confidence (which is really hard) so that you can get back to having good races. So I set about trying to fake some confidence. I decided that I would fake it until I could make it. <br />
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And miraculously, that worked. I faked confidence at first, but pretty quickly it started to turn into small pieces of real confidence. I started to shoot better in practice, and had more confidence going into the sprint races that weekend, and lo and behold I shot clean, and skied pretty well too! I was really happy after a biathlon race for the first time all year! My other two races that weekend had some good parts and some bad parts, but I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders--I hadn't gotten super nervous before the races. I hadn't felt pressure and expectation dragging me down like an anchor. I had raced for myself. This was a turning point for me. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVEbu_Eav2u2U_V-a5lXQI0363ZfNNHG-sBUS9fTgAgDazTX1Kl51qsHrykHSJyzyd1axIBq18j0PopGOe7RcuJrmj0r_1xlrfIZgPDlWLGKdO4v0wajHPdmllbpdikEltg9GyFJ0UT1C/s1600/IMG_3538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVEbu_Eav2u2U_V-a5lXQI0363ZfNNHG-sBUS9fTgAgDazTX1Kl51qsHrykHSJyzyd1axIBq18j0PopGOe7RcuJrmj0r_1xlrfIZgPDlWLGKdO4v0wajHPdmllbpdikEltg9GyFJ0UT1C/s320/IMG_3538.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Em and I were both very happy after the sprint race in Arber. I was 10th and she qualified for her first international pursuit race! </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5rTgT-SO1en2-eFAIs2pnB6s5GoPDdoL-ZPlphtitwnypl3dfx-DI8j3vTF5ksWyBK1Vb0i30kuY1QDMl78LurDggjEtLbFxGjQ6fxHJE806kRqUcrvv6AjpZzbw1MX51O-nBxgE3Jf_/s1600/IMG_3551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5rTgT-SO1en2-eFAIs2pnB6s5GoPDdoL-ZPlphtitwnypl3dfx-DI8j3vTF5ksWyBK1Vb0i30kuY1QDMl78LurDggjEtLbFxGjQ6fxHJE806kRqUcrvv6AjpZzbw1MX51O-nBxgE3Jf_/s640/IMG_3551.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arber was beautiful and wintery.<br /></td></tr>
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After the racing in Arber I found out that I was going to the Canmore world cup after all! But alas, I was not going to visit my Nils in Colorado for a week. I went straight to the OTC in Lake Placid for a week of focused biathlon training and good recovery. This is not really my idea of a good time, but I decided to make the most of it. I worked hard, relaxed, and did lots of laundry. And then at the end of the week I went on a few of my best skis of the year. I went for a long adventure ski up to Avalanche Lake with Annelies and Clare and a couple other friends. It felt so nice to just ski through the woods for hours, to cruise down narrow twisting hiking trails dodging rocks, on the edge of control, and to chat with friends. It reminded me that I love to ski. The next day I was supposed to take the day off but I couldn't resist the chance to ski out the door of the OTC up to the top of Heaven Hill, one of my favorite places in Lake Placid. It felt like spring, and the hill is covered with maple trees, so it felt like sugaring season at home and it made me happy. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Wrl6EGTCPc4Pw5bdAOzS3-zL0bfHPT9e1XiUIb9I9SHl1XY_bPaaHpJ1gXgkBJ5KbnV17zyQdplRXVQDIF5rmD0Fmy65agWsepeAfIEF-d_tt3SoWSHHmgaCkaEE372AoGTMbhFjYWFb/s1600/IMG_3615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Wrl6EGTCPc4Pw5bdAOzS3-zL0bfHPT9e1XiUIb9I9SHl1XY_bPaaHpJ1gXgkBJ5KbnV17zyQdplRXVQDIF5rmD0Fmy65agWsepeAfIEF-d_tt3SoWSHHmgaCkaEE372AoGTMbhFjYWFb/s320/IMG_3615.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girls ski to Avalanche Lake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs17Qz43fsgbCRk0BxxSjr0zD2ManXcETAASJdV65QH5iJ47nkLN8dyXDNJRMg7RG0tBnp_d1p0IuBdtclQf-lkrM-3yXdIxSZk2GUGGtyGC6QUq0Peduicnaw1lwggYzphhKBVcVH9bec/s1600/IMG_3640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs17Qz43fsgbCRk0BxxSjr0zD2ManXcETAASJdV65QH5iJ47nkLN8dyXDNJRMg7RG0tBnp_d1p0IuBdtclQf-lkrM-3yXdIxSZk2GUGGtyGC6QUq0Peduicnaw1lwggYzphhKBVcVH9bec/s320/IMG_3640.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy on Heaven Hill.</td></tr>
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And then I went to Canmore and it was beautiful and I felt happy. During both of the races in Canmore I told myself "I can do this. I don't even need to do anything special, I just need to do what I know how to do." And the craziest thing happened--it worked!! I had two of the best races of my year to date, including being part of our 4th place mixed-relay team. It felt like a dream, and I was very very glad that I didn't quit.</div>
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I think this blog post is long enough now, so I'll have to write more later.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6YXfaYL6R3WzAAQOeRD9N-yaujiJwJNLy1evVM2kr2kIN1cGh6OM1h3eBLakwsG6t9gqzg6nNCbQyxVAbu2TS10hdQoPzA5i4NyIaz1QQFEMj7wwTP06BLyl0_iqDV-aTjjJdIbvntBk/s1600/IMG_3645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6YXfaYL6R3WzAAQOeRD9N-yaujiJwJNLy1evVM2kr2kIN1cGh6OM1h3eBLakwsG6t9gqzg6nNCbQyxVAbu2TS10hdQoPzA5i4NyIaz1QQFEMj7wwTP06BLyl0_iqDV-aTjjJdIbvntBk/s320/IMG_3645.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The course in Canmore has a pretty decent view.</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-82747561829884564292016-01-13T06:58:00.003-08:002016-01-13T07:04:46.766-08:00Bernie and other inspiring things<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sometimes I start to get a bit negative, and I have trouble seeing all of the great things about what I'm doing, and about the world around me. This can be a bit of a negative cycle. And the negativity can be about my biathlon experiences, my surroundings, or other things like American politics or global warming. These negative feelings definitely make me less inspired to paint, race biathlon, or try to make the world a better place. So I'm trying to focus more on the positives. <br />
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But here are some of the things that have inspired me lately in a few paintings and a few photos!<br />
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1. First of all...Bernie! I made this painting a little while ago. I hadn't painted in a long time. I think I was bored of landscapes and feeling uninspired, until I realized that I just had to look for inspiration in other places! The Bernie painting is also the start of my revived interest in portraits. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUntT34BQQS7r1UCqE3IqlbhRtm8SxKR2JLPyz0vgvjDhNX576MMYQGwO4U6ym-oslF990xMz5X8htzoIE_a4IXCSMmr4BsEQWFsH1JuV_6MN7xnFYsBib80PcpHB5g5yDqRtHhhLPYhLa/s1600/IMG_4689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUntT34BQQS7r1UCqE3IqlbhRtm8SxKR2JLPyz0vgvjDhNX576MMYQGwO4U6ym-oslF990xMz5X8htzoIE_a4IXCSMmr4BsEQWFsH1JuV_6MN7xnFYsBib80PcpHB5g5yDqRtHhhLPYhLa/s320/IMG_4689.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bernie gives me hope for American politics, and the enthusiasm for Bernie gives me hope for Americans.</td></tr>
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2. Great teammates! I've decided to start a series of portraits of my biathlon teammates. I am surrounded by really great, beautiful teammates who make my life on the road fun and rewarding. I also want to get better at painting likenesses. Its hard!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIDa-14y8izmFzR-6LD9dX1MxkangfiQLzNyrb9D4FQA2GndSxkkmZHHGQv0QodGaPiTIifJr6quXEeey9bFbljngO0XArhvtrJfL2G78WLc1RectagHS1QQqxtSSyJUiHtUU8zkc846H/s1600/IMG_3357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIDa-14y8izmFzR-6LD9dX1MxkangfiQLzNyrb9D4FQA2GndSxkkmZHHGQv0QodGaPiTIifJr6quXEeey9bFbljngO0XArhvtrJfL2G78WLc1RectagHS1QQqxtSSyJUiHtUU8zkc846H/s320/IMG_3357.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is Maddie Phaneuf, the youngest member of our US Biathlon Women's team. Maddie is one of the most mature and level-headed 20-year olds I know. This isn't quite Maddie...but its close! I will have to keep practicing. </span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJ7_GIrwJqRJUDv6hYQlarzS1ZxuulmeD58qJ52UMZdTdQYb_-_GQZlXwHRxrR4aaDGwkGQdOiaIFaOq1eS8iH2us_OMMfGVYuMBL8w-ocypq2TwqpOtxAmump61xUjehgtrI4Q0pRZG7/s1600/IMG_3380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJ7_GIrwJqRJUDv6hYQlarzS1ZxuulmeD58qJ52UMZdTdQYb_-_GQZlXwHRxrR4aaDGwkGQdOiaIFaOq1eS8iH2us_OMMfGVYuMBL8w-ocypq2TwqpOtxAmump61xUjehgtrI4Q0pRZG7/s320/IMG_3380.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Em, and Maddie. I am on the same team as my sister, Emily!!! This is the first time that this has happened since high school. Em started doing biathlon this spring and has picked up shooting so fast, its really cool to see. </td></tr>
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3. Beauty everywhere! I just spent a week in <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">Žďár nad Sázavou</span>,</span> in the Czech Republic. It was foggy for most of the time we were there and <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">Žďár</span> </span>is a bit of an industrial town with smokestacks and lots of concrete apartment buildings. Not the most beautiful place in the world. But it is also home to the Zelena Hora pilgrimage church, which is a UNESCO heritage site, and an absolutely beautiful building. This is the third year I've been to<span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">Žďár </span></span>and I make sure to make a pilgrimage to the church each time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAAPJhEZKT7XVBKo0T5u9iNyHiSNa7fgVFoCQK9gewHmGEJ7KzwGWTurRPURPqx1b3rfslNZz6fEoIZoaAtJZSTP2LaqVblJSZm8ZMdPPwywjEmaYFSwzeyhKFJtwCxLtY-nUWxxC7tUc/s1600/IMG_3311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAAPJhEZKT7XVBKo0T5u9iNyHiSNa7fgVFoCQK9gewHmGEJ7KzwGWTurRPURPqx1b3rfslNZz6fEoIZoaAtJZSTP2LaqVblJSZm8ZMdPPwywjEmaYFSwzeyhKFJtwCxLtY-nUWxxC7tUc/s320/IMG_3311.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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4. Being in Ridnaun, Italy! Ridnaun is definitely in my top 5 favorite biathlon venues. And we arrived to freshly falling snow!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKlh5YdYqpmX9SQvN3p9e3-9Pepoau8SiP_fS39aSiuOsIBGcrBkN9Zkod-KSxypF5uV4WWclxzXIHZ_qFuhiRvMTyPcXFKfCxTBAVBTJZaThOz6uuoOYoXHQC1j2F36R1UmbC0vsHKEm/s1600/IMG_3362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKlh5YdYqpmX9SQvN3p9e3-9Pepoau8SiP_fS39aSiuOsIBGcrBkN9Zkod-KSxypF5uV4WWclxzXIHZ_qFuhiRvMTyPcXFKfCxTBAVBTJZaThOz6uuoOYoXHQC1j2F36R1UmbC0vsHKEm/s320/IMG_3362.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5PM8yOjvZ4wwnuxE_DwAv4z7DN9GD7LWWt2Z2VlHV-WHg93UnREb21JgTflVIBFguFhR1KxOd25_OrbQ0p_5rvNBFpJKLfcaJgHSpQZSFKPP8LMDRVTdulR3OOyGdtx437nfWynAHB6R/s1600/IMG_3365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5PM8yOjvZ4wwnuxE_DwAv4z7DN9GD7LWWt2Z2VlHV-WHg93UnREb21JgTflVIBFguFhR1KxOd25_OrbQ0p_5rvNBFpJKLfcaJgHSpQZSFKPP8LMDRVTdulR3OOyGdtx437nfWynAHB6R/s320/IMG_3365.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_ZGYMYfHy4q1gU6tc4kdogcPOnL6cM53aE5yrph6pLFu5g_-zg5vUCA_RcDkVKr3wNE3jcDXG_7Yxkq_eIrnc71haHGGPAAnx3eU7lnYCufcmUuMmGZlXjeT5CwZ2Y04w0UQ-PLrfbp4/s1600/IMG_3369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_ZGYMYfHy4q1gU6tc4kdogcPOnL6cM53aE5yrph6pLFu5g_-zg5vUCA_RcDkVKr3wNE3jcDXG_7Yxkq_eIrnc71haHGGPAAnx3eU7lnYCufcmUuMmGZlXjeT5CwZ2Y04w0UQ-PLrfbp4/s320/IMG_3369.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The buildings here are all so beautiful and well-built. Even the barns. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5oLrseY9ydA6OmrqAirTtgzoMAmJucaUHJp0rLmNC1aw3qlp0o81XKmN9SMu_XYbHpuVqMs20sbHL6Zt78gycMRTCrP1shFEehPnXDz05Ov7W68i-PYP-T76SMxvjL7U5fLX9sXcQb1BY/s1600/IMG_3394+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5oLrseY9ydA6OmrqAirTtgzoMAmJucaUHJp0rLmNC1aw3qlp0o81XKmN9SMu_XYbHpuVqMs20sbHL6Zt78gycMRTCrP1shFEehPnXDz05Ov7W68i-PYP-T76SMxvjL7U5fLX9sXcQb1BY/s320/IMG_3394+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found a cool old outdoor wood-fired oven near our hotel. I wish I could see it in use!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-70070357084631457842016-01-01T18:10:00.001-08:002016-01-01T18:10:50.819-08:00Imperfection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I started this blog, I meant it to be something that would encourage me to do more art. I figured I'd post often and that it would inspire me to keep making art, even quick little experimental, "imperfect" things. Since then I've gone through phases of doing more and less art, more and less blogging of the art, and also more and less blogging about biathlon. But I also started to be too much of a perfectionist about both art and blogging. And as anyone who was trying to follow my blog over the last year could see...that became paralyzing! <br />
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But since I've made a New Years resolution to do more art, this seems like a good time to try to start posting more to my blog. I did a little art experiment today, and it didn't go very well...at least, not as I'd planned. I'm not that happy with the outcome, but it was still fun and also quite fitting since so far my biathlon season hasn't gone as planned. After an up and down but good year last year, with three different personal bests throughout the season, I had high hopes going into this season. <br />
But then I dislocated my kneecap in our preseason training camp. I got back into racing quickly, but my knee hurt and I shot badly and struggled to get my body into race gear. In the last two races before Christmas I finally shot better, but still struggled to go fast on the skis. Then I got a cold over Christmas and now I'm still feeling behind on the intensity training and just sort of slow...not how I wanted to be feeling right now! But in the end I have to just enjoy the process and keep on trying. I know I am still capable of better. I will have to make another attempt at this painting-print idea too. Today I tried painting on rubber with acrylic paint and then using that to print on paper. But the acrylic dried too quickly and that made for lots of holes in the color on the print and also made me rush more than I'd like to to try to paint it before it dried, to no avail. You get a better idea of the image from the rubber block itself. I was trying to capture in some way the color and action of all the hundreds of skiers I saw today in Craftsbury, especially the kids. I will have to keep trying to find a good way to capture that, its a cool scene. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-49114118799786391472015-02-23T12:33:00.001-08:002015-02-23T12:33:12.864-08:00Heißluftballons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDtnCMABSlckn8LHakF-oe3ctTXJTKv0n3s-pUkBMlGNhIhE2Vb13VCZiQiAkdTiQvxyvldnOwMdA2-TYXc4i6iYKkMqR6Tm7ofIB4ebWuTqqTEg084Qjg90aDProzbKw2xDcCk7gX3yC/s1600/IMG_3089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDtnCMABSlckn8LHakF-oe3ctTXJTKv0n3s-pUkBMlGNhIhE2Vb13VCZiQiAkdTiQvxyvldnOwMdA2-TYXc4i6iYKkMqR6Tm7ofIB4ebWuTqqTEg084Qjg90aDProzbKw2xDcCk7gX3yC/s1600/IMG_3089.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">I made this painting a while ago, during a week off of racing that we spent in Inzell, Germany. We happened to be in Inzell at the same time as a Heißluftballon festival, and combined with fresh snow and sunny days it made for some very picturesque skiing. I promise a more substantial and biathlon-related blog post soon! </span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-90543566705981058372015-01-23T13:18:00.002-08:002015-01-24T02:17:54.394-08:0025 Crazy Things that Happen to you on the Biathlon World Cup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My very first experience on the Biathlon World Cup was exactly 2 years ago here in Antholz, Italy. Back then, everything was new and exciting and I was not taking any of it for granted. I was SO excited about the nice hotel we stayed at close to the stadium, the awesome breakfast buffet and salad bar, the massages we got to help us prepare for and recover from races, the fans lining the course, the famous biathletes skiing around next to me at practice...I could go on and on and on! And back then I never thought that it would happen...but I've realized this winter that I've pretty much gotten used to it all. Maybe too much. I want to be able to keep seeing the excitement and fun of it all, as well as the absurdity and sometimes the downsides too. Basically, I don't want to start taking myself too seriously and in the process take this whole crazy experience for granted. And so for the past week or so, I've been trying to make a mental list of all of the awesome, wacky, abnormal things that happen when you travel around with the Biathlon Circus.<br />
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1. You get to go to places that look like THIS as part of your job!!!<br />
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2. People don't even know your name, but they want your "autograph". Yesterday I got to autograph one guy's 10-kilo, huge, wooden, spinning noise-maker. I hope he doesn't spin that thing while he's in the stands, or he would probably kill someone. <br />
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3. Even crazier is that some fans DO know your name and yell at you even while you're just out training. <br />
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4. You get fan mail from people in places like Poland and Russia who want you to send autographed cards. <br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_1G77Zs4sNl2JCigJpG_LBFJ-kpuoNXQl9iW_rApyWvYbJp1-qIq9JOWpWPylHS3xd0dink4REUauv6NgC7iIXD9_6omfigd4ep2TsW3am8r8DewWOihS0fMNX2KxNbgEEzpq2j52f2U/s1600/IMG_2937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_1G77Zs4sNl2JCigJpG_LBFJ-kpuoNXQl9iW_rApyWvYbJp1-qIq9JOWpWPylHS3xd0dink4REUauv6NgC7iIXD9_6omfigd4ep2TsW3am8r8DewWOihS0fMNX2KxNbgEEzpq2j52f2U/s1600/IMG_2937.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">this is a real letter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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5. 15,000 Germans stand outside in the rain and snow for hours to watch your race, wearing ridiculous things and drinking lots and lots of beer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61Ky-jimMQc7gKvsJKJdAJ8Rpk8nQRxrBFHtFwQaj_nYpAm7O4QJIc_Tg19dJTHGnrQALsa5d9t696sfqb56QyxoKs7arf2sgB51srN9UKECpAf9GJI6bjfjgxy6GElm_tPSDXKCbw6xd/s1600/IMG_2754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61Ky-jimMQc7gKvsJKJdAJ8Rpk8nQRxrBFHtFwQaj_nYpAm7O4QJIc_Tg19dJTHGnrQALsa5d9t696sfqb56QyxoKs7arf2sgB51srN9UKECpAf9GJI6bjfjgxy6GElm_tPSDXKCbw6xd/s1600/IMG_2754.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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6. You now have a made-for-tv video clip "Hannah" who turns to look at the camera and smiles...if you ever do well and they show you on TV, that will show up along with your name to show who you are. (sorry, I don't have a copy of it...)<br />
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7. You walk by a wax truck that looks like this. The text on the truck says (no joke): "From the forests of the north comes a new breed. Harder. Faster. Stronger. Let the battle begin."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPoHRJ39kvevL84vypeK0FJjnRRBuOaKoQeaprpzE8n2CdlvJMSMAD4uby5KVhcK7kyvQjRv7SYGbl1itRhTESUxvQNZqTN2JCtJ6FPjyTwfcdvLcy_LXgoRolkK4JROhrBRpBHk9os2q/s1600/IMG_2941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPoHRJ39kvevL84vypeK0FJjnRRBuOaKoQeaprpzE8n2CdlvJMSMAD4uby5KVhcK7kyvQjRv7SYGbl1itRhTESUxvQNZqTN2JCtJ6FPjyTwfcdvLcy_LXgoRolkK4JROhrBRpBHk9os2q/s1600/IMG_2941.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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8. Girls race with hairdo's like this and lots of makeup, and it starts to look normal to you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippuw4tCBmkdDB7bbLyJgQ2Tgdqw6QKQu37VmlfvbSa0P2uEtUmwAd_W2n3W1PvZkG81r_emu2Q3Fxho77wcnBlbbq9NA_Qt4Aym9zPi71mQOKOCNLFf1m42N4awsXJDzI0YOmde04MCru/s1600/IMG_2932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippuw4tCBmkdDB7bbLyJgQ2Tgdqw6QKQu37VmlfvbSa0P2uEtUmwAd_W2n3W1PvZkG81r_emu2Q3Fxho77wcnBlbbq9NA_Qt4Aym9zPi71mQOKOCNLFf1m42N4awsXJDzI0YOmde04MCru/s1600/IMG_2932.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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9. You get free food and beer right at the venue, in every place you go, in what they call a "family club". <br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8TXk2L4wIAO3KPBThu9BYoMmmmTmgsZZU9qvtp7_jM00E_EL7SG_WVyAGu6R9MiS1jOKghKZjeKL54MfWMrgSzaR-rkKEA4kJEempsAqvpfSzGkzKLCcA54VVnjpN8kyfERcTYEjmftvR/s1600/IMG_2822_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8TXk2L4wIAO3KPBThu9BYoMmmmTmgsZZU9qvtp7_jM00E_EL7SG_WVyAGu6R9MiS1jOKghKZjeKL54MfWMrgSzaR-rkKEA4kJEempsAqvpfSzGkzKLCcA54VVnjpN8kyfERcTYEjmftvR/s1600/IMG_2822_2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hansa, Gara, and Toni (from L to R), three of our wax techs, enjoying the family club fare. </td></tr>
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10. Your team (USA) includes staff from Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Czech Republic and Canada...and occasionally the USA. <br />
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11. Words from many languages become a part of your everyday vocabulary. "Ahoj!" (Czech), "Moi" (Finnish), "grüss dich", "servus", and "habe die ehre" (all Bavarian/German) are all common greetings, "malzeit!" starts most of your meals, and "Ciao!" is a common goodbye.<br />
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12. Need new ski boots? Just go ask your sponsor rep and you get some for free. (Thanks Salomon!)<br />
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13. You have about 10 pairs of skate skis. Actually, you might have a lot more than that. Most of them you don't even touch except to test every now and then, and then to race on them. (We have awesome wax techs who are constantly testing and waxing and make our skis as fast as possible)<br />
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14. Its totally normal for you to be skiing behind two heterosexual men in full spandex and watch them hold hands as they go down the hill. (many wax techs do this to get themselves going the same speed, before letting go to see whose skis go faster). <br />
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15. In an average day, you change clothing 7-8 times.<br />
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16. Getting massages becomes normal for you. (we are so spoiled!) But they really do help a lot with recovery and injury prevention.<br />
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17. A funny result of getting a massage is "massage face." Its common for you to show up at dinner with your face all covered with lines and dents from lying with your face in the hole of the massage table. They can take a long time to go away!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTqXImA7LC81Qo3f7xbpK9VR92PJu4aTpBbdTIUp_zMC64FGFpqQFNolE0PjsabK2oMODZBHYnTiFPqXNnmhFlaUKxS1dY01SZ4KEEjDUnFIdh4r0eP5p58sXzjQV82_kKIRBKk2s4NxX/s1600/IMG_2939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTqXImA7LC81Qo3f7xbpK9VR92PJu4aTpBbdTIUp_zMC64FGFpqQFNolE0PjsabK2oMODZBHYnTiFPqXNnmhFlaUKxS1dY01SZ4KEEjDUnFIdh4r0eP5p58sXzjQV82_kKIRBKk2s4NxX/s1600/IMG_2939.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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18. When you say "I cleaned today!!", its a really good thing, not just something to check off of your chore to-do list.<br />
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19. You spend one week in each of about 12 different places all over Europe...mostly places where other people go for vacation.<br />
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20. You don't go home for 3 months straight. (alright, so a few of these are not particularly positive...)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_OHnjqCSQCexSgCvfYagBPfN_6tNJ9ybn4AhJR3Z7bLzGurkdWsFBsJ_WahjhkyJBN6rtTm6dhXOMGYAdmOaofBmvcHCcUwy8k2SV9EFM7geXkEKQhiKldcoc5jN4wCv-S9auuaTRWMC/s1600/IMG_2943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_OHnjqCSQCexSgCvfYagBPfN_6tNJ9ybn4AhJR3Z7bLzGurkdWsFBsJ_WahjhkyJBN6rtTm6dhXOMGYAdmOaofBmvcHCcUwy8k2SV9EFM7geXkEKQhiKldcoc5jN4wCv-S9auuaTRWMC/s1600/IMG_2943.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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21. You share a bed with your teammate/roommate for more nights out of the year than your boyfriend. <br />
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22. After one or two races, your tights have big sticky patches that don't wash out from the leg stickers you race in, and they stick to themselves and look like this: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEraOttl2hSeN6Wj1jhyphenhyphena-LlFKJKIBhQYJXWVbLz2sdcZhaKYJLN_TNA1UQYw5x-ScQGuwvAgPnCicmJSJsaGNrUdRZMfU8Kre4Kxsa5S4cIMVR6LhsprKgm2BWGFPljzPji3elmhP5A1o/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEraOttl2hSeN6Wj1jhyphenhyphena-LlFKJKIBhQYJXWVbLz2sdcZhaKYJLN_TNA1UQYw5x-ScQGuwvAgPnCicmJSJsaGNrUdRZMfU8Kre4Kxsa5S4cIMVR6LhsprKgm2BWGFPljzPji3elmhP5A1o/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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23. You regularly get to fill your afternoons with watching your teammates race on TV<br />
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24. No snow? No problem. Its now become totally normal to do all of our training and racing on a 2.5k loop of manmade snow, surrounded by brown. (this is sad)<br />
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25. 0.1 seconds can decide whether you get to race again the next day or not. But today, I came out on the right side of that one! Tomorrow I'll be the last starter in the pursuit...but I am just psyched to be starting another race in my favorite of all the world cup venues. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-81938646131232104692015-01-12T13:27:00.001-08:002015-01-12T13:27:29.782-08:00A Catch-up Photo Collage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1vNu5dmfkDFgcOH86_YsMPd__3SYgvCQV8Z0u5C7_W9m_Gp3VmG43GsPkhUEt4Q76SFSy-Heh_fThVlkjLbxdnjcocDvtuFoJNCRb5S8mwmRRy-zPe1Zyq_tfuI4fRUUTPTtZcDDpH6W/s1600/IMG_2440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1vNu5dmfkDFgcOH86_YsMPd__3SYgvCQV8Z0u5C7_W9m_Gp3VmG43GsPkhUEt4Q76SFSy-Heh_fThVlkjLbxdnjcocDvtuFoJNCRb5S8mwmRRy-zPe1Zyq_tfuI4fRUUTPTtZcDDpH6W/s1600/IMG_2440.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr7a2bS2634TnHIWZkY1htEYqYO_EkJp3JOjcBGPFM65NelZuTlTBvtbMIETZgBxLc_dlbv5JeZJRGhBk9X-af3m_4Vqf3gqrHpZCxurvbOrSlMnutJ97lwEaFJ3KOo4hYcC1oJNtlaFYI/s1600/IMG_2414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr7a2bS2634TnHIWZkY1htEYqYO_EkJp3JOjcBGPFM65NelZuTlTBvtbMIETZgBxLc_dlbv5JeZJRGhBk9X-af3m_4Vqf3gqrHpZCxurvbOrSlMnutJ97lwEaFJ3KOo4hYcC1oJNtlaFYI/s1600/IMG_2414.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi81OyX1mH0DdgB_AXh0jnAdIm4qF2reKaU5qxO-dxh97TcLTAoYPN6NXUbkmslZMdpEfl1iP0xmlHQKuEk6NizMNtL_OUvcUCtEG-ZSdwvdXAkt4yJqDzvq2a3nf7-Nt9fyhXGRKI1yr/s1600/IMG_2391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi81OyX1mH0DdgB_AXh0jnAdIm4qF2reKaU5qxO-dxh97TcLTAoYPN6NXUbkmslZMdpEfl1iP0xmlHQKuEk6NizMNtL_OUvcUCtEG-ZSdwvdXAkt4yJqDzvq2a3nf7-Nt9fyhXGRKI1yr/s1600/IMG_2391.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Sjusjøen, Norway</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEcsvIzJMWFZFbIyJJioEmd_izf1ab5wWoUwQqGpJqUfX9ml9F-A0u14jdcM-aE9YW5O-o2l4_ZdO2kf1U2iA5qyUW80m7TBSnpm8ttZcmGhJLbD0W6XWm5_ATCXMK8cjCtJG-qhAjA6V/s1600/IMG_2441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEcsvIzJMWFZFbIyJJioEmd_izf1ab5wWoUwQqGpJqUfX9ml9F-A0u14jdcM-aE9YW5O-o2l4_ZdO2kf1U2iA5qyUW80m7TBSnpm8ttZcmGhJLbD0W6XWm5_ATCXMK8cjCtJG-qhAjA6V/s1600/IMG_2441.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXjG2k62Egd9fcayJfWzt3cS_ZcvRnjCEQoeTYJ92FSmcVjJ2BPlecFOJ5lCTVW-xLgQjIi9tFsrr65_GH6HL-lQswA-ZTQWEiCBAJNhXjQIG_F4AROl8C_nr8KojDcMORA-DNR9pPPIQ/s1600/IMG_2445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXjG2k62Egd9fcayJfWzt3cS_ZcvRnjCEQoeTYJ92FSmcVjJ2BPlecFOJ5lCTVW-xLgQjIi9tFsrr65_GH6HL-lQswA-ZTQWEiCBAJNhXjQIG_F4AROl8C_nr8KojDcMORA-DNR9pPPIQ/s1600/IMG_2445.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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Well, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to correctly format and move pictures around in this blogger form. Argh! But like other frustrations in life, I am trying to just adapt--its not working to start typing in front of the first picture, so I'll start typing here! So this will be a real haphazard collage of pictures and writing. First, we were in Sjusjøen, Norway for a training camp before the season started. I was sick at first, and there wasn't too much snow either. But then I got better, and it snowed a bunch and then it got sunny!! The best ski I've had all year is still the long classic ski we did from Sjusjøen up towards the Birkebeiner trail. There wasn't much daylight but our cabins were cozy and ate lots of smoked salmon and brown cheese (not together though). <br />
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<b>Östersund, Sweden</b></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuvZxPxy8rRgqL17NRDgs_CaX8zXXfCO0c6MwN_KXmcFIUfFmfytQRYhiFuopBSHrT4W3qYHzBLjaksEqOqnm_ZkzS-HcuNygz1oVwqRhn9v-wVgxX1V_5-vmgFEmzkrbzMbZs_WCa0pK/s1600/IMG_2482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuvZxPxy8rRgqL17NRDgs_CaX8zXXfCO0c6MwN_KXmcFIUfFmfytQRYhiFuopBSHrT4W3qYHzBLjaksEqOqnm_ZkzS-HcuNygz1oVwqRhn9v-wVgxX1V_5-vmgFEmzkrbzMbZs_WCa0pK/s1600/IMG_2482.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvTyAZbr3iizpO_xcOuOnuELOqN6JvWuIKH2z4zDgUUbwZhXl6vZrHlxQtksWT9Eqzp18eXcNT8SNP9gizunlz2bpx92fy-sp2SB6fDstCfPA2RhaWtNwXB3UPDHByqd2qy5QpJILxTIV/s1600/IMG_2457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvTyAZbr3iizpO_xcOuOnuELOqN6JvWuIKH2z4zDgUUbwZhXl6vZrHlxQtksWT9Eqzp18eXcNT8SNP9gizunlz2bpx92fy-sp2SB6fDstCfPA2RhaWtNwXB3UPDHByqd2qy5QpJILxTIV/s1600/IMG_2457.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5l2INbJ8T-Mo42iSaqcbJsvqWUArKV4J1FnyMwKkfpF5lS6n4OrNxTU-TdJBd9nQ7OQxb0eVu2h-YBjvGdOJCICRvjoYtbTtt8F7kOZEXCjhtou7uAdCqD_gos7dVcK1XLiTo-tpd4R-/s1600/IMG_2476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5l2INbJ8T-Mo42iSaqcbJsvqWUArKV4J1FnyMwKkfpF5lS6n4OrNxTU-TdJBd9nQ7OQxb0eVu2h-YBjvGdOJCICRvjoYtbTtt8F7kOZEXCjhtou7uAdCqD_gos7dVcK1XLiTo-tpd4R-/s1600/IMG_2476.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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Highlights of Östersund included the awesome sunsets, the excitement of starting the first race of the season, and going to the Christmas Market which was full of little booths of cheese, hand-knit things, and everything in between. Low points included having two really terrible races, not much daylight, and not particularly inspiring food. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Hochfilzen, Austria</b></div>
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Highlights of Hochfilzen included the great food, seeing the SUN and feeling its warmth, a cool run/hike up to an Alm (hut) that Susan and I did when on our first day there, comforters folded like hearts, an awesome sauna with a cold pool outside to jump into, and seeing all the crazy biathlon fans again. Low points: Another bad sprint race...and no relay team for us, so I only raced once. <br />
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<b>Pokljuka, Slovenia (we stayed in Bled)</b></div>
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As you can see, I took a lot of pictures in Slovenia. As you can also see, there wasn't much snow, especially down by Lake Bled where our hotel was. But it was beautiful as usual...like a fairy-tale land with castles and mountains. In fact...Slovenia was almost all highlights...cool old hotel, awesome gourmet food (I am SO spoiled), nice weather, and I had my best race ever!!! I achieved two of my goals for the season: to clean a sprint race, and to get a top-20 (I was 17th). Man, hitting all of the targets in a biathlon race is a GOOD feeling. Then I got to race the pursuit (my second world cup pursuit ever), and well...I guess that was the one low point of Slovenia. I shot badly, but also somehow forgot to ski enough penalty loops...which is a TERRIBLE feeling. I didn't realize until the coaches told me after the race. Ugg. That was a real rollercoaster of a few days. <br />
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<b>Somewhere in Bavaria</b></div>
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Then before we flew home we had a team Bavarian Christmas dinner. I borrowed a dirndl so that I could match Annelies and Susan. </div>
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<b>Home in VT!!</b></div>
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It was great to get to be home for two whole weeks, and to have some of the best snow of the winter (except for maybe the last few days in Norway...) I got to spend time with my family, eat lots of yummy Christmas food, do some great long skis all over the trails in Craftsbury with my friends, and see the new Touring Center building in action. I got to help some with the process of designing the building and modeling the energy use, and so it was really cool to see the building filled with hundreds of happy people. There were SO many people skiing in Craftsbury in the week after Christmas...it was a truly heartwarming sight. </div>
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<b>Oberhof, Germany</b></div>
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And then the break was over and I was back on plane across the Atlantic. I had never been to the Oberhof World Cup before, so it was exciting to be in a new place. When we first got to Oberhof, it was snowy and wintery and even slightly sunny. But then it promptly started raining and blowing and generally "Oberhof-ing". The races were windy and rainy and wild. But really huge crowds of German fans come to watch, and they line the course all the way up the biggest hill. Its a great festive atmosphere. I had a decent sprint race--cleaning prone, and then two misses in standing which I was happy with given the wind. I was 37th, so I scored some world cup points! But there wasn't a pursuit in Oberhof, and after a few more days of heavy rain I had to train in the ski tunnel there. I don't like ski tunnels even in the summer, and skiing in one in January was just downright depressing. So I was happy that this morning we left Oberhof and drove to Ruhpolding, Germany--back in Bavaria! The food here is great, and we will have a relay team this week, so things are looking up! And now I'm all caught up. Hopefully now I will be better about blogging more regularly and about more recent or specific things. There's still not much snow here either though...so if you're reading this somewhere that is snowy, go enjoy a nice long ski for me on trails that aren't a 2.5-k loop!<br />
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Well, another season has come around and the biathlon racing season has already begun and I am also one year older! EEK!! I'm not sure how it happened so fast...<br />
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I've been trying to write a blog post for the last 3 weeks, but since I hadn't written one in so long, I felt like it needed to be a big catch-up, life-update, meaningful, important blog post and that seemed very daunting, so I kept putting it off, which meant that then I kept accumulating more different things to talk about and so then it kept getting more daunting. It was starting to snowball out of control and I almost decided to never write a blog post again!</div>
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Haha, just kidding. But it did seem daunting. But then I started drawing some cartoons. Some of them came out really negative. But...whatever...here they are anyways, in roughly the order that I made them. </div>
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First I started out with a little update about how my summer training went:<br /><div>
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yeah...so that was pretty negative. But to be honest, it did feel like sort of a rough summer of training. There were a lot of good parts, but also a lot of injuries and problems. So my confidence was not at its highest coming into the season. But at the same time, the injuries helped me work on some weaknesses of mine, like no-pole skiing and standing shooting. I felt like it was still a solid summer of training. Then we flew to Sjusjoen Norway for our preseason training camp, and I got sick as soon as I got there. But then I got better, and got to go on a realllly nice ski on a sunny day after a snowstorm: </div>
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After Sjusjøen, we went to Östersund, Sweden for the first world cups. In Östersund it was quite dark but there were lots of pretty sunsets and its fun to ski under the bright lights:</div>
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Next I wrote a few cartoons about life back on the road in Europe: </div>
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And then we raced, and I didn't want to write a blog post because I didn't want to make it too negative:</div>
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But a few days of perspective, talking to my coaches, and looking ahead put me in a better place. (And a little change of scenery and food never hurt either):<br />
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And that brings you, via cartoons, to the present! I'm in Austria now for the Hochfilzen world cup. There's not really snow here but it is sunny and beautiful and it was nice to go for a little hike this morning. I had some bad races in Östersund, but when I look back, I have bad races every year at this time. Every year its tough mentally, but after more racing I get faster and remember how to race again and because of that it gets more and more fun. So that is what I'll do this year too! After all, biathlon is just a funny game of skiing around loops and shooting at circles in cool places all over Europe. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-69674503509132932232014-09-20T16:49:00.003-07:002014-09-20T16:49:46.584-07:00Cheesy Cornbread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I made some cornbread today to go with my leftover chili. It was so pretty, I had to paint it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DahZArvS8_7cw5r8QLYkBNLQwD3_RLIeVKCdDaSZgKNhujY57yHk9yjkRRkKgHJ6IKHklVqX-5B3gKrwJ54-4YewtgFI1gCmomhfI-evXcJqEHZ8U8eBDAHvc2-hzClyBcRjLmLbakIu/s1600/IMG_2040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DahZArvS8_7cw5r8QLYkBNLQwD3_RLIeVKCdDaSZgKNhujY57yHk9yjkRRkKgHJ6IKHklVqX-5B3gKrwJ54-4YewtgFI1gCmomhfI-evXcJqEHZ8U8eBDAHvc2-hzClyBcRjLmLbakIu/s1600/IMG_2040.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
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Oh yeah, just so you know mom...I stole a few dish towels when I moved in here. Thanks!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-1642469338878062482014-09-18T11:20:00.000-07:002014-09-18T11:20:09.024-07:00Feeling like Fall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the last two weeks, the weather here in Lake Placid took a sudden turn towards fall. Cold nights, crisp days. At first I resisted it, and wanted more summer. But then I gave in and now I'm happily enjoying the sights, smells, and habits of fall. I'm still holding out on turning on the heat in my apartment and so I am bundled up pretty much all the time, whether I'm inside or outside. I've been drinking lots of tea, and making soup and applesauce.<br />
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But the leaves are only just now beginning to catch up with the chilly weather and turn red. I was impatient to make a fall painting, so I got a photo from a bike ride we went on last fall from my teammate Annelies. So no, the leaves aren't this bright quite yet. But they're on their way now!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg768uixpet3zNGZqIDkXqV8WNA4_mHmMorYwLQDWOPyGmN590HbVdWYaVPBlM8ux8AExmBX9S94zu2E-top0y35zcQ_EarfPlUkc2SReqzdRbBBwKM2tXRzWYqEsBvoHf3bKrBEeJd2ttd/s1600/IMG_1993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg768uixpet3zNGZqIDkXqV8WNA4_mHmMorYwLQDWOPyGmN590HbVdWYaVPBlM8ux8AExmBX9S94zu2E-top0y35zcQ_EarfPlUkc2SReqzdRbBBwKM2tXRzWYqEsBvoHf3bKrBEeJd2ttd/s1600/IMG_1993.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-43135123281322583472014-08-07T04:47:00.003-07:002014-08-07T04:47:58.499-07:00a happy painting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I did quite a bit of painting in Finland, but in the end I didn't quite paint every day. Sometimes you just can't force it, I guess. But I did break through that initial inertia that makes it so hard to start painting at least! This is a painting I did just for myself--something to make me happy. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwn5FsTx4ClsNSLz5IeyEzVvGoNEWCeDUxmhrtVq8nANS04jwy6ChA0mChqnCvOYuCu50na6iLdvwXG8F4LXbjGy7VW1iItMhhbAbhZkqdizixvOKwcGYdfLxjQnd7B8GAvsiYfnGrlb7L/s1600/IMG_1722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwn5FsTx4ClsNSLz5IeyEzVvGoNEWCeDUxmhrtVq8nANS04jwy6ChA0mChqnCvOYuCu50na6iLdvwXG8F4LXbjGy7VW1iItMhhbAbhZkqdizixvOKwcGYdfLxjQnd7B8GAvsiYfnGrlb7L/s1600/IMG_1722.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nils flying a kite. </td></tr>
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I also did a few little paintings from Finland. Nothing special, but I figure I should post them anyways. I have to get over the fact that I won't be happy with every painting I make, and thats totally fine!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntORrxd8lyNcH1m1HXfkPbwPG4ZZvM1Flh4t7coUterqoUZFxwTPM4NTIsqaNSPVNjhsffo5fZBH5lYo9_aoO5S4D13RdpOxEvoGcVRYhS_uoHQoYwqGM5Ppwzhvb2Tz6sJ9za_qxnk9Y/s1600/finland+little+paintings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntORrxd8lyNcH1m1HXfkPbwPG4ZZvM1Flh4t7coUterqoUZFxwTPM4NTIsqaNSPVNjhsffo5fZBH5lYo9_aoO5S4D13RdpOxEvoGcVRYhS_uoHQoYwqGM5Ppwzhvb2Tz6sJ9za_qxnk9Y/s1600/finland+little+paintings.jpg" height="313" width="400" /></a></div>
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The abstract one was inspired by the colors of smushed blueberries. And I was experimenting with using salt with very watery paint to make some interesting textures. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-80700354391557879472014-07-21T12:44:00.002-07:002014-07-22T04:21:56.945-07:00Other types of art, and a challenge!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I've been bad about painting for quite a while. I'm not sure why--I always love it when I get in to it. But sometimes its just hard to start. BUT, I have been doing other creative projects. And I've also set a new challenge for myself. I just arrived last night in Joensuu, Finland for a three-week training camp (one of those weeks will be in Sweden), and I've decided that I have to paint at least a little bit every single day I'm here. It shouldn't be too hard...it's light for so long, I could paint outside right now as I write this at 10:30 pm!! <br />
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SO, keep a lookout for my painting challenge posts. I'm doing 4 small paintings on one page, so I think I might just post every 4 days, but I haven't decided yet. I did my first one today, but I think I'll make you all wait. <br />
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But here are a few of my latest creative projects from back home in Lake Placid!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKnUXgTKPGSnGgZjgkAlniLTuhzVFP_JpqdW5rfqPZ4F-ZLG8zuTLBSd1nAiLWc-v17CQBLXSvRdoG5khrSgz5G4qDdsOD3Y402wpVzcmybFP1cykIMPysmFtLfI6wIkzr59wsW5C0OtW/s1600/IMG_1465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKnUXgTKPGSnGgZjgkAlniLTuhzVFP_JpqdW5rfqPZ4F-ZLG8zuTLBSd1nAiLWc-v17CQBLXSvRdoG5khrSgz5G4qDdsOD3Y402wpVzcmybFP1cykIMPysmFtLfI6wIkzr59wsW5C0OtW/s1600/IMG_1465.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nope, this isn't a post-modern sculpture. Its the pile of junk dorm furniture that all of the wood for my next projects came from. The "free wood" Craigslist listing turned out to be a jackpot! I even got three fully functional chairs for my deck.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZX09kUEyCph7UzymwRL9f9eQYJUp0WB1uph0-F2MOR-Nx3Wt26MYOrQPykprbP5PZzFduXxZwYA3UrnlOtOqJRQN81ypy2Vo7UBLJcn1x1R6z_ZJVA4Yqy0HXZlWrhyphenhyphenP1G7Xe8AdrTdP/s1600/IMG_1614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZX09kUEyCph7UzymwRL9f9eQYJUp0WB1uph0-F2MOR-Nx3Wt26MYOrQPykprbP5PZzFduXxZwYA3UrnlOtOqJRQN81ypy2Vo7UBLJcn1x1R6z_ZJVA4Yqy0HXZlWrhyphenhyphenP1G7Xe8AdrTdP/s1600/IMG_1614.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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My favorite projects: funky fabric shoulder bag, sitting on top of the coffee table.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HTSxVRHLQN0cvU1HmV6R4rugAXnQtZyVOa3o-w-pNoXQxVaZMLRSi7IBIuK6jFFua8pQW-WXWHofJk9LjE4kPX1VVoaEzGE58aDLNAQn4iTFJ-rdNbeesSUBCLwwFRyR9y9A_QKKrST-/s1600/IMG_1601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HTSxVRHLQN0cvU1HmV6R4rugAXnQtZyVOa3o-w-pNoXQxVaZMLRSi7IBIuK6jFFua8pQW-WXWHofJk9LjE4kPX1VVoaEzGE58aDLNAQn4iTFJ-rdNbeesSUBCLwwFRyR9y9A_QKKrST-/s1600/IMG_1601.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The coffee table was made out of old pieces of a bunk bed frame and a broken piece of granite countertop that an old tenant left behind our house. Another jackpot!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCh0jaLpQcEJlgaub-8FLTd1KQlkt9BhMBmHBetBVOEXXQI-hAPbzN-0b5sF4VeLXQduIhnD-9RbuG0hlIeH2xGd7n_FT7yKgaLcAWQgpBGi1AWa8cAqwjLo98FQ-f1Bm3-ACsrxyrxKK/s1600/IMG_1598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCh0jaLpQcEJlgaub-8FLTd1KQlkt9BhMBmHBetBVOEXXQI-hAPbzN-0b5sF4VeLXQduIhnD-9RbuG0hlIeH2xGd7n_FT7yKgaLcAWQgpBGi1AWa8cAqwjLo98FQ-f1Bm3-ACsrxyrxKK/s1600/IMG_1598.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I made a bedside table too. Not the most beautiful, but it works, and its way better than the milk crates that I had stacked up before!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPeLHB9twScU2e01iiVWGOEfkEZc5Hwt-IAV35Xm1d-nbIsj2GLuikgyD5ZfXnCZ1UTjpk7jTmaQAdvqd8Fk2w9PLKSbblWhyphenhyphenZ62_sGh_BIZoSPuBC5jdfpJbtn58VaYlajG9JQk-uIOO/s1600/IMG_1570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPeLHB9twScU2e01iiVWGOEfkEZc5Hwt-IAV35Xm1d-nbIsj2GLuikgyD5ZfXnCZ1UTjpk7jTmaQAdvqd8Fk2w9PLKSbblWhyphenhyphenZ62_sGh_BIZoSPuBC5jdfpJbtn58VaYlajG9JQk-uIOO/s1600/IMG_1570.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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My "garden" is also in a bunch of drawers from the junk wood pile. This is from a little while ago. The plants are bigger now and I've even been able to harvest some beans and spinach! The zukes are coming along too, just in time for me to be gone for 3 weeks. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-31821417104185822282014-03-25T18:39:00.002-07:002014-03-25T18:42:15.758-07:00Season wrap-up in drawings, pictures and paintings.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFs5mw9RNSx21uZDfvARPE9z6lVSbsF5ij-D1K-RT0xPPswpqviXbCbV4eCQD6KT1zxPkP2JuntDmi6xzkq3EpSM7W3tTWg-6ATyVVd6zZ4FXsXQA8o_aCapfJiaHcavS3dmnOdGF4OZ0/s1600/my+season.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFs5mw9RNSx21uZDfvARPE9z6lVSbsF5ij-D1K-RT0xPPswpqviXbCbV4eCQD6KT1zxPkP2JuntDmi6xzkq3EpSM7W3tTWg-6ATyVVd6zZ4FXsXQA8o_aCapfJiaHcavS3dmnOdGF4OZ0/s1600/my+season.jpg" height="147" width="400" /></a></div>
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I somehow managed to not take any pictures in Kantiolahti, Finland, where we had the second-to-last world cup, and where I had my best sprint race of the season, scored my first world cup points, and qualified for my first pursuit! I guess maybe it was because Finland was the least photogenic of the places I've been this year. It had some stiff competition though--I've gotten to go to some incredibly beautiful places. But it was a great weekend of racing, and I had a lot of fun racing in my first World Cup pursuit, even though I didn't shoot that well in it. After such a low point as far as racing was concerned in Pokljuka, Kontiolahti was sudden upturn! But then I once again struggled with the shooting in the Oslo sprint, didn't qualify for the pursuit, and my spirits plummeted once again. Biathlon is always testing my ability to deal with ups and downs. Maybe I'll write more of a real wrap-up later when I'm less jet-lagged, but for now I mostly want to post some more pictures and paintings. Here they are!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSL2IPoVetPZI4sXke8fCG_W2ioEyISJNpX3YXKuQA9Bu4ByKTJhAcy-I4zqxWlbtG6N6nSg45YkEK36mETjucc2p92x2NAadAWB6zJbbOoPWAE0HVCS-Uxrud3UsuW1bBiHcGBW_rhzzx/s1600/IMG_0640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSL2IPoVetPZI4sXke8fCG_W2ioEyISJNpX3YXKuQA9Bu4ByKTJhAcy-I4zqxWlbtG6N6nSg45YkEK36mETjucc2p92x2NAadAWB6zJbbOoPWAE0HVCS-Uxrud3UsuW1bBiHcGBW_rhzzx/s1600/IMG_0640.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Looking out over Oslo from Holmenkollen</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELueSm_G38eooM7acMTQK36EXrYpz2SeI1m6ia3uVZ9w9ml2gesEnPtGlDyEzqmaA_Nh-Lr3Hf5nrrEDAZqH4mU4MJkEZ-5H_izn4kFlD2uXak6nh272X3r6kDsMpcNmuQvqzpA6wIV4G/s1600/IMG_0643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELueSm_G38eooM7acMTQK36EXrYpz2SeI1m6ia3uVZ9w9ml2gesEnPtGlDyEzqmaA_Nh-Lr3Hf5nrrEDAZqH4mU4MJkEZ-5H_izn4kFlD2uXak6nh272X3r6kDsMpcNmuQvqzpA6wIV4G/s1600/IMG_0643.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hotel Rica, where all of the teams stayed together for the final World Cup. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLVExRsvW3FuXWRrJ4Dxs130hSz8vF4YE_USC8Ky1pTjcWbyPhAdX2K7pJoXCDGIzgVXpALehhVcO0enc1iDsBBmZPS4wKUJCoxCjBvxgwjLI2e_selwhtLIqsxhgrylnn5gLH5eJLIRv/s1600/IMG_0644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLVExRsvW3FuXWRrJ4Dxs130hSz8vF4YE_USC8Ky1pTjcWbyPhAdX2K7pJoXCDGIzgVXpALehhVcO0enc1iDsBBmZPS4wKUJCoxCjBvxgwjLI2e_selwhtLIqsxhgrylnn5gLH5eJLIRv/s1600/IMG_0644.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is one thing I will NOT miss about living on the road for 5 months--hand-washing laundry in the bath tub and then trying to ring it out as much as possible and then it still ends up dripping all over the bathroom. But somehow it always dries faster than I think it will. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuK0sAPSnP2RkpHnjfnMyp3iiedhyphenhyphen0voM3CpNTTVf1qR78TprQC3OBzhrIg4lrF566owF8ii1zsJVdWiFzdfzeu_neoeguuJ2kSLwlmMILApljmgnb4RK8rYj5rtiyclsoii_9AjqjAL3/s1600/IMG_0647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuK0sAPSnP2RkpHnjfnMyp3iiedhyphenhyphen0voM3CpNTTVf1qR78TprQC3OBzhrIg4lrF566owF8ii1zsJVdWiFzdfzeu_neoeguuJ2kSLwlmMILApljmgnb4RK8rYj5rtiyclsoii_9AjqjAL3/s1600/IMG_0647.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Going for a ski on the Holmenkollen trails. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntWj9Q3jQWrgnR_hxH4C4gbRjT8VDYuzncgCXt6XwEnNJurGbbsvmNU9-JhLT648lRPq3M9sp2r7VIR0SQ-_hEPpCZYP5feumbMr7MApFYvRgHSQF_FBnekElNjWuGtlSLIzSa1hO7Mjg/s1600/IMG_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntWj9Q3jQWrgnR_hxH4C4gbRjT8VDYuzncgCXt6XwEnNJurGbbsvmNU9-JhLT648lRPq3M9sp2r7VIR0SQ-_hEPpCZYP5feumbMr7MApFYvRgHSQF_FBnekElNjWuGtlSLIzSa1hO7Mjg/s1600/IMG_0667.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Norwegian fans lining the course. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjR2HMeqR9TpfJR3DfYXxgD8Ei8522IGDVUrh6492dq8JfqCaIGTub0IPSWaLAv-vrlnMDEt06zARyfP-06ieZ80_rG2Se8Xx16cSQ-8Y27JjVsaXYS-MUer5Lvg7K8C0kc8QLk-vTRW89/s1600/IMG_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjR2HMeqR9TpfJR3DfYXxgD8Ei8522IGDVUrh6492dq8JfqCaIGTub0IPSWaLAv-vrlnMDEt06zARyfP-06ieZ80_rG2Se8Xx16cSQ-8Y27JjVsaXYS-MUer5Lvg7K8C0kc8QLk-vTRW89/s1600/IMG_0666.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My teammate Sara is retiring now, and Oslo was her last World Cup. We had fun cheering together during the mass start races on Sunday. Congrats on being done, Sara...but we'll miss you!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjR2HMeqR9TpfJR3DfYXxgD8Ei8522IGDVUrh6492dq8JfqCaIGTub0IPSWaLAv-vrlnMDEt06zARyfP-06ieZ80_rG2Se8Xx16cSQ-8Y27JjVsaXYS-MUer5Lvg7K8C0kc8QLk-vTRW89/s1600/IMG_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEFJEJ_BPmD9Y_O8iW8VLsvpmGXaNdXlAuB851YVu2YpwHLpwmWxXu8Kk43dUOpyxE8tY0ID5JFVAOsurBIYyYvLfsT7cchQZ_15HGvqygiY_tWEEOzy4hyphenhyphen6fKKC9PHhPX1cPdu_a1nhS/s1600/IMG_0659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEFJEJ_BPmD9Y_O8iW8VLsvpmGXaNdXlAuB851YVu2YpwHLpwmWxXu8Kk43dUOpyxE8tY0ID5JFVAOsurBIYyYvLfsT7cchQZ_15HGvqygiY_tWEEOzy4hyphenhyphen6fKKC9PHhPX1cPdu_a1nhS/s1600/IMG_0659.JPG" height="293" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our shooting coach Armin is also leaving our team, so I made him a painting of Antholz, which is where he's from. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjF4mHhfPrq71jhLLysVfcWciziaP5mQ4jajfpdRDTr0wnVKjsCIpbpVlZkNYlJOtMjN_m_CIaFlejUuf_ER8vnECfCwmP9r64KPmjpYr06NQOJkjLvgJVF-hfsRL251Xu17p4ix-t36sA/s1600/IMG_0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjF4mHhfPrq71jhLLysVfcWciziaP5mQ4jajfpdRDTr0wnVKjsCIpbpVlZkNYlJOtMjN_m_CIaFlejUuf_ER8vnECfCwmP9r64KPmjpYr06NQOJkjLvgJVF-hfsRL251Xu17p4ix-t36sA/s1600/IMG_0656.JPG" height="303" width="400" /></a></div>
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One of our wax techs, Mattias, is also leaving (so many people leaving, its sad!). Mattias is a great wax tech and also a lot of fun to be around. So of course I had to make him a painting too!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sotIxD7QUrFH8U62pTDRzFpiQi2pnkI-IzjuPlxryb2FuFouOZWVOcgdRcoEmpCOLKQD1HefG8fnSA0Kn6E5mt_WfRF90RXHmBORIP_rKcqdzy9_7n7QEBilq1phtt6KmkWz7LIJSxhm/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sotIxD7QUrFH8U62pTDRzFpiQi2pnkI-IzjuPlxryb2FuFouOZWVOcgdRcoEmpCOLKQD1HefG8fnSA0Kn6E5mt_WfRF90RXHmBORIP_rKcqdzy9_7n7QEBilq1phtt6KmkWz7LIJSxhm/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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And then I flew home!! I'd been scheming and looking forward to my first breakfast at home for a long time...gluten-free crepes! With lots of homemade maple syrup, of course. Yum! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-80779105564538877552014-03-11T09:39:00.001-07:002014-03-11T09:39:11.336-07:00Don't worry, I still paint<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY09m45VxsXBWjbG0RBCYOtgnf_hhPGazIY44cfG2c-SyVlo1KkhQ2jsdlybVJKxlc9q__MC6S1LsD_mZ38axQFbSy-hhVThj3pYbpaP-3uyupT0czLIaMltjFmzsAgRhEGdQzi8AXbdTm/s1600/IMG_0582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY09m45VxsXBWjbG0RBCYOtgnf_hhPGazIY44cfG2c-SyVlo1KkhQ2jsdlybVJKxlc9q__MC6S1LsD_mZ38axQFbSy-hhVThj3pYbpaP-3uyupT0czLIaMltjFmzsAgRhEGdQzi8AXbdTm/s1600/IMG_0582.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is the view from the front porch of the cabin I stayed in at the Rauschbergblick in Inzell, Germany. We stayed in Inzell after the Olympics and the weather felt like May. It was great for recovering from the Olympic excitement--I sat out on the porch in the sun. Last year when we stayed in Inzell after World Champs, there was two feet of snow and we could ski all over the valley. Quite the contrast!</div>
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Stefan and the rest of the Schwabl family have always been gracious hosts to our team when we've come in the winter and the summer, so I painted this for them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogAxU2jjtwSJzV-0dUpLBs7sbH8gcSAw57TWkJKeYfB5eSRLMBLfoyBvzwQv6fEdUPBIo2j6R8hzuWjSJNYus3jjAFT2wRGavwp89JeEOboi_x5iXu68LiJOjEaQCYihdzTjsIZAp_dFu/s1600/IMG_0615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogAxU2jjtwSJzV-0dUpLBs7sbH8gcSAw57TWkJKeYfB5eSRLMBLfoyBvzwQv6fEdUPBIo2j6R8hzuWjSJNYus3jjAFT2wRGavwp89JeEOboi_x5iXu68LiJOjEaQCYihdzTjsIZAp_dFu/s1600/IMG_0615.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
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It once again felt like springtime when we were staying right next to Lake Bled in Slovenia. On the lake, swans were swimming and rowers were rowing. I'm not used to seeing swans, and it might be cliche, but I think they're beautiful! I took lots of swan photos while I was in Slovenia. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-11168500079974123742014-03-09T14:34:00.000-07:002014-03-09T14:34:15.284-07:00sLOVEnia and moving on<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Slovenia, I've decided, is a really cool country. I am sad to say that I am now no longer in Slovenia. But I hope to go back there for several reasons: <br />
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1. I need some vengeance on the Pokljuka biathlon range.<br />
2. I need to go to Slovenia sometime when I am not competing and ideally do all of the following things: backcountry ski, cross-country ski, mountain bike, road bike, hike, row...eat...probably some other things too that I'm not thinking of. That might take more than one trip. But actually, the amazing thing about Slovenia is that I could have done every one of those things during my short visit, given proper equipment. Its just that cool of a place. <br />
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Some more interesting tidbits about Slovenia:<br />
1. It's motto is "I feel S<span style="color: lime;">love</span>nia". And I felt the love!<br />
2. Everyone in Slovenia seems to speak good english and be really friendly.<br />
3. It has beautiful forests, lakes and mountains<br />
4. The people of Slovenia are very active. It has one of the highest ratios of Olympic medals to population size. <br />
5. It also has a small coastline on the Adriatic Sea!<br />
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So, as you can probably tell I really liked Slovenia. I think that my pictures below will help show you why. But I also had my worst biathlon race ever on the World Cup in the Sprint race in Pokljuka. Well, maybe it was better than the one in Antholz that I didn't even finish...but to me it seemed worse because it was all my fault, and yet I still don't really know what happened or why it went so horribly. <br />
I was skiing pretty well (the positive of the day was that I skied pretty well), and came in to shoot prone and missed my first shot. Then I missed my second shot. I thought maybe it was windier than I'd though, so I took some clicks into the wind. Then I missed my last three shots as well. Yup, I missed all 5 shots...thats what we call "dirtying" in biathlon. And just as the name suggests, its shameful. I did my 5 penalty loops with my tail between my legs. I had another good ski loop, and came in for standing, and just somehow didn't get into the zone. I shot, went to ski my two additional penalty loops, and knew that there was now way I was going to be qualifying for the pursuit. I seem to have a curse when it comes to qualifying for pursuits. I was so disappointed in myself, but also just confused by how it ha gone so badly, and then I finished and got even more bad news: apparently I had actually missed 3 in standing. And since I'd only done 2 penalty loops, I was given an additional 2-minute time penalty for my missed penalty loop. Now I really felt ashamed of myself, and disappointed and frustrated ad dumb, all at once. I cried a little. <br />
But then I went for a cool-down ski out on a side trail that winds through a beautiful mature evergreen forest and then suddenly looks out over an awesome view of big snowy mountains. It was beautiful, and soothing. Which sounds cheesy. But I really love being in beautiful places, and it makes me happy. <br />
Sometimes biathlon feels incredibly brutal and merciless. You feel like you're doing a good job, training is going well, you start to gain some confidence and get you hopes up, and then you race and the biathlon gods just rip it all out from under you. But then there are other times when you go into a race with no expectations, just planning to fight for it and somehow it just falls together and its so rewarding. I guess that the volatility of biathlon is what makes it so addicting to compete in, and so popular to watch. Its dramatic and vicious and emotional. In a biathlon race you can watch people's hopes be brutally dashed and you can also watch an underdog win in glorious fashion. To be a biathlete, you have to be able to get tossed around and toyed with and not let it disrupt your focus and confidence. Boy, can that be hard!! But luckily I got to spend some time in beautiful Slovenia moving on from the bad race. And now I am on my way to Finland, where I will have more chances to race well. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2omJeWoaiU2g-tVA6CWeQZl2zmbZP2J30qvKICWonRRH1p8YvHxqSLGIhTSX4p_EfgnXY4hktCWV4Z5NJ2TttzOiXxIWzr9Q0b4MV5cAGG7CDSexpEl8YconOuNdZg2-q0rMUKwl4LI4/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2omJeWoaiU2g-tVA6CWeQZl2zmbZP2J30qvKICWonRRH1p8YvHxqSLGIhTSX4p_EfgnXY4hktCWV4Z5NJ2TttzOiXxIWzr9Q0b4MV5cAGG7CDSexpEl8YconOuNdZg2-q0rMUKwl4LI4/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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We stayed in a really nice old hotel called Hotel Triglav, overlooking lake Bled. Down by the lake, it was full-on springtime, with ducks and swans, flowers blooming, and people out for strolls. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwGXyRNsP5Y8xoWmE8QQnBn87yH5PhDWlx2Ns3h5EAmoZwhRwqpXvpWEVebeOe12N5UfSrNE-NQ3MCRQBy4vCIfMpm47UxL0BIFEHuSihmkqfNsZblVgYAJ6hFsys08m5JcI5LAOds5w3/s1600/IMG_0541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwGXyRNsP5Y8xoWmE8QQnBn87yH5PhDWlx2Ns3h5EAmoZwhRwqpXvpWEVebeOe12N5UfSrNE-NQ3MCRQBy4vCIfMpm47UxL0BIFEHuSihmkqfNsZblVgYAJ6hFsys08m5JcI5LAOds5w3/s1600/IMG_0541.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sara bough each of us a cool mask for Carneval/Mardi Gras/Fasching, and we celebrated on tuesday night in Slovenia by wearing them to dinner. This is a big holiday in most of Europe, with people out in costumes and lots of parties. The food at Hotel Triglav was deeeelicious. Very gourmet and even the simplest things tasted amazing. That was a definite highlight of the trip!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWK-ca3R34JOuqGTHIJQQ2yK8oi6lYH3S69mtDDxHrQ4RjjurY7IMrtbEQntvgye2sgGDRdOwFYmArY2YR9OOaguRNnTU-RAMVBu0r4SludMOxSev5wom7ovq01E6env7KrvGqP6uEDm-/s1600/IMG_0489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWK-ca3R34JOuqGTHIJQQ2yK8oi6lYH3S69mtDDxHrQ4RjjurY7IMrtbEQntvgye2sgGDRdOwFYmArY2YR9OOaguRNnTU-RAMVBu0r4SludMOxSev5wom7ovq01E6env7KrvGqP6uEDm-/s1600/IMG_0489.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Swans! I had fun trying to take pictures of them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwgvwWDAbQJgQvfD84uAFapANz0OcWm8Z7XWp2je_yxtzVWk1tXsX4cZ6XKDEv3WyOeAl9c1sazYfSanlpNnVecPY70ZtxhrPm9zITVU0PHqBxQTDLz-b4LkvgaiH7thOb4cUK35ag7hx/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwgvwWDAbQJgQvfD84uAFapANz0OcWm8Z7XWp2je_yxtzVWk1tXsX4cZ6XKDEv3WyOeAl9c1sazYfSanlpNnVecPY70ZtxhrPm9zITVU0PHqBxQTDLz-b4LkvgaiH7thOb4cUK35ag7hx/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lake Bled is about as picturesque as you can get. Its got a castle on a cliff overlooking the lake, as well as a castle on an island in the lake!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvH6V28SvhBfs1Qny8URQB0dotYU2z-IuvdfhEXccKe5iKyo7DEEGPx2fNhah1S05vt0V3GWkWwk0mF48-CfHjRIlIkTz7_GM5B8BGzXbzNihifcTvG1du731sFDTV8PUvBvwb_XvXgs3/s1600/IMG_0597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvH6V28SvhBfs1Qny8URQB0dotYU2z-IuvdfhEXccKe5iKyo7DEEGPx2fNhah1S05vt0V3GWkWwk0mF48-CfHjRIlIkTz7_GM5B8BGzXbzNihifcTvG1du731sFDTV8PUvBvwb_XvXgs3/s1600/IMG_0597.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I bought hot roasted chestnuts from a guy who was grilling them along the path by the lake. I'd never had freshly roasted chestnuts before. Yum!! And I was wearing a t-shirt too!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JGB_BG3U6ZlvHjWdmVogizq0qxqQkLTKgeGnCEj7YCH1OWq2cizN89U25qWtxHRAoMJVMrdpa4DJjBc_BP7jX3Fyvv2sI_UOfPIAe911LJpGeMMHDZlJI1_h8xdvVZ5Znw3D-xfRE-i8/s1600/IMG_0617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JGB_BG3U6ZlvHjWdmVogizq0qxqQkLTKgeGnCEj7YCH1OWq2cizN89U25qWtxHRAoMJVMrdpa4DJjBc_BP7jX3Fyvv2sI_UOfPIAe911LJpGeMMHDZlJI1_h8xdvVZ5Znw3D-xfRE-i8/s1600/IMG_0617.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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But then when you drove up the mountain to the venue...there was SOOOO much snow!! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3iZnuONaMZidXQmQKY3v7ymf3JOYsnd0hhc8JxkkAkl5-Tek3GcpNuNsGkz40jd7pCIb0UpmFq98It_txJQN_OCFstDasMdgT9X4VTnOJHmJvFtkEGieN36aIoXFwd8xvA1NwkXontEp/s1600/IMG_0603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3iZnuONaMZidXQmQKY3v7ymf3JOYsnd0hhc8JxkkAkl5-Tek3GcpNuNsGkz40jd7pCIb0UpmFq98It_txJQN_OCFstDasMdgT9X4VTnOJHmJvFtkEGieN36aIoXFwd8xvA1NwkXontEp/s1600/IMG_0603.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And beautiful views.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7M8FHF-chjgou0G5Jh6a3wdcVzGfhWcTMSjemyRR9wdIM-QpNE6jhB7od2DFHryLBEnS8FT3ICyOVLUnUIvMuq6nVFF55ugVaz5zq5rdkbjw60omX5aBo8tog_Hf-2VbzmmZoSv4ZKGd/s1600/IMG_0619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7M8FHF-chjgou0G5Jh6a3wdcVzGfhWcTMSjemyRR9wdIM-QpNE6jhB7od2DFHryLBEnS8FT3ICyOVLUnUIvMuq6nVFF55ugVaz5zq5rdkbjw60omX5aBo8tog_Hf-2VbzmmZoSv4ZKGd/s1600/IMG_0619.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Doesn't this look like a cool place?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnL26zYwvEzYZT3AQXObv3QsBG6aVpTDEnKK5sbH4nJH3Yfytb6ha0MdigzxmMl1lNHzFgcDz5dwQbBVf_o7TZRLp-tu36nOxhY6fyRoJoxUEe_36omImf1HP9MJmNF5Pa2AeSdiVtqeu/s1600/IMG_0622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnL26zYwvEzYZT3AQXObv3QsBG6aVpTDEnKK5sbH4nJH3Yfytb6ha0MdigzxmMl1lNHzFgcDz5dwQbBVf_o7TZRLp-tu36nOxhY6fyRoJoxUEe_36omImf1HP9MJmNF5Pa2AeSdiVtqeu/s1600/IMG_0622.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Beautiful trees!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-TDJP6Y0mKEKIhISBMTzNwD0KWZ38lIsRrUgtzcXhy0BW255QkrNqya0f0jGcKyhsd6IkgPJlV4y4MgdX1JSKClwwX-PWLWesUvgXc9im0BWbhPqxW2Km2GMp-v6UB8OwZzJdAx-_MuH/s1600/IMG_0614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-TDJP6Y0mKEKIhISBMTzNwD0KWZ38lIsRrUgtzcXhy0BW255QkrNqya0f0jGcKyhsd6IkgPJlV4y4MgdX1JSKClwwX-PWLWesUvgXc9im0BWbhPqxW2Km2GMp-v6UB8OwZzJdAx-_MuH/s1600/IMG_0614.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The town of Bled is touristy, but with a cool funky vibe that I liked. This little pizza shop had delicious gluten-free pizza!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-65001091816071818062014-03-02T12:32:00.001-08:002014-03-02T12:32:37.846-08:00Too much to write about in one blog post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, I've realized that I just have too many things to fit into a reasonably concise blog post. Thats because its been too long since I last wrote, but also because its just been very action-packed! So bear with me as I cover some of the events of my last 10 days in roughly chronological order. </div>
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First of all, there was more racing. And it was exciting racing! I raced in the mixed-gender relay with Susan, Tim and Lowell. I had never been on the mixed relay team before, and I was excited about it but also nervous. I felt that we had a good chance at doing really well if all of us could have good shooting. So that would require me to have good shooting. I put pressure on myself. I dry-fired and visualized and made a plan of attack. I tried to be as prepared as I could be. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot of the tag-off when we were in 4th place that my friend Courtney sent me.<br /></td></tr>
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Susan skied the first leg and had a great race and tagged off to me in 4th--just a few seconds behind the leaders. Thats right A FEW SECONDS BEHIND THE LEADERS!! At the Olympics!! I knew that it was totally possible that I would be put in that position, and I'd tried to prepare myself for it mentally. My plan was to not be intimidated, but to just be psyched and to think "good, this is exactly where I want to be." You can of course never be prepared for something like that if you haven't experienced it before, and so I wasn't prepared...but I did enjoy it! It was awesome!! I sort of felt like I was floating for that whole lap. I had a lot of fun. I may have gone too hard. And then I came it to shooting and tried to follow my plan for that too...</div>
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But biathlon is funny. Sometimes you try hard and it works. Sometimes you just relax and go on autopilot and it works. The targets fall. But for me it seems that just as often, something is a little bit off and the targets don't fall. Occasionally when this happens I can think back and say "well, I could have prepared better" or "I really didn't have a plan or a focus". Thats when I'm disappointed in myself. </div>
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But before the mixed relay, I really think that I prepared for the shooting as well as I could have. And something was still a bit off. In that first prone stage I had 8 bullets to use to hit 5 targets, and I couldn't do it. I had to go into the dreaded penalty loop. All of my shots were going high for some reason, but of course I didn't know that until after the race. So I was frustrated, but I also knew that I couldn't give myself too hard of a time--sometimes that just happens in biathlon. I dropped our team from 4th back to 10th. Out of medal contention. It was not the performance that I was hoping for. I definitely replayed the race a lot of times in my head afterwards, trying to make it go differently. But in the end, I'd tried my best. And I had also had that amazing experience of skiing with the leaders in an Olympic race. It was so much fun, and I'm grateful for that experience. </div>
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And then two days later I was in almost the exact same position again in the women's relay. Susan once again tagged off to me in 4th place. This time I felt a bit more prepared. I could get used to starting my relay leg in 4th place! The second time around still didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped for, but it was definitely better in a number of ways. First, even though I used all 6 of my total spare round rounds, I didn't have to ski a penalty loop. And second, I skied my own race and paced myself better. I still lost us a few places and quite a bit of time because I had to use so many extra bullets, but my teammates shot and skied well and in the end we finished in 7th--our best-ever relay finish!! It was slightly bittersweet because we could all taste how close we were to doing even better, but it was a great race and a great way to end the Olympics. </div>
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<b>And now for the non-racing part!</b></div>
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I spent a lot of my spare time at the Olympics working on a dance video to Pharrell Williams' "Happy" with my teammates. It was the perfect project to keep us busy and having fun, and it was a cool way to connect with athletes from other teams, and even the Sochi volunteers. If you haven't checked it out yet, here it is:</div>
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In the 3 weeks that I was at the Olympics, I spent almost every hour in the Endurance Village, which was on top of a mountain, quite a ways from the city of Sochi. It was the day before the closing ceremonies, and I hadn't even seen an athlete from a sport other than Biathlon or Nordic Skiing. So we decided we needed to get off the mountain and see the sights. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosa Khutor. This was a pristine river valley full of trees just a few years ago. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosa Khutor in the day-time. It had pedestrian streets on either side of the river, townhouse-style buildings with fancy shops and hotels and stuff. It was a pretty surreal place, and crazy to see how much was built in such a short period of time. It made me sad. I'll be interested to see if tourist continue to come now that the Olympics are over.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We went to Adler, which is a city next to Sochi along the black sea, and went to the shore. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideJZ9Y6ud92eMtXfWbLvIVnRT5GpceTGE9bz6EbXJtX3Wgq9YcVIOHXIk3O2U4a2SkjpaoFvvMG0ZXXBE6c2Hf-4XBz4aDEIxGFouEMdtLX5TcAdSujnulUTDWi_8_C_uA2W6SE_fXOba/s1600/20140222_171913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideJZ9Y6ud92eMtXfWbLvIVnRT5GpceTGE9bz6EbXJtX3Wgq9YcVIOHXIk3O2U4a2SkjpaoFvvMG0ZXXBE6c2Hf-4XBz4aDEIxGFouEMdtLX5TcAdSujnulUTDWi_8_C_uA2W6SE_fXOba/s1600/20140222_171913.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sochi had lots of palm trees, and had the feel of a summer resort. It was so different from life up on top of the mountain, it was pretty crazy.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WbLhcAJ4btg_ZW1WlG8IpQ-tzt8CleRnPEIE6AHKA2R-TfwwOggYurmepUu5MU937e2TZLV5moajhRPuPefiIKFy8aFR2KwGSBBKRD5LLjAP3abWXL14pxh-jA6hf5FVvOLH_x2KwCY_/s1600/20140222_182435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WbLhcAJ4btg_ZW1WlG8IpQ-tzt8CleRnPEIE6AHKA2R-TfwwOggYurmepUu5MU937e2TZLV5moajhRPuPefiIKFy8aFR2KwGSBBKRD5LLjAP3abWXL14pxh-jA6hf5FVvOLH_x2KwCY_/s1600/20140222_182435.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><br />We found a great barbecue place right on the black sea and got platefuls of skewered-cooked meat and potatoes served with pickles, raw onions, and sauce. So we ate yummy food while simultaneously watching the men's biathlon relay on TV and the sun setting over the Black Sea. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwApEisuULXRayRQmdaAaGqKxLZKUSbaQGvTfhqe_PG4cveSrLQMqx0h-G9Fsdo1bGCCZ2f5K5N1MObn7zYolvAE0bKtnnFZ6FwqiTEjCh6j7YI9rZW-TPxTg2icugToctCgqIK0Ekkbu/s1600/20140223_171800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwApEisuULXRayRQmdaAaGqKxLZKUSbaQGvTfhqe_PG4cveSrLQMqx0h-G9Fsdo1bGCCZ2f5K5N1MObn7zYolvAE0bKtnnFZ6FwqiTEjCh6j7YI9rZW-TPxTg2icugToctCgqIK0Ekkbu/s1600/20140223_171800.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had an hour or two before the closing ceremony to check out the Olympic Park. It felt like being on the set of a futuristic sci-fi movie. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I should have swapped costumes with one of these girls!! I saw them before the ceremonies as we were waiting to walk in. If I'd seen them again after, I would have tried to trade. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had a MUCH better seat for the closing ceremonies than for opening. Front row seats! (My seat for Opening ceremonies was on the couch, in front of the TV). </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The show was SO COOL! I loved the big moon and clouds, and the upside-down houses!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am with Ida, Susan and Liz, in our funny costumes. Northern VT was well represented!!<br />I was happy to have the warm wool sweater and wool peacoat. But the boots were not comfortable and I walked barefoot on our way back. </td></tr>
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And now the Olympics are over. In some ways I felt like I was in Sochi for a long time. But in other ways I feel like I flew by way too quickly. Its crazy to me that it will be another 4 years before that happens again. Thats an awful lot of build-up for some races and ceremonies and stuff. But then again, it was definitely more than just a few races. I think that what made the Olympics the most special was just how much support and excitement and following I got from home. It really just blew me away. All of you are the best! </div>
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And now I am recovered from all of the excitement, lack of sleep, travel, let-down, requisite head-cold...and I'm not back home yet! The winter isn't over, and there are still three more weeks of World Cup races to come. Tomorrow I head to Bled, Slovenia for my next adventure. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-27870948967260907152014-02-18T01:16:00.002-08:002014-02-18T01:23:56.664-08:00Biathlon Relay Time: How exactly do biathlon relays work?!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since the final three biathlon races of the Olympics are all relays, I figured this would be a good time to explain to you all how exactly biathlon relays work. They're a bit different from other biathlon races! And it will be more fun to watch if you understand what's going on. </div>
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For more about the penalty loop, check out <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/sports/olympics/biathlon-penalty-loop-is-like-the-dunce-cap-of-the-olympics.html?_r=0">this</a> nytimes article!</div>
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The mixed relay is on Wednesday the 19th, the women's relay is in Friday the 21st, and the men's relay is on Saturday the 22nd. I will be racing in both the mixed relay and the women's relay. Let the relays begin!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-37641994376774855552014-02-15T07:34:00.000-08:002014-02-15T08:02:14.035-08:00Cheering, Sunshine and Redemption<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This was my face after the sprint race, as I was looking at the results screen. I was disappointed. </div>
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But luckily its hard to stay unhappy for too long when you're at the Olympics and also when its sunny and beautiful every day. (My mood is very dependent on the weather). </div>
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<span style="background-color: #333333; color: #78878c; font-family: helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: left;">Source: Harry How/Getty Images Europe</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nXx0JT3ftevjLH3TNyOB_7pNdQ3zNO4D-Rb3_9fQh50zK3urkBgXnBFjxBU0889pwboqDsU0if06mHfK20FJA7CqxOON_4AxJitvFcc5VV6VXWtE-LMZN0vHiv1jthhQJf_DZrwICdIB/s1600/20140211_180942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nXx0JT3ftevjLH3TNyOB_7pNdQ3zNO4D-Rb3_9fQh50zK3urkBgXnBFjxBU0889pwboqDsU0if06mHfK20FJA7CqxOON_4AxJitvFcc5VV6VXWtE-LMZN0vHiv1jthhQJf_DZrwICdIB/s1600/20140211_180942.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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How could you be unhappy when this is the view out your window?</div>
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photo: Sadie Bjornsen</div>
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Luckily I had some good races to watch and cheer on my friends in. I got to cheer on Ida in her sprint heat, and then we got to cheer on Sophie in the final together. I got decked out in all my most patriotic clothing and had a lot of fun cheering in the sun.</div>
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And then that same night I got to cheer on my teammates in the pursuit race. Here are a bunch of fans (mostly Russian) lining the course. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXUQG3QcnNE3yZHoIa6y9y40LBSMo42UxXp3rrr4z4GIRHle-0Zs_RBtkTbFnaARne_UgsPR4kUAGAz0OeMlzDITLBrD18XLxrKXsRJ8mNCe4NO4WRwJuncXs6vRZv-V-XUvUjTO80Dc0/s1600/20140211_190112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXUQG3QcnNE3yZHoIa6y9y40LBSMo42UxXp3rrr4z4GIRHle-0Zs_RBtkTbFnaARne_UgsPR4kUAGAz0OeMlzDITLBrD18XLxrKXsRJ8mNCe4NO4WRwJuncXs6vRZv-V-XUvUjTO80Dc0/s1600/20140211_190112.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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The stadium was packed for the pursuit, and the sky was beautiful as usual. </div>
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The course was slushy and slow and it looked like a hard race. But it was also really hard for me to watch it--I wanted to be in there racing! It made me really hungry to race again. </div>
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But I was able to channel my frustration into trying to have really good training sessions, and focussing on both my approach to shooting and my ski technique. I made a plan for keeping myself a little more conscious and patient when I came into the shooting range, and I tried to practice shooting that way, and visualize doing it in a race. I was really looking forward to getting to race again in the 15k Individual. </div>
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Just another Sochi sunset.</div>
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A valentines day full moon!</div>
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And then came the Individual race! I was more nervous than before the sprint, because I felt like it was my last chance to have a good race in an individual competition. I really wanted to do well. But I also felt good about my plan for shooting, as well as for pacing the hard race. The Individual is the longest biathlon race. You ski five 3k loops and you shoot four times. The 3k course here in Sochi is super hilly and hard, and I definitely didn't want to go out too hard. But I also knew that I didn't want to let it intimidate me! </div>
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In the end, the race came together just as I'd planned and hope for. I paced myself well and had my best skiing times of any race this year. And I had 1 miss in the first shooting, then no misses in the second and third, and then 1 in the final shooting, for only two misses, which is really good for me!! I skied as hard as I could, almost lost my balance going around the final turn of the race, and ended up in 23rd place. That is my best placing in a world cup-level race ever...but at least 30 places. I feel like I've been close to a good result for a long time, but it just kept evading me. After I finished last night, I couldn't help thinking "Yes! Finally!!!". </div>
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This is by far the highest that my biathlon rollercoaster ride has taken me. And it was so much fun, and I hope to start making this sort of race my new norm!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkeDe2jgX_Gwr0vVU2O3XS3KPN3Jtf-ChbMo7ohMW1GwCxZ6MKYJCKKEz2cPUjg5QrvH6sZobjdFpy4cuFSa-MyttUoHlQJ4XiK3UJSzlYajPtvzwHq8MJLRf8xotE6kPq5tun5TL3ZXW/s1600/sochi+individual+racing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkeDe2jgX_Gwr0vVU2O3XS3KPN3Jtf-ChbMo7ohMW1GwCxZ6MKYJCKKEz2cPUjg5QrvH6sZobjdFpy4cuFSa-MyttUoHlQJ4XiK3UJSzlYajPtvzwHq8MJLRf8xotE6kPq5tun5TL3ZXW/s1600/sochi+individual+racing.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ida, Susan and I pose for a "Craftsbury girl" picture on the rings!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-90829748254252904962014-02-11T00:22:00.002-08:002014-02-11T00:34:05.064-08:00"The first pancake is lumpy" and pictures of life in this "Russian village"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLD8vtwwn99FK-U0zTQVjb9iHtCcbjnDENKT2ulbYb3oaNALLAaKcvTFhTNRFzMIJl9Uk74xPykvMaSM-SVndRnzWi-2CcMYIa_eQ_YOzWGK_UHaWGJOf16oFlS3IzBgLJU17kZCmr_am/s1600/sochi+sprint+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLD8vtwwn99FK-U0zTQVjb9iHtCcbjnDENKT2ulbYb3oaNALLAaKcvTFhTNRFzMIJl9Uk74xPykvMaSM-SVndRnzWi-2CcMYIa_eQ_YOzWGK_UHaWGJOf16oFlS3IzBgLJU17kZCmr_am/s1600/sochi+sprint+me.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">Harry How/Getty Images</span></div>
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Well, I competed in my very first Olympic race! In the end, it wasn't my best performance and I was left feeling frustrated. Biathlon can be a very fickle sport (I've probably overused the term "rollercoaster" by now to describe it). But with one bad standing shooting stage, with three missed targets, I finished just out of the top-60 qualifying cutoff for the pursuit race, which happens tonight. I have a curse when it comes to qualifying for pursuits. I let myself be frustrated and bummed for a little while, but now I am forcing myself to stop replaying in my head exactly what I did wrong, and what I should have done differently. The race is over, and there were so many good parts of it!! I was happy with how I skied--with my pacing and my technique. My prone shooting--1 miss--wasn't too bad. And then of course there was the fact that I was racing at the Olympics!!! I have to pinch myself sometimes to remind myself where I am. The atmosphere was awesome, and I didn't even really get nervous before the race--I was sort of nervous, but it was a happy, excited sort of nervous and it felt good. The russian crowd was loud and festive, and before I had even started I got to watch one of my teammates, Susan, complete the best Olympic finish for a U.S. woman biathlete ever. So though I am disappointed in my first race here, there is a whole lot to be happy about! I read a quote from one of the Russian biathletes, Ekaterina Shumilova, who had fallen in the sprint and broken her rifle. She said that there is a saying in Russian that "the first pancake is lumpy." I thought that was brilliant. I am really learning to appreciate Russian culture while I'm here! <br />
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The internet and news has been flooded with pictures of unfinished hotel rooms and other negative things about Sochi, but I have to say that up here in the Endurance Village everything is pretty darn nice. Here's a little taste of life up here. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEamZxy5WIrlcPAzqJNfYLNHnPZsRv8IG17lEL0aHNsPWtmtFRQ9Z5QIom2w5wjWVkD5KbC3L6TA-NZzNyZhJVyxoSh7SPxAZr1vfM6F3xKfZu8XT-7vMDxyXh9L7fE-3cFHJhujytbrI/s1600/20140203_155655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEamZxy5WIrlcPAzqJNfYLNHnPZsRv8IG17lEL0aHNsPWtmtFRQ9Z5QIom2w5wjWVkD5KbC3L6TA-NZzNyZhJVyxoSh7SPxAZr1vfM6F3xKfZu8XT-7vMDxyXh9L7fE-3cFHJhujytbrI/s1600/20140203_155655.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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The walk from our chalet to dinner looks like this: </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">This is our team's chalet. Its very spacious and nice. There's some odd/cheap construction on the inside, but I think thats how it goes in Russia!</span><br />
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The bed have quilts with the colorful patchwork "Sochi" design!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGQ_CRARVNQ8IDOj2XljmcEYHF2T3bDcvY2B0lz8WoRKRjBiMzyIzpG4J7h6W2lNylZyfxC_TrHqwVbIF-ObqfTY1TpW3MVs5D177uHyHELUuYFLs2Xh5e6ZjlukPLDeTdGRx-1bEm7mj/s1600/20140206_114502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGQ_CRARVNQ8IDOj2XljmcEYHF2T3bDcvY2B0lz8WoRKRjBiMzyIzpG4J7h6W2lNylZyfxC_TrHqwVbIF-ObqfTY1TpW3MVs5D177uHyHELUuYFLs2Xh5e6ZjlukPLDeTdGRx-1bEm7mj/s1600/20140206_114502.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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In the main community building where the dining hall is, there's also a huge arcade room.</div>
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And there's a nightclub/disco-tek! I don't think its gotten much use yet...but maybe later in the games!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I3msdBRl3eRwyzHSuZe0UCRJIP9iUJvwcysEWqpCvtFi4mQhLogaYf4mXG1XJJF_WxnumhkiEl2E_m0Kw8eSc0lTJL0wYJmHBITqbQCiV5g5fmKwrftqUn0sxr8lyVkm3wrhLqqoMhAF/s1600/20140205_213654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I3msdBRl3eRwyzHSuZe0UCRJIP9iUJvwcysEWqpCvtFi4mQhLogaYf4mXG1XJJF_WxnumhkiEl2E_m0Kw8eSc0lTJL0wYJmHBITqbQCiV5g5fmKwrftqUn0sxr8lyVkm3wrhLqqoMhAF/s1600/20140205_213654.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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We've mostly had sunny weather so far, but sometimes fog rolls in at night, and the village looks pretty cool. When its foggy, it never gets dark outside because the stadium lights are on all night and light the place up like its daytime.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtFR94tzFSpieTZRp5MKjk90Kb4LKL3uWc5u1GaqpiBfyBnrJmJfV5f0ND_iMd1KVNGuJ5gcsxHTJRQ6-I5QANl03DwFZLyYM22HFeJNrckeQBDArNGlKVFgg_LNs1818Fvv917Y0mRZr/s1600/20140205_214647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtFR94tzFSpieTZRp5MKjk90Kb4LKL3uWc5u1GaqpiBfyBnrJmJfV5f0ND_iMd1KVNGuJ5gcsxHTJRQ6-I5QANl03DwFZLyYM22HFeJNrckeQBDArNGlKVFgg_LNs1818Fvv917Y0mRZr/s1600/20140205_214647.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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The powerade has biathletes on it!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnarN6B8rA9BGLYUk56T4WIipWOBOXTYMoTG-nNF8IP8Uo1US2okypPR4YmoQDmsic3Bo4xjHHfRDjLGSvABeb02oGmWRJEnKK_NFWwDyKBG3HVPUHxNRcGQbMplR9h8InV8FvAaEYekRj/s1600/20140206_184559-PANO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnarN6B8rA9BGLYUk56T4WIipWOBOXTYMoTG-nNF8IP8Uo1US2okypPR4YmoQDmsic3Bo4xjHHfRDjLGSvABeb02oGmWRJEnKK_NFWwDyKBG3HVPUHxNRcGQbMplR9h8InV8FvAaEYekRj/s1600/20140206_184559-PANO.jpg" height="168" width="640" /></a></div>
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The biathlon stadium is huge and beautiful, an the views are unbeatable, especially when we train during the sunset!</div>
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Gara is the wax tech that I work with. He helps me test skis to make sure I have the fastest ones possible, and he and the other techs do all of our ski waxing. They're great! A-hoy Gara! (A-hoy is how you say hi and bye in Czech). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNPXO4lIbY9CFqwX3MU8lvcVWku9r2OXNIt63kDo3XpDG5KiuqFN18CJbjOp9d4XfWK6_R5ivMDM0IQXvBgwDew-3cytoF1_wn-CY40H_uhgBg8FrNU1tibL5L5pdFXJeKzX0ad-8WPUL/s1600/20140204_175252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNPXO4lIbY9CFqwX3MU8lvcVWku9r2OXNIt63kDo3XpDG5KiuqFN18CJbjOp9d4XfWK6_R5ivMDM0IQXvBgwDew-3cytoF1_wn-CY40H_uhgBg8FrNU1tibL5L5pdFXJeKzX0ad-8WPUL/s1600/20140204_175252.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Jonne is the women's coach and Sean is our team psychologist. They're both great! Here they are in the range, watching our shooting and showing us where the shots went. </div>
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I didn't get to go to opening ceremonies, but I dressed up in my funny outfit, complete with the big clunky boots and watched on tv with my teammates. It looked like an amazing show!</div>
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Modeling our "ugly christmas sweater" opening ceremonies outfits!</div>
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Here I am with three of my teammates in the range. We were really lucky to get support this year from the Women's Sports Foundation, so we took a picture with a sign for them! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-65992469126197756842014-02-08T09:59:00.001-08:002014-02-08T09:59:20.848-08:00So what exactly is biathlon, anyway? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am being spoiled in so many ways right now. One of those ways is that I, like every other member of the U.S. Olympics team, got a free Samsung smartphone courtesy of the USOC, Samsung, and AT&T. I can't believe how lucky I am just to be here, and I get awesome things like that to boot! It has a huge screen, and it came with a stylus, so of course my first thought when I saw that was "drawing!!" I downloaded a drawing/painting app, and decided to do a little illustrated explanation of biathlon to share. I made this a few days ago, and since then the Huffington Post has done a more entertaining sort of intro to biathlon <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/06/olympics-2014-biathlon-sochi_n_4703713.html">here</a>, but I've decided I should post mine anyways! Sorry if my handwriting is barely legible at times...</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-40681454239376524462014-02-04T10:37:00.000-08:002014-02-04T10:37:14.306-08:00Privyet!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've made it to Sochi, and I'm starting to feel settled in now! It was a long process. First we drove from Italy to Munich, Germany, where we went through U.S. Olympic Team "processing" in the Munich Olympic Hall. This was wear we got all of our stuff--important things like our visa/ID for getting into Russia and getting anywhere while we're over here. We also got two duffel bags worth of clothes from Nike and Ralph Lauren, the U.S. team sponsors, and we got fitted for out Opening and Closing Ceremonies outfits. I couldn't help but feel a but overwhelmed by the shear amount of stuff that we got. In some ways it seems wasteful, but its really nice stuff, and I know that I am very lucky to be getting it all. </div>
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Then after a short sleep in a hotel, we were on an airplane headed for Sochi! Here is the view from the plane as we approached. </div>
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The airplane was a special charter flight for only U.S. athletes, and we were joined on the flight by some luge and figure skating athletes. When we arrived, we could see that the runways was lined with armed soldiers, and we were videoed as we exited the plane. But as soon as we got into the terminal, we were greeted by dozens of really friendly volunteers, all dressed in the rainbow-colored patchwork clothing given to all of the volunteers. This is a theme everywhere I've been here so far--there are volunteers everywhere, mostly young Russians, and they speak good English, are really happy to be here, and incredibly friendly and helpful. </div>
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We had to load an unload all of our luggage (and there's a lot of it!) several times as we went through security checkpoints and got it all on the right buses to get up to the Endurance Village. </div>
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The endurance village is located on top of a mountain, and the last part of our journey was a trip up a gondola. There were beautiful views of the sunset on the way up. The city of Sochi was snow-less and only a little bit chilly, but as we got higher and higher up it got colder and soon we hit snow. By the time we got to the village, there was at least 4 feet of snow!! </div>
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The Endurance Village is on top of a smaller mountain, surrounded by huge, snowy, beautiful mountains. Its pretty much a 360 degree view. </div>
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Here I am, happy to be here in the sun in this beautiful place!</div>
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I thought this was a cool piece of Russian snow-removal technology. </div>
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The dining hall is only half-open because not all of the athletes are here so far, but the food has already been great. There are lots of good fruits and vegetables, and food from all over the world. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-44734602566283384212014-01-30T02:58:00.002-08:002014-01-30T02:58:30.946-08:00Paintings from Italy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As my month (!) in Italy wraps up, I figured I should post a few paintings from my time here in Sudtirol. Neither of these are really my favorite paintings ever, but they were still fun to work on, and they show what its like over here.<br />
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This one is the view down the pedestrian street in Sterzing, which is a town near Ridnaun, where we had Olympic trials. Every town here in Sudtirol has a German name and an Italian name, and sometimes they're really similar, and sometimes they're really different. The Italian name for Sterzing is Vipiteno. I have no idea where that comes from!<br />
The buildings in Sterzing are so colorful and tall and the streets are narrow, and I decided that it warranted a slightly less realistic style of painting. I worked on this one during Olympic trials--painting is a great way for me to calm my nerves and keep a good mental focus. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRXyQpiE2-xx08XJ7qHVWvwwjkSlbr7DmSNLJ8W4QnepHCmq7B80m8pvAp2Tr3Mz_i1CkweC0ZkcIBVCBFUhu9iM1koBnYjFK8z0LmHTPjZ6JXwtcbnzWPqhPo4iMnENoY43rzLNrpoeT/s1600/IMG_0441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRXyQpiE2-xx08XJ7qHVWvwwjkSlbr7DmSNLJ8W4QnepHCmq7B80m8pvAp2Tr3Mz_i1CkweC0ZkcIBVCBFUhu9iM1koBnYjFK8z0LmHTPjZ6JXwtcbnzWPqhPo4iMnENoY43rzLNrpoeT/s1600/IMG_0441.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></a></div>
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This painting of is the mountains here in Antholz. I had an idea for this painting in my head, and it seemed really cool, but I'm not that happy with the outcome. Its sort of boring. But I can't be happy with every painting. And it shows what the view out my window looks like!! <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-75251561295077253412014-01-26T06:20:00.000-08:002014-01-26T06:31:59.608-08:00(Not) racing, and other adventures in Antholz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can almost make out where the targets are supposed to be visible through the fog behind us. <br />
photo: Erik Lewish</td></tr>
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In my last blog post, the Antholz world cup was already shaping up to be a dud for me. I had a cold, and then broke my rifle and stopped the sprint after one lap. But after that happened, I was psyched to have a few more days of getting better before we had a relay on Sunday. I really love biathlon relays, and so far this year, they've always been my best races. My coach Armin got my rifle fixed overnight by his friend and stock-maker Rudi, and my rifle was reinforced and ready to go. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now it doesn't even look like it was broken!</td></tr>
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I was still feeling a bit congested on Sunday, but I didn't care--I was ready to race! But when I got to the range to zero my rifle, there was quite a scene. The fog in the range was so thick that the targets were almost imperceptible. If you can hardly see the target without looking through the peep sights on a biathlon rifle, then you're definitely not going to see it through the sights, since the sights let less light through to your eye and make subtle changes in tone hard to detect. The coaches had all moved their scopes down right on to the firing line, to get closer in order to attempt to see where our shots were going. But no one was really shooting anyways--we were just waiting for the fog to clear a bit. But then suddenly it did clear some, and we could see the targets again and we all zeroed quickly right before the start of the race, and then the races started. Susan skied a really solid first leg and tagged off to Annelies, who had a great prone shooting and came it to shoot standing in 5th position. That is an awesome place for our team! But when she came in to the range, none of the women in front of her were shooting. The fog had come back in again, at least as thick as before. One girl made an attempt to shoot at a target, and missed. No one could see the targets. And the race was cancelled. I was going to be skiing the last leg, and had just finished my on-skis warmup and was coming up to the stadium when I heard the news. And with that, my total dud of an Antholz world cup was complete. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUFGpe6YJZ81Tzh_-IXHgVqpttGiLehyphenhyphenkJCW2_jB5TsM7NoGlyhi0vkaWgyHBvXT1wRMWtTebuFqsYkMgfbWA2Sn6lL6x_ifjlkWDALsBGppGLFTnCAAA_zqYx8xX2hMLoeNScaWKQMgs/s1600/IMG_0310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUFGpe6YJZ81Tzh_-IXHgVqpttGiLehyphenhyphenkJCW2_jB5TsM7NoGlyhi0vkaWgyHBvXT1wRMWtTebuFqsYkMgfbWA2Sn6lL6x_ifjlkWDALsBGppGLFTnCAAA_zqYx8xX2hMLoeNScaWKQMgs/s1600/IMG_0310.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Dad watching the men's relay. </td></tr>
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I felt especially bad about my lack of racing because my parents had come to Antholz to watch me. Luckily, there were still races for them to watch, and this is a pretty cool place to come for a little ski vacation anyways. They were here for a few more days after the racing was over, and the fog finally burned off a bit so we could enjoy some real Sudtirolean sunny weather! <br />
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It has been a great week of recovering, training, and spending some time with friends and family. My parents won't be coming to Sochi, and I'm glad that they came here instead because they got to ski and see me a lot, both things they wouldn't be able to do in Sochi. Now I have just five more days of training here before we head to US Olympic Team "processing" in Munich, and then on to Sochi from there!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a foggy, cloudy weekend, the clouds finally lifted and mom, dad and I went for a nice little walk overlooking the dolomites. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQk_V6PJZFADEi2HePsj-OgJyN34_WJ8YO4xlv6-PLW_qMvClE1F98ujFF6WwIBKPYudTnL6De6Q0BV6uahrxlN2lfCgUcHz3QJq0H2S_Fi-UYR9ooc2itSpWFTLX81QrIotyCYoaIrYI/s1600/IMG_0371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQk_V6PJZFADEi2HePsj-OgJyN34_WJ8YO4xlv6-PLW_qMvClE1F98ujFF6WwIBKPYudTnL6De6Q0BV6uahrxlN2lfCgUcHz3QJq0H2S_Fi-UYR9ooc2itSpWFTLX81QrIotyCYoaIrYI/s1600/IMG_0371.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then the next day there was fog in the valley, but we skied up out of it, to the top of Staller Pass, which is the border with Austria. It was sunny and beautiful and we got cappuccinos and hot chocolates at the Alm at the top. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4G9YDogRSRyErhUnSWm28Ex6kdw9Wn8CSSghiNfeb1gL1XfpqJUJ-D0cObk-r3X8fLDsiMPGwAC7MXxYklw2JIL95LunZ5mp4eidke3N0HamS3l6iG3YKDYnS8zTRh3XN4l8gcC8ecWm/s1600/antholz+pizza.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4G9YDogRSRyErhUnSWm28Ex6kdw9Wn8CSSghiNfeb1gL1XfpqJUJ-D0cObk-r3X8fLDsiMPGwAC7MXxYklw2JIL95LunZ5mp4eidke3N0HamS3l6iG3YKDYnS8zTRh3XN4l8gcC8ecWm/s1600/antholz+pizza.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And we found a pizza place that made gluten-free pizza!! The smoked-salmon and brie pizza was my favorite. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GE9IlZaEEHfAUy7aUzhBn3ysu2aa9jCq3SCieZ6Vaj5OlSOo9oXZd_G1ywSR6uhjaj8kPB7F803HilQq4PcxW9b313Kosf5zfppGgw_2IEo9QUzJRlezUkJ3HErlzf2Mvl86faHHsvm_/s1600/antholz+platzwiese.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GE9IlZaEEHfAUy7aUzhBn3ysu2aa9jCq3SCieZ6Vaj5OlSOo9oXZd_G1ywSR6uhjaj8kPB7F803HilQq4PcxW9b313Kosf5zfppGgw_2IEo9QUzJRlezUkJ3HErlzf2Mvl86faHHsvm_/s1600/antholz+platzwiese.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Susan and I met up with Ida, Pepa, and Liz Guiney for a ski at Platzwiese, high in the Dolomites. It was a Craftsbury reunion! They were training in nearby Toblach, before going to Sochi (Ida) and U-23 Champs (Liz). </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_03hwOkOYyg8KB6WFkSXi218_m-LREjfKcoBAm00-VsizguTt1XDSu42zf0mu_fP4mWodLtXFFAUxqvVVFOBsWKFspISPy3Xepwj8GrKgkII6nEbWw0aC-VtVfJbOG6y7kLM4D6q5_f6h/s1600/IMG_0390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_03hwOkOYyg8KB6WFkSXi218_m-LREjfKcoBAm00-VsizguTt1XDSu42zf0mu_fP4mWodLtXFFAUxqvVVFOBsWKFspISPy3Xepwj8GrKgkII6nEbWw0aC-VtVfJbOG6y7kLM4D6q5_f6h/s1600/IMG_0390.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Platzwiese is one of my favorites places to ski. Sun, amazing view of dolomites, perfect trails, friends and family--who could ask for more?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb4YaxyfLSnChj_hMuNSuY6Fr5CLFNWmh0kz-1zWVkj74LNvFlCDZGe6HynsDqk-P9SOVeEfHJ5RB7nEhG-BWsjX6kmffTxGQeOcaoHZp_ttk2HAyFHSu_sq1RTqAvK198RvH3VxA_BKw/s1600/antholz+kids+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb4YaxyfLSnChj_hMuNSuY6Fr5CLFNWmh0kz-1zWVkj74LNvFlCDZGe6HynsDqk-P9SOVeEfHJ5RB7nEhG-BWsjX6kmffTxGQeOcaoHZp_ttk2HAyFHSu_sq1RTqAvK198RvH3VxA_BKw/s1600/antholz+kids+picture.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Craftsbury Elementary 3rd and 4th grade students wrote Ida, Susan and I the nicest cards, and drew us some awesome pictures. Here we are, standing in the same order as the illustration, with our hats on. <br />
Its so cool to have so much community enthusiasm and support!! Thank you Craftsbury Elementary!!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7482060554360504324.post-63697408536075271832014-01-25T05:10:00.001-08:002014-01-26T06:31:09.854-08:00If you haven't already...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
you can check out my latest post to the Craftsbury Green Racing Project blog here: <a href="http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/">www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/</a><br />
<br />
Its a blast from the past, with old pictures from my Craftsbury Nordic BKL and Junior days, along with my fellow Sochi Olympians Ida Sargent and Susan Dunklee. Its pretty fun to think about how far we've come together!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXHolMp6ZLzL5Jd8G46EbK8LsR8Ksp5BNBXxUoi7UOSPPTHY5kiTqGkbuJ5fvyVyaDj53dG4wEEUa2gpMPI2m6bCz8ITdq8qH6vgI9XTWUX9IkQqjtCg8bckVADeMCNEHliIsAuwjvymI/s1600/IMG_0318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXHolMp6ZLzL5Jd8G46EbK8LsR8Ksp5BNBXxUoi7UOSPPTHY5kiTqGkbuJ5fvyVyaDj53dG4wEEUa2gpMPI2m6bCz8ITdq8qH6vgI9XTWUX9IkQqjtCg8bckVADeMCNEHliIsAuwjvymI/s1600/IMG_0318.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More gems like this can be found in the linked blog. I'm in the middle with the sunglasses! </td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00120497932723544096noreply@blogger.com0