First Race Tomorrow...

Okay, tomorrow is a sprint biathlon so I ski three laps of 2.5km with two rounds of shooting. I was out today and checked out the course. It's not bad at all - the longest climb takes only about a minute, but there are lots of ups and downs, but not a whole lot of rest because none of the downs are super long or steep so you still have to work at keeping up your momentum for the next uphill.

I also zeroed all the guns, which means that I shot one round with all ten of them to learn each of their unique characteristics. For example, I know that the gun in lane four is very loud, which makes it easy to hear the high tones whereas the gun in lane eight sounds tinny with a little bit of an echo, making it harder to get on target. I think that Andrea and I have got it all sorted out though. During a race, we don't get to choose which lane we use, but we can sort of play with it if there are other athletes around. Say, for example, we are coming into the range and are being directed to lane eight, but there is another skier right behind us. We can slow down and let them pass so they get lane eight and then we would get lane nine. They are running the men and women all as one group tomorrow so it is going to be crowded!

I still am fighting this stupid cold, but I do feel better. I'm skipping opening ceremonies tonight because I was to rest and I don't want this cold to get any worse. Opening ceremonies are being held outdoors and are expected to last about two hours so I've opted to stay indoors where it is warm and get to bed early. I'm the only one who didn't go, but I'm also the only one not feeling 100% and as I've said before, these races mean a lot. So basically, I'm really nervous, but it will be nice to get started with the racing. Here goes nothing.....