News
2018-4-25
I have decided to highlight some of the positive races from this season, without focusing on the negative ones and the fact that I wasn't able to race internationally. At this point of the year, there is no sense in talking about those things. I was able to pull off a Nor/Am win and a couple podiums. I also had a few races where I shot 80-90 percent, with fast shooting times. Even after all these years, I'm not a consistent shooter. Any time that I can break 80% in a race is a cause for celebration. I also had fun racing some cross country in the Canadian Nationals freestyle sprint. It looks like those are all the updates I have for now. Thank you for reading!
2017-12-9
It's been a pretty good 7 months of training, and now the race season is in full swing. I recently spent about 5 weeks on snow in Canmore, and had the opportunity to race in Canadian team trials (as a guest athlete), as well as the first Nor/Am. The trials races went pretty well, and I placed 8th in the sprint race against a very deep field. The Nor/Am wasn't as good, but I think I was just tired from a hard 5 weeks of training. I am feeling a lot better now after some rest, and I'm currently in Grand Rapids, Minnesota for another 2 weeks of racing. Now the goal is just to relax and keep racing fun :)
2017-3-23
I'm here in Jericho, VT for US Nationals this weekend. Over the past two weeks, I raced in both North American Championships in Canmore and Canadian Cross Country Nationals. What a season it has been...I've endured some of the most painful races ever, including no less than 10 races that were close to the legal minimum temperature of -4F/-20C. Much of the season was spent in survival mode, with a lot of up and down race performances and a huge amount of mental struggle with some very low points at times. I did manage to win the overall North American Cup, which was cool. Here's some pictures from the past few months:
Racing in VT
The President of Biathlon Canada, Murray Wylie, presented me with the overall Nor/Am award. Thanks to the Canmore Nordic Centre for a fun week of races.
During such a difficult season, any day that I can just feel decent on my skis and keep moving forward is a victory.
2016-12-2
I had a good week of training in West Yellowstone, and it was fun to compete in a XC race again! Now I'm back in Canmore for more biathlon racing.
3 seconds from winning because I missed my last shot :(
2016-8-6
Summer training has been going well, but it's definitely not been easy. I've just been trying to follow a basic training plan that I received from the national team about 5 years ago. Back then, I lacked the physical and mental maturity to complete many of the workouts. However, now that I've built up a better base, things have been going more smoothly.
It can be hard to constantly train by yourself, but I feel like I don't have much choice right now. However, this was also the reality for me when I was an aspiring athlete growing up in Central Wisconsin. Fortunately, I am used to it.
Next week I'll get on a plane for the first time since April and head out to Burlington, VT for summer rollerski races.
2016-3-18
I'm in Fort Kent, ME getting ready for US Nationals next week. When I left WI, the ground was completely green with no snow. The weather out here is a bit different than that...
2016-3-14
"Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries"
I ran across this quote recently, and thought it was fitting given how the past two seasons of biathlon have gone for me. I ended up in 2nd in one of the races at Jericho, but 6th place in the other race was not enough to get over to Europe. I could sit here and make excuses all day, but the reality is that I have to take full responsibility for my own performances and focus on improvement in the future.
2nd place
On the other hand, I do feel fortunate and blessed to be able to compete at a high level in this sport right now. At this point last year, I was extremely out of shape and had a hard time even making it around a race course without having to stop multiple times. Two years ago at this time, I had an achilles injury. At the worst point back then, I would try to go skiing only to stop after 15 minutes out of pain and frustration. Now, I am back to full-bore training and racing and can go out and ski as long as I want. So those are the positives, and things are going in the right direction. I just have to be patient.
Racing in Madison, WI Photo: Greg Engel
The amazing thing is that I never even think about quitting anymore. In the past, I would have a bad race or a bad training day and would want to quit. Nowadays, I no longer even think about quitting, even on the worst days.
2016-2-16
I am writing this update from the air at 30,000 feet. Wifi on airlines is an amazing feature these days. Currently, I'm en route to Jericho, VT for a Nor/Am races series. The season started out well with good ski form and good races, but I proceeded to get sick and struggle with bronchitis for a solid 1-2 months. Once again, trials in December didn't go well, but I did finish 3rd in the last race. After lackluster performances at XC Nationals in January, I decided to go home and focus on distance training. For 5 weeks, I only focused on long, slow distance to try and keep rebuilding the base that I had lost when I took a year off from the sport.
I'm feeling better now, and we'll see if I can salvage the remaining part of the season. In the sport of biathlon, however, you really never know what's going to happen. I completed a training camp in Canmore over the past two weeks, which went well. It was also fun to be around the World Cup race environment and get used to some of the craziness that goes along with it. Here is one of my favorite pictures from the trails there:
Scenery here never gets boring.
Obviously, there is a lot of travel involved with my sport. To keep myself entertained on the road, I listen to all kinds of different music. Here's an awesome song from one of my favorite bands, the Wallflowers. Hope you enjoy some great roots rock from the 90s.
2015-11-22
The road to West Yellowstone...it's good to be back here for some training and racing!
2015-11-6
After years of focusing only on biathlon, I have decided to enter some cross country races as well this season. Today was my first distance race since 2010...it was good to feel the pain on snow again.
Link to results: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=56589
2015-11-1
6 months and thousands of difficult miles of training are now complete. Now I'm back in Canmore for the final pre-season training!
2014-1-20
The Past Few Months
Well, it's a hard pill to swallow, but I have to call it a season. I have been dealing with an achilles tendon problem since August, and it was recently diagnosed as a tear. My body needs time to heal, and my mind needs a break as well.
Trials races didn't go like I had hoped this year. I've won the US IBU Cup trials for the past 3 years in succession, but this year I was plagued with bad luck every step of the way. My trigger broke during the August races, and the nationwide winter storms wreaked havoc with my travel to get to the December races at Mt. Itasca. The relentless weather continued into the race series, creating the slowest and coldest race conditions I have ever experienced. This didn't work to my advantage as a big guy (190+ lbs), but I did manage to finish 2nd in the final race.
I don't want to spend this entire post complaining, however, so I will comment on some positive things. Despite not qualifying to race in IBU Cups/World Cups/Olympics this year, I still have the option of continuing in biathlon in the future. To be top 10 in the world is probably never going to happen, but I do think I have enough potential to race in the World Cup someday.
For now, however, I am taking classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and looking at my options for education and a future career. I'm definitely not ruling out a comeback to biathlon, but I want to get a better grasp on what I can do in case biathlon doesn't work out. Hopefully my achilles will also heal in time given the proper treatment.
Enjoy winter!
Bill
2013-8-3
Summer update!
It has been an interesting and busy 3 months in my life. After a much-needed vacation to San Diego at the end of my season in April, May training began in earnest back home in Wisconsin. I took a break in the middle of that month to attend my brother's wedding in Marquette, MI. This was fun for me, as I had never been the best man at a wedding before! Everyone had a great time and things went smoothly. I also got some practice at public speaking, which is just as difficult as racing and training in my book!
At the end of May, I flew out to Bend, Oregon for on-snow training. Bend arguably has the best spring skiing on the planet, so it was great to stay in touch with the snow feel and get some quality training in. The weather up on Mt. Bachelor was quite volatile at times, ranging from clear blue skies, to rain, to a full-on blizzard. As a racer, however, you have to learn to deal with all kinds of conditions. I love afternoon training in Bend, as the milder weather allows for rollerskiing, biking, or running on an endless trail network.
In June, I moved into my new apartment in Canmore and began the biggest month of training in my life. By the end of the month, I accumulated around 100 physical hours of training. This put me under and might have been a bit excessive, but international biathlon is so competitive these days that it requires big risks to have any chance at success. I think I had to take about 6 rest days after this training month to recover!
July saw more hard training in Canmore and then a trip back home to Wisconsin, where I have been for the past 3 weeks. I was feeling great in training and beginning to think I was unstoppable, when I strained a muscle and was forced to take some time off. It was a good reminder that there are limits to how much and how hard I can train, and probably ended up being for the better in the long run.
I am feeling better now and getting ready to head to Jericho, VT for the North American rollerski championships next week. It should be a fun time!
Thanks for reading,
Bill
2013-4-10
Season over!
My races at North American Championships in Whistler went OK with two 3rd place finishes. It was interesting to race again after such a long break (2 months) in the middle of the season. As a result, ski speed was definitely lacking in the sprint and pursuit, but felt much better by the end of the mass start. There will be some changes in my training for next year to fix problems and get better. I have lots of ideas for how to do this with the main goal of increasing ski speed, so it will be interesting to see what happens.
Now that April is here, however, it's time to take some rest and repair the damage done by an insane travel schedule and 11 months of pushing my body to the limit. I'm already feeling better though, and am enjoying fun things like easy spring skiing and spending time with friends! I will also be heading down to San Diego towards the end of the month. This should help me disconnect from biathlon and enjoy a nice mental break.
Enjoy the spring!
Bill
2013-3-4
The racing season is on the final stretch, and I am back in Canmore enjoying some great skiing. I really enjoy training here and it has become like a second home to me over the past 2 years. At the end of a hard season with lots of traveling, racing, and training, it is important to remember that skiing is fun. I will be traveling to Whistler BC in a few days for the North American Championships....it should be a good time.
Thanks for checking in!
Bill
2013-2-5
I recently returned home from IBU Cup competition in Otepaa, Estonia and Ostrov, Russia. The trip was an interesting one to say the least. I was excited to see Russia for the first time and to experience their culture. While hot dogs and mashed potatoes aren't an ideal breakfast (!), a racer is forced to adapt to their surroundings and roll with things instead of stressing out. I'm learning to do that more and more as I continue in the sport.
My races went well and I managed to clean (0-0 shooting) the 10km sprint race in Otepaa with fast and improved shooting times. I was happy to have my best-ever international finishes of 34th and 35th. My ski speed still isn't quite cutting it at the highest level, however, so I will continue to take risks and train hard for next year. Maybe things will go better then.
All for now!
Bill