Monday, January 27, 2014

January Racing and An Opportunity Abroad







The month of January is always chock-full of racing for any Nordic athlete. I did my best to move on from the disappointing and generally poor racing I did in December and enjoy my skills and fitness level for the remainder of the winter.

The first step in this process was to re-visit some basic fitness development. The process of achieving peak fitness, which I attempted to do in December for the IBU Cup Trials, sacrifices factors such as strength development and aerobic development in favor of high intensity training and rest. This allows for a short period of high performance, but is not sustainable for an entire season. My mid season training block went well and I carried hopes for European Racing later in the month through my time on the ski trails and in the weight room.

Following this intense week in Fort Kent, I took the opportunity to race without my rifle for a weekend and contest an Eastern Cup weekend with my MWSC teammates. Even though I am a biathlete, I still enjoy the simplicity and speed of cross country racing.
The weekend featured a  15km mass start freestyle on Saturday and a 10km individual start classic on Sunday. The Men’s field in Saturday’s mass start was extremely competitive. It featured Kris Freeman, my MWSC teammate and the #2 distance skier in the country. Kris was recently declared a member of Team USA heading to the Sochi Games. (Go Kris!)

My other MWSC teammate Welly Ramsey, fresh off a top 10 finish at US XC Nationals toed the line as well.  In addition Matt Liebsch and Sylvan Ellefson who both hold top 5 US cross country rankings started the race.  (Unfortunately neither where selected for Sochi) Finally members of Vermont’s Craftsbury Green racing team where in attendance making the field only a few racers short of a national championship.

Thanks to my coach Seth Hubbard I had incredibly fast skis and I was well prepared to ski fast. I finished 6th, only 48 seconds behind the leaders. This race was encouraging for me because it showed I am near the front of the domestic XC racing scene.

The Sunday classic race was fun and challenging. Even though I am a biathlete, I enjoy classic skiing. (Biathlon is only freestyle) Classic skiing uses a different set of stabilizing muscles then freestyle, so I was quite sore during and after the race. I was happy with the technical aspects of my skiing and came away with a 7th place finish. Not bad for my only fast classic skiing since last April…

The Maine Winter Sports Center team had an excellent weekend, posting top finishes in nearly every category and surely earning the respect of the other top clubs in attendance.
The next set of races I travel too wrapped up yesterday in Jericho, Vermont. The North American Championships brought together the few (4) Senior age- athletes from the USA and Canada who were not selected to race in Europe by their respective governing bodies to contest a Sprint, Pursuit and Mass Start competitions over 3 days.

I skied well on Friday and fought hard on both Saturday and Sunday.  My shooting continued to be well below acceptable. I placed 1st in the Sprint, 2nd in the Pursuit and a close 3rd in the Mass Start. I am still searching for a solution to my poor shooting. At this point I feel it can only improve…

 The most important development in my season came early last week, when the Maine Winter Sports Center and the Craftsbury Green Racing Project biathlon teams were granted by US Biathlon, the opportunity to race in an Alpen Cup race in Slovenia and the Austrian National Championships. With poor selection results and limited numbers of start rights on the World Cup and IBU Cup these races represent a golden opportunity to test my skills against some of the best athletes in Europe.





Unfortunately, the late announcement and lack of financial support will make this trip a huge monetary challenge. I am currently looking for tax-deductable donations to go toward my travel and ground costs for this important racing opportunity abroad. If you or your organization is interested in being a part of this crucial development opportunity please contact me at Raleigh.goessling@gmail.com. 


This season is far from over and I am taking every step possible toward producing the results I know I am capable of.