Casey Smith Biathlete: Testing, Testing, Testing

The last few days have been full of testing, some of it I have already talked about and some of it I haven't even done yet. Since my last blog update we have actually only done two tests a 4km rollerski TT that we did twice and the French shooting test. The rollerski TT went pretty well, I thought I was able to push hard and managed to keep my technique together fairly well. On both rounds of the TT I started 30 seconds ahead of Lowell and was able to hold him off for about the first 3km of gradual climbing then he caught me on the last 1km of more flat rolling terrain. Even though he caught up to me on both rounds I was able to stick right behind him and did not get dropped. I like this short-mid distance race because it is longer then a sprint but short enough that there isn't much pacing involved, it is basically full gas from the start.

Results from the 4km TT

In the afternoon after the rollerski TT we did the French shooting test again, if you haven't been following me and don't know what the "French Test" is I explain it here. The precision part of the test went very well, I'm pretty sure I shot my best ever precision target. I shot a 94 prone and 83 standing for a total of 177. In the speed portions I struggled a little bit with two misfired shots, and I was just not going that fast. I think the misfires happened because my rifle was very dirty, it has since been cleaned.

French shooting test scores

If you are confused about the score targets there is a picture of one below. The way it works is you get the score of whichever ring the bullet is in. A standing biathlon target would be between the 3 and 4 ring and the prone would be between the 7 and 8 ring.

In between TT days we have just been doing easy workouts and I have been able to do some good technique sessions. On Saturday I skied on the treadmill working mostly on V2 and V1. The treadmill is very effective for technique because you don't go anywhere and so the coach can always be right in front giving feedback as well as there is a giant mirror in front of you where you can watch yourself. Today I did some technique work as well but this time I was on the road. The development coach Jean has one of the vans set up with a mirror in the back, he then sits in the back of the van with the mirror coaching while another person drives the van I ski along behind. This was my first time doing this and I thought it was effective but a little more sketchy then the treadmill because the van makes it so you can't see if there are any cracks or rocks in the road ahead.

Below are pictures of the range and roller loop in Lake Placid. The set up is small yet very effective for only a few athletes. The range has four electronic biathlon targets plus two mega link targets. The mega link targets sense where your shot hit the target and then relay that info back to a computer screen at the shooting mat, these are very cool and fun to shoot on. The range is also covered to keep out nasty wether and has sound barriers to prevent noise pollution since the range is very close to town.