The season is over and I am kind of excited about a little R and R but before it ended it was quite an exciting finish. I came to Minneapolis (my home town) to race Nordic Junior Nationals. I have never raced JN before and this was my last year of eligibility and it was in my home town so I had to do it. I was not in the greatest shape but that was not going to stop me from enjoying the experience. Everything was a mix of my life from 10 months ago with my life from this past 10 months which was a real cool way to finish out my first year of full time training. I still prepped for all my races like I have for the past year but I was able to live with my parents instead of at the hotel. We still had an opening ceremonies just like at Junior World Champs but instead of international guys talking in languages that I don’t understand, Alan Page, somewhat of a childhood hero of mine, was speaking.
As a biathlete JN or JO’s (Junior Olympics) is never a huge deal to me but it is the premier event for Nordic skiers 19 years old and younger. I am so happy that I went this JO’s just so I was able to experience the event that so many talented athletes strive to be successful at. It was definitely a bonus that it was in my home town as I knew a lot of the organizers and volunteers. You could definitely say that it was a once in a life time experience, especially considering that this was the first time that Minneapolis hosted such an event.
After JO’s I returned to familiar setting at Biathlon Nationals held in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids was the site of the first Nationals that I have ever done and I have done more national level races there than anywhere else. I will admit that I felt a little out of place at JO’s and it was really nice to return to the biathlon circuit.
The end of the season is always a little sad but I can definitely say that I have a lot of really fun memories that I can take with me as I prepare for next year and beyond.
No comments:
Post a Comment