Summer Altitude Camp Training and the First Big Block of Olympic Prep!
60 hours of training, 20 days, 2 locations, and 1 happy and tired biathlete!
Summer training is where a lot of the money gets put in the bank for cross country skiers and biathletes. Most skiers like to get in at least one month of that training at altitude, bonus if it is in a location with great facilities and good training partners. Altitude training has many benefits, I won’t go into great detail in this blog post, but the basics are that when at a high altitude (1500-3000m) the atmospheric pressure is lower so less oxygen is being pushed into your lungs. Your body has to adapt and create more red blood cells to make up for the decreased availability of oxygen. Higher RBC count means higher aerobic capacity and faster racing!
The first location of the US Biathlon national team summer altitude camp was in Livigno, Italy. Livigno sits at 1,816m (5,958ft) in the Italian Alps, making it a hot spot for summer training. You may have seen some recent instagram posts from Klaebo training on the bike path through town. I had 10 days of training in this area, our team collaborated with the Finnish national biathlon team on many training sessions. Highlights included multiple hikes through the alps, and a big road bike ride to Switzerland. My favorite training session from this camp was an L3 skate workout up Passo del Stelvio, a famous pass that is 2,758m high. Total elevation gain for this workout was 1,282m.
Pics: left to right: 1. Hiking with the Finnish biathlon women, 2. road bike to Switzerland, 3. top of Passo del Stelvio with teammate Grace Castonguay.
Up next was 10 days in Antholz at 1,600m. Antholz is the host of the biathlon events at this winter's Olympic games. They have a 2.5k roller loop that is connected to the biathlon stadium, ideal for summer combo sessions. The arena is surrounded by mountains making it a great place for hiking as well. At this stretch of camp we were joined by the Italian men’s team for some time trial sessions. Time trials in the summer can be a great way to see where you are fitness-wise. They are especially insightful for biathlon because you can see how your shooting has improved with high intensity. Sometimes you have switched something in your shooting position that may not work while having a high heart rate. These are valuable things to learn before the season starts. Getting to train at the olympic venue was definitely a highlight of this camp and I am very excited to get the season started and try to qualify for my first olympic games!
Pics: 1. Hiking around Antholz. 2. Interval shooting practice at the Olympic venue.
All for now,
Luci