BIATHALON!!

It's a great combination! Xcountry skiing + shooting are skills for tracking and killing game in the winter. Also, a skill that gets your heart rate way up + a skill that requires calm. The shooters have to fire between heartbeats.

We can do whatever we want. Luge + ski jumps!

(haha, Thea - I would totally buy that 7".)

I'm sorry, I'm obsessed today with how people look.

I’ve started doing biathlon training with the intent of competing in the winter. While the sport is only practiced in the Great Lakes and New England here in the US I’ve found it difficult to find a suitable range near Boston. Of the two ranges located in the metro area, one is only about four blocks away. Its a total cop joint and the place smells like piss and there’s whacky right-wing propaganda everywhere. I’ve been told unless you’re shooting with the Boy Scouts its unlikely to find much better.

Its also difficult to find a broker who carries a Marlin 2000L biathlon kit, or something similar, nearby. Though at this point I’m a bit more worried about finding a good pair of skis. I’m also completely afraid of gun shows which doesn’t help the lack of gun situation. The other thing with gun ownership that I’ve been thinking about is how-to break it to my progressive roommates that I want to keep a rifle in the house.

Conditioning too is a bit weird too. I’m a long time fly half in rugby so I wouldn’t think it’d be a problem. I was wrong. Also, half of conditioning is mental exercises which I started today. The whole process has this new age mediation feel to it and its strange when you realize after you bring your heart rate down you have to shoot some shit.

... Yikes. I really need a LiveJournal.

One other interesting tidbit: apparently after a month or two of training I’ll be able to skip a heartbeat with my mind.

93: start terrible xc skate visits for winter workouts
94: upgrade gear a bit, still no technique and horrible
95-01: few times a year for variety still, i'm awful, i don't care it's fun and hard
01-19: no xc, it's middle age, other pursuits, family comity, and a severe bike injury
19: 'i should stop riding bikes it's gonna finally kill me, i'll try xc again'
early 2020: 'fuck driving an hour each way for this, there's gotta be a better way to get this awesome workout.' decide to acquire and learn rollerskiing to enjoy "xc" but locally on asphalt. also get addicted to watching biathlon and esp biathlon relay.
mid to late 2020: rollerskiing 2-3x/week, it's risky but also incredibly efficient upper body workout. make effort to learn technique improvements
now: snow xc once or twice a week. rollerski otherwise. i think want a to do xc with targetshooting.

i guess that's how you'd fall into that mess. seems like the range/gear is a lot of unnecessary cost and interference with fun to me, tho.

i remember in new england in 93 bumping into someone who did "ski-arc"? like archery biathlon. i don't think that sounds better or worse really.

most surprising thing is how much i actually like rollerskiing, despite it's horrific abrasion risk

its