Training, Racing, and a Trip Home to Alaska

The past several weeks have seen lots more training, a little racing, and a fair bit of travel. During the first week of August I had some downtime thanks to a muscle spasm in my back. I've been focusing most of the summer on a few technique changes that, for whatever reason, seemed to precipitate me being laid up for a few days. As unfortunate as forced breaks typically seem, there is usually a silver lining. This time was no exception. I was able to get a few projects finished up and at the same time I rested more than would have been possible otherwise. August 8th and 9th were the US Biathlon Summer National Championships so I was doing everything possible to be ready to race. While still not yet 100%, I was able to race and posted very good ski times. My shooting was less than stellar, but taking into account the events leading up to the races, I was very pleased with my races.

Shooting Prone in the Sprint Race.

Headed for the Finish.

The day after Summer Nationals concluded in Jericho, VT, I got on a plane bound for Alaska. The last time I was home was in September of 2008 so it had been almost a full year since the last time I saw my family. I am very appreciative of all that the US Biathlon Development program offers for athletes in Lake Placid, but I wish there was some way to spend more time training in Alaska. The state has so much to offer its distance athletes and we even have a brand new world class biathlon range sitting in the middle of Kincaid park (unfortunately no roller loop yet). For better or worse though, my coaches are in Lake Placid, the US Olympic Committee provides room and board at the Olympic Training Center, and we have one of the best combined rollerski loops and shooting ranges in the country so the current situation has been great. Anyway, I'll get back on topic. I spent a full three weeks at home. While in Anchorage I got to spend lots of time with my family and was able to do great training in the mountains and on the trails that are both in and surrounding Anchorage. Talk about a well set up trail system. It is possible to get from one side of Anchorage to the other without having to deal with traffic. No cars and no lights to contend with. Just great multi-use trails that support the thriving outdoors community. An added benefit too, if you're lucky, is the chance run-in with a moose or bear. No worries though. They are far more interested in what's to eat off the trail than, in the case of the bears, the spindly-legged runners with PowerBars sticking out of their pockets. Speaking of animals, check out the beautiful bull moose that I nearly ran over while doing intervals on the Coastal Trail in Kincaid Park.

Share the trails!

Downtown Anchorage from the Coastal Trail.

While in Alaska I had opportunity to do a few great hikes in the mountains. One of the hikes was a 15 mile epic that I did with my dad and brother. We thought we were headed to a high mountain lake to fish for grayling and trout. Unbeknownst to us though, we had directions to the wrong trail head. We had a beautiful hike instead that took us up a long valley towards a huge glacier. No fish, but the scenery was fantastic and the weather couldn't have been better. Check out the picture below of Eagle River and the Eagle River glacier in the background.

Exploring the AK Backcountry with my Dad.

To top off a great visit home, my family planned a weekend camping trip in the Matanuska Valley. We took canoes, bikes, dogs, and, if my recollection serves me, a kitchen sink or two as well. :) It's one thing to eat freeze-dried meals on a backpacking trip, but 'road' camping with my family is a happening - complete with eggs and bacon, gluten free muffins, and other tasty treats. Beautiful weather graced us until the last day of the trip so we had plenty of opportunity to wear ourselves out. Between training sessions in the mornings, chasing my niece and nephew around all day, and hanging out around the fire, my 'vacation' was nearly more than I could handle. It's a rare treat to spend so much quality time at home.

The Hall kids!

I've been back in Lake Placid now for a couple of weeks. Training is going well and I feel on track to have a great season. I set a personal record last week in a shooting test and another PR today in a time trial so I'm feeling good going into the fall training. Of course, the leaves have already begun to change and the air is crisp in the mornings, two key ingredients that hint at the snow and racing that will be coming in the not too distant future. I'll be leaving in a week to spend a little time training in Boise with Sara before heading to Heber City, Utah - host of the 2002 Nordic and Biathlon Olympic races - for the fall National Team camp. While there I'll have two races that will help decide the 5th man to be named to the December World Cup team. I'm looking forward to the coming weeks of training and the challenges that they will bring. I'll do my best to keep you updated with all of the nitty gritty. Until next time...get out there and enjoy the fall.

Summer Training

The training season has been progressing really well so far. I'm always amazed at how quickly the weeks pass when the days are filled from top to bottom with training. I'm typically up with the sun and it seems as though it's time for bed way before it should be.

Shooting on our computer-operated SCATT machine

Spring training was effective and went smoothly. We lucked out with weather here in Lake Placid. Typically the spring can be wet and unpleasant, but we floated through relatively unscathed. I did a lot of focused technique work early in the season and was happy to see that both my technique and shooting scores were improved compared with the same period last year. While I spent the majority of my spring in Lake Placid, I did get away for a weekend to Boston for the Dartmouth Wearers of the Green, a banquet that honors current and former Dartmouth athletes for their achievements. It was great to reconnect with some of my Dartmouth teammates - all very accomplished athletes and one of whom has run a sub 4 minute mile. I think Mikey ran a sub 6:30 once. He had a tail wind though... ;)

(L2R)Glenn Randall, me, Ben True(the Gazelle), Mikey Sinnot, & Patty O'Brien

After a solid spring we transitioned right into the June National Team camp. Most of the team was in Lake Placid for three weeks and the coaches and staff all made the trek from their respective homes in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Maine, etc. Compared to the two prior June camps, the focus was more on distance training and less on high intensity sessions. We certainly did our fair share of intensity, but it was easier to manage. I was excited to have the opportunity to work with the 'A' Team coaches during that period. Getting their feedback is always extremely beneficial. During the camp we had a couple of time trials, one a 10K and the other a relay, that went well for me. I skied and shot well, which reinforced that I'm doing good training. Check out the video below from one of the TT's.

The month of July was similarly good for training. I was able to put in lots of hours and kept the quality high. My goal going into the season was to increase the number of hours trained from last year and continue to focus on making each session count. Thanks to the generosity of all of my sponsors (please check out their websites on the right side of this page) I've been able to train more effectively and recover better than ever before. My goal of making the World Cup Team and qualifying for the Olympic Team would not be possible without the generosity of all those who have and do currently support me.

This weekend I'll be traveling to Burlington, VT for the North American Rollerski Championships, two races that will factor into team naming for the December World Cup team. I'm excited to test my training against some of the best biathletes in the country. Check back next week for an update on the competitions.

In other news, I'm heading home to Alaska next week to spend three weeks with my family and training in the mountains around Anchorage. The last time I was home was nearly a year ago so I can hardly wait. Aside from missing my family and friends in AK I have a nearly brand new nephew that I haven't yet met. Not to brag or anything, but check out my niece and two nephews...

Stephanie, Matthew, & Aaron Jr.

In still other news, for those of you who speak German, I now have a German Wikipedia site set up by an unknown fan. If you have any interest on practicing your German feel free to click the following link - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Hall .

NorAm Cups, US Nationals, & Canadian Nationals

The season was a success. It's been a while since I last updated my blog so I'll try to give a somewhat inclusive rundown of the latter half of the season. After returning from an educational and successful trip to Germany and the Czech Republic I had a few weeks with no scheduled races. I spent the time getting in a solid block of training to keep my fitness levels high for the second round of big races, mainly a few North American Cup races as well as the US and Canadian National Championships.

Snow in the east this year was better than average (read – there were only a few sessions that outside training was rained out completely and only one warm front came through that melted most of our snow and put us out of business for a few days until the next snow storm). Life as a skier based in the eastern states is characterized only by the need to be flexible. Negative 20 one day and 50 above the next seems to be the norm although, much to my dismay, we saw many more of those dreaded negative temp days this season. I don't know if El Nino or global warming had anything to do with it, but this was one of the oddest winters in which I've had opportunity to train and race. That's beside the point though. Following the mid-season break from racing I had a couple weeks of North American Cup competitions that went well despite a flue that I was fighting. I managed to stay marginally healthy through the two weeks of racing and was really happy to have had a couple of podium finishes. Unfortunately, the day after the last race I got really sick and took a not so lovely week-long vacation in bed. I wasn’t initially happy to have the unexpected down time, but it was probably for the best because it forced me to rest. The down time ended up being a great mental break that set me up well for the US and Canadian Championships.

We raced the US National Champs in northern Maine. I had some bad luck on the range in a couple of the races, but then turned around and had great shooting during the sprint competition and landed myself in third place, just one shot from a National Title. I was very happy with the result and am confident that my training is on the right track. The last weekend of racing in the season happened just outside of Quebec City. The weather was in the 40’s and 50’s every day so conditions were wet and challenging. Mental fatigue is always an issue for racers at the end of the season, but I was very pleased to perform well in the last races of the season.

I’m looking forward to the coming season. I’ve been renamed to the National B Team again this year and I feel like I have the tools at my disposal to continue seeing big improvements throughout the summer and fall training periods. I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of you who have continued to support my athletic endeavors. The Olympics are only 9 months away and the trials process starts even sooner so stay tuned for updates on my training and racing as the season progresses.