Tim Burke arrived home from Sweden yesterday after an amazing camp

09/08/06  Tim Burke

Action Menu Hi, I arrived home from Sweden yesterday after an amazing camp. The whole camp went really well but it sure is nice to back home. The first week of the camp was held in the small town of Soleftia, Sweden. The focus during this week was to adjust to the time change and start preparing for the summer races that we would compete in during the second week. From Soleftia we moved to the small city of Ostersund for the second week. Our first day in Ostersund was spent at the Ostersund University Sports Science Lab. This is a lab where skiers from all over the world come to get tested by some of the most respected physiologists in the world. The testing is completed on a giant treadmill where you roller-ski while breathing into a machine that measures the air you breath in and the air you exhale. The goal of the test is to stay on the treadmill for as long as possible but for every minute that you stay on, the treadmill goes faster. The test is completed when you can no longer keep up with the treadmill. At the end of the test the machine that you have been breathing into gives all sorts of reading about how much oxygen your body is using and at what point your body starts to shutdown. This is a great tool to determine if the training you have been doing is effective and to determine what you need to focus on for the future. My coaches and I were very pleased with my results; they showed that I have been training hard and also what areas I need to focus on a bit more. The last part of our week in Ostersund consisted of three races in three days. These races were what I was really looking forward to during the camp because I was going to get to compete against some of the best biathletes in the world from Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. Once again I was very pleased with my results, as I was the top American finisher in all three races, placing 7th in all three races. These were really solid results but at the same time I was a bit disappointed because the top six in each race won prize money. I couldn't believe my luck of being seventh all three days and even being within 2 seconds of fifth in the last race. Oh well, I guess that is just going to make me train harder for the winter! Our last week was spent in the small town of Torsby, Sweden where they have the ski tunnel that I mentioned before (attached is a picture from inside the tunnel). It felt great to get back on snow, even if it was in an underground tunnel that was only 1.3 kilometers in length. Anytime that I can get on snow in the summer is a huge bonus and this was certainly no exception. It's so important to have a fresh feeling of what skiing is like so you know what to focus on in training. All in all the camp was a big success and it was well worth the four days that I spent in airports getting to and from Sweden. I am now back in Lake Placid and will be here until the beginning of October. It feels great to get back although it definitely feels as if summer has passed and fall is here. I hope all is well and thanks for all of your support! My Best, Tim

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