A Summer of Highs and Lows - Cheresa Bouley
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- By Cheresa Bouley
A Summer of Highs and Lows
Summer training began in Lake Placid, New York, with the National Development group camp. We did VO2 Max testing, hard threshold workouts, and good technique workouts on skis. I was happy with how it went! I was feeling good and felt like I got some good training in, both shooting and skiing.
When I came home, I was excited because I was registered for Grandma’s marathon. After a little taper week, I toed to the start line to begin my first 26.2-mile race. I was ready. I was excited, I was fueled, and I was ready to try running 7:14 pace for the full race.
Good start. This is easy, I thought. I was cooking along at 7:00 miles through the half, but then mile 15 hit. I was thirsty, so I choked down like three glasses of water. Then mile sixteen hit, and here I am, trying to puke out everything I just drank. But… my body did not let me, so I kept going. And then I stopped again. Same thing. This time, a guy runs by me with the most enthusiasm, Hey, I puked too! And I’m thinking, that’s great for you, bro! I wish I could relate! Anyways, this happened for the last 10 miles of the race, and I’m just trying to finish. Needless to say, I was humbled. I would do it again, though.
So, then began an easy week of training just to recover. But then, I got sick. I didn’t want to stop training though, because my training hours on skis had not been significant. I kept training. A week later, I’m lying on my couch trying to recover from covid.
A week after that, I’m trying to ease my way back into training. It’s hard. I’m not feeling it, so I’m just trying to get out the door and do something. A week later, I’m racing. It’s not fast, but at least I’m trying to get back into it.
Fast forward to the next National Development camp. This is at the end of July. I’m feeling recovered: feeling good. The camp is small, which means I got a lot of one-on-one coaching time with the senior team coaches. I picked up some good advice.
So, when I’m at the National Roller ski Biathlon championships, I’m feeling ready. I’ve said my pre-race prayer and went off, telling myself, Do NOT go out too fast. Do NOT go out too fast. I took it pretty chill that first loop. It paid off. One miss. Standing shooting: One miss. Then I got off that sweaty freaking mat for my last lap, telling myself that I need to dig deep, let loose. This is it. And it went well. I was the third American. The second day I was the sixth American. It was solid!
When I came back, guess what I did? I’ll tell you- I got sick again. Thankfully, it did not last long; it was just another week of less training. It was needed, though. I was exhausted.
By the end of August, the National Team invited me to their camp. Since I coach cross-country, I was unable to attend the full camp and only made it out for a few days. However, they gave me some good shooting advice and good ski technique!
Overall, it was a great summer. Back at home, I got in summer good training with my coach, Bill Meyer, and had some fun.
In October, I had trials for the on-snow camp and November/early December IBU/World Cup races at Soldier Hollow, Utah. I arrived a week in advance to acclimate and prepare for them, focusing on hard combos. While there, I visited the Olympic ski museum and ran some awesome mountain trails!
The races came quickly. The competition was fierce this year, and it was humbling and inspiring to be surrounded by so many amazing athletes.
The first day was a 7.5KM sprint. Unfortunately, I had a bad zero and missed three on the first prone and then two in standing. My shooting did not go well, and although my skiing was strong, it did not put in a good finish spot.
The second day was a 10KM mass start. My shooting started out well- one miss, one miss, one miss, but then I finished with three misses. I was the 9th American on the day. My skiing went well; I skied over a minute faster on the course this year than last year!
Overall, I was the 10th American, but I needed to be in the top eight to qualify for the first round of races. My shooting just was not strong enough to put me in that position. The good news is that my skiing was strong, and it is usually more difficult to increase ski speed than shooting performance. My technique is finally coming together, and things are clicking!
I have another chance in December to qualify for the next round of winter racing, and I am excited to go for it! I am going to be consistent with my shooting positions, get in plenty of skiing, and see what happens next!
I am very blessed, and I thank God for the opportunities that I have. I am also thankful for my sponsors Lou and Vicki Chouinard, my coach, Bill Meyer, and Finn Sisu!
Thanks, Finn Sisu!
Cheresa