GRP in Lake Placid: USBA Training Camp Edition

Written by GRP Biathlete Margie Freed

Almost all biathletes from the Green Racing Project have spent time in Lake Placid to some capacity. It is an Olympic venue, hosts many races, and the US National biathlon team bases out of the Olympic Training Center (OTC). 

I’ll give you a little insight as to what life is like during a training camp in Lake Placid with the biathlon team. 

The day to day schedule is basically the same every day. Alarm goes off at 7:00AM and after hitting snooze once, athletes will head off to breakfast. The OTC dining hall has what we need, but is much less wholesome compared to the Craftsbury one. This summer it has also been under renovations so everyone eats in the gym at folding tables with single use plates and utensils. Ugh!

Often running a little behind, athletes scurry around their hotel style rooms to grab the necessities for training- skis, boots, poles, helmet, rifle, change of clothes, snacks, and water. The Lake Placid roller loop and range is about a 10 minute drive away. Training runs for about 3+ hours, which includes time to set up, different shooting drills, and physical training. Then it's time to head back to the OTC.

Next up around noon is lunch, which on a sunny day everyone tries to eat outside similar to the COC. Following lunch comes recovery, aka nap time. The rooms at the OTC are pretty dark with a strong blasting air conditioner which makes it easy to relax. 

After a couple hours of resting, there is often afternoon shooting ‘slowfire’ practice, where athletes will often work one-on-one with a coach to dial in some specifics with the rifle. And after this, there's usually a second workout. Afternoon sessions either are easy distance or strength training. The great thing about training in Lake Placid is that there isn’t much else to do, so it's a great way to get in a lot of exercise hours. 

Finally, after a full day comes dinner where the team gathers in the gym/dining hall. Sometimes there are even ice cream sandwiches for dessert! Then it is off to bed and time to do it all over again. 

While this is the general schedule and not the most entertaining, training is always a bit different each day. Some days when I am in Lake Placid I have a little more energy to get out and will take a meal to eat by the lake or with a friend. One of the team favorite outings is getting ice cream at the local convenience store, Stewarts Shop. When I was there during August, I was even able to do the zipline off of the ski jump which was a great way to see the view from a different angle than what I am used to. Now you are hopefully able to picture what athletes do when they head off to training camp in Lake Placid.