The training is all finished now. Nothing more can be done physically, it all comes down to the mental acumen and psychological state at this point. How well can we anticipate the controls appearing exactly where they should? How well can we overcome the inevitable problems that will arise? The team is in good spirits right now, but there is an undercurrent of excitement and nerves, even though most of us are old hands at this. This is the 13th WOC for Eric!
I feel good. I had a good session today, doing my pre-race 3x3min blow-outs in the terrain and spiking controls, and I have my mantras and my keywords ready. The only trouble is my massive horsefly bite on my thigh that itches constantly!
More teammates arrived last night - we're nearly a full house, only missing Sam now, who is arriving after the sprint. Food is good and plentiful, sleeping is quiet and peaceful, games are fun, and the forests are fast. What more can you ask for?
Hannah, dashing through the woods
A free-range Rosstopher, prancing on the mossy ground
Angry birds paraphernalia is everywhere! Clearly the national pasttime, as well as the national economy driver. I may have downloaded and finished the free version of the game within a day and a half...
Angry birds gummies! They have a salted licorice bird in there, which is about as gross as it sounds, but the Scandinavians seem to love that stuff.
Finland appears to be well-wired. Or unwired, depending on how you look at it. This has been good for spectating the Junior World Champs, just wrapping up today in the Czech Republic.
More photos of beautiful terrain. This stuff is faaast. (or is that fäst?)
I'm collecting a whole pile of sleeping-Brendan photos.
Euro supercar! Tiny, and very efficient
Alison and Eric on the swingset. Woo!
And some maps, of course:
Long distance model map, with my route from the 3x3s that I did.
Sprint training in Lohtaja, near Kajaani.
Some middle distance training, on the ski slope map from behind our first cabin.
And some more sexy forest training! O'tervals on a map with sandy mossy ground and very fast speeds. So sweet.
More contours on this one.
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