November 29, 2008 - Finally some real snow!  It’s been cold and winter-like here in Sweden for the past week but not really much natural snow.  Finally this afternoon (and yes it’s pitch-black by 3pm), it started to snow.  I took this picture from the porch of our apartment.  We’ve been staying up here at the venue for a little over a week now.  Tomorrow we head back to civilization and a real hotel.  I have to say, it’s been pretty ideal for training though.

A lot of the other countries are starting to roll into town now.  The first start is on Wednesday next week with the Women’s 15km Individual.  Then the men have the 20km Individual on Thursday.  We’ve spent the week training and resting, the toughest part of the sport.  The closer you get to racing, the less training you do.  This gives your body a chance to recover completely so that, in theory, you’re at 100% when you hit the start line.  So, I’ve finished my book, updated my website twice in the last two weeks (a new personal record), played a lot of guitar, and gotten the most out of a high-speed internet connection.  Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.

-Lowell