[/caption] Hill was lying on the ground after 13.2. Just a big, sweaty mass of firefighter in a fair bit of pain. “What’d I get?” he asked Crystal, who replied. “What’d Dan get?” Hill asked next. I love that sort of competitiveness. It’s why we work out together, and competing with each other makes us all better. The interesting part is that our drive to crush each other in workouts is balanced by an equal desire to see friends and teammates succeed. That’s where the picture comes in. One of my favorite moments on Friday night came when Justin did his workout in the last heat of the night. You can see how many people stayed to cheer him through it, and there were more outside the frame, applauding every rep. None of them had to stay until after 9 p.m., but they did. I often do the workouts by myself Thursday mornings with Crystal judging so I can write up a list of advice for our team, but I got lucky this week and did 13.2 with Brett, Tyson, Jenn and Erin around to cheer me on. I can say with confidence that they pushed me further than I would have gone alone. I owe them the last 10 reps—and probably more. Ultimately, you fight through each workout on your own. No one does any reps for you. But when there are a host of voices outside your head telling you to pick up the bar, they help overwhelm the voice inside your head that tells you to let it sit on the rubber. You’re the one doing the work, but I’d suggest the last 10 reps in your workout don’t really belong to you. They belong to the classmates who sweat beside you and push you for the other 11 months of the year. They belong to the teammates who put up better scores for you to chase during the Open. They belong to the members, buddies and family members who come to cheer you on. They belong to the friends who believe in you more than you believe in yourself. And they belong to the people who won’t let you quit because they want to see you achieve everything you’re capable of achieving. Only six athletes contribute scores to the overall team score, but everyone in the gym has a big part in that number. Believe it. Up next: 13.3.
Fitness Training for Biathlon Beginners: Our Plan in Detail
How are we using the gym to prepare for the sport of biathlon? Check out two different training programs used by two novice biathletes.