Courtesy of Christian Manzoni
When most people think of cross-country skiing, rarely do they associate it with shooting firearms. The sport alone brings to mind incredible fitness levels, cold weather, and tremendous coordination requirements. Biathlon brings together target shooting and sky high heart rates to set the stage for a extremely difficult nordic event. Sara Studebaker is America’s top ranked female biathlete, and competed in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Sara is helping Restwise break into the winter sports arena and she was kind enough to answer some questions from here Lake Placid, NY home.
RW: How long have you been in biathlon? Why/How did you get involved?
SS: I started out as a cross-country skier and found out about biathlon when I was in Junior High. I did a little bit of biathlon through High School, but when I went to college decided to focus on skiing. After I graduated from Dartmouth College in 2007, I was offered a spot on the US Biathlon Development Team and moved to Lake Placid, NY to live and train full-time at the Olympic Training Center.
RW: Are you working with a coach? How do you two integrate Restwise into your training?
SS: I work with several coaches from US Biathlon. One coach writes my training plan, and two that help me and the other biathletes in Lake Placid with day-to-day implementation of the training plan. Since Restwise is fairly new to both my coaches and myself (Zach and I are the only two athletes on the US Biathlon Team that currently use Restwise), we haven’t yet decided to best way to bring it together with the training. Right now, I use it mostly to help me be better in-tune to my body’s signals.
RW: What have you noticed different about your training and fitness since using Restwise?
SS: There are times when you might be heading towards overloading when you don’t want to, and it’s nice to be able to see that in advance and use that to help decide if you need an extra rest day or an easier workout.
RW: Anything you would like to change about Restwise?
SS: The one thing I would change is that you have to be online to enter your data. Often when we are traveling, it can be tough to find reliable internet, and it would be helpful to have an off-line program to use when you can’t get online.
(Ed. note – the iPhone application is now available)
Courtesy of Christian Manzoni
RW: How does living with another Restwise athlete, Zac Hall, help you? Do you two compare rest states etc?
SS: Zach and I live next door at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Lake Placid. We do compare resting states and it’s been interesting to see what one small difference in reporting means for either of us in our rest score. It’s also good because we can see when each other are getting tired or over worked and help each other go to bed earlier or make smarter training decisions.
RW: What do you feel makes Restwise so easy to use?
SS: Having very few components to report makes it a quick process-I often complete the form before even going to breakfast. Also, using the pulse oximeter makes taking morning heart rate much easier-I’ve tried to take my morning HR before, but it was always so inconsistent when you’re trying to count bpm’s at 6:30am!
RW: For the aspiring Nordic skier, what is your training volume like? Hours skiing and gym time, sort of a “what does it take”?
Courtesy of Gary Colliander
SS: This year I plan to train 720 hours. Sometimes that number ends up smaller because of sickness or travel, but that’s the goal. In addition to that time, I’ll spend about 150 hours doing shooting specific training. And that’s all in addition to rest time, travel time and preparation. It’s pretty much a full-time job which, at this level, is necessary. It takes a lot of time and work to get top level in any sport, and for Nordic skiing and biathlon, it’s especially tough because athletes don’t peak until their upper 20s or mid 30s. It’s a long road, but very rewarding.
RW: Thanks Sara, we wish you the best of luck in your summer training and upcoming winter! To stay up to date with Sara’s training and racing, you can check her out at sarastudebaker.blogspot.com
As a long time rugby coach, America’s Cup sailor, and Performance Training Centre owner, 
The signs and symptoms of fatigue, stress and over-reaching in athletes are well documented, and despite the hundreds of studies and publications on identifying markers of fatigue and over-reaching, as yet no single reliable marker has been determined (although numerous have shown empirical evidence in specific circumstances or cohorts). In addition, there are few (if any) reliable diagnostic tools available. With this in mind, a diagnostic tool which has a combination of markers is likely to increase the accuracy of identifying an athlete’s state of recovery.
RW: Have you had some fun seeing your rest scores and adapting your training to fit?
