January 15, 2009 (Ruhpolding, Germany) – All is good here in Germany. Racing went pretty well last week and it felt great to get back in the points. I was 22nd in the sprint (out of 118 racers) and was only about 14 seconds out of the top ten. Although results in the 20’s are not what I’m aiming for, this was a solid result for a day when I did not feel so great. Right from the start of the race I could tell that I was not 100%. Because of this, I was very pleased to still be able to pick up some valuable points.

The crowds in Oberhof were amazing and the stadium seemed louder than ever. We had a crowd of 25,000 for Saturday’s race and noise in the stadium was absolutely deafening. My ears were literally ringing after the race. Racing this week should be equally exciting, as Ruhpolding draws similar crowds to those in Oberhof.

I feel like I’m improving physically and mentally with each race, so I am hoping for some good results this week. My first race will be the relay tomorrow night under the lights and then I have a sprint on Saturday and Pursuit on Sunday.