I'll throw my two cents in here

Kevin is right. Find yourself a club and start going to summer races. There is
a whole schedule of summer races, many are probably near you. Check out the
listing here:
http://www.wabiathlon.org/schedules/2008-summer-nationals.htm (this is really
just a listing of where and when summer races are in the US this season)
There is a race next weekend, probably near you.... April 19th.. info here:
http://www.pabiathlon.org/Test.site/Current%20Pages/Events.htm

Biathlon is perfect for you.... as it is a very techy sport. Lots of things
to think about, fiddle with, track, etc. One thing to remember...it is a race.
Whether you race competitively or recreationally (just for fun), the idea is to
have a good time. For some that just means being out there doing it and
interacting with a bunch of great people. For others it means improving
steadily and moving up the finish order (in addition to interacting with great
people). To do well in winter, you really need to do it in summer, too. Keep
stats on your workouts, and your shooting practice sessions. Get in shape, if
you're not now. You will find, summer or winter, it takes a good bit of
cardiovascular fitness. The fitter you are, the easier you can run/ski and stay
in the lead.... coming in to shoot while still in control. My problem has
always been that I have to run as hard as I can to stay with the front guys, and
my shooting would suffer as a result. If I'd been in better shape, I'd be able
to stay with them without taking my heart rate into the stratosphere.

So, crank up your heart rate monitor, download your workouts to your
computer, set yourself up a training plan (short answer: do 70-80% of your
workouts at BE "Basic Endurance", which means lots of long, slow distance. The
remaining 20-30% can be tempo and speed-work.) If those terms don't mean much
to you, subscribe to Runner's World magazine, or you can read a bunch on the web
about training.

Jay
in WA State
(Everyone, it is always good to identify WHERE you are when you post here.
People will be in a much better position to answer your questions or direct you
to events, etc.)

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