Biathlon

Biathlon combines two sports: typically Nordic skiing and target shooting. Races generally consist of three or five laps, with two or four shooting stages between the laps of skiing. A penalty is assessed for each missed shot. Most often, this is a penalty lap of 150 extra meters of skiing.

On the Concept2 Indoor Rower and SkiErg, you can use the Biathlon Game to row/ski intervals alternating with target shooting or some other activity. You can choose from a range of penalty distances, or no penalty at all.

The Biathlon game teaches heart rate zone awareness and control through intervals of varying intensity.

How To Get

The Biathlon game is available for all PM4s and for PM3s with serial numbers greater than 300200000. It is automatically included in PMs running the following firmware versions (released November 2010) or later:

  • PM4 Firmware Versions 26 and 313
  • PM3 Firmware Version 311

If you have an older PM and would like the Biathlon game, you need to upgrade your PM to the latest firmware version.

How to Play

There are two modes of biathlon play: With Penalty and Without.

Printable Instructions

Download instructions  How to Play
  • With Penalty: After each interval, you will enter the number of penalties incurred from zero to five. The total penalty distance to complete will be the penalty distance multiplied by the number of penalties incurred. You must complete these meters before proceeding to the next interval/lap.
  • Without Penalty: When you set up your workout, choose "None" for penalty. You will simply have an undefined rest time of up to 10 minutes between your intervals. When you are ready to start the next interval, press Continue and then start to row/ski.

The computer keeps track of your "range" time and your total elapsed time. Penalty laps show up on the logged workout detail as a separate interval with zero rest. You can Re-Row or Re-Ski the game workout, but penalty intervals and range time will be exactly as they were when you completed the workout originally.

To access the Biathlon game:

  1. From the PM Main Menu, choose Games > Biathlon.

  2. On the Biathlon + Setup screen, choose the number of intervals you want (from two to 15), the interval length, and whether you want a penalty. The Penalty options are None, 50m, 100m, 150m, 200m, and 250m.



    When set up is complete, press the checkmark to get started.
  3. Start rowing/skiing. The PM displays data for your first interval.

  4. At the end of the lap, "rest" or "range" time begins, and the monitor prompts you to "Stop Skiing" or "Stop Rowing."

  5. When you stop, the Penalty Screen appears if you are playing with penalties. (If you are playing without penalties, press Continue when you are ready to begin the next interval.)

    After completing your range time, press the button that corresponds to the number of penalties you incurred. For example, if you are shooting, choose the number of shots missed.

  6. The PM calculates the penalty lap and displays it on the screen. For this example, our penalty lap is 150 meters, because we selected a penalty lap distance of 150 meters during game setup and had one penalty during our range time (one penalty times 150m per penalty = 150m penalty lap). Complete the penalty lap.



    When you are finished, your next true interval (lap) begins. When you complete all the intervals, you can review your results.

Reviewing Results

Notes:

  • "Total time" in the upper right of the screen shows total elapsed time (work plus penalty and range times).
  • On the summary line, time is the sum of the work and penalty amounts only.
  • The 2nd interval of 150 meters is a penalty interval. This can be identified by the r:00 0 line below it.
  • The r:50 227 indicates that the rower/skier didn't see the "Stop Rowing/Skiing" message and completed 227 meters during the range time.
  • The last interval shows :02.0 seconds with zero meters. This is to accommodate a legacy software design limitation where rest times are stored only in five second increments and not tenths of seconds.To ensure the Total Time value for the piece is accurate, the PM adds a final interval to the piece to make up for any unaccounted rest time. For example, if your workout has 17.0 seconds of rest, the PM can only record 15 seconds, because of the five second increment limitation. To account for the missing two seconds, the PM adds a 2.0 second 0 meter work interval at the end of the piece.