I asked my friend, the biathlete, how he dealt with a high heart rate. For me, it's tough enough to try to time a shot between heartbeats at a resting rate. What about such a high rate? How do you time between rapid beats?

Interestingly, his coach told him not to wait for his heart rate to drop; or to try and calm it. Apart from wasting precious time, you're better off shooting with the vibration (high rate) than bumps (slower). Evidently it's like driving on a dirt road. Go faster and it feels smoother. Go slower and you feel every bump and rock. Counter-intuitive to me, but then athletics for me is more like yardwork and beer runs.