The wall is in your mind, not your body!

It doesn't really matter.

2012-01-15T23:32:00.000+01:00

Today's race was to be the one of my good performance. It was to be...

During the week everything went really OK. Tuesday's training was wonderful. There was a lot of strength on Wednesday and sore muscles afterwards. On Thursday the track intervals were pretty nice and actually not tiring. The last 2 days were spent just on resting and jogging. Today everything should have been great.

I started calmly in the intended pace of 3:30/km. My HR went up very early. I felt that something was wrong. I almost managed to keep this pace until the end (5km in 17:38), but losing more than 10 seconds to our young star Witek in a 'face to face' fight is far too much...

However, I am not gonna give up. My motivation is even higher than before. There seems to be no better motivator than a defeat.

Great O-weekend!

2012-01-09T23:03:00.001+01:00

On Saturday I had a really nice technical training. It was a really looong corridor in 3 different terrain types and at the end my legs got really tired. What's more, it was very hard to concentrate on the last loop... However, it was a magnificent session. More than 2,5h spent with the map in my hand!

In orienteering not only your technical skills are needed, but also your ability to run fast in the forest. That's why on Sunday I did a physical training on a special cross-loop (~1,2km almost only in the forest and a lot of it in a green forest...). I did 7 such loops with various intensity.

All in all, I feel that I made a great step forward in pursuing my goal on the right side of my blog.

Plans for the coming week:

Monday - jogging

Tuesday - moderate pace

Wednesday - strength training

Thursday - track intervals

Friday - free

Saturday - jog

Sunday - 5km race and probably a post here (?) :)

Winter preparations - 1st part

2012-01-05T21:48:00.003+01:00

It all began on 14th November. Well, began, but only on the paper...

Week no. 1
Illness and only 1 running session (8km).

Week no. 2
Almost no training, but two starts: Warsaw at Night (3rd place) and Grand Prix of Łódź (5km - 18:53). Disastrous feeling...

Week no. 3

The first week of REAL training, running every day. Started on Saturday in Christmas O-competition (middle distance) and took 2nd place.

Week no. 4

Everything went fine and we had a superb technical training session on Sunday.

Week no. 5

A tough training session on Monday (4x500m) and a test on Thursday (1500m - 4:19,4). On Friday to Zakopane.

Week no. 6

Training camp in Zakopane (more than 138km in 14,5h). On Friday back to Łódź to celebrate Christmas with my family.

Week no. 7

The whole week in Jagniątków on a sports camp with my club and friends from Poland. Although I did more than 148km in almost 16h, I am not completely satisfied with my training during that camp.

Week no. 8

It's right now. Fighting against a small illness and taking rest after the camps, but doing all the training sessions.

I hope everything's gonna start on the coming Monday!

Wind of change

2011-12-25T09:06:00.001+01:00

As promised, I updated the top and the right side of my blog yesterday.
There is some new interesting information there:

new motto
link to the website of my new Norwegian club - RAUMAR
updated section 'get to know me!'
new way to show my achievements
my Personal Bests from track, street and not only
the globe to see my O-journey
all Polish bloggers gathered in one place
'Follow me!' section - just do it!
statistics of total pageviews

And that's all for now, I think:)

Recently I've found an interesting article (in Polish) on the Internet. It is about Ronnie O'Sullivan - one of the best snooker players in the world...

O'Sullivan nie miał łatwego dzieciństwa. Jego ojciec - Ronnie senior - został skazany na 18 lat pozbawienia wolności za zabójstwo czarnoskórego ochroniarza. Po tym zdarzeniu nastoletni O'Sullivan popadł w depresję. Wówczas zaczęły się jego problemy z alkoholem i narkotykami. Ronnie senior jeszcze przed rozpoczęciem kary więzienia poprosił Ray'a Reardona, by ten poprowadził dalej dobrze zapowiadającą się karierę syna. W młodości Ronnie junior nie przykładał się do nauki. Na pytanie, co było jego ulubionym przedmiotem w szkole, odpowiedział, iż nigdy nie koncentrował się na nauce i od zawsze wiedział, że jego sposobem na życie będzie snooker. W końcu zerwał ze szkołą i całymi dniami przesiadywał w klubach snookerowych.
W 1994 roku w więzieniu znalazła się jego matka Maria (za malwersacje finansowe). Wówczas O'Sullivan musiał się zająć swoją młodszą siostrą Danielle i doglądać rodzinnych biznesów. Z początku nie udało mu się temu podołać - popadł w coraz większe uzależnienia spowodowane nasilającą się depresją. Ostatecznie jednak udało mu się wybrnąć z kłopotów i rozpocząć karierę snookerzysty.
Od tego czasu został trzykrotnie Mistrzem Świata, był pięciokrotnie pierwszy na Światowej Liście Rankingowej, zdobył najszybszego breaka maksymalnego podczas Mistrzostw Świata, został jedynym zdobywcą 3 breaków maksymalnych podczas Mistrzostw Świata. Ponadto wygrał 24 turnieje rankingowe i 28 turniejów nierankingowych.

21. You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.

Winter training and new Norwegian club

2011-12-20T11:30:00.000+01:00

Now I am staying in Zakopane on a winter training camp. It's already the 4th day of the camp and there are still 3 days left. Today we are having a rest day - just a morning jog, aquapark in a couple of minutes and then easy running, some speed-ups and strength exercises in the afternoon. I am coming back on 23th December in the late evening and on 26th December in the morning I am leaving for another sports camp - in Jagniątków.

One more news: I am happy to be a member of a Norwegian club - RAUMAR Orienteering. I joined this club together with Agata, Natalia and Witek. I hope the cooperation will develop great in the future!

P.S. I promise to update my blog during the Christmas time, so watch out;)

He was better.

2011-11-01T20:24:00.000+01:00

My mental state and physical shape were really good. I wanted to win the competition and I did my best! However, I lost the battle by 15 seconds. It's not that little. Obviously, I could have avoided making a huge mistake to the 12th control (1min), I could have avoided hesitations to the controls no. 14, 19, I could have kept the direction to the 21st control more precisely, I could have taken a better route choice to the 25th control, I could....... but I didn't!

And in sport (orienteering, especially) the winner is not the one who could, but the one who did!

All in all, I am very satisfied:
that I didn't hesitate to run fast,
that I took the challenge,
that I wasn't afraid of losing,
that I proved myself I'm able to compete on such a high level as he is.

Asphalt fever!

2011-10-20T21:31:00.000+02:00

Last two weekends I took part in 3 street races. I love this kind of competition and it's really nice that I found some time for it this autumn.

Uniejów, 10km
It was my second 10km street race (first one: more than a year ago in Gdańsk, running with fever, just after a training break, finishing with the time of 35:43). I had two goals to pursue: beat the time of 35mins and beat Pasza.
As soon as I reached the competition centre, I heard that there would be some pacemakers on the course - the fastest one to run 10km in 35:00. It was just wonderful news for me, because I felt almost sure that I would have no problems reaching my first aim then.
During the first 6 kilometres I felt like if it was just jogging (3:36, 3:32, 3:26, 3:24, 3:37, 3:30). Then, Pasza decided to leave the pacemaker, so did I. We ran together the next 3 kilometres (3:27, 3:28, 3:20). I had known I might have had problems winning the race with him on the last metres, so I decided to start my finish right now - I succeeded in keeping great pace on the last km (under 3:00) and finished with the time of 34:20 (some 9 seconds ahead of Pasza).
After the race I realised that I could have run the first 9 kilometres much faster, because my heart rate was pretty low - 174/186 and I pushed really hard only on the last kilometre. All in all, I was extremely satisfied with that performance!;)

Poznań, 10km
The course consisted of 2 loops of about 5,4km. That's why the distance was not exactly 10km - it was 10,85km. Firstly, my goal was to finish the race as fast as possible, but my goal changed during the course, but first things first...
I managed to start calmly and thought that the pace of the two girls (leading the women competition at that moment) would be OK for me. The first 3km in 3:28, 3:30, 3:28 was a good start, but then I felt it was too slow for me. I jumped to the next group of about 5-7 men, but it turned out to be too slow as well! Unfortunately, I had to run the next whole 7 kilometres alone...
After km no. 9 (3:24, 3:23, 3:25, 3:23, 3:22, 3:24) my goal changed - I wanted to beat 34mins for 10km. I managed to run the last kilometre in 3:11 and my time was 33:58. Mission accomplished;)
During the last 850 metres of the race I just jogged in the pace of 3:33/km (it may sound strange, but it really felt like jogging after sprinting for the last metres of 'my own 10km race').
This race was much harder for me than the one in Uniejów due to two reasons:
- a more difficult course (steep uphills on the 1st and 6th km);
- the fact that I had no pacemaker (not even a single runner to run with) for the last 7 kilometres.
My maximum HR was pretty surprising for me - 183. Interesting...
To sum it up, great day and new personal best!

Poznań, (half)marathon
On Sunday my dad ran the 12. Poznań Marathon. The course included 2 loops, so I decided to help him on the last one. Before the start I advised him to run with the pacemakers for 3:45 (his previous PB was 3:54). The weather was just perfect and I was sure he could do it.
I waited for him on the 20th km. I was really happy when I saw his funny POLSKA cap just behind the pacemakers. It was a really good sign. There were so many people there that I had difficulty in joining him! After each 5km there was a refreshment point and I grabbed a lot of cups with water and Powerade for him. It made the run much easier for him. Just after crossing the '38km' sign he wanted me to push the tempo. So now it was me who was his own pacemaker. Thanks to this long finish we managed to gain almost 2mins over his previous pacemakers and he reached the finish line with the time of 3:43:16 (3:41:58 netto)!
Personally, I ran more than 22km in 1:55 (5:13/km) and I must admit that it surely was my 'fastest' run for 22km in my life. By 'fastest' I mean that the time passed so quickly during the race that it was just amazing! There were 9 music bands on the course, a lot of spectators shouting and whistling, clapping their hands, a lot of people running with us - the atmosphere that I will never forget:)
Congratulations, Daddy!

In three days the last race of the season is going to take place - Polish Championships in superlong. I have never felt so well before this competition. The last preparations went just wonderful. I feel that I am ready, fresh and hungry. The only thing that interests me is to reach the gold medal. It's my last championship race as a junior, so I will do my best to end my junior career in the best possible way. Hope the competition's going to be tight! ;-)

Passion - that's what you need.

2011-10-07T22:39:00.000+02:00

A lot happened since the last post. Only one thing is common for the past weeks: the fact that my shape sucks.

However, I even managed to become the Polish Champion in night orienteering for the second time in a row. My race was far from perfect - more than 10 minutes lost to 'superman'.
I did even reach another medal - bronze in the long distance race. I lacked the appropriate motivation and my only goal was to finish the race. It's no fun getting medals in a way like this. Fortunately, I am coming to the elite class in less than 3 months and I can't wait to get a real thrashing;) To be honest, Dominik's silver medal was much more important for me than my own one! You REALLY deserved it:)

A week before that I got the honour to run the last leg of the winning club relay during Polish Club Champs. The whole job was done on the first 6 legs and I just had to collect all the controls. Done.

Last week I got the opportunity to join my first camp with the Polish National (elite) Team in Switzerland. The trainings were really nice and I had a lot of fun with the map in my hand. As far as the Saturday's World Cup middle distance race is concerned, I got to know where the leaders are and that I am extremely far from that point. Great and useful experience!

As you see from the beginning of my post, I succeeded in getting some good results lately - even if my shape was awful. But...
- Is the whole fun only in the results you achieve?
- Isn't it actually the passion that make you happy?
- Do you prefer having tremendous numbers of medals or enjoying your everyday training and lifestyle?

The answers seem to be quite obvious. For me.

BACTI-STOP

2011-09-10T17:02:00.000+02:00

Almost 2 years ago Wojtek Kowalski wrote about the worst prizes in 2009.
In August I took part in Hungaria Kupa 2011 in Morahalom. For winning this 5-day competition in M20 class I won...

Probably, it's not the worst prize, but the funniest one I've ever got;-)
Fortunately, it was not the only one. It was placed in an original Media Markt bag - full of Knorr seasonings and ready meals. Intriguing combination!

Now it's all about preparing for the Polish Champs in night orienteering and regaining the shape. We'll see how it works already on Thursday in Austria, where the Junior European Cup is going to be held.

CU in Grotniki tonight!

Quick catching up!

2011-08-05T11:17:00.001+02:00

Short JWOC 2011 summary (individual races)

I analysed my races precisely, counted my mistakes and got to know that if I had technically superb races, I would have achieved following places:
sprint - 5th
long - 5th
middle - 7th.
So my physical shape wasn't enough for the medals. Was it because of my preparations? Was it due to my little illness during JWOC? Hard to say right now...

Media

Thanks to achieving gold medal in relay I was able to be interviewed on TVP3 (during sports news, live!) and on Radio Łódź. Moreover, I was invited by the mayor of the city of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska. It was a very nice meeting and I was really happy to see such a big interest in our discipline!

Slovak Karst Cup 2011

I decided to run in M20, because the elite courses were a bit too long as for my holiday shape. And that was a really good choice:)

I managed to win the first 2 stages. The 2nd one was a sprint distance in Roznava, which was pretty interesting. I've never seen such a good GPS signal in a city sprint! On the 3rd day I had a really good race, but... lost the victory by 23 seconds.
The last stage was a chasing start. I was let out into the forest only 1'07 ahead of the Czech runner, Vit Braveny. I saw that the first leg s an easy, long one. So I decided to push really hard and won the split by 35 seconds! Unfortunately, I made an enormous mistake at the 5th control (100 seconds spent in the circle!) and was almost sure he would catch me. But he didn't and I could win the competition with quite a big time margin - 2'23. First of the holiday goals achieved!

ERRATA notki poprzedniej

2011-07-24T12:53:00.000+02:00

Jak to często bywa przy takim szczegółowym wymienianiu nazwisk, zapomina się o niektórych. Mi do głowy przyszły dwie takie osoby:

Jerzy Woźniak, z którym spędziłem wiele zimowych (i nie tylko) dni na obozach kondycyjnych i technicznych. Dziękuję za zaangażowanie i ogromny wkład pracy w rozwój młodzieży z woj. łódzkiego!

Sławek Cygler, który zupełnie bezinteresownie i za własne pieniądze pojechał z nami na jeden z obozów przygotowawczych w Rumi i rozstawiał nam punkty. Za to bardzo dziękuję!

To już chyba byłoby na tyle podziękowań i myślę, że już od kolejnej notki wracamy do języka angielskiego:)

Junior World Champions!

2011-07-12T00:45:00.002+02:00

I had ~~the race~~ the day of my life!

8 lipca 2011r. był zdecydowanie najpiękniejszym dniem w moim życiu. Przez niecałe 6 lat mojej przygody z biegiem na orientację zacięcie trenowałem, marząc o medalu z międzynarodowej imprezy rangi mistrzowskiej. Wielu osobom się to udawało, jednakże mi zawsze czegoś brakowało... Talentu, umiejętności, szczęścia? Momentami nawet nie próbowałem ukrywać mojej sportowej złości, bo szans otrzymałem naprawdę wiele. Startowałem dwukrotnie w Mistrzostwach Europy Juniorów oraz trzykrotnie (wliczając niedawno zakończone zawody) w Mistrzostwach Świata Juniorów. Piątkowy bieg sztafetowy był moim 15. (i zarazem ostatnim!) startem w juniorskiej karierze podczas imprezy tej rangi. Teraz - analizując na spokojnie moje juniorskie poczynania - jestem niezwykle wdzięczny Bogu, że właśnie w ten sposób rozplanował moje dotychczasowe sportowe życie. Jakże smakuje taki medal! Zdobyty, można by rzec, rzutem na taśmę. Wieńczący moją ciężka i uporczywą niemal 6-letnią pracę. Moja piątkowa radość była najprawdziwsza, najszczersza i nieznająca żadnych granic. Przez chwilę poczułem się naprawdę wielki. Ale jak bardzo byłbym mały bez Was... kibiców. Cóż to byłoby za szczęście, gdybym nie miał się nim z kim podzielić? A będąc kilka dni temu wśród wiwatujących, krzyczących, skaczących, płaczących ze szczęścia rodaków, a przede wszystkim, miłośników tego pięknego sportu, miałem wrażenie, jakbyście cieszyli się nawet bardziej ode mnie. To takie piękne! Dziękuję!

Medal dostałem niestety tylko jeden i bardzo żałuję, bo medalistów jest o wiele, wiele więcej. Tu i teraz pragnę podziękować tym, którzy mieli naprawdę olbrzymi wkład w odniesiony przeze mnie sukces.

Ten sukces nie był zasługą 3 chłopców, lecz całej 16-osobowej kadry młodzieżowców, dlatego chcę bardzo podziękować:

Piotrkowi Parfianowiczowi - za przezwyciężenie ogromnej presji, pokonanie samego siebie oraz walkę do samego końca. Chwile spędzone z Tobą w oczekiwaniu na Oleja zapamiętam do końca życia!

Michałowi Olejnikowi - za te wszystkie lata wspólnych treningów, obozów, wyjazdów. Za te wszystkie porażki i zwycięstwa, które przeżywaliśmy razem podczas naszych sportowych zmagań. Za to, że wybiegłeś z lasu pierwszy, niezwyciężony! To Ty dałeś nam ten medal!

trenerowi kadry młodzieżowców Andrzejowi Olechowi - za otoczenie nas wspaniałą opieką podczas Mistrzostw Świata. Za wyrozumiałość i nieustanną wiarę w nasze możliwości. Za te łzy wzruszenia podczas ostatniego zebrania. Takich chwil się nie zapomina!

fizjoterapeucie kadry młodzieżowców Pawłowi Zimoniowi - za bardzo ciężką pracę podczas całych Mistrzostw. Za wiele cennych uwag oraz wprowadzanie dobrej atmosfery dzięki niezwykle radosnemu usposobieniu. Twój nocny skok do fontanny z pewnością przejdzie do historii!

asystentowi trenera kadry młodzieżowców Przemkowi Patejko - za bardzo profesjonalne podejście, spokój i opanowanie, o które nie tak łatwo na imprezie tej rangi.

psycholog kadry młodzieżowców Katarzynie Jaroni - za poważną rozmowę tuż przed Mistrzostwami, która bardzo rozjaśniła mój umysł i ułatwiła walkę na trasach. Za wiele słów otuchy i bycie z nami w tych najtrudniejszych, stresujących, przedstartowych momentach. Bo "w życiu nie chodzi o to, by złapać zajączka, ale by gonić go".

Natalii Ewiak - za bycie ze mną w tych wspaniałych, jak i w tych złych momentach. Na dobre i na złe. Za znoszenie moich narzekań i ciągłe podnoszenie na duchu. Za to, że byłaś, jesteś i będziesz!

całej polskiej reprezentacji na JWOC 2011: Paulinie Faron, Ani Morawskiej, Paulinie Kołodziej, Joli Kołosińskiej, Dominice Kulczyckiej, Mikołajowi Dutkowskiemu, Robertowi Niewiedziale, Markowi Wojnowiczowi - za stworzenie zgranej ekipy, mimo wielu drobnych niesnasek i sporów. Koniec końców okazaliśmy się wspaniałym teamem, który osiągnął ten niebywały sukces!

Podczas mojego fenomenalnego biegu na 2. zmianie naszej złotej sztafety czułem, jakbym właśnie wykorzystywał całą moją wiedzę, całe moje doświadczenie, wszystkie moje umiejętności zdobyte przez te kilka lat ambitnej pracy. Dlatego chcę tak bardzo podziękować:

Patrycji Dworniak - za to, że namówiłaś mnie na wyjazd do Przesieki w sierpniu 2005r. na obóz Sportowe Wakacje. To tam rozpocząłem najpiękniejszą przygodę mojego życia!

Małgorzacie Paszyńskiej - za prowadzenie mnie przez moje młodzieńcze życie. Za bycie mi podporą, za nieustanny uśmiech goszczący na Pani twarzy. Za to, że mogłem zawsze na Panią liczyć i zwrócić się z każdym problemem. Nie tylko matematycznym!

Krzysztofowi Lewandowskiemu - za nauczenie mnie pokory i pokazanie, jakim trzeba być w życiu człowiekiem. Za uświadomienie mi, że zgoda buduje, a niezgoda rujnuje. Podziwiam, jak wielką pasją jest dla Pana nasz łódzki klub i niejednokrotnie już czerpałem z tego inspirację!

Łukaszowi Zawodnikowi - za bycie moim pierwszym nauczycielem biegu na orientację. Za wiele godzin wspólnych wakacyjnych treningów. Za poświęcanie mi czasu, który przecież mogłeś lepiej spożytkować na swój sportowy rozwój. Cenię Cię, jak mało kogo!

Jackowi Morawskiemu - za bycie moim pierwszym sportowym idolem. Za wiele bardzo cennych wskazówek i uwag zaczerpniętych z własnych doświadczeń. Za ogromne zaangażowanie w nasze przygotowania techniczne do JWOC 2011. Jesteś jedyny w swoim rodzaju!

Kubie Zielińskiemu - za te wszystkie wspólne treningi w parku na Zdrowiu. Za te wszystkie sztafety, w których wspólnie walczyliśmy. Za niekończące się rozmowy o biegu na orientację. Takim partnerem treningowym mogę się tylko poszczycić!

Agacie Porzycz - za dostrzeżenie mojego talentu i danie mi szansy wyjazdu na obóz kadrowy na Węgry w październiku 2006 roku. Za ogromne zaufanie, którym zostałem obdarzony, wyjeżdżając na JWOC 2008 do Szwecji jako 17-latek. Za wiele lat wspólnej pracy, które zaowocowały spełnieniem moich marzeń!

Piotrowi Paszyńskiemu - za to, że poświęciłeś szmat czasu, aby trenować grupkę pracowitych ludzi z Łodzi. Za to, że godzinami zastanawiałeś się, jakby to najlepiej przygotować nas do najważniejszych zawodów. Za to, że zawsze we mnie wierzyłeś, mimo moich załamań i kłopotów. Za te łzy wylane mi na ramieniu po NASZYM piątkowym zwycięstwie - w ten sposób udowodniłeś, jak bardzo Ci zależało. To wszystko nie sen... dzięki Tobie!

Mistrzostwa Świata to jednak nie tylko trasy biegu na orientację, to również to wszystko, co dzieje się wtedy w naszych głowach. Podczas tego sezonu, jak i minionych Mistrzostw miałem kilka chwil zwątpienia, wiele momentów załamania, utraty motywacji. Wtedy pojawiali się oni... przyjaciele! Bardzo dziękuję:

Łukaszowi Charubie - za bycie ze mną w najtrudniejszych dla mnie momentach tego sezonu. W chwilach, gdy wydawało mi się, że wszystko już stracone. Za powtarzanie mi, jakim zawodnikiem powinienem być. Za motywowanie mnie. Za służenie mi dobrym słowem. Za podarowanie mi cudownej kartki, która towarzyszyła mi przez całe Mistrzostwa: "Jeśli uczynimy wszystko, co w naszej mocy, Bóg uczyni resztę". Uczynił. Dziękuję!

Dominikowi Chudzikowi - za wielką wiarę w moje możliwości, chwilami wręcz przesadną, która jednak bardzo pomagała w trudnych chwilach. Za to, że staliśmy się świetnymi kumplami, których rajcuje jedno i to samo - BnO. Za to, że zawsze możemy pogadać o tym, co nas gryzie, co nam się podobało, co nas zawiodło. Zrobię wszystko, co w mojej mocy, byś powalczył na przyszłorocznym JWOCu!

Alicji Ewiak - za odwiedzanie nas podczas JWOC 2011 i swobodne rozmowy, które pomagały zapomnieć na chwilę o wszystkich stresach związanych ze startami. Za to, że chyba coraz lepiej się dogadujemy. I niech tak już pozostanie!

Agacie Stankiewicz - za wszystkie chwile wspólnych radości i smutków. Za to, że zawsze mogę z Tobą o wszystkim pogadać, wyżalić się, poradzić... Za to Twoje niezwykle radosne usposobienie, które powinno wywoływać uśmiech na ustach każdego!

Karolinie Hanuszkiewicz - za uśmiech, śmiech i radosną minkę. Za to, że umiałaś pocieszyć i zrozumieć nawet wtedy, gdy inni nie rozumieli. A mnie przecież czasem niełatwo zrozumieć!

Witkowi Jasińskiemu - za to, że jesteś takim moim młodszym bratem. Za jedne z najszczerszych gratulacji, które otrzymałem. Czuję i wierzę, że już za rok to ja będę się przed Tobą kłaniał!

Nie sposób wymienić wszystkich, dlatego już po raz n-ty pragnę podziękować wszystkich kibicom, którzy byli obecni na Mistrzostwach i zdzierali gardła, abyśmy zyskali te kilka sekund i zajęli jak najwyższe pozycje. Naprawdę dzięki Wam mogliśmy odczuć, że nie jesteśmy sami. Byliśmy uskrzydleni tymi wszystkimi pozytywnymi emocjami, oklaskami, uśmiechami. Tak bardzo się cieszę, że udało mi się za to odwdzięczyć w najlepszy z możliwych sposobów! Bo naprawdę bardzo na to zasługiwaliście!

Nie zapominam również o tych, którzy śledzili nasze zmagania z odległych zakątków kraju i emocjonowali się podobnie, jak ci obecni na miejscu. Dziękuję za wszystkie wiadomości z gratulacjami i jakże miłymi słowami. To Wy sprawiliście, że ten dzień był dla mnie tak wyjątkowy!

Na zakończenie chciałbym zawiesić choćby taki wirtualny medal na szyi wszystkich wspomnianych wcześniej osób. Bez Was mojego sukcesu by nie było. Tak bardzo DZIĘKUJĘ!

How to screw up a sprint distance?

2011-05-29T21:29:00.001+02:00

I had known this gate perfectly before the competition - thanks to JWOC 2011 trainings. I had even talked with Olej several times, whether the map would be corrected or the gate would be closed during the competition.

None of them. (You silly boy, it's Poland...)

During the race it was very hard to see on the map, if this gate was crossable. What's more, the 10th control was situated just some 3m behind it and I was sure (judging from the map) it was placed exactly in this passage. I was wrong. I should have checked control descriptions first, but it doesn't really matter.

After the race I decided to go to the judges and admit my disqualification. I don't want to win like this. It's no fun at all. I only regret losing important points for my club. I am really sorry.

You say I should have been disqualified.
Of course, you are right. I ran through a forbidden area - I reply. And add - why was the map wrong in this area?
You say the map was right, the gate should have been closed and not crossable.
I answer - Why was the gate actually opened in the terrain? Judging from the map it should have been closed...
And what do you say right now?

That's how a wonderful sprint in a really demanding terrain was screwed up.

One second mistake is still not good enough!

2011-05-18T23:09:00.001+02:00

Last weekend I took part in JWOC 2011 qualification races in Rumia.

On Saturday a very fast middle distance race waited for us. We had all expected the course to include a lot of controls in green areas. How wrong we had been! The course was really fast and the forest offered great visibility and runnability. Just after the race I was very satisfied and thought that the maximum time loss to the winner could equal 1 minute. However, Olej's shape was just unbelievable and I lost as much as 1:28! Having analysed the whole race deeply, I realized it was not such a brilliant performance (1'07 of mistake), but a really good one.

On Sunday we ran long distance race on the same map. I had a really good flow throughout the whole course. I understood the terrain perfectly and chose wise route choices (apart from control no. 3, where I lost as much as 40 seconds!). I could have run faster by 2'20 (summing all my mistakes) and the time lost to Olej was 2'40. The lead was out of reach that day, too...

Is my shape not good enough?

Is it possible for me to improve so much?

We'll see.

All in all, I am very satisfied with my performance at the weekend. My O-technique in this terrain is close to perfect, which is a great prediction for July!

I can't wait to compete in the coming Polish Club Championships;)

5000m

2011-05-08T17:43:00.001+02:00

To get the opportunity to qualify for JWOC 2011 I had to run 5000m under 16:30.

Today - at 11:30 - I started my heat with Olej and Pasza (who was one of our great pacemakers). We followed him during the odd kilometres. The other one was Gadu, who was the leader of the 2nd and 4th km.

My km splits were: 3:18, 3:15, 3:21, 3:12, 3:04 (the last 400m in 1:07). Altogether they made quite a nice time of 16:10 (exactly 3:14/km). My heart rate - 181/187.

After my race I also helped Witek during his last kilometer and he managed to beat Jan Limit's time by 14 seconds:)

I am very satisfied with the whole morning spent on the track!

Miserable April

2011-05-01T20:52:00.000+02:00

April was not a good month for me. I had an awful illness (with huge fever), which forced me to take 6 days off and made my body enormously weak. That's why my physical shape was poor, which led to some mental problems like the lack of motivation and enthusiasm. This had a great influence on my physical shape, which got worse and worse. This caused some bigger mental problems. This ...

As far as my sports life is concerned, I spent some days in Szklarska Poręba, where I started my trainings after the afore-mentioned sickness. The whole camp ended with Beaver Valley's Cup, where my forest performance was very miserable. Surprisingly, I was fast enough in a flat terrain to win the demanding sprint in Bolesławiec!

At the end of April I spent 9 days in Rumia improving my technical skills for the coming JWOC 2011. My technique was quite good. However, fast uphill running was out of reach...

I decided to do something with my running career. There are still 2 months left. Now I am starting from zero.
To hero?

Almost 14km with a map in my hand;)

2011-04-03T22:18:00.000+02:00

Today Ala and Amelka organized a really nice technical training in Modrzew. The whole session consisted of 5 different loops. There was a huge variety of our orienteering skills tested: long legs, Swiss game, scorelauf, middle (in and out), butterflies...

Summing all the courses, the length was about 12,51km. My running time was 73:42, so it was not that bad;) Obviously, I didn't run at full speed, but sometimes just couldn't help speeding up a bit. However, my legs aren't that happy right now... But I'm lovin' it!

The organization was just wonderful - no waiting, all controls situated in the right places, interesting courses and the opportunity to punch a completely new control on each course - that's how it should go!

Thank you, Ala and Amelka!

P.S. My times from the loops (for the interested people from my club):
A - 22:26 (mistakes - 2'25)
B - 13:02 (2'05)
C - 9:18 (0'00)
D - 13:53 (0'10)
E - 15:03 (0'10).

Exhausted.

2011-04-03T20:59:00.002+02:00

find Wally;)

Yesterday I took part in the Polish University Championships in cross-country. I decided to run the longer course of about 9,36km (consisting of 3 loops with one uphill on each of them). I was really excited and was looking forward for this competition since the whole group of Polish orienteers (including Jacek, Jancia, Drągu, Hewi, Charubcia, Chrupek, Kamil) were present.

Uphill...

I did appropriate warm-up and stood on the start line. We were told that there were about 4 minutes left to the start. Much time, I thought... but suddenly - after some time - we heard the pistol and the dogs were let out! My only wish regarding the start was not to fall down in the crowd of about 120 runners and I somehow managed to avoid it;)

The very first metres were expected to be quite fast and they actually were. However, not that fast. Fortunately, I succeeded in keeping my own pace at the beginning. The 1st three kilometres were as follows: 3:19, 3:26, 3:30, so the 1st loop was really promising.

Struggling!

At the beginning of the 2nd one I was the 2nd orienteer in the race, but quite easily managed to catch Drągu and get away from him. The pace was stable: 3:30, 3:32, 3:31.

The last loop began quite unluckily for me because I gained some advantage over the chasing group, but was too far away from the next one... and simply had to run alone. You probably know, it's not that nice and easy... That's why my speed got a bit lower - 3:39. Unfortunately, Drągu (ahead of his group) managed to catch me and even run past me. The last metres were extremely tiring. Nevertheless, my pace got a bit better: 3:33, 3:33. I had no power left for the last sprint and finished about 35th place (some 15secs behind Drągu).

Give me some proteins!

All in all, I am very satisfied with this performance. I managed to achieve the great pace of 3:30/km and placed 2nd among the orienteers. It's a really good prediction for the future!

Distinguish yourself in the forest;-)

Sinusoid. It's all in your head.

2011-04-01T17:13:00.000+02:00

Fortunately, my good health let me execute all the plans presented in the last note.

My last winter training camp in Szklarska Poręba in the middle of February was expected to be quite tough. And it really was. I managed to do 21 trainings during 9 days (3 of which were technical sessions).

At the end of February my club made his way to Żelazko in order to spend some time with a map in our hands. At the weekend I got the opportunity to run 4 technical trainings (using even 5 maps, in fact). I had a really good flow and my orienteering technique was quite promising.

Then, the highlight of this training period - Portugal!

After arrival in Crato we spent 2 days training on the model event maps for Portugal 'O' Meeting 2011.

The competition itself was a great success for me. I managed to win both middle distance races and place 3rd and 2nd in long ones. In the overall classification I gained the 1st place ahead of Jan Petrzela (CZE) and Olej. It was unbelievably satisfying and boosting to defeat the previous European Youth Orienteering Champion. I felt that everything is on the right way!

Afterwards, we trained for some 3 days in a bit different terrains and prepared for the coming competition - International Meeting of Arraiolos.

Despite making some silly mistakes, I managed to win the middle distance again. Nevertheless, I had no mental power for the last day - long distance of 13,7km. At the first 4 controls I lost a total of 11 minutes! 5 of them already at the 1st one... And the rest of the course I jogged. At the end I remembered about my bet with Olej concerning the finish. Although it was very muddy, I decided to run the last 300m as fast as possible and... won this split with the advantage of 5 seconds over the next competitor (not only in my class, but in all competition classes). Funny;)

One week later I took part in the popular cross-test in Ruda Pabianicka. I achieved the time of 28:58 on the course of 8,08km (3:35/km). Looking at my last year's result, it was 51 seconds better! However, Olej was really fast that day and beat me by 27 seconds - congratulations and recover!

Last weekend I took part in the Danish competition, which is considered as the opening of the orienteering season - Spring Cup. The night relay on Friday was a real fun for me and I enjoyed the mass start very much. Nonetheless, the most important race for me was Saturday's classic. Generally, I made an awful performance and lost as many as 6mins due to my mistakes! It wouldn't have been that bad, if I hadn't lost more than 10 minutes to the winner - Eskil Kinneberg from Norway. In my opinion, he is the best junior right now, but losing so much time is not acceptable! I must have had a really bad day...
This painful failure made me lose my motivation, self-confidence and belief completely. That's why I had no fun running the 1st leg of Sunday's relay and came 7 minutes behind the leading group (making no more than 1min of mistakes!).

My mental state during the last days was so poor that I wasn't able to find any motivation for running and my life was so dull... I don't mean that I avoided trainings. I did them, but with no commitment and willingness. On Wednesday I was close to tears when I finished almost all the intervalls behind the runners who are actually not faster than me. At the same day I had a long talk with Łukasz and it must have helped me really a lot, because - although the beginning of my Thursday's training wasn't good - I managed to overcome my problems and ran with a huge smile on my face!

THANK YOU, ŁUKASZ.

Long time no see!

2011-02-14T10:10:00.000+01:00

I was so much into my duties that I couldn't find any time to publish some post here. What's more, there were no interesting competitions and my life was all about tough training and studying. Fortunately, all my exams are over right now and I am able to enjoy my 4th training camp this winter - this time in Szklarska Poręba.

My last post was published 30th Nowember. Since then a lot of important things happened in my sports life, including:

1st training camp in Szklarska Poręba (4-12 XII) - for me it was some kind of a preration for the coming demanding winter training sessions. I had some problems with challenging trainings served by Kołczu, because my legs didn't work so well then due to being quite tired just after the beginning of my winter workouts...
2nd training camp in Ochotnica Dolna (26 XII - 2 I) - at the beginning of this camp I had to struggle against horrible stomach flu, because I fell ill exactly on Christmas Eve. 4 days of my trainings were completely lost and another 2 spent on some useless jogging. Fortunately, I got over it and could enjoy the last 4 laborious days of this camp. Thanks to it, I came back feeling well and ready for the action!
the so-called Popular Orienteering Championships (8 I) - I took it as an easy technical training and used the map with no tracks. Moreover, I forgot to take my compass with me and had to come back to the start just after the first control, funny;)
GP of Łódź in cross-country running (9 I) - it was the 2nd edition of the competition described in the last note. The course length was about 5,13km and my time was 18:20. Unfortunately, the conditions were just awful, since the whole surface was covered with slippery ice. Furthermore, I had sore muscles and felt extremely tired after the hard week of strentgh trainings - a good performance was simply out of reach.
3rd training camp in Istebna (15-23 I) - I am incredibly satisfied with this particular training camp! Finally, I got the opportunity to spend some time with my clubmates and managed to do all the training sessions as I had wished to - massive satisfaction!
technical training in Rydzyny with Azymut Pabianice (29 I) - I succeeded in setting 4 controls in the forest. As soon as I started running the course (in a form of Swiss game), I spotted that my compass was broken (there appeared some little air-cell inside it). I was so frustrated that I wasn't able to focus on the map. That's why my route choices looked like these...
GP of Łódź in cross-country running (30 I) - this time I felt much, much better than 3 weeks ago. The conditions were really good as well. Thanks to it, I managed to fight for the 3rd place with a much more satisfying time of 17:42 (only some 15 seconds behind the winner). However, I dare for more, much more;-)
technical training in Modrzew (5 I) - it was just a little part of a much longer running session. I didn't do my best to find all the controls, such as stones of about 30cm... I decided to concentrate on map reading, finding the right flow and choosing the best route choices. It was not that bad, but I just can't wait to face great orienteering challenges in Portugal at the beginning of March!

Now I am lying in my bed in Szklarska Poręba and I am taking some rest between my training sessions. It's really nice to have the opportunity to be completely focused on my running. I am sure these are the camps, which help me make enormous progress most!

My plans for the coming weeks:

- tough winter trainings in Szklarska until 20th February;

- the weekend of technical trainings in Żelazko (26-27 II);

- two weekends of orienteering competitions and some technical trainings between them, Portugal (3-13 III);

- cross-country competition in Ruda Pabianicka (20 III);

- Spring Cup in Denmark (25-27 III).

And then... we'll see;)

Why do all good things come to an end?

2010-11-30T16:30:00.005+01:00

...because the better ones are going to replace them;)

Last weekend was the official end of 2010 O-season! To be more precise, Saturday was its end, whereas Sunday was the beginning of the next training period - 2011.

On Saturday we had a nice club technical training, which was in the form of a corridor and Swiss game. I managed to avoid making mistakes and I was really satisfied about it. However, I just can't put up with running in this forest any more...

On Sunday we took part in the first stage (out of 6) of Grand Prix of Łódź in Cross-Country Running. The course length was about 5,13km (due to my Garmin; my friends' Garmins stated that: 5,14, 5,15 or even 5,19). My running time was 17:30, which makes an average pace of 3:24/km (5km in 17:00). The conditions were pretty difficult, because the ground was very slippery and hard. What's more, the route included two 180-degree returns. That's why I am really happy about my performance. To sum it up, I managed to get the 4th spot, exactly 1 minute behind the winner:)

And now it's high time for me to write a short summary of the last season.

weeks - 52   (5 of them - cooling down period)
km in total - 3802,92   (73,13 per week)
km (orienteering) - 1235,6   (32,49%)
running hours in total - 360:51   (6:56 per week)
orienteering hours - 127:50 (35,43%)
hours of different exercises (like strength, streching etc.) - 116:48
hours of other sports (like swimming, cycling, sauna etc.) - 77:18
training hours in total - 554:57   (10:40 per week).

It all makes a really nice day average of 10,45km and 1:31 hours of training.

I must admit that it was a really good and solid O-season. I managed to pursue a lot of my goals. Furthermore, what's even more important, I didn't get injured and had almost no problems with my health;)

Below I present my results from the most important races of 2010:

JWOC, Denmark
long - 26th
middle qual - 8th
middle final - 14th
relay - 5th

BJC, Lithuania

long - 5th

mixed relay - 5th

WRE during IOOL in Germany

long - 3rd

Polish Championships

sprint - 2nd

middle - 2nd

relay - 5th

night - 1st

long - 2nd

superlong - 2nd

Polish Club Championships

relay - 2nd

long - 4th

sprint - dsq

sprint - 1st

middle - 10th

club relay - 3rd.

I am satisfied with the last season, but feel that some of the things went wrong. Luckily, my last year as a junior has only just begun!

Deserved and desired rest at home

2010-11-23T22:21:00.003+01:00

The last weekend I spent at home before the long one in November (11-14) was 11-12th September. That's why I really wanted to sleep in my own bed during Saturday's night. And it happened at the afore-mentioned weekend. At last!

Since then I took part in some technical trainings in the most boring and the least challenging forest in the world (in my subjective opinion!). I think it's really NOT worth losing time to describe them. But one map (out of 3) will do;)

National end of 2010 O-season

2010-11-19T23:54:00.000+01:00

It all happened - 2 weeks ago in Warsaw - during an amazing weekend competition named Fast Brain 2010. It consisted of 3 sprints (with chasing start at the last one) and was created/organized by Slavko and Jacek - I give you a big hand! Thank you:)

I wasn't sure about my shape because I had been in the so-called cooling down period for almost 2 weeks at that moment. However, my legs worked pretty fast and that made me enjoy these fascinating races much more!

Nevertheless, I must admit that the key to my success during this 2-day competition was my technique. I was able to find the best route choices in most cases. I had no problems finding the controls at the end of the legs. I read control descriptions precisely. I was self-confident and calm. It is the way it should always look like in a sprint competition!;)

In the Men's class 52 competitors took part. My stage places were: 3rd, 2nd and 4th. In general classification I managed to keep my surprising 3rd place! My overall running time was 52:29. Only 1:05 of that was lost due to my mistakes! All these figures are really promising and extremely satisfying;)

International end of 2010 O-season

2010-11-17T19:22:00.001+01:00

On 25th October I began quite a nice period of the so-called cooling down.

However, I could not stop competing at all, because I was chosen to run the 3rd leg for my Swedish club - Nybro OK - at Smålandskavlen in Tranås.

Interesting thing about this competition is the fact that the first 2 legs are night ones and there is NO mass start. There's interval start, I mean.
The rest of the competition (legs 3-5) is held during the following day and the 3rd leg is the one with chasing start.

My leg was the shortest one (6,85km) and I had a miserable race...

I made 2 awful mistakes:

127 - I wanted to be more cunning than my companions and ran mindlessly forward, 2'10 lost;

143 - I ran up the hill and suddenly my compass needle turned around and I completely didn't know what to do, 1'00 lost.

1 considerable mistake:

33 - poor 'in' (attacking this control) and poor 'out' (leaving the previous control), 0'25 lost.

And 7 minor mistakes:

88, 49, 48, 42, 135, 128, 144 - 1'20 lost in total.

It was not possible for me to be satisfied with my performance (50th leg time and only 1 place up at the changeover). However, I was really happy that I got the opportunity to be the member of Polish relay (Mały, Olej, me, Lupek, Włodar) in Swedish club. Finally, we reached the 44th spot (118 teams took part).

Last orienteering journey of 2010

2010-11-14T18:54:00.001+01:00

It consisted of Polish Championships in Superlong, technical camp in Rumia with the Danes and Baltic Junior Cup in Lithuania. Oh, I should also mention that it began exactly 4 weeks ago...

The day before the last PC race I took part in Sulejów Cup. The map fell short of my expectations. However, the terrain was very nice and pretty fast;) Everyone took this competition very easily, but I decided to run at full speed and I do not regret it! I managed to win the men's elite class and got... a bottle of wine. Such a prize was worth an effort:)

On Sunday I wanted to pursue one of my pre-season goals: achieve 5 out of 5 possible medals from the individual races during Polish Championships. After a constant and solid performance at this tiring superlong distance I did manage by winning the silver. Rino had a brilliant race and totally deserved the title of Polish Champion.

The funny thing is that this year in M20 class the podium looked the same in all individual PC races: Hewi, Rino and me. We only exchanged the colours of medals sometimes;)

Only some hours after this exhausting competition Pałka, Olej and I made our way towards Rumia in order to take part in JWOC 2011 technical camp organized by the Danes. We got to know really nice people and made friends with them. There were not only the Danes, but also two Swiss girls and Norwegian superstar, Eskil Kinneberg - probably the best junior at the time.

We had lots of interesting training sessions, two of which are especially worth mentioning:

~ O-intervals with mass start and no forkings - we got a great opportunity to compete with great juniors from Scandinavia and made a wonderful speed and strength training!

~ long route-choice course - the course was really demanding and challenging, but the weather was even more difficult to put up with: it was raining, the wind was blowing and my hands froze over...

THANK YOU for all the maps & courses and nice time spent together!

As soon as on Thursday afternoon Olej and I had to drive to Warsaw so as to head for Baltic Junior Cup the following day. The national team was strongly experimental and I was the oldest member of it, I felt pretty strange about it;)

As for the races, I made quite a solid performance during the long distance course of 13,4km. I gained the 5th place, 38 seconds ahead of Olej. Unfortunately, I missed the podium by only 1'33 and felt disappointed about it. If it hadn't been for my tired legs...

The next day the well-known mixed relay awaited us. I was chosen to run the last leg in our first team. My starting position looked quite promising: 5th place, 2'04 to the podium and 1'39 ahead of the chasing teams. Already on my way to the 1st control I passed the guy from the 3rd (!) spot. Then, I made a close-to-clean race (losing only some 35 seconds) to the spectator (12th) control. While attacking the 15th one, I saw the guy from 4th spot and succeeded in passing him at the 17th one. Unfortunately, control no. 19 was a real disaster for me. Olej (who ran the 1st leg) told me about this particular place before the race and I stopped thinking on my own... I lost so much time there (1'15!) and lost my dream bronze medal position:( Later on, I was not able to calm down and lost my concentration completely. On the way to the second last control I decided to do my best to win at least the 5th place for my team and ran as fast as possible. I managed to run away from the other competitor and had 'only' to find one of the easiest controls of the whole race. Being really close to it, I lost my mind and went left to the wrong field. When I turned back, I saw the afore-mentioned guy reaching the control... I ended up on 6th spot, but it turned out that the Finnish team got disqualified and we eventually took the disappointing 5th place.

All in all, my performance at this final leg was terrible and I am very sorry for the whole team. On the other hand, I gained lots of invaluable experience! That's why I am really satisfied with that O-weekend.

a time shortage...

2010-11-01T22:46:00.000+01:00

You've probably noticed that my summer holidays came to an end and I started studying Financial and Actuarial Maths at university. That's why I don't have so much time as in June, July, August, September...

Chronologically, I have to begin with Bóbr Valley Cup. It was a really well-organized 2-day competition consisting of 3 stages. My physical shape fell short of my expectations, but I still tried to do my best. Fortunately, my head worked quite well and I managed to win all races in my age class.

The first distance to compete in was middle. Although the forest was awful with lots of blackberry bushes, the course was really challenging. I made a very stupid mistake to the 5th control (0'40) in spite of spotting the correct re-entrant in the terrain. Moreover, I nearly mispunched, because I punched the wrong control close to the 13th one. Luckily, I checked the code number;)

On Saturday's afternoon I took part in the best sprint race I have ever run in Poland! During the sprint course it is acceptable for me to make a route choice mistake, such as the one to the 13th control - it should have been 'right-left-right'. But I just can't stand reaching the dead-end! 4th (0'25) ...

The last race was a long distance. The terrain was very tricky and it was hardly possible to have a clean race. I made as many as 4 considerable mistakes: disregarding the 9th control (1'10); 12th - wrong direction, going too far and I didn't manage to catch the fence in the green area (1'10); 18th - as above (0'40); 26th - wrong route choice and getting stuck in pricking bushes, the control was situated in the white forest... (1'10). On the other hand, I am very proud of my route choice to the 21st control. I remembered Robert Banach's words (see map: 2nd leg) and crossed the fence. Obviously, I succeeded in winning this split time - even comparing to the elite runners:)

M20 had the same courses as M21E, so I could easily compare my results to the strongest competitors. In the Men's elite class I would have taken the 4th place, only 3 seconds behind Jacek - not bad;-)

Saturday's orienteering and Sunday's halfmarathon

2010-10-04T22:54:00.000+02:00

It was a wonderful weekend! Lots of running - that's what I actually love;)

On Saturday I took part in UKS's Tournament. Middle in the morning - close to the Lublinek Airport - and sprint in the afternoon - in my park called 'Zdrowie'.

The middle distance race was very fast and pleasant - except for the western side of the map! It was not a marsh... it was a pond! Terrible...

As for my technical performance, I made 2 considerable mistakes: wrong route choice to the 14th control (I had enough of cold water and thought it would be faster), 0'20 lost; huge problems while looking for the 15th one in the green area, 0'35. My legs worked quite well, but 'no fireworks'.
I managed to win my class (M21) easily. However, my time was 0:41 worse than the winner of M18 class - Olej.

I felt really self-confident before the second race of the day - sprint distance. Why? Because I did numerous training sessions in this park during the past 3 years.
This time my physical shape was perfect. Nevertheless, I made an enormous mistake to the 14th control! As many as 40 seconds! I trivialized this control and lost my concentration completely...
Due to this fact, I lost my clear victory and took the 2nd spot - 16 seconds behind Chrupek.

On Sunday some orienteers decided to do a demanding training before the coming Polish Championships in Superlong. I mean - Olej, Chrupek, Pasza, Dzidek, my father (not an orienteer actually) and me. All of us competed in the 1st Szakal's Halfmarathon Around the Łagiewnicki Forest. My goal was clear - not to run as fast as possible, but ~4:00/km.

The first 8 kilometres were very easy (4:02, 3:51, 3:56, 3:54, 3:54, 3:58, 3:47, 3:58) and I felt just wonderful. Then, some climbs began and it was quite difficult to keep the constant pace (4:15, 3:44, 4:22, 4:00, 3:43, 4:08, 3:54, 4:04). The last part of the race was rather flat and we had no trouble increasing our speed (3:49, 3:58, 3:40, 3:41, 3:42, 0:13).

Throughout the whole course my companion was Olej and we crossed the finish line hand in hand with exactly the same time of 1:22:41. It makes a nice average of 3:55/km. Surprisingly, we managed to gain the 3rd place!
Heart rate - 166/177.

P.S. Today's weight - 67,9kg!

head > legs

2010-10-01T23:55:00.000+02:00

I have always felt really well prepared for the Polish Championships in Night Orienteering.

Two years ago I was very self-confident after having a great race only some 2 weeks before PC and it turned out that... I was too (!) self-confident and my running speed was so high that I wasn't able to read the map properly. 8th place and more than 16 minutes of mistakes - a total disaster!

Last year just after crossing the finish line I felt quite happy about my performance, because I was certain it would be enough for a medal. At least the bronze (I thought only Olej and Papuś were able to beat me). Unfortunately, I had to experience the bitter taste of defeat and be satisfied (impossible, isn't it?) with the 4th spot.

And this year...

I BECAME POLISH CHAMPION IN NIGHT-O!

Preparations

My main goal was to be fully prepared mentally and technically. That's why I decided to analyse all the maps from my night trainings and races. What's more, instead of drawing my own route choices on the map from Wednesday's training, I analysed thoroughly how it all SHOULD look like. Furthermore, I made some pre-race assumptions:

- have great respect for the course

- do not rush towards the 1st control

- take the most obvious and easiest routes.

Despite making a small mistake to the 1st control, I managed to fulfil the second goal perfectly. The first 5 controls of the course went as it had been planned. I ran past the 6th control and had to go back. It was only a minor time loss, but I started feeling nervous and lost as much as 1 minute to the 7th one! During the small loop in the white forest I performed quite well (apart from control no. 10, where I lost some time close to the control). That enabled me to catch Łukasz (10') and Rino (5'). It really boosted my morale! Rino and I split on the long leg to the 13th control. He chose the right one, whereas I decided to go more or less straight. Unfortunately, I got stuck in the green area some 400m before the control because of very high and thick blackberries (in my opinion, this kind of bushes should be marked on the map with green lines - it would be much easier to estimate if it's worth going through). Although Rino punched the 13th control one minute ahead of me, I succeeded in cathing him already at the following one. I took risky, straight route choice to the 15th one and got a bit lost close to control. Luckily, Rino came from the right and helped me a lot - thank you! The rest of the course passed really quickly and I reached the finish line some 8 seconds before Rino. I got to know that I took the lead and had to wait 5 minutes for Hewi to come (preferably NOT to come). I must admit it's a really long time...;)

On Saturday the organizers prepared a great fun for us all - 2 people, 6 legs, sprint and relay. Obviously, I competed in MIX relays with Nati. I finished the last leg as the 4th runner. However, Papuś mispunched and we could be happy about the podium place behind Kocona&Dwojadżer and Ala&Pasza.

My technique was flawless that day, but my legs were very heavy and didn't work as I would have wished them to.

Congratulations to the organizers!

On Sunday we were to take part in the most prestigious distance in orienteering - long. Already during the warm-up I felt that my physical shape fell short of my expectations. However, I was pretty sure that my head might give me a medal and it didn't let me down;)

I don't feel like describing the whole race, but I would like to mention some interesting facts.

I made only about 2'30 of mistakes, 1'30 of which while going to the junction control (16/19/22). I really could not understand the map there...

Rino won with the advantage of 2:08 over me and I am really happy that it was him who won the race, because he really deserved it!

There is one amazing thing about this race. During the course I met as many as 8 runners from my class! Patela, Rysiu Piekarski, Slavko, Hewi, Rino, Drągu, Mościu and Charubcia. Unusual...

Night fever!

2010-09-23T23:28:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, in the evening, I had my last technical training before tomorrow's Polish Championships in Night Orienteering. My performance was quite satisfying and I drew a lot of useful conclusions. Nothing more to say. Right now;)

You win some, you lose some...

2010-09-23T21:57:00.001+02:00

The 2nd round of Polish Club Championships is over and we eventually managed to secure our 2nd place in Poland! Good job all!

On Friday, just after a long bus journey, we were to compete in sprint. I was very eager for winning this race and I actually did so;) I made my biggest mistake (about 0'15) while running to the 14th control - I had no plan for this control, so I ran to the field; then, jogged hesitantly towards the control and found it luckily. Moreover, I made some minor mistakes of about 2-3 seconds to controls no. 7, 11, 13, 15 and 19. All in all, it was a really good and solid performance I was very satisfied with! Not only did I manage to win my class, but also to achieve the 3rd best time in the elite class;)

The next day 2 races waited for me: middle and club relay. Let's begin with the former. I felt too self-confident at the start. My legs were too fast for my brain. I think that's enough. I made a technically awful race! I lost as much as 8 minutes in the forest! Massacre to the 2nd control - 3'30! Disaster to the 6th one - 1'30! Tragedies to the 1st, 11th and 12th - 3x~0'45! Mistakes to the 9th, 10th and 14th - 3x~0'10.

While approaching the finish I thought I would take some 5th or 6th place. However, I must have underestimated my rivals, because I landed on the 10th spot! After all, I am happy that I was easily able to laugh at myself and didn't cry over spilt milk;)

In the evening I got the opportunity to run the 1st (night) leg in the so-called generations' relay. We (the people under 20) made an enormous mistake to the 1st control and lost about 1'40 to the elite runners (Dwojadżer, Jacek, Mały, Grabek). I knew I had the same butterfly as Olej, so my aim was to catch up with him (since he punched the 1st control some seconds ahead of me). Nevertheless, it wasn't that easy, because he ran incredibly fast and made almost no mistakes! On the track towards the 11th control I decided to stake everything on one card and caught them (Olej and Wojtek P.)! Then, at the micro-butterflies we saw the elite runners and succeeded in catching them - unbelievable! I was really happy about it, but felt that I may not be able to keep their speed (as my legs were very tired at that moment) and reached the finish line exactly 40 seconds behind the winner - Wojtek Dwojak from Śląsk Wrocław.

who let the dogs out?!

On Sunday my clubmates made 6 good races - oh, maybe 5;) - and we gained the 3rd place after an exciting finish!

Unfortunately, I came back home with a little cold, but it's getting better and better right now:) The most important thing - I didn't miss any training session! Freak...

It is all about the psyche!

2010-09-15T13:31:00.002+02:00

Just after coming back home from Bieszkowice I decided to take 2 days off. I didn't run anything. I only visited sauna on Monday, went cycling and did some stretching on Tuesday.

The first 2 physical trainings done with passion and great motivation came on the next two days. Unfortunately, I caught a little cold after the latter...

The very same day (having a high fever) I travelled to my uncle's house in Gdańsk with my parents. Fortunately, on Friday I could sleep well and very looong, so I started feeling much better. There was no training session planned for that day, therefore I didn't miss anything.

1km before the finish

On Saturday my father and I were to start in the 48th Westerplatte Street Race. The course was approved for exactly 10km. I decided to take part in it, although I didn't feel perfectly well. I didn't know whether to fight for the best time possible or simply enjoy the race running much more slowly. However, I decided to do my best and see what happens. I started quite calmly and after some time saw Hewi and Grabek some 200m ahead of me. Throughout the whole race my main goal was to catch them. Nevertheless, I had to struggle with an enormous crisis just before the half of the course. Fortunately, the other runners surrounding me helped me get back into the game. The second part of the race was only about the will power! I managed to catch Hewi only some 150m before the finish line. As soon as he had spotted me, he started an impressive finish and I was not able to keep up with him. Eventually, I finished 39th overall with the time of 35:43 (3:34/km). Due to the poor results system I also managed to get the prize for the 5th place in 16-19 men's class. I actually achieved the 7th place (out of the podium). There was one more disadvantage of this race: the 'km' sings were located in wrong places. Just take a look at my splits: 3:54, 3:34, 3:49, 3:39, 7:32 (2km), 3:48, 2:30, 3:36, 3:22. All in all, each competitor got a brilliant medal and I am sure it was a very important start as for my mental state and physical shape before the 2 part of the O-season;)

I would also like to add that my father achieved his PB - 46:54 (4:41/km) - and started training 4 times a week (instead of 3)! Running is strongly addictive, isn't it?

On Sunday I attended a short training session with my father and we returned home the next day. On Monday afternoon I did 12x1' intervals and was sure that my shape is constantly rising - my favourite feeling, I must admit!

On Tuesday late in the evening I took part in a night O-training prepared by Pasza. I took it very seriously and wanted to perform as well as possible. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed in avoiding making two considerable mistakes: 1st control (really difficult one, I should have used the bigger path much longer...) and 13th (I am not sure if it was situated in the right place, in my opinion - too much to the right). I also made a mistake of about 25'' while approaching the 6th control (I lost direction). Moreover, I hesitated a bit in the areas close to the controls: 3rd, 11th and 14th. Course length - 5,47km, time - 32:53, pace - 6:01/km, mistakes - 4'20. To sum it up, despite making the aforementioned mistakes, I am quite satisfied with my performance, because I was really self-confident in the forest and managed to find a good flow even at night.

Later on, I had very good physical trainings on Wednesday and Thursday and a wonderful rest day on Friday, which ended with Bany's 18th birthday party in Huta Dłutowska.

At the weekend the time came for the ŁOZBnO Championships consisting of 3 races: middle and relay on Saturday and sprint on Sunday.

Just after the great party Byku drove us to Grotniki for the first competition - middle distance. I felt quite well physically, because I managed to behave sensibly at night (and I am very proud of it!). That's why I knew I had a huge advantage over my rivals. Technically, my race went quite ok as well. I missed the 3rd control, where I lost about 30 seconds, and couldn't find the hole in a flat area (6th one - 25''). Furthermore, I hesitated too much while running to the 1st one (5''), completely lost concentration on my way to the 7th one (15'') and lost direction in the green area to the 11th control (10''). All things considered, it was a really good performance and I managed to win the competition with the advantage of 2:44 over Olej.

In the afternoon the relay race waited for us. I decided to run with Kubiaczek and Witek (who has a new sport blog address!). Obviously, I wanted to take part in the mass start to fight with Olej, Chrupek, Tomek and so on. There were only 2 forkings during the course (3rd and 9th one). I punched the first two controls first and found a really good rhythm. Unfortunately, I got a much longer forking on the 3rd one and had to chase Olej. There were some new fences on the big field close to the 4th control, which made me lose another 10 seconds (I punched it 34 seconds behind Olej). Unfortunately, I got too furious while following him and made an enormous mistakes at the 5th control, losing almost 2 minutes... The rest of the course went pretty well (I only lost some 5 seconds on the way to the 14th one - a bit too much to the right and a small hesitation), because I managed to catch Tomek and Chrupek and gained the 2nd place for our team in the finish, less than 2 minutes behind Olej.
Unfortunately, Kubiaczek looked for the 2nd control somewhere amongst the letters: PZOS: 10-31-1597/ŁDZ and lost sooo much time there. Witek had a really good race, but there was no possiblity of reaching the podium. Oh, actually there was! We achieved the 3rd place, because of Józef Kłos missing the 10th control. Orienteering - I love this game;)

On Sunday we competed in the sprint distance in Julianowski Park. Everyone had a good night's sleep and we were ready to rumble! I did a proper warm-up and started my race. The first 4 controls went flawlessly. To the 5th one I used my memory (I ran a technical training some 2 months ago there) and didn't manage to spot the left (smaller) bridge early enough. That's why I chose a longer route choice and lost about 8 seconds (6'' - route choice and 2'' - I should have run more straight to the bridge). Then, an easier part of the course, just running across the river. I took my time to find the best route choice to the 10th control, but it turned out that mine was much worse... I lost as much as 7 seconds there! Strange... (see the paragraph below to get to know why). To the 12th control it was better to take the right route choice, not the straight one as I did - I lost 4 seconds there. I had to struggle against a little physical crisis towards the controls no. 16 and 19. What's more, I completely didn't check where the 18th control was situated and lost some 2 seconds there. To the 19th one I should have gone more straight at the beginning to avoid muddy ground under my feet (2''). I finished the course with the feeling that it was a very solid performance and had to wait about 3 minutes for Olej to come. Exactly 3:00 in fact! And we achieved the 1st place ex aequo:) With the time of 14:37 - 4:59/km.

WORTH A READ! The course was full of different route choice options. That's why I decided to check, which ones were shorter. I used Ocad 8 to carry out my research.

1. - 380m (left) < 400m (right) - quite obvious

3. - 340m (right) < 380m (left) - as much as 12''!

5. - 230m (left) < 250m (right) - about 6 seconds

10. - 270m (LEFT!) < 290m (right) - I lost 7'' taking the shorter one!

12. - 200m (straight) < 210m (right) - I lost 4'' taking the straight one.

Controls no. 10 and 12 are both quite bizarre. I must agree that the straight way to the 12th control included a lot of curves and it might have slowed down my running speed. But I just can't understand why - choosing a 20m shorter route choice to the 10th control - I lost as much as 7 seconds! There must be something wrong with the map there. What? No idea...

This week I am getting ready for the coming Polish Club Championships in Białka. My plan for the 2nd part of the season looks quite impressive:

17-19.09. - PCC in Białka (sprint, middle, club relay - 1st leg at night)

24-26.09. - PC in Lidzbark Welski (night and classic)

2.10. - some regional competition (middle and sprint)

3.10. - halfmarathon in Łagiewnicki Forest
9-10.10. - Bóbr Valley's Cup in Bolesławiec (middle, sprint and classic)

17.10. - PC in Sulejów (long)

22-24.10. - BJC in Lithuania (classic and mixed relay)

30-31.10. - Smålandskavlen in Sweden (night/day 5-leg relay)

6-7.11. - Fast Brain 2010 in Warsaw organized by Slavko and Jacek!

I am totally ready to enjoy it!:)

Completely fed up with camps and technical trainings...

2010-09-09T22:12:00.002+02:00

HD quality, isn't it?

Fortunately, the title of this note is out-of-date right now, but I write posts in chronological order and had a little delay;)

The last 10 days of the 'normal' holidays I spent with our provincial team in Bieszkowice, where we had a technical camp, which ended with a 3-day competition called Grand Prix Pomorza 2010.

We had a wide variety of technical trainings there, like loops, memory training, classic races, maps with no tracks, night trainings, following the line and so on.

I felt that I had had enough of everything and found no pleasure in orienteering at that time. That's why I don't feel like describing all these courses.

I would only like to mention 3 things, which I would call O-FUN:

- sprint in the lake (organized by Tom and Mary; our aim was to punch controls - situated in the lake - in the right order presented on a small sheet of paper)

mispunched at 23rd

- microsprint (organized by Łukasz; he prepared the map on his own! a lot of controls everywhere and a very tricky course, I must say!)

- playing Chinese wispers (again Tom and Mary - thanks! we were divided into groups of 4 people and had to draw the same line on a clean map as the one presented on another one, only by using... check the meaning of this idiom and you'll understand everything!).

At the end of our camp we took part in GP Pomorza. My only goal for this competition was to finish the elite courses. The terrains were quite interesting and very demanding physically. The courses weren't too difficult (probably due to my snail speed). The controls were situated almost always in right places. The control descriptions were almost always the right ones. The tracks were almost always visible on the map.

So happy I came back home on 29th August in the late evening!

29 days out of home!

2010-08-19T19:40:00.000+02:00

It's been by far the longest journey in my life. It began on 19th July...

Day 1
Train to Gdynia. Waiting for Olej. Shopping in Tesco. Pizza in DaGrasso. Sleeping at AP's house.

Day 2

Ferry to Karlskrona. Michael (from Nybro OK) takes us to their clubhouse. Wow! We've already been there (Baltic Junior Cup 2008).

Day 3

The best O-training in my life! Normal course, Swiss game, in and out, contours and corridor. Just see how close to the control (a piece of toilet paper) I was during the 'Swiss game' part of the map! Then, sauna in the evening;)

Day 4

In the morning a middle distance course. I was very satisfied with my orienteering. In the afternoon we decided to check if the BJC 2008 mixed relay terrain was really so difficult and we made sure it was NOT. It means that we were poor some 22 months ago...

Day 5

Finally reaching Örebro for O-Ringen! Unfortunately, no tehcnical training, because the map was miserable and it cost 50 SEK. Exaggeration!

Day 6

Short physical training with Photo Orienteering as a part of it. Really nice to look for some small features in the city centre;)

Day 7

1st stage of O-Ringen. 10,7km. 92:34. Started quite good, but lost concentration after some stick stuck in my shoe near the 4th control. What's more, the map near the 8th control seemed just impossible to read for me... Afterwards wrong direction and not using the path on the long leg to the 12th one.

Day 8

2nd stage. 4,2km. 44:10. Great time, wasn't it? I spent so much time walking in the green area just before the 7th control that my only dream was to finish the course since that moment. Obviously, I didn't manage to avoid making mistakes later on...

Day 9

3rd stage. 11,4km. 99:07. Technically, the first half of the course went relatively well. Then, Gustav Bergman caught me at the 8th control and I took advantage of him towards the 12th control. I could have followed him till the end, but I decided to make my own race and let him go. Suddenly, I started to feel dizzy and terribly exhausted. I had problems walking on my own legs during the last part of the course...

Day 10

At last a day off! Generally, we did nothing. We only tried a combination of badminton and tennis - called speedminton.

Day 11

4th stage. 11,3km. 77:23. Certainly, it was my best performance at this year's O-Ringen. 36th place....... Matthias Kyburz caught me at the end of the long leg to the 15th control and showed me how to orienteer in this type of terrain. He is fucking fast, I must say! However, he lost some time to the 18th control and I kept my 'lead' till the finish line. Half a loaf is better than no bread;)

Day 12

5th stage. Handicap. 11,4km. 106:55. There was no transport to the arena because we were told it was within walking distance from the camping. Yeah... more than half an hour to the event centre, 2,5km to the start, almost 2 hours in the forest and more than 30 minutes of coming back. I had enough! My race? From the very beginning my only wish was to reach the finish line.

In the afternoon to Karlskrona by car and then a night ferry to Gdynia. At last!

Day 13

Waiting some long hours in McDonald's for the beginning of the official JWOC 2011 training camp.

And the first technical training. It seemed to be nothing special, but for me it was like salvation. I regained my lost motivation and power in my legs - brilliant!

Day 14

Morning: quite a long course on a map with scale 1:15000. The course included nice butterflies.

Afternoon: map with contours only. Unfortunately, there was no control flags in the forest - ridiculous... And the funny thing, I was sure I found controls no. 42, 38 and 37, but realized I had not after I got completely lost on my way towards the 43rd control. The biggest and most long-lasting parallel mistake in my life!

Day 15

M: a classic race. Our goal was to run the even controls fast and to rest at the odd ones. Very nice, but horribly exhausting training session!

A: some short and boring course in a flat terrain.

Day 16

M: middle distance with lots of butterflies. I could not understand the terrain properly. Fortunately, there is still much time to learn before JWOC 2011;)

A: just some stretching with all the people and taking rest before tomorrow's looong.

Day 17

M: 13,6km. I took this training very seriously, as a competition. I felt really well during the whole course and my technique was close to perfect. I only regret misinterpreting the map at the end of the longest leg and losing some time at controls no. 4 and 15 due to some new fences in the terrain.

A: a very interesting lecture with dr Jeremi Ściepurko. Really worth listening to!

Day 18

M&A: 2 technical training sessions in flat terrains. I started understanding this kind of terrain much better and feel more self-confident right now;)

Day 19

M: middle distance on a map with no tracks. We were bound to run with a competition pace. Unfortunately, I had problems understanding the map in some places and lost far too much time. Nevertheless, my running speed was promising;)

A: sprint in Rumia. I know this map well, cause I took part in some competition there in April this year. So it was only about the fast legs and Papuś was faster by 6 seconds that day.

Day 20

M: I wanted to run the long distance course that day. However, I was forced to make it shorter, because I had a really bad day and was not able to focus on map reading.

A: sprint in Wejherowo. The map quality is ridiculous... Furthermore, we had some closed gates and had to run around or climb up the fences. Moreover, I found a new gate in the terrain (while going to the 2nd control), by sheer coincidence. After all, the sprint was very nice and I had a really good race despite all the adversities.

Day 21

First legs training. Unfortunately, the controls situated in the forest weren't proper to set an interesting and FAIR course. I was far behind Olej already after the first double forking, but didn't give up. However, after losing plenty of time near the 106th control (where the map was just awful!) I decided to jog...

Afterwards the whole team left us and it was only me, Nati and Olej who decided to spend 2 more days in the JWOC 2011 terrain.

Day 22

M: I had a nice freestyle technical training with Olej. I was in my element while running in this forest.

A: We had a short course on a 1:15000 map 'Rogulewo' drawn by AP for us. I couldn't find the appropriate rhythm during this training session.

Day 23

In the morning Nati set controls in the forest for me and Olej. Thanks to her we had an opportunity to take part in a nice memory training. 2 times 3 courses with 2 controls on each of them.

Just after it we picked Hewi from Gdańsk and started our journey to Baniocha, because... Jolanta was organising a party there. It was a fancy dress ball and I decided to be an unemployed;) The party was outstanding!

Day 24

You should know what people tend to do after parties;-)

Day 25

We made our way to Przeworsk in order to take part in this year's GP Polonia.

On the very same day we competed in the 1st Unofficial World Orienteering Championships of Tied Couples. My partner was Nati and we became vicechampions! Incredible success:)

Day 26

1st stage of GPP. I made an enormous mistake (just the same as last year) and lost chances of winning the competition. However, I decided not to give up and finished 2nd in men's elite. Funny;)

In the late afternoon there was a sprint qualification race. I agreed to run in my 'unemployed' shoes (from Jolanta's party) and proved that shoes do not run, because I achieved the 3rd place only some 6 seconds behind the leader, Hewi.

Day 27

2nd stage of GPP. I just loved that forest! It was flat, only with some small hills and the runnability was brilliant. I made an average performance, losing only 1'35 to Włodar - nice!

In the evening the time came for the sprint final. The course was very tricky and interesting. Because of that I took wrong route choices 2 times and lost more than 40 seconds. I should have been angry at myself, but I wasn't, because my speed was awesome that day (winning 5 out of 10 splits) and I lost only 22 seconds to the unbeatable winner, Włodar.

Day 28

Last stage of GPP - sprint. Men's elite class was the last one to start that day, so we had a great opportunity to have a good laugh waiting some 2 hours for our start. The course was really demanding and I made an awful mistake while running to the 7th control, because I didn't see the black wall and had to turn back. Moreover, number '7' is situated in a wrong place on a map, because I thought that a gate under this number would be open... Nevertheless, my time loss to the leader was huge (14 mins) and my time advantage over the 3rd place was big (6mins), so my only goal was to finish the course not being disqualified. Somehow I managed;)
Then, I was ready for the bus journey to Łódź. That night I slept at grandma's.

Day 29
Finally, back at home!!!

Some days spent at home

2010-07-18T21:36:00.003+02:00

On Thursday I decided to cycle to the Łagiewnicki forest to take part in a physical training session (or maybe a bit more sincere: to meet with my clubmates). Altogether I spent nearly 100 minutes on the bike that day and 13'20 in my running shoes;)

On Friday we ran 2 sprints in Julianowski park. Strange route choices on both maps? Yeah... guess why!

Yesterday I took part in another first legs' training in Grotniki. It was a very nice course with an easy speed - comfortable to win the race;)

Tomorrow I am heading for Gdynia, because my ferry to Sweden leaves at 9:00 on Tuesday. O-Ringen!

Spontaneous decision

2010-07-18T21:19:00.003+02:00

Just after JWOC competitions Olej and I decided to visit our provincial team in Skwierzyna, where they had some technical camp before the coming 'Olympics'. It was a wonderful feeling to surprise our girls in the middle of the night, haha!

Our aim for these 2 days was to take as much rest as possible and have a great time with them. However, we took part in 2 nice technical trainings as well. The first one consisted of two short loops at a map with contours only. I made two enormous mistakes, but they didn't spoil my great mood at all;)

On the day of departure the first legs' training waited for us. I had not enough energy and power to lead the race, but surprisingly I managed to win it because of a better forking at the end (8th control). I love this game!

It is really possible! (the end of JWOC story)

2010-07-18T21:01:00.000+02:00

Useful rest day

We really deserved this one-day break after a very tiring long distance race. The organizers prepared a model event for relay that day. Firstly, we started laughing while looking at the map, because it seemed to be too easy and almost useless. However, it turned out that these open fields (yellow areas) weren't covered with grass but some pricking bushes, which made running much more difficult. The relay race on Saturday was going to be really tough...

Solid middle qualification

I felt that I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I hadn't managed to get to the A final. So I just decided to do my best to qualify and thanks to it I had an almost clean race with quite a good speed. The terrain was unbelievably easy and fast. I only had some hesitations at the beginning (1st and 4th) and probably took not the best route choices at the end (18th and 19th). All in all, it was a wonderful feeling during the long finish when I already knew that I would compete in the A final the following day;)

(Bad) luck during the middle final

Bad luck? The first part of the course (6 controls) was very tricky. Unfortunately, I lost too much time at the beginning. Small hesitation while running to the 1st control... Running too much to the right while approaching the 4th control... Running much too far and looking for the 6th control near the wrong hill... 5+20+55=80secs, whereas I lost 73 seconds to the podium place. That's a pity!

Luck? Just before the 4th control I managed to catch Vetle Ruud Bråten from Norway, who started 2mins ahead of me. Thanks to him my speed and self-confidence were much higher later on and I could be happy with a TOP 15 result in a JWOC individual race. 14th!

Analysing the splits, I got to know that my time in the easier (forest) part of the race (from the 6th control till the end) was 15secs better than the one of the bronze medallist Olle Boström from Sweden. I became convinced that it is really possible for me to get a JWOC medal next year!

JWOC diploma in the relay!

It was an unbelievably hot day and the courses were extremely exhausting due to many open areas and huge amount of climb. I stood in the first row (thanks to our team's 8th place last year - Jacek, Jancia, Rino) and expected an incredibly fast mass start. That's why I started quite fast as well and... landed in the lead - quite funny;)

The first double forking went really well. Then, I decided for the track route choice to the 5th control. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but eventually it must have been quite ok. Afterwards a triple forking came! I got a bit confused while running to the 8th control, because almost everyone went left there. Fortunately, I was brave enough to go alone to the right hill. I took a very round route choice to the 10th control, but it turned out to be quite good as well. Then, a spectators' passage and a map change for the second loop.

One more time I chose a round route choice to the 14th control - really good. However, the right one using the mountain top might have been a bit faster. While running to the 16th one, I saw a big group of about 4 runners some 150m ahead of me. Unfortunately, it seemed quite impossible to catch them and I had to run almost alone from that moment. Technically, the rest of the course went really ok, but I wasn't able to keep the appropriate speed...

I finished my race on the 8th place less than 4mins behind the leading Swedish team. It was a quite satisfying result and a good starting position for the next legs. Olej had a brilliant race and jumped onto the 5th place! Unfortunately, Rino didn't succeed in gaining a podium place. Nevertheless, he secured our 5th place and a JWOC diploma! I think all of us did their best and thanks to this magnificent team effort we could celebrate the 5th place in the world!

Saturday's afternoon and evening

Just after coming back to the barracks we decided for a short football match on the pitch. We all felt terribly exhausted, but who cares?:)

In the evening the time came for the well-known JWOC banquet. Fortunately, I was able to keep my drinking under control and had a great party with the orienteers from all over the world;-)

JWOC long map and analysis

2010-07-07T18:38:00.001+02:00

I didn't start my race well. I made mistakes at the first two controls (0'50 and 0'35). I think they were caused by my not competing in sprint the previous day...

Then, I went a bit too far at the 6th control (0'20). I had problems leaving that control and attacking the next one (0'15). I decided to go straight and ran too much to the left (0'10).

The butterflies weren't as tricky as I had expected them to be. However, I took the wrong route choice to the 10th one (0'15), because I caught some other runner at the 9th control and wanted to run away from him as fast as possible. Then, a 'mirror' mistake to the 12th control (0'10).

I managed to run the middle part of the course (between controls no. 13 and 24) in 33:56, while the Junior World Champion's (Pavel Kubat's) time was 32:40. It's really promising;)

The 25th control was one of the trickiest ones, because situated in the green. I should have chosen the left route choice. But I didn't and went too far there (0'30) - I was lucky not to lose more time in that area.

During the last loop I felt really exhausted. That's why I took a round route choice to the 27th control, which turned out to be much worse than the straight one using the paths. I must have lost most of this time trying to get down in dense green (0'45).

Even the last control was very difficult! Firstly, you had to get uphill (which was terribly tiring) and then, find the control somewhere in the bushes. I landed a bit too much to the left, but saw the tapes after a short while (0'10).

Summing it all up, it was quite difficult to estimate how much time I lost. However, I tried to do so and it turned out that I lost about 4mins due to my mistakes. If it hadn't been for them, I would have taken the... 16th place. Sounds miserable, but my physical shape that day wasn't as good as I would have wished to. So the TOP 10 result seems to have been possible. Maybe in the middle?

26th in long

2010-07-06T22:38:00.000+02:00

My aim for this race was to achieve a TOP 20 place, my dream - TOP 10.
The start was delayed by 40 minutes - ridiculous!
Unfortunately, I made mistakes at the first 2 controls and lost my self-confidence. I had to fight with myself to still believe... The middle part of the course went pretty well, although I didn't feel fantastic physically. At the spectator control I was 19th. During the last loop I felt really exhausted and lost some time (actually not due to my mistakes, but due to my lack of belief and praying just to finish my race).
All in all, my result is much better than I had expected while running. However, my performance was just featureless - not bad and not good... Comparing to my 99th place in Sweden 2 years ago, I can see an enormous progress. What's more, there's potential to fight for the TOP 10. Nevertheless, the podium place was completely out of reach and it's bitter...

The map with route choices and some analysis tomorrow, because there's a rest day at JWOC.

Amazing girls! & tomorrow's long

2010-07-05T22:35:00.000+02:00

First of all, I must admit I am so proud to be a member of Polish Junior Team during JWOC 2010 in Denmark! Why? We achieved 2 medals in the sprint distance!!! Hania and Monika - I give a big hand to YOU:)

As far as my performance at JWOC is concerned, tomorrow I am running my first race - long distance.
Yesterday I took part in a short model event for long. The scale 1:15 000 makes it very difficult to read the map precisely. What's more, I totally lost contact with the map once... Fortunately, it was only a model event and I have drawn a very important conclusion thanks to it: execute your route choice STEP BY STEP.

My start time for tomorrow is 11:34. It's just perfect for me! I promise to do my best and fight for the best result possible!

JWOC coming soon...

2010-07-03T23:29:00.001+02:00

I spent two days in Świnoujście doing 2 technical trainings. The first one was a very interesting middle distance, whereas the second one was a line training combined with controls picking, unfortunately both of the at the same map. However, it was really worth orienteering in this terrain!

Today, after a very long and tiring car journey (7h in extreme heat!), we reached Aalborg - the place where JWOC 2010 is being organized. In the evening I did a short physical training session (with about 7mins of orienteering at an easy sprint map at the barracks, where we actually stay).

Tomorrow I am running model event for long distance in the morning and some speed training in the afternoon. On Monday 5 of us are competing in JWOC sprint distance, while I am just taking rest before the Tuesday's long distance race in Svinklov.

I am unbelievably surprised with the bronze girls today! Great!:* And Papuś, you're a real hero!:)

Quick catching up before JWOC!

2010-06-30T19:57:00.028+02:00

I haven't written for a very long time, but now it's high time I fixed it;)

Polish Champs in Gdańsk

The sprint distance went pretty well for me. I managed to keep a really good speed throughout the race and gained the 2nd place (5secs behind Hewi). Analysing my route choices and splits, it turned out that I lost gold because of being too hesitant just after the 3rd control. However, I was very satisfied with my performance.

The middle distance wasn't as technical as it should be. Despite that fact, I didn't succeed in avoiding making mistakes. The worst one came while running to the 3rd control. I saw Drągu, who started 2mins ahead of me, got this weird feeling and misunderstood the contours completely. Eventually, I achieved the silver medal... 7secs behind... Hewi. I felt a little bit disappointed, but still very happy about my stable shape.

The most wonderful thing is the fact that on both days the podium looked the same: Hewi, me and Rino. Nevertheless, not only the people were the same, but also the time difference between the winner and bronze medalist - 21secs!

In relay we knew that it would be very difficult for us to reach the podium, but we never gave up! I ran the last leg in my team and started to the forest as the 6th runner. During the race I managed to catch Włodar (2'34) and Jacek Kowalczyk (5'16). Running with Włodar was a real pleasure, because the pace was very high and everything happened so quickly. At the very end I had a shorter forking and had the opportunity to gain some advantage over him. I managed, but he was incredibly fast before the finish and I lost the 4th by some 5 seconds. Respect!

Technical camp in Białogóra

The first two days were full of slow, easy running, because we were taking rest after the demanding PC weekend.

On Wednesday we ran a very interesting sprint in Gdynia (the map from EYOC 2002). The start interval was 15secs, what made this race much faster, I think. I took stupid route choice to the 7th control (too much climb) and lost some time close to the control, as well. Apart from that, I ran really well and lost 15secs to the winner - Rino.

On Thursday we had a really tiring long distance (12,65km). It consisted of 3 loops. The first 2 of them went pretty well, but the last one was a real disaster - due to my tiredness, all the scrapes on my feet and bent north lines on the map... Unfortunately, 2 controls were set in wrong places and I didn't find them. However, I lost some time while running around and looking for them everywhere. After all, my performance was quite satisfying;)

Kytäjä-Jukola 2010

On the ferry between Stockholm and Helsinki something really amazing happened. We took part in an orienteering competition!!! Just see the map and regret not having been there:)

On Saturday afternoon Olej and I decided to run a short technical training session to familiarize ourselves with the terrain and get to know what was waiting for us in the nearest future. Since that moment we had known that we were going to run in the most challenging terrain in our lives!

I wanted to run the 1st leg and I got the chance! The start was at 22:55 (Finnish time - sunset). Unfortunately, it was raining (what made the terrain even more difficult), but I felt really hot and excited inside. I stood in the 3rd row among 1534 other runners! The music at the start was really thrilling, I remember. And it all began...

The decisive moment was the forking before the long leg, where I lost touch with my group and had to run the very long leg with a much slower and technically worse tram. While heading to the finish, I thought I would take the 500th place. To my surprise, I was 102nd (a little less than 12mins behind the leaders). All things considered, it was an average performance, but the experience was unbelievable!

Vestjysk 2-dages in Denmark

Only some time after a long plane (2 times) and car journey we were to run the sprint. The course was really long - 4km (my watch states that I ran 6,37km!). The terrain was very demanding physically because of numerous meters of climb. The map was a little bit imprecise. There was quite an interesting route choice to the 15th one. What would you choose? I lost more than a minute to the 17th control due to the fact that the map was not made in accordance with ISSOM.

The next day we competed in a very challenging long distance race - 10,4km. I made some mistakes (especially to the 22nd one...), but I must admit that the terrain was very tricky - full of green areas and winding contours. I was very happy about my result, since I managed to achieved the 3rd spot (behind some elite runners and ahead of my peers, with whom I'll fight in one week's time at JWOC).
Note: the map was made by the Poles: Lech Trzpil and Piotr Sierzputowski.

3 days ago we decided for a middle distance. That day I felt completely out of tune, probably due to my enormous headache the previous evening. That's why my only dream was to finish the course and take some rest. Fortunately, we got the opportunity to run in the dunes. The last part of the course was very greeeeen and running was almost impossible. To sum it up, that stay in Denmark was very useful before the coming JWOC competitions and my performance during the long distance made me believe in my abilities;-)

Now

Yesterday I decided to make some blood tests and got to know that my results are better than ever! What's more, I changed my hairstyle and am much lighter now;) Moreover, I passed my A-level exams even better than I had expected. It's not a place to boast about it, but I just can't help telling you that I got 99% in written Polish (basic level, of course) - I still can't believe it, haha! Furthermore, I did 2 great physical training sessions yesterday and today, during which my legs were close to flying;)
It's all a very positive signal for the nearest future and in the future comes...

JWOC 2010 in Denmark

I am leaving at 22:10 to Świnoujście tonight and then, probably on Saturday, to Aalborg. I am going to run the long distance (6th July), middle distance qualification (8th July), hopefully middle A-final (9th July) and relay (10th July). I promise to do my best and fulfil my expectations!
All the appropriate information here.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR OUR WHOLE TEAM!

I've finally found the right rhythm!

2010-06-09T09:09:00.000+02:00

It all began almost 2 weeks ago when I left Łódź for a long sport camp.

After taking part in short medical tests in the north of Poland we made our way towards Germany to compete in International Ostsee OL 2010. It was the last chance for me to show something before announcing the list of runners to represent Poland at the coming JWOC in Denmark. However, I felt no pressure at all, because I had completely changed my attitude after a real disaster at PCC one week earlier... and it was the best thing I could have done at that moment!

On Friday we took part in a model event so as to get used to this kind of terrain.

The competition itself started on Saturday with the middle distance race. That day I felt quite well physically, but I wasn't able to feel the map. I had problems understanding the contours, estimating the distance and keeping the direction. That's why I made more than 5mins of mistakes and got a miserable place on the result list.

Next day there was a WRE race - 15,7km and 450m of climb. I had been looking forward to taking part in it for a really long time. My performance was very close to perfect! I took a round route choice to the 5th control (which turned out to be pretty good). It involved extremely fast running using tracks. Probably that's why I got a bit tired afterwards and lost about 2mins to the next control... However, I decided not to give up, because I still felt a grat chance of achieving a brilliant result. The rest of the course went pretty well (despite some hesitations near controls: 12, 23 and 25). I only thought that my pace at the end of the race was too slow. Nevertheless, it turned out that everyone got tired then and my pace was one of the best ones (comparing to other Polish runners). Eventually, I managed to gain a podium place (3rd) and the best time among the Poles (18secs faster than Rino and 5mins ahead of Hewi). I really needed this magnificent performance, because it made me believe it is possible to win with them - a positive signal before the Polish Champs:) What's more, I think this race showed me and everyone else that I am the appropriate person to run JWOC 2010.

The same day in the evening we took part in a nice city sprint in Heringsdorf. We felt really tired and decided to take it easy, just for fun. Only Hewi decided to run a bit faster and won the elite class;) Seeing the control descriptions before the race we organized a small competition for us all. The aim was to achieve the best time possible on the leg 10-11. The winner was Rino (who took the left route choice) with the time of 1:06. Slavko and I took the 2nd place (following the red line) - 1:08.

On Monday there was a hunting start. The course was quite long again - 11,2km. Although I didn't manage to catch Rino during the race, I was very satisfied with my performance, because I achieved the best time among the Poles once again (over 1 minute ahead or Rino and Hewi). The course was physically demanding, but as for the technical aspects - it was much too easy...

All in all, the only thing I can regret is the poor performance at the 1st stage, because of which I missed the podium (4th place in general classification). However, I am incredibly happy about this stay in Germany, because it just must have been a real breakthrough in my career during this season!

Afterwards Rino and I waited for Pałka and Dyzia to come from Baltic Cup in Poland and we all travelled to Denmark for a short technical camp before JWOC 2010 then.

My goal was to familiarize myself with the challenging terrain, especially running (or even walking) and orienteering through the green areas (they are awfully green, I must say!), reading the dunes precisely and keeping the right direction.

I had 8 technical trainings there, 2 of which were fast ones. Comparing my technical performance to the one from the last year (on the same maps) I got to know that I made an enormous progress and I am so happy about it! ;-)

On 29th June we travelled to Szklarska Poręba by car (more than 1000km!) to spend some days working on our physical abilities. I must admit this camp wasn't so exhausting as the previous one about a month ago. However, we did some demanding training sessions - we even had a technical training in pairs once;) Unfortunately, the weather was awful almost all the time...

On Friday evening we moved to Czech Republic with the Polish Junior Team and competed in two races of Gigasport Cesky pohar 2010. Most of us decided to run at full speed only during the middle distance course on Saturday. That day the terrain was just too challenging for us all and the results we achieved were miserable. It's been my first time in the rocks this year, so nothing to be surprised at.

I took the tough long distance race on Sunday very easily. My pace was really close to the so-called 'holiday' one - I only tried to avoid making unnecessary mistakes and I somehow managed. I succeeded in gaining the 14th spot (exactly the same as in the middle) - weird... To tell you everything, this time the weather was just brilliant, even a bit too brilliant;)

After all these amazing adventures I could finally reach my home on Sunday evening and take a wonderful rest! Now I am just ahead of an interval training before Polish Championships in Gdańsk this weekend.

Can't wait to fight for the medals there!

At last I can change my suit into tracksuit!

2010-05-20T14:39:00.000+02:00

Today I finished taking my A-level exams;-)

I managed to pass all my oral exams with the following percentages:
Polish - 80%
English (basic) - 100%
English (extended) - 100%.

Judging from my answers, I hope to get the following percentages in the written ones:
Polish (basic) - ~75%
Maths (basic) - 100%
Maths (extended) - 100%
English (basic) - 100%
English (extended) - ~95%
Physics (extended) - ~50% ?!

All in all, I am very satisfied with my academic performance during the last two weeks. Fortunately, I do NOT have to bother any more and can completely devote myself to orienteering.

As soon as in some hours I am leaving for a very long sports camp. It is going to last about 17 days:
21.05. - some medical tests in Gdynia
22-24.05. - a 3-day competition in Germany (including 4 races; ultralong and sprint among them)
25-29.05. - a short technical stay in Denmark in order to get ready for the coming JWOC
30.05.-4.06. - physical camp in Szklarska Poręba with Pasza
5-6.06. - a 2-day competition in Czech Republic.

I do hope to improve my physical, technical and mental(!) shape there:)

The state of extreme disappointment...

2010-05-19T15:37:00.001+02:00

Last weekend my shape looked like this red line presented in the graph on the left. My shape in general, I mean - because my physical shape fell short of my expectations almost all the time. I couldn't find the right rhythm in March and April but still believed in Pasza's promises that everything would work appropriately in May. And?! An awful disappointment and depression...

On Friday we travelled to the north of Poland to fight in the first round of the Polish Club Championships. The same day in the afternoon the relay competition was held. It was my first time to compete in the elite class. I was chosen to run the last leg in our team.

Pasza did a very good job on the first leg coming on the 3rd place ex aequo with Lupek only some 30secs behind the leader. Cilu made his own race and came alone on the 3rd spot as well. My starting position was really promising, because I began my course no more than 2mins behind Hewi and with the advantage of more than 6mins over the next team.

My goal was to start calmly and find the 1st control confidently. That's why I chose the track route choice. Once I had left this path, I saw Hewi coming down in the completely opposite direction. Then, he turned back and we reached the top of the hill together. He did not even say anything. We looked for this control hurriedly and lost 45 seconds there.

We ran quickly to the 2nd one. In the area close to the control Hewi decided to go right but I was sure it must have been situated on my left side. Fortunately, I was right and managed to gain the advantage of some meters. The next 2 controls were quite easy and I had no problems finding them. I started running straight to the 5th one and didn't see Hewi behind me. From that moment I got the opportunity to run completely alone.

Then, an easy route choice to the 6th control. On my way to the 7th control I lost some 5 seconds due to not being self-confident enough in the middle of the leg (when to leave the path). As for the next control, I chose the right route choice at first, but suddenly changed my mind and went left. Moreover, I didn't carry out my plan for the whole leg. For these reasons, I made mistake of about 30secs altogether. After all, I think that the right route choice was a bit better...

Although the 9th control seems very easy, I didn't succeed in keeping the right direction and lost about 10 precious seconds. The following controls (10-12) were very tricky, but I managed to avoid making mistakes on these legs.

I wasn't sure if I was heading for the right hill to the 13th control, but I was so lucky to see the control flag in the hole just some meters in front of me. Fortunately, just a small hesitation. I noticed that the 14th control was going to be a very difficult one. Therefore, I decided to run to the corner of the field and look for the distinct vegetation boundary. I was really satisfied with my safe choice!

I got into small trouble while looking for the 15th control (~5 seconds) because I thought it was not going to be set that high... I must admit that - in my opinion - the next control was one of the most difficult controls on the whole course (if not the most difficult one!). I found a control from another forking on the hill in the south. Fortunately, I had the right feeling where I should have gone afterwards and eventually found it. However, I still lost about 35 seconds there.

The 17th control was just a formality for me and then, the spectator control - I just love this feeling while running past the spectators during a relay competition! I could hear them shouting loudly and became convinced I struggled for the silver medal.

The last loop was really short with lots of tricky controls. Just after the spectator control I had to face some problems while looking for the 19th one - a hole in the middle of nowhere. After about 25 seconds of hesitation I saw Iwona Wicha running fast to the control. My ass was saved!

As for the 20th one, many runners complained about this leg, because lots of them went too much to the right. So did I and lost another 10 seconds. I went past the 21st control not seeing it at all! Luckily, I spotted the end of the so-called erosion gully (I cheched this word at IOF's website) and immediately turned back. No less than 45 seconds lost...

The last controls of the race were obvious. Nevertheless, because of the lack of concentration I lost about 10 seconds while going to the 24th one. At the beginning of the finish I looked back a couple of times and jogged easily to the finish line. On my way towards it, I shook hands with my clubmates. It was an unbelievably nice feeling as well!

To sum it all up, I had a really good race that day. I made about 3'40 of mistakes throughout this tricky course. I managed to gain one place on the last leg. That's why I was incredibly satisfied with my performance and happy about the spectacular 2nd place in the men's elite!

On Saturday we were to compete in an exhausting long distance race. The course was 10,9km with 490m of climb. I was lucky (or not?) to draw the 3rd start minute. I had not so much time and forgot to read my pre-race assumptions, which I prepared some days ago. I got a bit confused, but didn't want it to spoil my race...

1. - just following the red line in the green, I must admit I walked during this leg, because it was almost impossible for me to run up this steep and slippery hill...

2. - the first long leg of the course, I hadn't planned my route choice in advance, but did it as soon as possible after leaving the area of the 1st control, I chose the best way to go and won this split

3. - short leg across the marsh and through the green, I just kept the direction and corrected it a bit at the end

4. - I controlled all the contours during this leg and it was enough not to make mistake there

5. - in spite of the small mistake in the very last part of this leg, I managed to win this split (0'05)

6. - a small hesitation while climbing up the hill and I had to turn right a bit to reach the control (0'05)

As you can see, I had a really good start and was leading the race. Then, I didn't manage to avoid semi-small mistakes (especially while attacking the controls):

7. - I knew it was going to be a tough one, I was very focused on comparing the terrain with the map and had only some hesitations during this leg, at the very end I went too much to the left (0'15)

8. - very short, but not easy control, because situated in green; I missed the right hill and ran to the left one instead (0'20)

9. - I managed to keep the direction quite well; however, close to the control I saw a wrong depression in the terrain and ran towards it (0'15)

10. - a relatively easy leg, but the control was situated in a tricky and vague area, that's why I had to slow down a bit while approaching it

11. - I thought that it was bound to be a rocky wall, not a stone smaller than a control flag!

12. - distinct vegetation boundaries and white area made this leg really easy

13. - as soon as I had reached the path just after the previous control, I started to mull over whether not to go round... I should have taken the straight one immediately! Moreover, I went too much to the right just before the control (0'30)

14. - going down the re-entrant; unfortunately, I hadn't checked all the depressions on the map in the control area in advance and ran to the wrong one at first (0'10)

15. - easy control, a hole just before the green, but I should have taken advantage of this leg and prepare my route choice for the following one!!!

Despite making some mistakes in this middle part of the course, I didn't give my lead away. Nevertheless, a real disaster was still to come...

16. - a short summary of this long leg:

* I chose the straight route choice, which turned out to be worse than the one on the right using the tracks - I didn't even notice the best one during the race (0'50)

* I got nervous some 300m before the control and went too much to the right and had to walk slowly across the marsh (0'40)

* I had enormous problems finding the control because I actually had no attack point and didn't know whether I should go left or right (2'00)

Altogether I lost about 3'30 on this leg and it's approximately the time that I was behind the winner, Rino.

17. - it was not an easy control, so I had some small hesitations while approaching it

18. - I spent a short while close to the control to catch a glimpse of the control flag

19. - at the beginning I started running too much to the right (0'05)

20. - I planned to notice a cross just after crossing the path and I managed to pursue this goal; unfortunately, I wasn't prepared where the control was to stand and hoped it would suddenly appear to me, obviously, I had to stop for a while and read the map precisely (0'15)

21. - a very easy, short leg; however, I still checked the left depression in order not to go past this control

22. - just following the track and looking for the tapes

F - a really tiring one, I must say.

Mistakes: 5'30.

Just after my race I wasn't sure if I should have been satisfied with my performance. I decided to wait for the others to come. It turned out that I only managed to take the 4th place and my mistake to the 16th was much larger than I had expected. I got terribly gloomy and depressed...

The last race I had to compete in was the Sunday's sprint distance. Yeah... I HAD TO, because I actually didn't want it. I wasn't able to believe in myself and completely ran out of motivation. However, I decided to take it easy and see what would happen.

The first part of the course seemed very easy and much faster than I had expected. To the 1st control I should have gone straight, but almost no-one managed to notice this route, because it all happened much too quickly just after grabbing the map at the start (0'05). I should have used the path around this bushy forest to the 3rd one (0'03). During the next 3 controls I had a really good speed and a confident O-technique, because I managed to win these splits. The other 3 legs were a bit longer, but they didn't cause difficulties for me. Similarly to the long distance race, I was in the lead at that moment...

I saw that the 10th leg was not going to be an obvious one. However, I didn't succeed in carrying out my plan for this leg in its middle part. What's more, I hadn't checked the control descriptions and came to the wrong control no. 56. The funniest thing about it all is the fact that while leaving this control, I looked at the control descriptions and saw no. 38. Then, I thought: 'Ok, it was 38, so I can go!'. Astonishing!

Because of punching another control, I got into trouble while running to the next one. Afterwards I wasn't able to understand the map to the 12th one and spent some time on the slope not knowing where to go (0'15). I started looking for the 15th control much too early and mistook one marsh for another. The waste of time was horrible: 1'10!

In the last part of the course I avoided making mistakes. Nevertheless, I wasn't determined to push hard and even stopped for a while and helped Gosia from my club on my way to the last control.

Mistakes: 1'33.

Of course, my result was DISQ. I am really sorry for my disqualification, because I didn't win the precious points for my club. On the other hand, personally I prefer being disqualified to being ranked on the 5th place with a miserable time...

During the prize giving ceremony that day I achieved a cup for winning the Polish Orienteering Federation ranking last year in class M18. An irony of fate.

Just after last weekend's competitions I even wanted not to run during the coming 4 days, because I was totally fed up with my performances. Nonetheless, Pasza persuaded me that it was not a good idea and prepared a light and nice training plan for this week. Unfortunately, I still have to look for the lost motivation and determination.

Fortunately, hope dies last.......

Forsta strackor in Rydzyny

2010-05-10T15:56:00.004+02:00

On Saturday Pasza decided to organise a first legs training in Rydzyny. Some of us helped him set the controls in the forest and punctually at 11:19 we were ready for the mass start!

I was extremely motivated to run as fast as possible and win the race. My goal for that training was to be in the lead most of the time, make my own decisions and not to look at the others.

On the start line there were 10 competitors in our class: Pasza, Zielu, Łukasz, Kubiaczek, Witek, Jeżu, Kluska, Kamil, Dzidek and me.

START - I grabbed my map and started running extremely fast to the start triangle. I just wanted to have as much fun as possible;) my pace during these 366m was 2:56/km.

1. (forking) - The forking here was obvious for everyone, I think. I had no problems finding my control and punched it first just a while ahead of Cilu. However, judging from my Garmin routes and the fact that I had to go much to the left after crossing the path I am not sure if the control was situated in the appropriate hole...

2. - Very easy control. We were told that there was no fence there before the race.

3. - I left the 2nd control first and kept the right direction to the next one. Unfortunately, I must have confused some areas and started running much too far to the right. Probably I was thinking that I was going from the 1st control... Suddenly, I saw a control and ran towards it. Obviously, it was not mine. I turned back and saw a whole group of runners approaching the right control. 40 seconds lost

4. - Immediately, I started catching up with the group and overtaking them. I was 2nd just some metres before the control, but Witek fell down and I got the opportunity to take the lead.

5. - I thought I was going much more to the right at the beginning, but realised I was wrong while passing the track and the pasture just after it. Then, Cilu set a really good pace and I followed him to the 5th control.

6. - I managed to gain a considerable time advantage on this long leg, but still saw Pasza behind me.

7. - I knew it was going to be a tricky control... I ran between the green areas and was sure that the control would appear in some seconds. But it didn't. I felt that I went a bit too far. Unfortunately, I couldn't guess whether I should go left or right. Then, the whole group came and Cilu started running to the right. I thought it was quite possible and followed him, like all the others did. Afterwards, for about 2mins we were just looking at ourselves and jogging in this area. Suddenly, Pasza noticed that it already was the other path we just passed and we all turned back to the control, where Kluska was already waiting for us... 2'20 lost!

8. (forking) - I didn't expect a forking here. However, I didn't look at the others and took my own route choice. That's why I punched the 8th control first just some seconds ahead of Pasza.

9. - Just a formality, me punching first.

10. - Quite a long, easy leg in the part of the forest with great runnability and visibility. I was approaching the place where the control should have been situated and suddenly saw a control on my right side. I looked at the map and became certain there can't have been any forking. However, as most uf us thought the control was wrongly set. My Garmin and Cilu picking this control made it clear;)

11. (forking) - I set these controls before the course and was sure how to attack them. I punched my control alone and on my way to the next one I saw Pasza punching the another one from that forking. We managed to run away from the chasing group and from that moment a 1,4km long finish began for us...

12. - I didn't want to give the lead away and managed to follow the best route choice possible.

13. - It was just keeping the right direction and going through the small green areas.At the end of this leg Pasza decided to speed up a bit, but I was very determined to punch the last control first and I succeeded in pursuing my goal.

FINISH - I did my best so as not to let Pasza overtake me and I became a lucky winner with the advantage of only 3secs over him and about 1min over Łukasz and Cilu.

The course length was 7,08km and the time I achieved was 36:13. This makes a nice route pace of 5:07/km. If it hadn't been for my 2 mistakes of about 3mins altogether, the pace would have been about 4:41/km...
Nevertheless, I am unbelievably satisfied with my performance and my physical shape. I was in the lead almost all the time and that's what I actually wanted!

Challenging terrains in Norrkoping and Finspang!

2010-05-09T21:53:00.001+02:00

On Friday we competed in Elitserien sprint E2 in Norrkoping.

The sprint itself was just wonderful! First of all, the organization was brilliant. We went into the competition office on the 3rd floor, where we were told to wait and change clothes on the 5th floor. Then, we had to go down, to the garage on the 2nd floor, where we could leave our things and go to the warm up map. Sounds amazing? Yeah, it really WAS amazing! We weren't able to enter the pre-start area until our starting minute was called. Then, we followed colourful stripes to the start and had about 2mins left to the beginning of our race.

One woman and one man started simultaneously from a special wooden platform. I grabbed my map abruptly and saw that the 1st control was very close to the start. The course setter was unbelievably tricky and put the so-called lamp on our way to the first control. I mean another control, obviously. Unfortunately, I fell into this trap and lost 5 precious seconds. The 2nd control went with no problems, although judging from the split times I was just too slow on this leg. And then a real disaster came... I made 5(!) mistakes going to the 3rd control!

- I started running to the 7th control instead of the 3rd one, though I had checked it earlier and knew exactly where I should have gone - lack of concentration?

- I turned left much too early and had to turn back, though I didn't even plan to run there, because I noticed it was impossible to do so - hurry?

- I didn't manage to see that there was no gate between the 2 buildings and entered the so-called dead end - blindness?

- I checked if there was no way to the control on its left side, of course there wasn't, because the control was situated some metres below the place I was standing in at the moment - helplessness?
- Finally, I succeeded in finding my way to the control (still not the best one!), but it wasn't the end of my troubles, since I had to stop for a while because I hadn't expected to attack the control from that side and wasn't sure where it was bound to be - consequence of all the afore-mentioned?

How much time did I lose? About 1 minute, the sprint was over for me!

Till the end of this race I avoided making any huge mistakes. I just could have taken another route choices to the following controls:

*4th - the right one?
*8th - the right one turned out to be faster
*15th - I should have run close to the red line at the beginning
*16th - the left one might have been a bit faster
*17th - I think it was better to use the main alley and then go down using the yellow field.

All in all, I was surprisingly quite satisfied just after the race. But don't think it was due to my performance! It was because of the great opportunity of running in such a marvellous terrain I got! What a pity, we do not have such chances in Poland.......

On Saturday Hewi, Olej and I decided to pay 30SEK for a Tiomila training map and we just can't regret it! The 5km long middle distance course in a tricky Swedish forest - should we want more?;) I was really surprised how easily I could find controls in this difficult area. I must have been having a very good day, which was a really good sign before the coming 10mila at night!

In 10mila I was chosen to run the 2nd leg in Polish Junior Team relay. Pasza started at 22:00. The mass start was really amazing, as the spectators were able to see the runners for about 3 minutes due to an open steep slope at the very beginning. Pasza lost some time already at the 1st control and came 88th to the finish. It was quite a good starting position to fight for a better place.
My course was 12,2km long. I got into a group with a really good pace and followed them for some time. However, they started to split - the forking at the 1st control was obvious. I took a look at my map and compared it with the terrain and decided to run my own way. I passed the marsh, ran up the hill and saw the control no. 112 - yeah, it was mine! It boosted my self-confidence and made me so determined to catch the next group which was already on their way to the 2nd control. I just noticed that it was a really long leg, ran onto the track and chased them. I got really afraid every time this path turned, because I lost eye-contact with them. This forced me to run even faster and I eventually succeeded in catching them. I didn't control the map precisely enough on this leg, but fortunately I managed to guess my location due to the marsh in the green area I was passing (very close to my control).
3rd control was very easy to find and I expected there wouldn't be any forking. Nevertheless, my route choice to the 4th one was horrible. I behaved like a child in M14 and ran an S-shaped leg. I had small hesitations approaching the 5th control, because I saw many headlamps in different places. I controlled my own map and decided to turn right a bit. I was right once again! The short loop consisting of controls 6-10 meant only very fast running and passing the slower runners.
Then, quite a long leg to the 11th one. However, most of it on the track with the pace of about 3:20/km. Some 100m before the 12th control I was curious why the whole group decided not to run following the red line. Obviously, I was not brave enough to go there alone;) Afterwards the 'spectator' part of the course. Checking the results it turned out that I was 24th punching the 16th control. 64 places better than the starting position!

Unfortunately, I got really exhausted in this last loop of the race and made some wrong decisions losing lots of time. Firstly, the 17th control - I can't remember crossing that winding path before the another forking. Then, I didn't know about a new clearing in the area of my 17th one and got pretty confused while approaching it. I lost about 35-40 seconds there. 18th control - just a formality. To the 19th one I decided to go using this path up the hill and followed one group. Unfortunately, they completely missed it, I was sure something went wrong but didn't dare to change the direction and followed them till the control. We found it with no problems at the end. However, we lost almost 2 minutes because of running far too much to the right and sinking in the marshes and mud...

The 20th one was very close. Then, the last forking came. I was really tired and followed the same group. Controlling the map wasn't so easy as at the beginning or in the middle part of the course. I found another control and had to decide alone where to go. I was sure I had to run some more meters to find mine. I looked at the map calmly and went straight to the control. I was really angry due to losing about 1'30 to this control, but looking back on this race I am proud of myself, since I was able to behave appropriately in such a difficult situation.

The last legs required just fast running and fighting for the best plase at the finish. I managed to cross the finish line as the first runner in my group some 30 seconds behind the better group. While crossing it, I saw '48' over me - it meant that I was the 49th runner to finish the 2nd leg! I succeeded in going up by 39 places;-)

I achieved the 40th time on my leg losing 5:16 to the winner. If it hadn't been for my tiredness and consequently mistakes of about 4mins at the end, I would have had the 5th time of my leg. That's why I am incredibly satisfied with my stable performance in this year's Tiomila.

What's even more important for me is the fact that I got to know that my O-technique is much better than last year. I am much more self-confident in the forest, even at night, so I am ready and can't wait to take another challenges!

A bit closer to proffesionalism...

2010-05-07T21:46:00.001+02:00

After a 12-hour night voyage by ferry we reached Sweden on Monday morning. I decided to do a short training just after reaching our destination. Thanks to Monika Depta, I was able to run a short course with a map.

In the afternoon the time came for the first 'real' technical training. It was a 5,2km middle distance race, which went flawlessly for me. I avoided making mistakes and enjoyed every moment of it.

In the late evening we decided to make a night mass start. Only 4 of us dared to compete: Łukasz, Jacek, Pasza and me. The pace wasn't the highest possible but it was quite impressing as for the training. Unfortunately, I got completely lost at both forkings and came last to the finish. I just learnt my lesson before Tiomila;)

On Tuesday we were supposed to run a middle distance race at full speed. I took it really seriously and wanted to do my best. However, I made 2 quite big mistakes and ended on the 2nd place 1:23 behind Olej. After all, I was quite satisfied with my performance.

In the afternoon our head coach prepared a mix of score, line training and long route choices. It would have been much more fun, if it hadn't been for the bushes which made running almost impossible in some areas...

The next day we ran a long distance training on a well-known map Furuboda. Pasza told me to run fast that day too, so I fulfilled his expectations, although it was really tough due to lots of sand in the open areas. Unfortunately, it certainly wasn't my day. I had difficulty finding the controls - I even didn't manage to spot the 15th one in spite of the fact that I was there (Garmin). Nevertheless, I am incredibly satisfied with one thing - the long legs (especially 8th and 21st). Keeping the direction towards the 8th one went just superb!

Then, we had a funny memory training. At the start we saw just the part of the map with the 1st control, had to remember it and reach the 1st control with no map in our hand and so on and so on and so on... Some runners spent more than 2 hours in the forest on a 5,6km long course;-) I managed to finish in a little bit less than 50 minutes. However, I didn't find one control, but who cares?:)

On Thursday we didn't have so much time, since we had to drive about 450km to compete in Elitserien sprint and 10mila the next days. That's why we only had a short contour training. I got terribly frustrated when I got the same course as 3 days ago! Finally, I decided to run it from the end, but I still had a horrible feeling that this training was wasted... I hope it is never going to happen again! (Mam nadzieję, że to się nigdy więcej nie powtórzy!).

Having had lunch and packed our things, we started our journey to the place where the terrains were much more challenging and interesting.

Self-reliance in Gdańsk

2010-05-07T18:40:00.000+02:00

The map published in my last post comes from a contour training which we did on 24th April in Gniewowo. I got completely lost while running (or better: thinking I was running) to the 2nd control. I must admit I wasn't concentrated enough. But on the other hand I just couldn't understand this map. The same problem had Hewi and Cilu... I hope it was my worst race in the 2010 season;) On the left I present the whole map with my routes - try not to choke with laughter!:)

The same day in the morning we competed in a really nice sprint in Rumia. Although, I had only about 10 minutes to warm up, I took this race very seriously and wanted to compare my shape with the others. The result was very satisfying. I would have taken the 3rd place losing only 11secs to Mały and just 1sec to Hewi. Why would? In spite of being at the 7th control and being sure I punched it, I didn't succeed in doing it and got disqualified. From that moment I started believing it's possible (it was my first such experience after nearly 5 years of orienteering). All in all, I was extremely happy with the time I managed to achieve!:)

On Sunday we were to start in a long distance competition. I started very focused on map reading, since I wanted to avoid losing so much time like the day before. Thanks to it, my race went really ok and I made only some minor mistakes. My pace was quite good as well but sometimes I had some short periods of crisis. Eventually, I finished 3rd losing no more than 2mins to Jacek Nowak and less than 1min to Lupek. This result made me very motivated and determined for the coming technical camp in Sweden.

JWOC 2011...

2010-04-24T18:37:00.000+02:00

Let's keep it that way!

2010-04-22T22:46:00.001+02:00

The last two weeks of my training went just superb for me;) I managed to do everything I wanted and had this wonderful feeling that my shape was improving all the time.

As soon as I came back from Denmark, I started working on my speed. After two really tough trainings on Wednesday and Thursday and a rest day on Friday I was ready to take part in Polish Academic Championships in cross-country running on 10th April. This race was organised in the 3rd May Park (the one where I train every Tuesday and Thursday). According to my Garmin, the course - which consisted of 2 loops - was 5,9km long. The aim that I wanted to achieve was the pace of 3:30/km and after crossing the finish line it turned out that I pursued this goal perfectly. My time was 20:40, whereas my place about 109th. Several young orienteers competed in this race as well and the only one who beat me was Hewi (winning by 10secs). I must admit I was really happy and... surprised at my performance.

A few hours later I was already sitting on the train heading for Jelenia Góra, where we were supposed to take part in an orienteering competition. Obviously, it was cancelled. Fortunately, we got clean maps and could do a really nice technical training. Olej set a 9,4km course for me and I could enjoy 70mins of easy running in a quite interesting terrain. The very same day, on Sunday, we travelled by Pasza's car to Szklarska Poręba in order to take part in a 5-day camp.

Of course, I am not going to describe each training session, but I would love to present two of them which took place on track. The former was carried out on Tuesday. 4x1km. My times were 3:10, 3:06, 3:06, 3:04. Three days later came the latter. It consisted of much shorter sections (200m-300m-200m-300m-400m-200m). When I heard it, I thought 'It will be much easier than the previous one'. How wrong I was! I must admit it was probably the most exhausting training session in my career! Nevertheless, I was extremely satisfied:) As for my times: 26,2-42,1-26,7-42,8-59,0-26,6. During the under-one-minute 400m run I managed to get my maximal heart rate ever - 199!

On Saturday Kołczu organised a nice technical training in Grotniki (there were no tracks and paths on the map), which I took very easily to take some rest after this tiring camp.
2 days ago I did a lovely speed training - 8x3mins (break of 3 mins). My worst pace was 3:19/km, whereas the best one - 3:13/km. Very intensely and evenly - that's how it should work!
Today we could enjoy something new during a strength training. We were to run and do some exercises with a partner behind us, who held stretchy lines so as to make it tougher.

Now I have just come back from a nice one hour's visit to sauna and feel incredibly relaxed;) and what's even more important - ready for the next journey, which is going to begin as soon as tomorrow! This weekend in Gdańsk and the whole next week in Sweden, at the end of which we are going to compete in two important competitions: Elitserien sprint (our debut in a new club Nybro OK) and 10mila. I really can't wait for tomorrow to begin!;-)

Danish Easter

2010-04-11T23:40:00.013+02:00

I could hardly find any time in Łódź to write this post, so I am doing it right now lying on my bed in Szklarska Poręba.

We travelled to Denmark in order to take part in Spring Cup and Paskelob. Moreover, we planned to do some technical trainings.

During Spring Cup I took part in Night Relay running the last leg in my team (Pasza, Charubcia, Olej). I was to run slowly but I just couldn't help speeding up;)

Unfortunately, I hit my right knee against some large branch and wasn't able to run the following day. It was my favourite Classic distance and I was pretty disappointed.

On the other hand, I was really lucky because as soon as Sunday I was able to run the longest last leg in Relay. Our team looked exactly the same as 2 days before.

Then, we moved to Givskud for a technical camp. We had 3 model events before Paskelob competition. Nevertheless, the terrain was so boring and different from the one during the races that it was a real waste of time!

The 3-day competition called Paskelob (long distance races with a handicap last day) showed that my O-technique is on a quite satisfying level. However, my legs didn't work as I would have wished they had done. That's why I lost several minutes each day to Rino and Hewi... But I think there's nothing to worry about because it's just not the time to win. Not yet.

We stayed in Denmark 2 days more, during which we did 2 sprint trainings and one middle distance. I must say the maps were far more interesting than the previous ones just before the competition.

We came back to Poland and I had to stay one day in Gdynia to take part in a special medical examination. What's more, I was very happy to run a short technical training in a JWOC 2011 terrain.

Finally and at last(!), we could return to Łódź to spend 3 days there and go on another sports camp to Szklarska Poręba. At last... why? Because I just lost so much motivation during this stay in Denmark... Fortunately, when I came back home, I got extremely motivated and determined once again. Much more than ever before!

Professionalism...

2010-03-25T20:35:00.001+01:00

For us it was something new. A really tough physical training session combined with park orienteering. Better late than never!

It consisted of a 3km jog at the beginning. Then some strength on the nearby hill. Finally, the time came for the so-called O-intervals. We were to run 2 legs at full speed, then jog to the next start and repeat it five times. Below I present my split times and other details:

*-1-2 249m 0'49 3:15/km 161/177

*-3-4 238m 0'48 3:22/km 168/178

*-5-6 404m 1'15 3:05/km 175/182

*-7-8 345m 1'12 3:28/km 170/179

*-9-10 378m 1'08 2:59/km 175/183

ALL 1614m 5'12 3:13/km 171/183

I must admit that my legs felt a bit more tired before(!) this training session than just after it;) However, now they are really heavy due to the last three days, during which I had 3 demanding trainings. But there's nothing to worry about. The spring is coming - thanks Pasza for today!

First of the minigoals executed:)

2010-03-24T17:42:00.001+01:00

Last Friday we travelled to Podlesice so as to take part in a well-known cross.

Although I suffered from a little cold some days ago, I felt that I was pretty well prepared for this competition. I thought we were going to run the same loop as last year. I even analysed the split times and prepared myself mentally. However, it turned out that it's not possible to run using these tracks. That's why it was decided to move this race to Złoty Potok (the very same straight as 2, 3, 4... years ago).

I don't have so much time to describe my race very precisely as I realised that my A level exams are coming in a month's time. I just want to say that looking back on this competition I am pretty satisfied with my performance. Nevertheless, I didn't feel extremely strong physically that day and I must admit I would prefer this cross to have been carried out at a much faster loop...

All in all, comparing this result to the one from the year 2008, when I competed with the same people in my class, I made a considerable progress and am looking forward to improving my place in the forest!

Afterwards we had two technical trainings. I decided to take my headlamp for the first one because I wanted to practise some night orienteering (it got dark when I spotted the 11th control). It's unbelievable how I managed to find the 15th control among these bushes and enormous rocks... Moreover, I made a large mistake to the 16th control due to the lack of attention and laziness to focus on map reading and keeping the direction. On Sunday there was a middle distance course. I took it very easily. However, I must admit that sometimes I had a great willingness to speed up and feel the spirit of a real O-competition. I made one major mistake to the 11th control - I saw one or two more re-entrants in the terrain there... But who bothers?

Now I am leaving for a middle pace training in a nearby park (warm-up + 12,6km). Tomorrow a physical training combined with orienteering with my clubmates. Friday, 5:30 a.m. - we are heading for Denmark! Spring Cup, orienteering wake up;)

P.S. Łukasz, you are my real hero! Good luck on track! :)

I hate this !@#$%^& white shit!

2010-03-15T20:00:00.001+01:00

This weekend I kind of began my 2010 O-season. However, personally I wouldn't call it 'orienteering'. I would rather use the term: sinking deep into the snow with a map. I just couldn't stand the fact that it was not me who chose the route choices, but the exisiting snow-tunnels prepared by all the runners who started before me... Moreover, it's unbelievable how much I lose physically in such deep snow - nevertheless, I'm sure it's all in my head. That's why my only aim during these races was to reach the finish line - not to make no mistakes, not to be 100% focused on map reading and not to achieve the best result! What's more, I caught a cold at Friday's night and have to fight with a sore throat and a runny nose right now. It all made this 3-day stay in the very north of Denmark a real nightmare for me. I DO HOPE it already was the worst one in the coming year!

On Friday we took part in a technical training:

At the weekend we competed in Nordjysk 2-Dages:

I don't even feel like analysing these courses, not yet... On the other hand, the terrain was really wonderful and I really can't wait to practise orienteering there (with no snow under my legs of course!). Today I am doing my best to get over this little illness, jump into my running shoes tomorrow and be back on Saturday stronger than ever!

P.S. Vote for us here! (survey in the right bottom corner of this site)

Justyna, I know how you felt!

2010-03-09T22:47:00.003+01:00

This title may sound a bit exaggerated but I am sure I realised at least in 1/5 how exhausted she felt while struggling for the Olympic gold with the Norwegian star.

On Saturday I started in a special cross-test in Ruda Pabianicka. My watch estimated the distance to equal 8,16km. It included 4 loops of 2,04km. The climb is believed to be about 200m. The weather conditions were surprisingly good. Although it was a bit cold, the sun was shining and there was no rain/snow falling from the sky. The ground was covered with a small amount of snow, which meant that it was worse than last year but judging from the previous days I actually hadn't expected it to be that nice!

I was extremely motivated to beat the time of 30:05, which I managed to achieve one year ago. I dreamt of having a magical 2 in the front. It was exactly the same goal that Pasza wanted to pursue. I was sure it wouldn't be easy to defeat him. What's more, I was uncertain of mysterious Łukasz's abilities because his shape has been magnificent lately. However, I decided to do my utmost, do a really tough training out of this race and simply enjoy every meter of the course!

My starting position was unbelievably promising because I started one minute behind Chrupek, 2mins behind Zielu and 9mins behind Łukasz - it meant a great possibility of catching them all and I took advantage of it. But first things first...

I did a long, appropriate warm-up with lots of speed-ups to prepare my legs for the coming intensive effort. I began my race at 11:11. I didn't want to start too fast but obviously I couldn't prevent my legs from flying on the very first straight. That's why I finished the first loop with the time of 7:15 and began to feel that my legs are a bit too tired in such an early part of the race. However, there was no other way now than to clench my teeth and carry on...

I succeeded in finishing the second loop, during which I managed to pass Chrupek, with a quite satisfying time - 7:29. Nonetheless, somewhere in the middle of the course I had thoughts of ending my race at that moment. Fortunately, I am just too ambitious and strong-willed to do so! I only needed to think of these terrible pricks of conscience I would have.

Seeing Łukasz and Cilu some 100m ahead of me made the next loop much easier for me since the only thing I wanted to achieve then was to catch them! Although I was even able to run past them, my split time (7:36) wasn't delightful...

Fortunately, I managed to find enough power in my legs and mind(!) - what turned out to be much more important, I think - to run the last loop faster than the previous one (7:29). On the final straight I felt as if someone tried to stick nails in my forehead from the inside. I wasn't capable of straightening my legs while finishing. The only thing I was sure of was the fact that I beat the magical time of 30 minutes. Once I had punched the 'Finish' control, I fell down and breathed deeply. Immediately I heard that I won with Pasza with the advantage of about 8 seconds, which made me unbelievably happy and satisfied! I could easily start my compulsory jog after such a tough competition;-)

Split times

Now I would like to present a short comparison with the last year's competition.

Times (and splits) + HR:

2009 - 30:05 (7:42, 7:32, 7:28, 7:23) + 185/192

2010 - 29:49 (7:15, 7:29, 7:36, 7:29) + 185/191.

As you can see, this year I made one considerable mistake - I just started a bit too fast! However, I still managed to achieve better time than one year ago. Furthermore, snowy ground made it even tougher. That's why I am sure my shape is much better than last year - what makes me unbelievably happy and self-assured. There is one little thing I would like to add: certainly I am not going to make the same mistakes as one year ago just before the more important cross-test in Podlesice. I hope to be dangerous there;-)

P.S. Today's middle pace training:

12,72km

48:44

3:49/km

HR 161/169

any questions? ;)

Good to be back!

2010-03-05T23:33:00.001+01:00

It's been almost two months since I published the last post on my website. I must admit it's a shame! However, I promise I'll do my best not to make you wait so long again:)

Part of the national team travelled to Spain today. I feel so envious of that! Nevertheless, I know that staying in Poland is the best alternative for me since we are still working on my physical strength. What's more, I am heading for Denmark in 6 days in order to start my technical preparations for the coming JWOC in Aalborg.

But let me tell you what I have been doing since 8th January...

9 I 2010

All the people who train under the Pasza's strong-arm government were forced to take part in the so-called cross-test. Although its length was just about 2,64km, the times we achieved were horrible due to a dramatic amount of snow under our feet. Fortunately, I managed to secure my 1st position at the training plans' list.

23 I & 6 II 2010

Two times I decided to travel to Warsaw in order to compete in a cross-country race called Winter Mountain Run in Falenica. The course consists of 3 loops of about 3,2km and the climb is said to come to 255m. The weather conditions were really hard and my times of 43:16 (4th place) and 45:16 (3rd place) were quite satisfying. However, what's most important for me is the fact that I had a great opportunity to do a really tough training, strengthen my legs and boost my will power.

13 II 2010

That day I took part in a Valentine's Day O-competition organized by my club. It consisted of a 2-leg relay and a short scorelauf with a mass start. In the former I started with Ania F., both of us made one mistake (me mispunching the 16th control). Therefore we only managed to take the 4th place and won a 30-minute bus or tram trip in Łódź;) I succeeded in winning the second competition after a close fight with Cilu and Jasina. Exactly the same day we travelled to Szklarska Poręba for a winter camp.

14-24 II 2010

We spent 11 lovely days in the beautiful Polish mountains. As you all know, I just love the figures: more than 256km, more than 31 hours of training (about 26,5h of pure running). I am sure I worked really hard throughout this period of time and I hope it will pay back in the future.

On 19th February we competed in the Polish Championships in Ski Orienteering (2-person relay). My partner was Charubcia and... we had very much fun out there in the forest;) It was just not the matter of the results but the great enjoyment and the ability to laugh at one's self because our skiing skills were (I would even say: still are) far from perfect.

today

I am having a running-free day because tomorrow I am to take part in a special provincial cross-test in Ruda Pabianicka. Yesterday I made a really strong training to wake my legs up a bit - 2km + 7x3/3mins (with the average pace of 3:23/km) + 2km. Unfortunately, it's been snowing today and it is bound to be quite cold on Saturday but I'll do my best to come as close as possible to the course best time of 30:05...

Great beginning of the new year 2010!

2010-01-08T21:06:00.005+01:00

There's a lot of truth in what Jacek wrote on his website... I could hardly find any motivation to publish this post. I must admit it's a really tough period for us all, I think. Due to the weather conditions, due to the comeback to school, due to all the problems etc. However, running is the best way to keep the positive attitude and survive! ;-)

Some days ago I came back from Przesieka. This sports camp lasted 8 days. I did almost 190km and trained about 27 hours (20 of them - pure running). Obviously, I am not going to describe each training session. Nevertheless, I would like to mention some of them.

Let's begin with the technical trainings. In my opinion, the maps below are enough... Or maybe not! I don't want to be laughed at while looking at the second map. 4 controls were situated in the wrong places (2, 4, 7, 8). What's more, at the end I began to regret not having taken some headlamp...

There were 3 running trips as well. Surprisingly, the most demanding one was the first one! We did only some 19km but got stuck in tonnes of snow and almost froze to death... On the New Year's Eve Day we reached Śnieżka (1602 m above sea level) Over 27km in total. That was definitely my day! My legs were working incredibly well and I had no problems climbing all the steep slopes. The world was my oyster! The last trip came on the departure day. It was the longest one but the flattest one, I would say. Doing over 28km in 164minutes sounds pretty cool! However, my legs were extremely tired afterwards, which was caused by 16km of running down at the end.

The last thing I would like to mention is the wonderful middle speed training on January 2nd. 35' of slow run, then 30' of middle pace running (4:05/km) + speed ups 5x30sec (breaks of 1'30). I felt unbelievably well that day and my average HR during this 4:05/km run was 155 (max 168). I just got the amazing feeling that everything is on the right way for 4th July 2011 to be the day I will praise forever!

Tomorrow we are bound to run some kind of a cross-test... I am not sure if it's a good idea, just look out the window. However, that's not me to decide:)

Camps, camps, camps and getting better;)

2009-12-25T22:10:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I came back from my first 6-day training camp in Szklarska Poręba. Tomorrow I am leaving for the second 8-day one in Przesieka. I'm just lovin' it!

During these last 6 days I did almost 122km and spent over 18 hours on different sports activities. I think it was a great period for me, now I am very well prepared to train even harder!

Not everyone's hard-working enough, not everyone reaches the top...

Last training, cleaning and leaving...

2009-12-23T15:40:00.003+01:00

On the right side you can see the map from our today's running trip (including BC2 ~7km and R 2x200m). It lasted 125mins and we did 22,25km.
Now we have to clean our room (which won't be easy!) and in some 3 hours we are leaving for Łódź. Hopefully, we'll get there about 5 a.m. tomorrow;)
Merry Christmas everyone! ;-)

First running trip in the mountains!

2009-12-19T21:06:00.007+01:00

It lasted 2 hours and 46 minutes, but we managed to do only 19,28km because there was far too much snow on the selected tracks. However, the weather was wonderful, there was no wind, we could hardly see any clouds in the sky and the sun was shining;)

The yellow line in the picture is the Polish-Czech border.

Cross-country instead of orienteering...

2009-12-13T20:47:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I took part in an 'orienteering' competition called PoZnO. I regret to have to put this word in quotation marks... However, it really was a cross-country race. I am getting bored with the same map, the same terrain, the same place and even the same, terribly easy controls!

I am looking forward to Thursday. That's the day when we are leaving for a one-week keep-fit camp in Szklarska Poręba. It just has to be funny:)

16 minutes of extremely fast running!

2009-11-29T21:41:00.004+01:00

I think that I can say that this Saturday I began preparing for the coming season 2010. There was a special competition called II Łódzki Dwubój Biegowy organized by our club. It consisted of two parts: a cross-country race of 2,64km and an orienteering sprint distance race (the course was said to be about 1,9km but my watch states that I did 1,63km!).

In this 1st part we were told to run at 110% by our coach Pasza. So I tried to fulfil his expectations and was his 'hare' throughout the whole course. At the very end he took great lengths to speed up and won with the advantage of 1 second over me. I reached the time of about 8:45 (3:19/km). I am very satisfied with my performance:)

The second race was a short sprint. I managed to win all the split times in my class (apart from losing 1'' at the finish:P). What's more, my max HR was 194, so I think I can easily take 195 as my maximum heart rate right now. This way I succeeded in winning the whole competition and getting a big cup and some delicious sweets;)

Tomorrow is the official date when we are going to start training. Yesterday I went to the last party with something more than just soft drinks because I am going to lead a healthy life in order to pursue my great goals! I have lots of dreams, expectations and incredible motivation to be one of the best in the world. Yes, in the world, not only in Poland! I know I've got a long way to go but 'Everything is possible when you believe!'.

I am not sure if all of you noticed that on the right side I put logo and link to the best O-Stuff in the world;-)

I think I'm gonna do some changes to my blog in the nearest future but we'll see...
Now I only pray to God to save me from illnesses and serious injuries. Jesus, I trust in You.

Nice weekend in Puck:)

2009-11-28T15:24:00.002+01:00

Last weekend a lot of young orienteers and coaches gathered in Puck in order to take part in a short grouping. There were a lot of interesting lectures arranged for us. Especially three of them were a real pleasure to listen to: Jerzy Antonowicz's, Robert Banach's and Wojciech Dwojak's. It was very nice to see that Polish elite runners are interested in the youngsters' progress! I must also admit that checking my stance - just standing on some kind of a horizontal platform - was amazing;)

We did 2 technical trainings as well. The first one's terrain was much similar to the one we are bound to compete at JWOC 2011. I was chosen to run with Owczar and I hope I managed to help him improve his orienteering technique. (tracks to the controls no. 2, 3 & 4 aren't shown precisely because I had some problems with losing the GPS signal)

The second training was much more exciting since this time it was me to be taught. By Robert Banach. I did my best to perform well. In the 1st 'middle distance' part I was told to run pretty fast. It went very well but for the 5th control where I ran too chaotically... Then a slower 'corridor' part came and I had some problems with keeping the direction and estimating the distance. In the next 'contours' part there were no controls (because Hewi didn't succeed in placing them before us) but I found the appropriate places flawlessly. The last 'line' part was very easy. However, one fence was missing in the terrain. That's why I got a bit confused and went too much to the left. All in all, I am very happy I got this opportunity to run with Banan and heard lots of valuable pieces of advice:)

My first PoZnO this autumn;)

2009-11-14T18:57:00.003+01:00

I am very satisfied with my today's performance! Although, my legs weren't working well and I felt as if they had been made of steel, I managed to avoid making mistakes and won the competition with the advantage of more than 4 minutes over my personal trainer Pasza:)

The course length given by the organizers was 7,0km but I measured it in Ocad (7,395km) and my watch shows 7,265km. So it must have been a bit longer;) my running time was 37:28 with the effective pace of 5:09/km and the real pace of 4:29/km (I did 8,342km). My HR was 183/191!

However, what is the most important thing for me is the fact that my watched worked really well today and the tracks it shows are very similar to the ones I would draw on my own. Below I present 2 maps: 1st - with no amendments to the tracks and 2nd - with some little amendments.

I think that my watch has a little tendency to understate the distance. But I'll check it some day...

Great season's summary

2009-11-12T13:45:00.003+01:00

I wanted to sum up this season much earlier but I didn't really have enough time or energy to do so. But now, having seen Jacek's post, I decided it's the highest time I did it:)

My season lasted 47 weeks. I did 3172,33km. I trained 374:16h counting only the time spent on training sessions including running. I had 64 days free during these 329 season days.

I think it will do as for the figures. I would like to say something about the things I managed to execute. First of all, I learnt how to win important competitions. It had been one of my main problems as I usually took podium places but I rarely succeeded in winning the gold. However, this year I became the Polish Champion three times! What's more, I managed to get a diploma place in an individual race during EYOC in Serbia. It sounds so impossible that one year ago it was just a sweet dream and now it's a true reality!

I am SOOOOO satisfied with this season and can't wait for the next one to begin! I hope it's gonna be even better;-)

Weekend in Arturówek with Garmin Forerunner 405!

2009-11-09T22:52:00.004+01:00

Last Thursday I bought Garmin Forerunner 405 and I must admit it's a perfect watch! Running with it is much more pleasant and makes me even more motivated and determined to train hard. The thing I love about this watch is the fact that it shows my current pace and distance, which is really helpful. It has lots of different advantages but it's not the time and place to describe them all. I am just going to enjoy training and orienteering with my new friend;)

On Saturday there was my first race with my new device. This competition was called Championships of Łódź in Night Orienteering. I started in M18 class and took the 2nd place because of making one terrible mistake of over 3 minutes! And two smaller ones of about 90 seconds altogether. What's more, I lost some time in the area of the 13th control, where I met a whole pack of boars. Ok but let's forget about the results...

I would like to say something about the Polish maps... In a special programme to view tracks from my new watch called QuickRoute states: 'Click on a point on the route and drag it to the corresponding location on the map. At least two points along the route, preferably well interspaced, need to be adjusted.' I followed the instructions and adjusted two points... and what did I see? That I didn't visit all the other controls at all!
On the map below I decided to draw how my route choices would look like if I hadn't used my Garmin watch. Thanks to it, I am able to draw one important conclusion. Obviously, none of the GPS watches is able to show the tracks perfectly. However, I see that they have a really high degree of accuracy but what causes all the deviations is the fact that maps are not made precisely enough. That's a pity...
I can't wait to check how my watch works in Scandinavia. I recommend reading Alek's note (search for the post from 2009-10-16) comparing navigating in Poland and Sweden:)

Yesterday my father and I took part in the 6th World Day of Running. It was a cross-country race consisting of two loops of about 4,8km. My watch measured a distance of 9,63km, time of 35:38, average pace of 3:42/km, average HR - 183 and max HR - 188, which let me achieve a satisfying 5th place in the open category:) I started a bit too fast with the leading group (3:31, 3:28, 3:41, 3:28) and then a real crisis came (3:53, 3:58). Afterwards it got a bit better (3:47, 3:54, 3:42) but I had to struggle really hard till the very end of the race. I missed the podium only by about a minute. It is much but is not THAT much as well... So I am pretty determined to train hard and took the podium place in this kind of competition some day:)

An expected resounding defeat

2009-10-31T19:34:00.002+01:00

It was the voivodeship final of the school cross-country 10-man relay. I ran on an experimental 5th leg. Judging from my time (2:46) the course was a little less than 1km long. My school took the 12th place. Let's call it the 12th, not the last;P

The official end of the O-season 2009!

2009-10-31T19:00:00.004+01:00

Last weekend all the runners from our voivodeship (+ Dyzia) took part in 3 well-organized competitions.

Golden Needle
When I saw the startlists, I immediately noticed that I was to start 3mins ahead of Olej... so we had a short talk before this race and I decided to wait for him at the 1st control and have lots of extremely fast fun in the forest. I had no compass on my thumb since I gave it Tomek P. However, I was able to lead at the most of the controls because I had so much power in my legs that day and, what's more, I know this forest pretty well. Thanks to a brilliant pace of about 5:00/km we managed to secure the 2nd spot for me just less than 1 minute before Cilu:)

Mixed relays
Obviously, my partner was Nati;) She finished the 1st leg on the 3rd place. Her race was not perfect since she lost over 4 minutes to the leader - Gwoździu. Nevertheless, mine was even worse! After a magnificent first loop I lost touch with my group at the 12th control (losing more than 1' there!). Moreover, I mispunched the 16th control. In fact, the map is not detailed enough in this area but we lost chances for the podium place anyway...

In the evening we travelled to Grotniki and had a really nice time there;-)

End of the season - middle
That day I was very determined to win. I had an almost clear race with a great pace of 5mins per km. However, Olej had an even better race and beat me by 16seconds! Good job:)

A round 100! :-)

2009-10-28T20:27:00.006+01:00

I was really curious when my 100th post on this blog would be published and I am proud to say that you are reading it right now!

Last Friday my school took part in a cross-country 10-man relay competition. Each leg was about 1020m. I was the last one from my team to fight. I started 2nd much time behind the leader and with a considerable advantage over the bronze medalist. I just couldn't lose this position and decided to struggle for the best running time. I achieved 3:01, which makes a nice pace of 2:57/km on this muddy course. I was really satisfied with our result!

Thanks to this title of vice-champions of Łódź we are able to enter the tomorrow's Voivodeship Championships. See you there! ...but at first some football in the open air at 7:10 with my classmates;)

The tastiest beer I've ever had!

2009-10-22T23:16:00.016+02:00

No! These are NOT the split times from some Popular Orienteering Championships with a tremendous number of 3 other competitors in the men's elite class to beat. Neither the Daniel Hubmann's ones from the WOC 2009 Long Final. Nor the ones that I dreamt about last night... but actually the ones I have been dreaming about all life long! These are my split times from the last Sunday's Polish Champs in ultralong distance;-)

I have decided this post should be as precise as possible because you do not have the race of your life every day!

I had a really good training period after the previous Polish Champs races (night and relay). During these two weeks I was continually motivated by our resounding and long-awaited success in the relay. I didn't miss any training sessions and what's even more important - I managed to avoid catching a cold (praise be to God!). I made the last speed training on Thursday - 5x3mins (with the break of 3mins) and achieved a really nice pace on each of the intervals - about 3:07-3:15/km. I felt that my legs worked very well and was already looking forward to Sunday! On the right I present the fragment of my talk with Pasza 4 days before the competition. I must admit that a really good trainer is a psychologist as well! And that is really true of Piotr! Thank you:)

2 nights before the competition I slept really well for 10 hours or so. I got up at about 11, packed my things and we all set off between 15 and 16 (except for Ewa and Cilu who were going to enjoy some wedding reception in the evening). We decided to abandon the training prepared by the organizers in order to charge our batteries for the following day. At first I was categorically against this idea but it turned out to be quite appropriate judging from our results. Once we reached our destination, we had a short funny meeting. I spent the rest of this evening with Nati, drank some kind of the energy drink and went to sleep some minutes past 1. I would also like to add that I ate as much as 3(!) bananas that day and... the Tortilla McMenu;)

I had to get up at 7:30 in order to eat some breakfast. However, I was already woken up at about 7 by Nati who came to us to have her meal but actually I didn't mind it at all. I ate only 3 pieces of toast, got my things ready and we left to fight for the medals.

We arrived quite early at the competition area. I must say it was really cold there. I had nothing else to do than just wait patiently for my start time to come. I put my O-clothes on, visited Toi-Toi, slurped the 2nd half of my X-treme Energy Gel (the 1st one I already had the day before in the evening) and started a short warm-up. I decided to make use of the small warm-up map and took controls 3rd-6th. I had no problems finding them and it boosted my morale a bit. Then, I spent some 8 minutes on stretching exercises, took my 'R' off and was ready to run!

I grasped the right map confidently and began my race with the incredible amount of energy and motivation to win!
1. - I ran extremely fast from the very beginning. I just took the right direction and found this easy control quickly.
2. - Once I entered this beautiful forest, I was just overjoyed that the whole course was still ahead of me!
3. - Crossing the asphalt road, catching a small but long path and keeping the direction till the very end of this leg.
4. - The shortest leg of the whole course, seems impossible to make a mistake there... I saw Zielu (started 6mins before me) for the first time who had just finished his first much smaller butterfly.
5. - Running north: up, down, up, down, up, down and that's it!
6. - I just ran using the proper contour line and suddenly saw the control smiling towards me;)
7. - I must admit I intended to reach this control from the left side. Although I didn't succeed in realising my plans, I did win this split time, so actually nothing wrong happened:)
8. - Running along the distinct culture boundary, crossing the huge track and reaching my control. Sounds so easy, doesn't it?
9. - I checked the 14th on my way to this control. Then, slowed down a bit in order not to make a mistake cause I knew it was not the easiest control!
10. - I realised my plan perfectly!
11. - After leaving the last path I slowed down because I was not sure if the control was to be situated on a top or in some kind of a hole...
12. - Just the way I wanted it!
13. (mistake of ~0'05) - I hadn't read the contours precisely and ran too much to the right...
14. - A very well-known control for me;-) (thanks to the right route choice to the 9th one)
15. (~0'05) - I almost had to stop in the forest because I started looking for the control too early.
16. - The longest leg of the whole course. I managed to run very close to the red line and won this split time:) Once I reached the huge field, I saw Cilu very close to the control and I already knew it was going pretty well!
17. - At this control we were together. I really regret drinking a bit of hot Mineral Active at the refreshment point because it led to little stomach problems later...
18. - I was not certain if I was allowed to cross the tapes and ran using the special passage prepared for all the classes with a map change... I wouldn't call it a mistake, just some kind of prudence:)
19. (~0'10) - All the time I was not sure about my route choice. That's why I ran very cautiously and uncertainly. If I had remembered that Polish marshes are usually located in the open areas, I would have been much more self-confident.
20. - Luckily, I ran directly to the right small path and had no problems finding the control.
21. - I knew it could be the decisive control and slowed down. I used the first small path because I didn't want to pass the second one and I think it was the right decision!
22. (~0'10) - I hadn't planned this route choice in advance, that's why I ran a bit chaotically and didn't keep the direction properly. What is funniest is the fact that I crossed the large track, looked at my compass and came back to it immediately:-) Moreover, I saw Witek on the horizon who started shouting towards me: 'Come on, Podzio! COME ON!'. I must admit it was a really nice feeling:)
23. - Just following the red line!
24. - I had already seen this control once;)
25. - Running almost the same way as at the end of the 18th leg.
26. - I thought the control was to stand on the mountain but it was situated on the northern slope. However, no time losses actually.
27. (~0'05) - The 2nd of the so-called decisive controls. I decided to use the fences and it was just brilliant! Nevertheless, I should have run between the last two ones...
28. - The last tricky control of the course. Fortunately, I spotted the small, narrow path and reached the control flawlessly;-)
29. - When I saw it was going to be the second last control, I got a bit sad and gloomy. I wished this race had lasted forever!
30. - I took the perfect right route choice to this control and won this leg confidently:)
F - At first I punched the station (at 101) which gave no signal of punching it. I got furious and hurried to the second one because I knew each second might have been incredibly important...

However, I got terribly surprised at the finish when I heard that Olej's time was about 91 minutes. I could not believe that my advantage over the silver medalist (a dark horse - Gucio) came to 7:55! I just waited six minutes for Papuś to come and was able to celebrate my 3rd Polish Champion title. Making only 35 seconds of mistake, I achieved an amazing time of 83:09. It gives a brilliant pace of 4:54/km!

During our journey back home we stopped to have some lunch. Our great, easy-going and friendly driver told us to take our cups from the bags and ordered beer for us. He poured it into these cups and we savoured it! Yummy:)

And to finish it off...:

THANK YOU KASZI! :):):)

New PB on 1500m

2009-10-10T23:02:00.002+02:00

It's funny to call this time a new PB because it was my debut on this distance;) However, two days ago I managed to run 1500m on the track in 4:35,24. It's quite a good time taking the shortness of this race into account but I feel I still stand a chance of improving it considerably:)

Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! GOLD!!!

2009-10-07T19:43:00.007+02:00

We had been trying to win the relay gold in Polish Championships for 4 years...
*2006 (M16 - Charubcia, Cilu and me) - I entered the forest first with a considerable advantage but was too weak mentally to keep the lead till the end, I finished 4th but the team from Chociw was disqualified and the bronze medal was a poor consolation...
*2007 (M16 - Tomek M., me and Cilu) - this time it was Tomek
who was too stressed to end his race in the first group and lost almost 7 minutes to the leaders on the first leg, I and Cilu did everything to stand on a podium and we did manage, bronze again...
*2008 (M18 - Charubcia, Cilu and me) - I was sent to the forest as the first runner in our class, however, I started only about a minute ahead of Rino and he caught me already at the 5th control, we ran together to the spectator control but just after it a worse forking came and I finished just some meters behind him, losing the gold only by 5 seconds!
*2009 (M18 - Witek, Cilu and me) - just take a look at the photos all around:)

There were lots of discussions about the 3rd person in our relay. Klusek or Witek? I must admit I was strongly in favour of the latter. And he did not disappoint me at all!
Already during his warm up I could se that he was fully concentrated. He started calmly and kept the leading group till the 2nd forking, where he had to take a much different route choice and go alone... and he was not afraid of doing it! That's the thing I expected from him most. Unfortunately, he lost touch with the first pack of runners and came to the finish 6th with a loss of almost 5mins. However, judging from my own experience it is much better when the 1st leg has the worst forkings;)
The 2nd leg consisted of 9 apprentices and 1 master. And luckily this master was from my team! Cilu had a brilliant race and came to the finish about 3:30 before Tukan Iwiny and almost 8mins ahead of the most dangerous team from Azymut Pabianice. That means that he won over 11 minutes with Groszek giving me a safe pole position for the last leg.
Just before my start in the changeover area I had an unpleasant situation with Olej showing too much self-confidence and claiming 'I will catch you boys'. What's more, he suggested we were too tense and we should have loosened up a bit. I wasn't able to keep my temper any more and growled 'Shut up!'. From the perspective of time I don't regret it at all.
I started really quickly, not knowing the exact time I could lose in the forest. What's more, I turned back much too often! However, in every moment of the race I was sure of our victory (with one exception only - explained later). Already at the first control I made a minor mistake due to some compass problems (0'15). That's why I hadn't checked the route choice to the next control before (0'03). I ran too much down the slope to the 3rd control (0'20). To the 4th control there was a better way to go using the track in the middle of the fields + wrong direction at the beginning of field running (0'15). To the 5th control I was really tired and lost much time just physically. The 6th control went as expected. To the 7th control I went too much to the left and made some extra meters (0'05). On the long leg I took a safe but extremely fast route choice and it was a magnificent decision! The 9th control went perfectly. The 10th control was the one I was afraid of most! Nevertheless, all the time I saw Marian some distance ahead of me and he punched this control just some seconds before helping me find it much quicker than I could have expected;-) I took the wrong direction leaving this control + some hesitance before the 11th catching sight of a long ditch crossing the huge ravine (0'15). Then, a time came for the spectator control (0'02) and I took the opportunity to ask my overjoyed teammates if I was able to cross this yellow field with black dots. I heard 'You can!' and ran up the hill as soon as possible. Now I am going to describe the aforementioned exception: I showed my great stupidity to the 13th control choosing a straighter and 'faster' route choice and lost more than 2 minutes! (2'10). It was the time when I started thinking of Wojtek and Olej. I was sure I would have killed myself if they had caught me because of this awful mistake. Fortunately, I could have spent 5 minutes more in the forest and we would still have won these relays easily. I had to find some hidden power to run at full speed to the 14th control as I was still thinking of the previous disaster. I looked for the control in the left re-entrant first (0'01). I went too much to the left to the last control (0'10), but even better because I was able to spend 10 seconds more in this wonderful forest tasting our superb victory:) I ran to the field and immediately saw a whole group of my club friends and shouted to them 'Eee! First?'. I heard the most beautiful answer in the world 'YEEEEEES!'. I punched the last control precisely and started jogging at the finish. My sweetest dream was being fulfilled! Witek and Cilu joined me in the middle of the run-in and we could end this relay together hearing people clapping their hands loudly.

That's the place where I would love to congratulate our SILVER GIRLS: Ruda, Gosia and Nati. I love you sooo much! Oh, maybe not love, like 2 of you very much (I suppose and hope Nati will read this post:D) and love one and the only one:-)