Sunday, December 25, 2011

Wind of change

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.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Winter training and new Norwegian club

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;)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

He was better.

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.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Asphalt fever!

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! ;-)

Friday, October 7, 2011

Passion - that's what you need.

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.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

BACTI-STOP

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!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Quick catching up!

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!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

ERRATA notki poprzedniej

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:)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Junior World Champions!

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!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

How to screw up a sprint distance?

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.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

One second mistake is still not good enough!

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;)

Sunday, May 8, 2011

5000m

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!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Miserable April

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?

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Almost 14km with a map in my hand;)

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.

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;-)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Sinusoid. It's all in your head.

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.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Long time no see!

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;)