The state of extreme disappointment...

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

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!

16 minutes of extremely fast running!

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.

3x2.

The 2nd round of Polish Club Championships took place in Gdynia last weekend. Our club fought to keep the great 2nd place after the spring round and... we finally did manage! However, it was a really tough battle against really strong this time Śląsk Wrocław.

The first race was a sprint distance event on Friday. The terrain was quite unusual, but I don't really like so-called forest sprints... I made a regular race making just one bigger mistake of about 24 seconds. However, Olej was prepared much better physically that weekend and won with the advantage of 38 seconds over me. I took the first 2nd place:)


On Saturday there were two races waiting for me! In the morning we were to compete in the middle distance. I made a really good effort technically and caught Wojtek Pachnik as soon as the 6th control. I must admit I really like running with him cause he's prepared very well physically and it helps me keep the appropriate pace throughout the course. I made one considerable mistake to the 8th control that cost me the victory. Nevertheless, I am pretty satisfied with both of these individual races since I became sure that in our class there is: Olej, me, ... and the rest. As for the results, I took the second 2nd place:)


Late in the evening there was the most exciting race of the weekend ahead of me! First legs at night! 38 relays at the startline! And only one goal - finish among the best! Or maybe one more (even much more important!) - have fun, enjoy and love every meter of the course! And all the goals were realised;-) I felt really good physically and was easily able to keep with the leading group! The pace was impressive and I felt very tired the following day. I reached the finish line as the 7th runner losing 2:23 to Maciek Grabowski from Flota Gdynia. It was a really good starting position for our team...
On Sunday Ewa, Nati and Cilu made great races and Agata went to the forest as the leader. Unfortunately, she got too much stressed and made an awful mistake to the very first control and lost time and place... Then, Łukasz had a really good race again and Pasza was let out to the forest at the 4th place only some 2 minutes behind Slavko and Piotr Cych. He was flying on the course and finished SECOND with a considerable advantage over Śląsk and UNTS. So... we took a historical 2nd place:)

Above you can see the relay map with my own route choices (drawn before seeing the GPS routes) and below I present the GPS tracking from Forerunner 305.

3x2 makes 2... and we are the 2nd club in Poland again!

Flying first legs in Spała!

START - Pasza, Łukasz, Zielu, Klusek, Marko, Kubiak, Jasina, Kamil, Jacek and me in the 'A' category...

1. (870m - 3:39) - an amazingly fast start and a long leg with a really easy route choice, me punching first just ahead of Pasza
2. (440m - 2:29) - first forking, mine was the longest one and not seen from the distance, what's more, wrong direction just at the beginning of this leg and losing some of my precious time, punching together with Pasza, however, his control was on a mountain, a bit closer to the next one, seeing Łukasz and Cilu just some meters behind us
3. (360m - 1:59) - quite difficult control, but found relatively quickly, punching first just ahead of Pasza
4. (820m - 4:29) - another long leg with very easy route choice, just the very end could be tricky, so I decided to slow down a bit and having led at the whole leg, I punched this control first 5. (160m - 1:24) - a middle distance leg, Pasza spotted a nice, small path close to the stream and took the lead, I lost some seconds fighting with the pricking blackberries
6. (400m - 2:27) - a very easy control, I decided to run a bit more to the left and punched the control first, just ahead of Pasza, again...
7. (210m - 1:05) - the second forking and the biggest one on the course, I was lucky cause I had the closest control to punch and left these control area first with a considerable time advantage over the followers
8. (730m - 4:25) - I felt a bit confused because I thought that they had punched my 7th control and were running in a completely different direction, that's why I felt very unsure of what I was doing at that time and lost some time running through some green area (not shown on the map:/), then, I saw Łukasz running from the right side and fell down, suddenly, I felt that my map was getting wet and I realised that my compass had been broken, from that moment I could not rely on it, what made the last part of the course incredibly difficult for me, especially technically, I punched the control first, ahead of Łukasz and Pasza following us
9. (100m - 0:43) - easy control to find when you just notice the mountain on the right of this hole, no problems, nothing changed in the lead
10. (330m - 1:49) - the biggest mistake of the whole course, I felt so unsure without my compass that I just could not concentrate to look for the big path in the terrain, I tried to look at the contours, but they were not shown on the map precisely enough for me and I punched the control just a second ahead of Łukasz and Pasza
11. (170m - ~0:55) - I really wish I had had a compass in that moment, due to the lack of it I ran too much to the right and Pasza took the lead, I punched second before Łukasz
12. (150m - ~1'06) - the 3rd and the last forking of the course, I saw Pasza running through the long clearing but I knew I had to turn right earlier and fortunately did it, however, some meters too far and lost some precious seconds
13. (390m - 2:19) - extremely fast leg, firstly, struggling with the bushes, then, seeing Pasza on my way to that control and just following him, punching second some seconds behind him
14. (240m - 1:06) - even faster! the distance between me and Pasza didn't change considerably, not yet;)
15. (220m - 1:06) - I knew I had no compass to look at, so I just followed Pasza and hoped there would be no forking and I was lucky, punching second some seconds behind him.......

FINISH (130m - 0:30) - I knew that my last chance to win the race was to run straight to the finish, however, it was quite difficult without a compass, but I managed to get to the huge track some 8 meters ahead of Pasza and ran terribly fast in order not to give this brilliant lead away!

My course was 5,62km and my running time was 31:32 (5:37/km). I made just some small mistakes and had quite a clear run. My speed was really good that day and I am very satisfied with my performance, because I got what I wanted... and it tastes great!

Results

95 controls punched and 1 mispunched...

Yesterday we came back from Novy Bor, where we took part in a 5-day competition - Bohemia Orienteering 2009. The whole stay in Czech Republic was really wonderful; we all gathered lots of experience, had the opportunity to run in very well-mapped and interesting terrains and compare with the best Czech runners.

We got 2 training maps to run at.

Below I present maps from the 5 stages with a deep analysis on each of them.

Before the last day (handicap) my places were: 5th, 3rd (5 seconds to the winner!), 3rd and 4th. That's why I was 3rd in the overall standings, nearly 6mins behind the 2nd and 3:25 ahead of the 4th. I made a solid and fast (especially at the beginning) performance and came 3rd into the finish. However, I realised I had punched the wrong control! For the very first time in my life... That's a shame, but I am really satisfied with my races in Czech Republic as I got to know I am quite self-confident in the forest and my O-technique is at a high level:) I only need to work more strength in my legs for the second part of the season.

On Sunday, after all the competitions, we organized a club beer relay race in our gym. We had lots of fun and were ready to go back home the following day...

Looong orienteering journey... (part 4)

The 4th part was the second half of our club's camp in Młynne. I stayed there just for fun and to take a rest after exhausting competitions. I must admit I really needed this break...

Ridiculous competition...

Last weekend we had an enormous pleasure to take part in the first round of Polish Club Championships in Pilica and Zawiercie. I was really looking forward to this competition since it's a wonderful thing to meet all the people after such a long winter break. Therefore, the atmosphere was magnificent. Unfortunately, the very organisation of the races did not meet my expectations... What's more, it made me laugh once I had finished my long distance course!

However, I would like to describe it chronologically, so first comes the relay.

It was an unknown quantity as our team was extremely experimental. Cilu ran the first leg for the very first time in his life! And managed to come first just some 22 seconds ahead of Pietrzyk. One third of the whole task was done! Now the time came for Klusek and Grochu to compete. We waited nervously at the spectator control for them to appear. Suddenly, Grochu came into view and made a funny show;-D Klusek was more than 3 minutes behind him at this control, but at the finish the time difference was only about 2:43. Then it was me to start... I began the exhausting chase after Olej and took risks almost all the time. I made lots of smaller or bigger mistakes which were unavoidable in this situation. After the race I got to know that I passed Olej somewhere near the 6th control because the next three ones he ran some meters behind me. Surprisingly, I did not even notice it! The 10th control was a real nightmare as the map was terrible there! I lost over 2 minutes but Olej was still behind me (he had a longer forking at the previous control). I made another mistake to the 11th control because I still thought Olej was very close, but ahead of me and I wanted to catch up with him... It turned out I wasn't right and he only passed me at this unfortunate 11th control! While running to the next one, I saw Olej jumping among the rocks and already knew I had to catch him to the spectator control. It was not a problem since there was a long track towards it and I succeeded in reducing his advantage. Then I had a little crash with the spectator control;-) At the next control the unexpected forking came (mine was some 100m longer) and I lost some time and self-confidence. Nevertheless, I did not give up and ran incredibly fast after Olej and was only some meters behind him at the next control again. The control no. 17 could have meant a clear victory for me, if it hadn't been for my lack of self-trust... After an unbelievably fast and tiring finish I punched just 2 seconds after Olej and... fell down....... In the evening we heard gladsome news that we eventually won the relay competition because of Azymut's disqualification (one of the showman's controls was missing). 35 points for our club were gained!:)

On Saturday the first individual competition took place - looooong distance race.

The race analysis (which was incredibly hard to carry out!) is on the other side of my map, so I simply lack willingness to repeat it. I would only like to mention some of the aspects which disabled me to ticket this particular competition as a good one.
Fortunately, I am able to make a wonderful comparison between two long distance races in one week's time. Ratisbona Open 2009 (check my previous note) and Polish Club Championships. 7,5km and 7,3km. 350m climb and 275m climb. Time of 48:01 and time of 74:51. Only one question comes to my mind: Where did my shape disappear?!
Actually, we had over 500m to climb (2 times more than announced in the course parameters!). Moreover, my class did NOT even get the control descriptions before the start; I asked politely if there were no descriptions for M18 and I got an unpleasant answer 'No...'. As far as the control descriptions are concerned, I did not actually need them because they were absolutely useless! Fortunately, the code numbers were right at least...
Two controls were situated in the wrong places. What's more, I came across a map from M21 class and their 3rd control is placed on a rocky wall whereas my 11th control is placed on a rock (about 1mm to the left). The funniest thing is that... they have the same code numbers!
Is it enough or should I go on naming all the other drawbacks?;-/

Finally we competed in the easiest sprint ever.

It was very, very hard to make a mistake during this sprint course. However, some competitors 'managed':P Personally, I am just happy I won this race significantly, even though my legs were so heavy and tired before the start...

I think it's all I wanted to say right now:)

A very pleasant night-O course:)

Yesterday I visited 'Bar under the Larch' to have some fun and gain lots of useful experience needed for night orienteering competitions. When I heard that we were going to run on a map called 'Arturówek', I got a little surprised since I was almost certain the training would take place on a boring and well-known side of the forest. It was my first race since last weekend, so I decided to take pains to perform well - actually to improve my self-esteem a bit:P ...and I did manage! I made a really good race and enjoyed every minute of it:)
I hope it's gonna be similar on Friday's night relay in Denmark. Yeah, today in the evening at 9:15 p.m. we are leaving for Hillerod! Keep your fingers crossed for our whole team and my right foot;-) Actually, there is one main challenge I'll have to face at Spring Cup relay race - to give the correct map to Duduś:-D Remember last year? Who does - is now laughing, who doesn't - should start right now;)
That's all for now, I hope I'll come back in a mood good enough to write my next note as soon as possible!

My foot leaves much to be desired...

Below I present the maps from our weekend's trainings.

I think there's nothing to add - they are simply too boring and... out-of-date to comment!

Tomorrow we are going to Podlesice to attend the annual meeting of junior orienteers from the whole country. The climax of this meeting is the famous cross on Saturday morning. I would think I am prepared really well for it if it wasn't for my injured right foot... which led to an unexpected interruption of today's training:(

Fortunately, I have one day off more and hopefully it will get better. Wait and see...

The winner takes it all!

Ok everyone! I found some time to write the note you are reading. I know pretty well it's been over a week now after our wonderful camp, but I wanted to do my best as for this particular note. MAMMA MIA, here I go again!

...everyone seemed happy at the very beginning:)

First rule: look well before going on a training!

- before and after -
Can you see any difference?!

we had to face some technical problems as well...

NOT all of us were on blissful holiday ;-P

We had to be really tolerant and give him some support ;-)

'it's been no bed of roses!'

'my dream is to fly over the rainbow so high!'

...the afternoon relax...

on the finish of one of these courses:

the so-called New Year's Eve loops

preparing for the long (maybe not for everyone=P) party:-)

elegant... guess who!

the fantastic FOUR!

almost The Beatles.......

I am so proud of this photo! My PB so far;)

'cała sala się buja, to nie koniec imprezy...'

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

exclusive - nothing else to add...

(: the cleaner - volunteer

- our last & longest running trip, really exhausting

After enjoying the photos I'd like to recommend you some films from our camp - you can watch them here.

After all, it was a sports camp! That's why I did a bit over 200km in one week:)
The results of my hard work you can see below.

I hope it was worth waiting so long for this note!