3 days passed since we won a bronze medal in EOC relay with Jan Šedivý and Vojtěch Král but I still live in the euphoria - the feeling why we all do Orienteering.
EOC in the Czech Republic was the main goal of this season and the best motivation for hard training during Winter and Spring. I have to say I managed to get to a very top physical shape on the other hand I didn't manage to get a perfect race technically except for middle Q and relay. I didn't reach my dream of top10 in individual races and especially the middle distance fail is something I still need to get over but the relay success saved it all. It was a long week at EOC so it's good to sum it all up.
Long Qualification - good but tougher than expected
Monday morning, first race at EOC and big expectations. After a very long time I felt really nervous and excited, almost like back in youth age at my first EYOC. We were well prepared - me and Milos made a good map of the long distance area based on laser data, data from mapy.cz and orthophoto. Also I had a good self-confidence that we can find the best route-choices in the Czech hilly terrain quite easily. Everything went well, the start was on the place we expected, long legs as we expected but the forest was quite different – slower, greener, tougher. So the winning times were almost 10 minutes longer than expected! My time 73:38 was good enough for 6th place in my heat but also long enough to make my thigh muscles quite stiff and tired. Not a good prospect for the final which was supposed to be 6km longer with much more climbing.
Results: here
GPS of my heat: here
Long final – I gave my all!
Tuesday – just one day after the Long Q - I was really afraid that my thigh muscles could die during the long race so I changed my tactic before the race. I decided I would try to run around and keep it on the roads if the route-choices look equal. Compared to long Q I didn’t have a good start and I got confused on the way to the first control. I was not sure if I am at the correct height and it cost me almost 1 minute to find the control which was a bit hidden under a fallen tree. Then I calmed down and on the way to the 4th control I got the right feeling I have it all under control. Then I took a good route-choice to 5th control and on the way I decided basically all the route-choices until the finish. I kept on with a good pace sticking to my tactic to keep it on the roads and to minimize the climbing. It was a bit slower to 8th control but I think I saved some energy for the end. On 12th control I got some company when I caught Valentin Novikov who was followed by Andris Jubelis. Andris flipped his hook to my heels and stayed there almost until the finish. The only route-choice I didn’t decide completely on the way to 5th was the one to the 17th. I wanted to run straight if I feel strong enough to climb the steep slope or a bit from the left if I feel tired. I felt really good so I ran straight and it was a bad decision. Not only I lost almost 2 minutes but also I wasted lots of energy I could use in the last uphills - I could hardly climb the damn steep uphill to punch the pre-last control. Then it was just a flat finish and I was really happy when I could hit the ground and lie there for a long while. It was 14th place after all, 14 seconds from 12th position and 2 minutes from top10. I’m very satisfied, I made some mistakes but I would have to make a really perfect race to get to top10 and I showed almost my best.
Results: here
GPS: here
Middle Q - typical Czech middle, stable performance, easily qualified
Thursday afternoon after a rest day, 2 days after the long final. Our physio did a really good job and I felt surprisingly well. I ended 3rd after a stable performance and it meant a good starting position for the final and also some extra self-confidence!
Results: here (My heat - Men C)
GPS: here
Middle Final – Stupid fail, big disappointment
Friday afternoon, tricky slope with some stones, stony fields, watercourses and marshes. I started as 6th last starter. I knew the first controls would be crucial and I made it well this time. I was not the fastest in the beginning but I was losing only 1 minute on the first TV control. On 14th control I was 9th, 1:24 behind the leader but then a big fail came. Just before punching the 14th control I fell down in the boulder field and dropped the map. When I lifted my map I moved mentally to control 15 and I started running towards control 16. I realized my mistake in the yellow area. It cost me 1 minute and I was really shaken, I almost made another mistake to the next control, then I managed to calm down and I had a really strong ending. After all I was 18th, 2:40 behind impressive Matthias Kyburz but only 53 seconds from top6!
Czech TV broadcast: here (Czech IP adress needed)
Results: here
GPS: here
Relay - Perfect race, Bronze euphoria!
I was selected to run the first leg for the first Czech team together with Jan Šedivý and Vojtěch Král. I was really disappointed after the middle final but also very motivated to repeat the wonderful feeling after winning the EOC medal in Portugal in 2014. We knew we could fight for the medals but there were at least 6 other teams which also wanted a medal.
I had a good start to the race, I punched the first controls in the lead and I had a full control. I had this feeling all the way to the finish and after all I sent Jan Šedivý out in the lead! He made a really good job, running together with Danny Hubmann at the beginning but then the Swiss made a huge mistake and Switzerland 1 was out from the fight for medals. Jan Šedivý went on alone in the lead but then he made some little mistakes and was caught by Sweden 2 (Runesson) and Poland (Pawlak). Anyway, we were still in the lead and Vojtech Kral started as 2nd just behind Sweden 2. Vojcek was fighting against the best guys in the O-world. He started together with Sweden 2 (Regborn). Quite soon got more company when he was caught by Norway (Daehli) and Switzerland 2 (Martin Hubmann). A bit shorter forking sent Switzerland 2 into the lead and Martin managed to take the chance and won the gold medal for Switzerland. Vojcek was fighting with Norway but Magne was faster in the last meters. Silver for Norway and bronz! for Czech Republic! Absolute ecstasy - especially because of so many people who could share the joy with me. It is always great to compete on the home ground because there is my family and friends supporting and thanks to Czech TV there were messages coming even from my classmates who know almost nothing about Orienteering. Thank you!
You can enjoy a perfect video with actions from the whole EOC week here.
Czech TV broadcast: here (Czech IP adress needed)
Results: here
What about now?
No time for too long resting. Today I got back to training, there is Czech relay cup on the weekend and next Thursday I’m leaving for Finland for 10 days to prepare well for Jukola. I decided not to go for Czech WOC selections. It was a difficult decision but I will not compete in WOC forest disciplines. I will try to prepare well for sprint and hopefully mixed relay. It is a shame not to run long distance in the Mekka country of Orienteering but there is simply no capacity for me to compete everywhere. This way I don’t need to go for WOC selections, for training camps before the WOC and I can prepare well for WUOC in Hungary which is important for my finances (I’m supported by University sport center) and also I’ll hopefully manage to pass all my exams..