Christmas Training Camp

Hi!

The holidays are finishing but we continue training. After Christmas Mariana went to a training camp organized by the Portuguese federation in Pataias and Isabel and Joana went to Alter do Chão where they were preparing the next National competition organized by their club.

Here we will describe you the Christmas training camp where Mariana participated.
Realized 26th to 30th December, was oriented by Radek Novotný, the Czech coach.
The athletes were dividing in two groups, the elite and juniors boys and the women and younger boys (where Mariana was including).The trainings just were different in the distance of the courses (the first group had bigger courses).
The trainings (the distances indicated will correspond to the Mariana’s groups, the shortest one) :

Day 26 (Afternoon):
Combined session
1)Line O – in this type of train we had to run precisely according the line in a map and when we having found the control flag we had to draw it on the right position in the map.
2)Treasury Hunt – we went through a marked area in the map and we had to find 7 control flags placed there. We also had to draw its in the map.
3)Sprint (1,5km) – a short butterfly course.
Day 27 (Morning):
Middle qualification and final
1)Qualification(2,5km) - Mariana’s group was divided in two series and 3 athletes passed to the final (Mariana passed) =D.
2)Final (3,6km) – Starting with intervals of 90 sec.

Day 27 (A):
Combined session
1)Memory (1,6km) – we had a normal short course where we should look to the map the less time possible and try memorize the controls.
2)Circulation (2,7km) – the start control was the last of the memory course. In this special map is impossible to see the north of the map and we had to read the map properly and run only on the curves.
3)Sprint (2,4km) – map with a scale of 1:4000 and with a lot of green areas.

Day 28 (M):
1)Start loops – We were in a crossing and there were 4 different starts. We had to do 8 short loops (0,4-0,7 km each) that were distributing for the starts. We began in groups and when we finished one loop we start to another one.


Day 28(A):
1)Butterfly Run (6.1 km) – Based on results from the morning session there was a chasing start. The first one in the finish was the winner.





Day 28 (Night):
1)Night-O (3,4 km) – A simple course done at night.


Day 29 (M):
1)Relocation (6,9km) – we ran in pairs and each athlete had a different map. On the maps there were two sizes of circles: the normal size means control flag, the large circle represent the area where we had to pass the lead to our partner training. The circles were numbered and who had the first large circle had to take the co-runner to there and this athlete had to go to the first normal circle where the first control was. After he had to go to the next large circle and pass the lead to the other runner. Always of this way.

Day 29 (A):
1)Relay along path – teams of 2 runners had just one map and 2 SI-cards. While one athlete was running towards a control the other was jogging on the path to the next sign where he waits for exchange. There he caught the map and went towards the next control while the other runner ran to the next sign to change again. When they came to the last sign on the path they came back continuing doing the same, so each runner visits all the controls.
There were 3 series. First 2 series that began with 1 minute of interval and the final serie was with a chasing start.

Day 30 (M):1)Long distance (7,2Km) – A common competition with individual start where we had a physical course with a lot of options to each control point.

All the nights there was a reunion where we talked about aspects of our trains and about another interesting affairs that just could be talked by a technique like Radek Novotný.

For now, we are at home and we will write you just in the next year!

See you in 2009,

O-laranjitas